Mac System Issue

[mistymoon]

I recently developed a problem with my Mac system and am looking for ideas. I am running a Mac Mini, about 4.5 years old, that has a 1TB fusion drive, connected by Thunderbolt to a LaCie 5Big and an NEC PA272 monitor. For several years, this has worked perfectly, but recently when the computer is turned on, I am able to log in, but then the monitor grays out (the "wallpaper" appears but looks as if this image is covered by a veil; the dock does not  appear; and nothing is clickable). This,  happened gradually over the span of several weeks, until it could not be solved by restarting the computer. The situation occurred in conjunction with a pair of redundant hard drives on the 5Big filling completely, but I don't know if that could be related. I can still use the computer, but not when the 5Big is on.

Any ideas?

[BobShaw]

Could be lots of things.
You can restore the OS from a TimeMachine backup.
If you don't have one then I suggest using Disk Utility to check the hard drive using First Aid.
You can also use CMD-R on boot to instal a new OS.

[Jeremy Roussak]

The problem, as you describe it, appears to be with the LaCie. The first thing I'd do is to run Disk First Aid (in /Applications/Utilities) on that disk. If that doesn't help, investigate hardware problems with the disk. If you can, connect it to some other computer and see if if causes a problem (you might need a tolerant friend).

Re-installing your OS is unlikely to help and certainly shouldn't be your first port of call.

Jeremy

[Christopher Sanderson]

If indeed the MacMini works fine without the drive attached, my first guess is that the power supply on the LaCie is dying (dust/heat?) and the drive will need replacement. First step: check the cables and connection by switching out; second step: back up if possible; third step: junk the drive if cleaning does not solve.

[farbschlurf]

Also check and double-check all the cables! "Strange things" can happen also caused by this. For some reasons I got three cables "got rotten" somehow over years of usage, don't know how and why.

[David S]

Yes check the cables. I had to try three cables to get a drive to work properly and one of them, which did not work, was only a month old!

[mistymoon]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will be trying these and will let you know if I figure it out.

[francois]

…
my first guess is that the power supply on the LaCie is dying (dust/heat?) and the drive will need replacement. …

All my LaCie hard drives ended up with a defective power supply. I don't know whether the current ones are any better but I stopped buying LaCie stuff.
 

[Joe Towner]

Just to bring it to the forefront, what's your backup situation, as you may loose the data on the 5Big.