| Sysop: | Amessyroom |
|---|---|
| Location: | Fayetteville, NC |
| Users: | 26 |
| Nodes: | 6 (0 / 6) |
| Uptime: | 53:40:22 |
| Calls: | 632 |
| Files: | 1,187 |
| D/L today: |
27 files (19,977K bytes) |
| Messages: | 178,640 |
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and
undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I
shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines?
OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and
undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I
shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines?
OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and
undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the
power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I
shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines?
OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard).
It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
Theo
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard).
It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard).
It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and
undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the >>> power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I
shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? >>> OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard). >> It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
It offers me the option to install High Sierra but when I click on the
start button it hangs for about a minute and then displays: "The
recovery server could not be contacted".
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard).
It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and
undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and
at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch
it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the >>> power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I
shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something
will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? >>> OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard). >> It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
I've managed to get it going.
Apparently the "The recovery server could not be contacted" is a known problem and was thought to be caused by a discrepancy between the
computer's clock and the server's clock. I corrected the computer's
clock but it made no difference.
Then I discovered that a much more complex issue has been found: the
Apple 'https' download address doesn't work because of a security error. There is a helpful video by "Mr. Macintosh" on YouTube describing the work-around. To my great astonishment I was able to follow the
instructions and it worked!
I am now playing about trying to find a way of switching into permanent 'Single User' mode to avoid the annoying password rigmarole at start-up. Nobody else has access to the machine and there is nothing of any value likely to be stored on it. I am also wondering what to do with it when
I have finished playing about.
In case anyone else needs the work-around, it is as follows:
(I have used pairs of tildes ~ to enclose my own quotations.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOADING HIGH SIERRA AFTER RECEIVING A FAILURE MESSAGE:
"The recovery server could not be contacted".
In Terminal type ~date~
Check that the date and time are correct (UTC)
Try to reinstate the OS from the recovery window. Wait for it to fail.
Go to ~window>installer log~
Look for the failure message beginning ~failed to load catalog~
Copy the failure message.
Close the failure message box on the recovery window.
In Terminal, Paste the failure message.
Identify the URL and Copy it (excluding the final colon).
Type (case sensitive) ~nvram IASUCatalogURL="~
Paste the previously copied URL after the quotation mark.
CTRL-A, then use direction keys to move the cursor to the colon after
the https
Back-delete to remove the ~s~ from ~https~, leaving ~http~.
CTRL-E to move cursor to the end
Type the final ~"~ and press the Enter key.
Quit Terminal.
From the recovery window select ~Reinstate Mac OS~
Click Continue (twice)
Await results.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am now playing about trying to find a way of switching into permanent 'Single User' mode to avoid the annoying password rigmarole at start-up. Nobody else has access to the machine and there is nothing of any value likely to be stored on it. I am also waondering what to do with it when
I have finished playing about.
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is 4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan 2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard). It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
I've managed to get it going.
Apparently the "The recovery server could not be contacted" is a known problem and was thought to be caused by a discrepancy between the
computer's clock and the server's clock. I corrected the computer's
clock but it made no difference.
Then I discovered that a much more complex issue has been found: the
Apple 'https' download address doesn't work because of a security error. There is a helpful video by "Mr. Macintosh" on YouTube describing the work-around. To my great astonishment I was able to follow the
instructions and it worked!
I am now playing about trying to find a way of switching into permanent 'Single User' mode to avoid the annoying password rigmarole at start-up. Nobody else has access to the machine and there is nothing of any value likely to be stored on it. I am also waondering what to do with it when
I have finished playing about.
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and
undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and >>>> at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is
4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan
2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch >>>> it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the >>>> power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I >>>> shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something >>>> will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? >>>> OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard). >>> It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS. >>>
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
I've managed to get it going.
Apparently the "The recovery server could not be contacted" is a known
problem and was thought to be caused by a discrepancy between the
computer's clock and the server's clock. I corrected the computer's
clock but it made no difference.
Then I discovered that a much more complex issue has been found: the
Apple 'https' download address doesn't work because of a security error.
There is a helpful video by "Mr. Macintosh" on YouTube describing the
work-around. To my great astonishment I was able to follow the
instructions and it worked!
I am now playing about trying to find a way of switching into permanent
'Single User' mode to avoid the annoying password rigmarole at start-up.
Nobody else has access to the machine and there is nothing of any value
likely to be stored on it. I am also waondering what to do with it when
I have finished playing about.
System prefs. -> Users -> unlock -> login options -> automatic login -> select user -> give pswd.
It will now boot without asking again for the password,
as long as you don't try to switch users.
You may need to give yourself Admin privs.,
don't remember,
On 11/10/2025 11:37, J. J. Lodder wrote:
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I have been given a Mac Mini which appears basically complete and
undamaged, I was told it has no OS. It contains a Kington 120GB HD and >>>> at least two Crucial memory boards, the top one of which I can see is >>>> 4GB. According to the serial number it was first purchased on 2 Jan >>>> 2012.
I have connected it to my existing monitor and keyboard. When I switch >>>> it on it goes "Boing!" and the screen lights up grey with a
circle-and-line warning symbol. It shuts down tidily if I hold down the >>>> power button. There is a rattling noise if I shake it, so I suppose I >>>> shall have to locate the cause of that.
I have no particular use in mind at the moment but I am sure something >>>> will suggest itself once I get it working (backup for my other machines? >>>> OS8 emulator?).
How do I get it working?
Hold down Option-Command-R when powering up (Ctrl-Alt-R on a PC keyboard).
It should boot into Internet Recovery from where it can fetch an OS
installer from the internet. That will get you the latest supported OS. >>>
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl338cf9a8/mac
(I'm assuming it's been wiped so the HD has no OS on it, which is the
cause of it not booting)
I've managed to get it going.
Apparently the "The recovery server could not be contacted" is a known
problem and was thought to be caused by a discrepancy between the
computer's clock and the server's clock. I corrected the computer's
clock but it made no difference.
Then I discovered that a much more complex issue has been found: the
Apple 'https' download address doesn't work because of a security error. >> There is a helpful video by "Mr. Macintosh" on YouTube describing the
work-around. To my great astonishment I was able to follow the
instructions and it worked!
I am now playing about trying to find a way of switching into permanent
'Single User' mode to avoid the annoying password rigmarole at start-up. >> Nobody else has access to the machine and there is nothing of any value
likely to be stored on it. I am also waondering what to do with it when >> I have finished playing about.
System prefs. -> Users -> unlock -> login options -> automatic login -> select user -> give pswd.
It will now boot without asking again for the password,
as long as you don't try to switch users.
You may need to give yourself Admin privs.,
don't remember,
This is definitely the way to go, 'Single User' mode is something quite different for very specific (generally recovery) circumstances and very
much a bad idea for general use. First account will have Admin rights by default.
PS for Liz, once you have automatic login enabled
you can run the Mini headless, as server,
or for tedious jobs that don't need attention.
(monitor emulator recommended for adequate resolution)
You can control it in screen sharing.
(you may even use it to run MacSoup :-)
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
I am now playing about trying to find a way of switching into permanent 'Single User' mode to avoid the annoying password rigmarole at start-up. Nobody else has access to the machine and there is nothing of any value likely to be stored on it. I am also waondering what to do with it when
I have finished playing about.
System Settings -> Users and Groups -> Automatically login as <username>
most of my day-to-day work is done on the G3.
J. J. Lodder <nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> wrote:
[...]
PS for Liz, once you have automatic login enabled
you can run the Mini headless, as server,
or for tedious jobs that don't need attention.
(monitor emulator recommended for adequate resolution)
You can control it in screen sharing.
(you may even use it to run MacSoup :-)
I'll look into that, it could be useful as a backup for the main
computer. Firstly I have to get it to talk to my G3, which I seem to remember needed an FTP option to be added.
An alternative is to make it emulate OS8.6, which would be really useful because most of my day-to-day work is done on the G3.
On 11/10/2025 13:48, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
most of my day-to-day work is done on the G3.
WHY?!!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_G3
It SHOULD be in a museum! ;-)