2.3 year old iMac (27inch) Hard Drive failing. Does the drive have its own warranty?

My imac that is 2.3 years old is now having the S.M.A.R.T system saying the drive is "failing". Does the drive have its own warranty? That's not very old for a failure and most HD manufactures have a 3 year minimum. Now I wish I had bought the extended warranty period. Shish.

TKRWH wrote:
Does the drive have its own warranty?
No.

Similar Messages

My 5 year old iMac's hard drive is at the point of failing. I'm trying to save al files on it, but it wont allow backup via Time Machine to an external hard drive. How can I keep from losing all the files and programs if the hard drive fails?

I'm concerned that my iMac, purchased 5 years ago, is about the crash and I can't back up my files and programs to an external hard drive via Time Machine because the computer freezes after only a couple hundred MB and gets nowhere near the required amount.
How can I save these files and programs if the computer hard drive fails or has to be replaced without the backup being able to be done? I need to do something quickly, but I'm not sure what I can or should be doing.

Get an external hard drive, some good ones that I like are the OWC, http://www.macsales.com Mercury Elite Pro drives...they are very good and reasonably priced.
Get the drive, connect via USB or FireWire, then use Disk Utility to format the new drive as Mac OS X Extended (Journaled), and then use Disk Utility to Restore the current drive to the new drive. Restore actually clones the drive so you will have a bootable backup on the external drive.
After you have formatted and named the external drive, click Restore in the main Disk Utility window, drag the name of the old hard drive to the Source box, and drag the name of the new external drive to the Destination box. DU will make an exact clone of the internal drive on the external drive.
That clone will be a complete backup of the operating system and all of your data.
You can test it by restarting the iMac and hold the Option key. That will give you a grey screen showing all bootable drives. Just click the external drive, then click the upward pointing arrow under it and the iMac will boot from that drive.

3 year old iMac running very slow, freezing all the time. Advice?

My three year old iMac - 2.4Ghz processor, 2GB RAM, running Lion - is becoming almost totally useless. For many months it has been very slow, with multiple freezes, and then "force quits" on iPhoto and other applications.
First, I tried to free up some space - i now have about 44GB free. Then I ran disk utility etc, Then I ugraded to Lion.
But still I'm getting the same problems. Any suggestions?

It sounds like your problems are more serious than a 'hardware upgrade' issue. My late 2008 MacBook 2.4GHz with 2GB RAM runs applications (and iPhoto) fine. In addition I have run OS X operating systems with little more than 5GB free hard drive space with no issue (being able to run advanced applications like Photoshop).
My advice- if you have simply upgraded to Lion keeping all your systems settings and files intact then you may want to perform a 'clean install', you'll backup your important data/files in order to transfer them back again into Lion. You could even create a Time Machine Backup and use this to move only your data and applications back into your clean install of OS X Lion.

How do I transfer info. from my old Imac G3 hard drive to the macbook pro?

Hello,
My imac g3 died last year and I finally upgraded to the macbook pro. Well, the G3 fizzed out on me and no longer turns on so I finally pulled the hard drive out. Now the next problem: can i access the information on this hard drive on my current computer? I had some form of OS X on it but that's about all I remember. If anybody has any helpful ideas that would be awesome.
Thanks in advance,

Putting the drive into another machine and then booting it as a targetted disk is fine - it will just appear like an external drive on your machine. I think bustardvan's confusing this with a clone or migration.
Your best and simplest solution is to go for an external enclosure - you put the drive in it and then it appears as an external drive on your machine.
OR
You could consider this
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NVSPATARH/
which should connect to the drive and allow you to see it on your new desktop - but as I'm not super familiar with it give the chaps at OWC a call and make sure it will be fine. Looks like it will be and you could probably easily sell it later - I'm saying that on the assumption your old drive is pretty small and you won't want to carry on using it as an external drive long-term. If large get an enclosure and keep it as an external drive.
Best of luck.
PS - Sorry if that's a bit garbled. I'd suggest an enclosure if the drive is going to be kept long term, otherwise the adapter if all you want to do is get the data from it.

How do I enable my new macbook pro to become my default computer to sync all my apple devices-iphone 4, touch, ipod classic, nano? My five year old dell's hard drive has only 2GB of space available and is currently the computer I use for all these device

I have a new macbook pro that I wish to sync all my apple devices--ipodclassic,nano,iphone4,touch-- that are currently synced with a 5 year old windows based computer with only 2GB of available hard drive space. How can I do this and maintain all of my info-contacts, songs,photos etc without losing this data< Thanks

you can either update to lion/ios5 and use the cloud to sync or you can plug in said devices and sync them with your MBP instead of your dell via a tethered usb connection.
also, sign into your itunes store account on your mac.

Can I swap old iMac (white) HARD DRIVE into iMac (alu) w/ OS installed

I have the older iMac 20" intel with a 500GB hard drive and wanted to swap it into my newer iMac 20" aluminum, which currently has the 320GB hard drive. I was wondering if the disks were physically swapped, would the OS still run considering the newer hardware?
Would Leopard be able to recognize the hardware changes or would a backup, reinstall and restore be in order? I am trying to avoid having to move all my data to an external only to put it back on again the same drive. Thank you!

Physically the drive is swappable but not without voiding your warranty. As for the system goes theoretically it would work however since the ALU iMacs are newer than your current white iMac, your current system lacks all of the hardware drivers for the new iMac and the system would need to be reinstalled. Probably the easiest way would be to use the migration assistant to migrate your files from your old computer. However if you still plan on swapping the drives what you could do is swap the 500G into your new iMac then immediately boot up to the install disk that comes with the ALU iMac and perform an Archive install of the system. It would be a good idea to backup all of your data before physically moving the drive just in case.
George

Hi - my Imac's hard drive keeps starting and stopping, when the imac is idle. The Imac is working perfectly otherwise. Any ideas?

Hi my 4 year old Imac's hard drive keeps starting, whirring briefly, then stopping, when the machine is asleep. Doesn't do it when in actual use. The Imac is working perfectly otherwise. Any ideas?

Gracias mi amigo; there are a lot of options on the side bar in console, but I think I can see the issue - calendar agent - thousands of entries, all identical. Recently installed outlook 2011, so ? conflicting with Ical?
23/06/2013 00:31:52.122 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:31:52.168 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:32:27.116 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:32:27.116 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:32:27.116 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:32:27.116 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:32:27.162 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:33:01.310 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:33:01.311 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:33:01.358 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:33:36.378 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:33:36.379 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:33:36.379 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:33:36.425 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:34:11.034 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:34:11.034 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:34:11.034 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:34:11.082 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:34:44.993 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:34:44.993 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:34:45.039 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:35:20.013 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:35:20.014 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:35:20.014 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:35:20.015 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:35:20.015 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES
23/06/2013 00:35:20.062 CalendarAgent[195]:
com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.calendar.store.inconsistency
com.apple.message.signature: Other CalDAV
com.apple.message.signature2: etag (ctag)
com.apple.message.summarize: YES

We have a 4 year old iMac 24 inch. My hard drive died and we have a new hard drive now, but all that the fixit shop put on it was the Snow Leopard OS; can I ask Apple for a download of our other many software programs to reload them? Does it cost to do

We have a 4 year old iMac 24 inch. The hard drive died and we had a new hard drive installed. They only installed the Snow Leopard OS on it, and there were many software programs that came with the iMac originally.. now missing. Does anyone know whether Apple will resupply these? I do have an Apple installation disc but have upgraded from the original Leopard to Snow Leopard... so the OS is not quite the same. Ideas? Thanks!

No bootable bakup/clone or Time Machine backup? No initial install discs? If no to both of those, call 1-800-MY-APPLE and request replacement discs for that machine. They're available for a nominal S&H charge.

My old computer had itunes and downloaded songs that I put on my ipod. My old computer got replaced years ago without saving hard drive info or passwords and my iPod burnt out and will not activate. How can I get access to my old songs on new computer.

My old computer had itunes and downloaded songs that I put on my ipod. Well, my old computer got replaced years ago without saving hard drive info or passwords and my iPod burnt out years ago and will not activate. I now have a new computer and iPod and I have an iTunes account on my iPhone5. How can I get access to my old songs on new computer? Are they lost for good? I have no info about my old computer and old account.

Downloading past purchases from the App Store ... - Support - Apple

Four-year-old iMac and Mountain Lion

My wife has a four-year-old iMac that has been horrendously slow for the last couple of years. This has been true with nearly all the programs, but especially Word for Mac and Outlook (both part of Microsoft Office for Mac) -- even when only three or four programs are open at a time. Click Outlook, for example, and you can wait a minute and half for it to open while it checks identities.
I just upgraded the machine to Mountain Lion hoping that might solve some problems but the situation is even worse now. She clicked on Message last night as I was standing there and I finally gave up waiting and walked away. Frankly, the speed of the machine under both Lion and now, worse, Mountain Lion is driving us crazy.
So, what to do?
Should I be doing some sort of in-depth analysis of the the current machine? (A little background: three months after buying it, it had a problem and Apple Service ended up replacing the screen and the motherboard.)
Or should I just buy a new iMac and forget about this machine ever being fast enough?
Here are the specs on the current iMac:
Model Name:                    iMac
Model Identifier:              iMac8,1
Processor Name:              Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:              3.06 GHz
Number Of Processors:   1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache:                           6 MB
Memory:                            4 GB
Bus Speed:                         1.07 GHz
Thank you for any advice.
Don

Your computer is on the very low end of systems which are supported by Mountain Lion. Anything newer than Snow Leopard will likely hurt performance rather than help it.
When your computer is freezing up, it is probably loading data from the disk into RAM. You can't put any more RAM into the machine, but you can have the hard drive upgraded to an SSD. That's quite a bit of money to pour into a five-year-old machine, but it's a lot cheaper than getting a new computer.
One other option is to back up your files, wipe everything, and start over. Install the applications one at a time until things start to slow down. You may have an application that is sitting in the background and using up system resources.

A four year old iMac

Good Morning,
How can I unlock the Recovery HD on my 4-5 year old iMac? Below are the steps I have gone through.
Just about when the extra extended warranty was about to run out the iMac Superdrive quit. I thought I had a few months left of extended warranty but I did not!
Last week this iMac was running slow, pages would take forever to load.
I decided to put as many of my files on an external hard drive.
Then I rebooted holding down the command and R key opening Disk Utility and secure erase my hard drive. This took a few hours.
After this was completed I got out of Disk Utilities and went above and clicked on Reinstall OS X which was OS X Mountain Lion clicked continue, clicked agree before installing OS X Mountain Lion. Now this window came up "OS X Mountain Lion select the disk where you want to install OS X.
Recovery HD 650 MB total. 155.5 ava or Macintosh HD 319.21 GB total.318.79 GB. Then I noticed that only the Macintosh HD was my install choice because the Recovery HD was paled out and I could not click on it.
When I did click on the paled out Recovery HD it would tel me that "This Disk is Locked".
Now I clicked on Macintosh HD and pressed install, now I put in my Apple ID and Password and pressed Sign In.
Then a window appeared "This item is temporarily unavailable. Try again later. Well, I must have done this at least ten times.
I phoned Apple and they told me that this Mac OS X Mountain Lion is no longer available in the Apps Store.
I should click on the Recovery HD icon and install. This is where it reads "This disk is locked."
I would really like to use this iMac.
Any ideas?
Thank you.
Abi

Hi Babowa,
I just rebooted holding the Command + Option + R, erased Macintosh HD.
Below is what I see on the Disk Utility after the erase.
Mount Point : /Volumes/Macintosh HD
Format : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Owners Enabled ; Yes
Number of Folders : 3
Capacity : 319.21 GB (319,213,174,784 Bytes)
Available : 318.79 GB (318,788,182,784)
Used : 425 MB (424,992,768 Bytes)
Number of Files : 2
I still can't go any further.
If only my internal SuperDive was working I could put in the original CD.
Please any advice and I will try to make this iMac work!
I hate to throw it out.
Abi

I just purchased a one year old iMac. How do I create a brand new admin account?

I just purchased a one year old iMac. How do I create a brand new admin account?

The first thing to do with a second-hand computer is to erase the internal drive and install a clean copy of OS X. You—not the original owner—must do that. How you do it depends on the model, and on whether you already own another Mac. If you're not sure of the model, enter the serial number on this page. Then find the model on this page to see what OS version was originally installed.
It's unsafe, and may be unlawful, to use a computer with software installed by a previous owner.
1a. If you don't own another Mac
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, you need a boxed and shrink-wrapped retail Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) installation disc from the Apple Store or a reputable reseller—not from eBay or anything of the kind. If the machine is very old and has less than 1 GB of memory, you'll need to add more in order to install 10.6. Preferably, install as much memory as it can take, according to the technical specifications.
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.6, you need the installation media that came with it: gray installation discs, or a USB flash drive for a MacBook Air. You should have received those media from the original owner, but if you didn't, order replacements from Apple. A retail disc, or the gray discs from another model, will not work.
To start up from an optical disc or a flash drive, insert it, then restart the computer and hold down the C key at the startup chime. Release the key when you see the gray Apple logo on the screen.
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.7 or later, you don't need media. It should start up in Internet Recovery mode when you hold down the key combination option-command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a spinning globe.
Some models shipped with OS X 10.6 and received a firmware update after 10.7 was released, enabling them to use Internet Recovery. If you have one of those models, you may not be able to reinstall 10.6 even from the original discs, and Internet Recovery may not work either without the original owner's Apple ID. In that case, contact Apple Support, or take the machine to an Apple Store or another authorized service provider to have the OS installed.
1b. If you do own another Mac
If you already own another Mac that was upgraded in the App Store to the version of OS X that you want to install, and if the new Mac is compatible with it, then you can install it. Use Recovery Disk Assistant to prepare a USB device, then start up the new Mac from it by holding down the C key at the startup chime. Alternatively, if you have a Time Machine backup of OS X 10.7.3 or later on an external hard drive (not a Time Capsule or other network device), you can start from that by holding down the option key and selecting it from the row of icons that appears. Note that if your other Mac was never upgraded in the App Store, you can't use this method.
2. Partition and install OS X
If you see a lock screen when trying to start up from installation media or in Recovery mode, then a firmware password was set by the previous owner, or the machine was remotely locked via iCloud. You'll either have to contact the owner or take the machine to an Apple Store or another service provider to be unlocked. You may be asked for proof of ownership.
Launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive—not any of the volume icons nested beneath it. In the Partition tab, select the default options: a GUID partition table with one data volume in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. This operation will permanently remove all existing data on the drive.
After partitioning, quit Disk Utility and run the OS X Installer. If you're installing a version of OS X acquired from the App Store, you will need the Apple ID and password that you used. When the installation is done, the system will automatically restart into the Setup Assistant, which will prompt you to transfer the data from another Mac, its backups, or from a Windows computer. If you have any data to transfer, this is usually the best time to do it.
Then run Software Update and install all available system updates from Apple. To upgrade to a major version of OS X newer than 10.6, get it from the Mac App Store. Note that you can't keep an upgraded version that was installed by the original owner. He or she can't legally transfer it to you, and without the Apple ID you won't be able to update it in Software Update or reinstall, if that becomes necessary. The same goes for any App Store products that the previous owner installed—you have to repurchase them.
3. Other issues
If the original owner "accepted" the bundled iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band) in the App Store so that he or she could update them, then they're irrevocably linked to that Apple ID and you won't be able to download them without buying them. Reportedly, Mac App Store Customer Service has sometimes issued redemption codes for these apps to second owners who asked.
If the previous owner didn't deauthorize the computer in the iTunes Store under his Apple ID, you wont be able to authorize it immediately under your ID. In that case, you'll either have to wait up to 90 days or contact iTunes Support.
When trying to create a new iCloud account, you might get a failure message: "Account limit reached." Apple imposes a lifetime limit of three iCloud account setups per device. Erasing the device does not reset the limit. You can still use an iCloud account that was created on another device, but you won't be able to create a new one. Contact iCloud Support for more information. The setup limit doesn't apply to Apple ID accounts used for other services, such as the iTunes and Mac App Stores, or iMessage. You can create as many of those accounts as you like.

New Mac Mini slower than my 4 years old iMac

My Intel iMac (20" display) four years old is out of order (I think the Power Supply was gone), and I bought the new entry level Mac Mini.
When I started using it I noticed that it's much slower in several tasks than my old iMac (when restarting, when opening applications, when working with an app with another appl in the background, etc. etc.). I was concerned about this, but then I asked some friends that have Mac minis and they said that it's normal.
Why? Why a computer with a new i5 Intel processor can be slower than a four years old iMac Core 2 Duo? Is it because of the slow drive (5200 rpm)? Or what is the explanation? If this is normal for the mini, I'll try to fix my old iMac as soon as possible.

Don't downgrade to Lion. For what it's worth, my experience with Lion and Mountain Lion has been almost the exact opposite than what CaptH reported: I find ML to be much faster and more reliable, both on my late-2012 Mini and my mid-2007 iMac.
Your perceived speed issues are almost certainly a result of the slower-spinning hard drive in the Mini as Shootist007 pointed out earlier. Go ahead and disable Spotlight if you want to, but once the indexing is complete (which can take a few hours – or even a few days if you have a lot of data) it shouldn't be a problem unless you are continually connecting different large external drives.
Get the latest Combo Updater and install that. If you have some minor OS issue, that should solve it. Do a normal Software Update / check the Mac App Store for updates after you install the Combo Updater. Get it here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1640
If you continue to be bugged by the slower speed, see if your local Apple Store will allow you to exchange it and a little extra money for an equivalent model with a Fusion Drive. Or go to Other World Computing and purchase their kit to add a second drive, and use it to add an SSD in the second drive bay:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2/
http://eshop.macsales.com/search/OWC.INSTANT.481.2
Also, RAM is super-duper-uber-cheap right now. If your Mini has only the stock 4gb of RAM, you might be pleasantly surprised by the improved performance by doubling that. I have 16gb in my Mini, it cost me well less than a hundred bucks, and it makes everything better including graphics performance. But if you don't do something to work around that slow 5400rpm hard drive, it will always be the bottleneck in your system.

My four year old iMac is running much slower than when it was new. Any suggestions on cleaning out the cob webs?

My four year old iMac is running much slower than when it was new. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to "clean it up" and get it running like it used to?

What year, screen size, CPU speed and amount of RAM installed?
To find out info about your system,
Click on the Apple symbol in the upper left of the OS X main menu bar. A drop down menu appears.
Click About this Mac. A smaller popup window appears. This gives you basic info like what version of OS X your iMac is running, the speed of your iMac's CPU and how much RAM is installed.
Click on the button that says More Info. A larger window appears giving you a complete overview of your iMac's hardware specs.
Highlight all of this info and copy/paste all of this into another reply to this post, editing out your iMac's serial number before actually posting the reply.
This will tell us everything about your iMac so we may begin to help with your iMac issues.
How full is your Mac's hard drive?
Locate your iMac's hard drive icon on the OS X desktop. Click the icon once, then use the keyboard key combination Command-I. This will give you additonal info about your iMac's internal hard drive.
Post this info in your reply here, also.
Here are some general tips to keep your Mac's hard drive trim and slim as possible
You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER!
With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.
If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your Mac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Look through your other Mailboxes and other Mail categories to see If there is other mail you can archive and/or delete.
STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.
To find other large files, download an app called Omni Disk Sweeper.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

HT3231 I have a new iMac OS X version 10.8.5 and a 12 year old iMac OS X version 10.4.11.

I have a new iMac OS X version 10.8.5 and a 12 year old iMac OS X version 10.4.11.
I wish to transfer Quicken and iPhoto from the old to the new.
I tried using wired Migration Assistant and received error message.
So following directions for alternate methods I used a flash drive. It seemed to work but I received error message to the effect that the PowerPC G4 is not compatible with the new system with 2.7 GHz Intel Core.
I discissed by phone with Apple service rep who indicated that it is true that this transfer is not possible.
But this HT 3231 article seems to say that it is possible. Any suggestions?

Properly configure the flash drive:
Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to APM then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
Copy the files from the old machine to the flash drive. Then plug the flash drive into the new computer. Copy the files from the flash drive.
You need to understand that the files are no likely to be compatible which means you may not be able to use them. But the above process will transfer the files properly.

2.3 year old iMac (27inch) Hard Drive failing. Does the drive have its own warranty?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for