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mkral · May 1, 2012, 08:45 AM

I have a 2007 mac mini that is a backup computer. It works great, but just recently the sound started disappearing. By disappearing, I mean that the speaker icon greys out on the menu bar & I cannot play sounds through either the internal speaker or the sound out port. I've been able to fix this by opening the minit & resetting the PRAM via the button. Last night, this fix stopped working. Does this sound like it might be a dead PRAM battery to you guys? I can fix the battery, but if that is likely not the problem, I'd rather not tear the mini apart.

the only other way I know to see if the PRAM battery is working is to check the time/date, but that is normal. I am not sure if that is due to the fact that I have it auto-syncd to one of Apple's servers & as such, it auto-corrects before I can verify it.

If it's not the PRAM battery, does anyone have an idea what might be causing this? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

joshua305 · May 1, 2012, 12:54 PM

I just returned from apple store after second motherboard replacement. My MOBO on my early 2009 Mini died this month. Thankfully it was still under warranty. I discovered that after it was replaced, I no longer had any sound on the computer, symptoms were exactly same as your. All option greyed out and no internal option (grey or otherwise) showing at all.

They put in a new MOBO yesterday to repair it. It may be that this is easiest/cheapest way for apple to fix, but at least on this model, they said sound jack and controller were all soldered/built on to MOBO and did not even mention possibility of it being a battery.

MacAssemble · May 2, 2012, 08:05 AM

Sound cards are not built-in, they are separate boards not even close to the logic board inside the case. My own early 2009 Mac Mini (C2D, Mini Displayport etc) failed. I resorted to a $10 USB audio "card."

P · May 2, 2012, 08:57 AM

Separate sound cards are very rare these days. Usually it is a chip from a company such as Realtek somewhere on the motherboard. The Mac mini certainly has this design - it is VERY cramped in that small box, and there is absolutely no space for an extra sound card.

mkral · May 2, 2012, 09:16 AM

Thanks for the help guys. I won't waste my time trying to swap the PRAM battery. I have a bluetooth speaker at home that I orginally bought for my ipad. I'll give that a go & see if it works.

Thanks again for the help.