Chosen Solution
After years of working great my Mac Mini 2011 i7 with discreet video is having problems. I went to wake my mini from sleep only to find it was off. This was odd as I have had it plugged into a UPS since I’ve had it. It fired up fine but after a little while it just turned off. Similar experience to holding the power for 4 sec. reset the PRAM. I replaced the power supply. Same results. I reapplied the thermal paste and it seemed fixed for a day or so but again shut off. I tried replacing RAM and removing the SSD I had added and still no change. I think it may be a heat issue but now it shuts off just a couple seconds after booting. I’m at a loss. Anyone have an idea of something else to try?
What are the temps? Run this app to see: TG Pro Did you run diagnostics? Sadly I’m thinking the logic board has a cold solder joint so as the board heats up the connection is broken. Update (11/04/2017) The Mac mini 2011 had two versions, the Mac mini 2.3 GHz i5 (Mid-2011) which uses the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 services. Whereas Mac mini 2.5 GHz i5 & 2.7 i7 (Mid-2011) which uses a dedicated GPU Radeon HD 6630M. The GPU chip maybe failing and as its a hybrid chip (has the PCH in it) this could explain things. But without knowing which version of Mac Mini you have its just conjecture at this point.
I’m having the very same problem. l’ve run the built-in diagnostics numerous times, passing every time. lt will boot to diagnostics or recovery and stay up for DAYS!!! But when I boot from either drive, I get a endless loop of un-commanded restarts!
I’m currently having this problem too. I almost bought another p/s but since it was turning on, I ruled that out. So now I’m thinking it’s the motherboard. But since it is a 2011, finding the motherboard is quite the chore. If I fix it, the resale value is still really high, but I don’t want to replace it with one that I can’t fix myself, i.e. the newer mac mini computers. I may try to find a used logic board, swap out the parts and then sell it but keep my hard drives.
Sorry to open this thread up again. I have a very similar issue that may be closely related. My Mac Mini 2011 with Intel i7 and 6630m randomly reboots during startup and normal use. Sometimes I can run Blender on it heavily before it fails, but it always does after some amount of time. I have replaced the PSU as well as the HD cable along with putting an Intel SSD inside. I hear some people talking about cold solder joints on some chip, is that the Intel BD82HM65 Platform Controller Hub? If I were to pursue the logic board repair would this be the first thing to try? Thanks in advance for everyone’s willingness to help!
