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idykenano · May 13, 2008, 12:30 PM

I have 2 early 2006 mac minis (1 duo, 1 solo) that have stopped starting up today. One turned itself off without my permission while the other won't turn back on after I shut it down to use its power adapter to check the first.
Any ideas/suggestions?

seanc · May 13, 2008, 12:34 PM

Have you tried testing them in another power socket? Have you changed the fuse in the power cord plug? It could be that there's an issue with the first mini that blew the fuse in the plug or worse, damaged the power adaptor.

You haven't had any power surges or spilt anything on the desk recently have you?

idykenano · May 13, 2008, 12:57 PM

no spills, different socket yes. fuse in the power adaptor no. i'll look into that, how does one go about it?

(no spills, no power surges that i or the 12 other computers noticed)
thanks!

seanc · May 13, 2008, 01:29 PM

I wouldn't recommend taking the power adaptor apart and I don't know how to either. I just realised that US plugs don't come with fuses fitted like we in the UK have.

Do you have another Mac Mini PSU adaptor that you can test on the 2nd Mini (the one that didn't turn itself off)?

You can try resetting the PMU

Originally Posted by Apple

1. Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord.
2. Wait 10 seconds.
3. Plug in the power cord while simultaneously pressing and holding the power button on the back of the computer.
4. Let go of the power button.
5. Press the power button once more to start up your Mac mini.

idykenano · May 13, 2008, 01:42 PM

yep, already tried resetting the pmu and the smc on both machines. i think i'll be taking one or both to a genius bar to test a power adaptor they (apple) own.

Chinasaur · May 13, 2008, 02:32 PM

Has to be an external issue. It would be a statistically "near-impossible" event for BOTH to go down at same time due to some OS or manufacturing defect.

seanc · May 13, 2008, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by idykenano

yep, already tried resetting the pmu and the smc on both machines. i think i'll be taking one or both to a genius bar to test a power adaptor they (apple) own.

Sounds like a good plan.

I think the power adaptor on the first Mini has fried it and so testing them the other way around fried the other one.

idykenano · May 13, 2008, 05:07 PM

the 2nd mini is just fine, but its power adaptor is blown.
the first mini is sick, and in the mac hospital (local authorized repair)... it appears to be pmu related (though i did reset it multiple times).
thanks everyone!

drp · May 13, 2008, 09:02 PM

I don't believe this closely in coincidences, but my '06 mini died this past Sunday. One minute it was fine, streaming a TV program to my AppleTV, the next minute it was dead.

I did some trouble-shooting and determined that the power supply is dead. I am hoping that the power supply is solely at fault here.

I have ordered a new one and will know the results when it arrives tomorrow.

Cospefogo · May 14, 2008, 04:04 PM

Hey guys!

I had the same happening here two times already with my iMac PPC 20''.
Oh no... I am really worried now.

My story:
http://forums.macnn.com/58/imac-emac...automatically/

Thanks for your attention!
Cospefogo.

drp · May 14, 2008, 10:16 PM

Well, it turns out my mini's death was not the power supply.

Apparently, the mini's power supply is designed such that if it detects a problem, it will shut off its output until the main plug is pulled. (Thus causing my original diagnosis of failed power supply)

Looks like my logic board has fried with ability to cause the power brick to shut down immediately upon connecting it.

It is not the result of the memory, CPU, storage, or any other serviceable part failing. I've swapped all of them with known-good parts with no success.

I guess my home server will be offline until I decide what to do.

idykenano · May 14, 2008, 11:26 PM

same here, fried logic board.

cowboy_film_fan · Jun 6, 2008, 08:57 AM

My wife's (intel) mini also died last week.She always leaves it on,but as she returned home she found it off,without any possibility to turn it on.
We own 2 minis ,so i could rule out the power brick.There is a fuse on the mainboard:not blown.There are ate least 6 dc/dc converters to be found on the mainboard,there is one delevering 3.3V and another one 5V,but a lot of them are off (or defect) and i don't know what chip controls it.
there are 2 candidates : 1 cypress PSOC CY8C24794 and some Renesas microcontoller.
I tried the PMU reset method,I pressed the switch on the main board,I took out the lithium battery,just in order to reset anything that can be reset.->nothing.