IMac Hard Drive expectations, Are mine too high?

Hey everyone.
I have a 27" iMac i5. Its around 22 months old now and its being used as a personal PC at home.
Lately, I have been experiencing HDD related issues, It hangs, load times are poor, OS takes ages to boot (windows and OSX)
I backed up all my data to external drives and did a clean OS restore to Lion. No help, first boot with the OS was just as bad as a boot full of clutter. Loading Windows on the win partition also sometimes gives me the "cannot find OS boot disk" error which is scary.
Anyway's doing research its all sure tell-tale signs of a failing HDD and ironically last night on my Win7 partition, I got the windows error message saying my "windows detected a hard disk problem, back up all data and contact your manufacture".
Now, back on topic. Is this reasonable? a $2000+ computer suffering from a hardware fault like this when the HDD has never had more than 30% of the 1TB used in its life? (everything I keep backed up on externals.)
I was honestly expecting a few more years out of this, **** even my 5 year old Macbook has never had an issue in its life and its been bagged around more places I can think of in its lifetime. How does a computer that sits on a desk suffer for a hardware failure such as this?
From day one, I had a faulty power board inside, it caused a loud electronic buzzing noise. I did not get this fixed for aroun 9 months as tbh, it sounded normal but in the last month leading upto the replacement, it got much louder over a few days. This was replaced by Apple and I was sent on my way happy it was fixed. could this have caused something to overload?
I am a little bit bitter which I am sure you can understand, but was my expectation of this hard drive just too high? or am I in my right to be a little upset by this?
And before anyone askes, I was OS when my warranty ran out, my Macbook, iPad 3XiPhones and Mac Mini are all covered by their own Apple Care. the only thing that isnt is the iMac.. just my luck!
Edit: the old link for the power board.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2737002

Thanks guys.
Just got off the phone to Applecare.
they confirmed my drive is faulty. Im just a little upset it died like this. I have never had a drive fail before. Id rather my externals go than the internal.
Spoke to Apple, they said that he spoke to his Tech Specalist and they would not offer a free replacement. I agree is its 10 months out of warranty, but even the Apple rep I was speaking too said he would not be impressed either if it was his personal computer
Oh well. Time to look at HDD Upgrade options! Not that I am totally impressed about it.

Similar Messages

Are photos in photo stream automatically saved to my iMac hard drive?

are photos in my photo stream automatically saved to my iMac hard drive?

Photostream is a temporary storage area for photos. There is a maximum number of photos that you can keep in your photo stream and there is a time limit as well. But on your Mac you can normally view your PhotoStream photos in iPhoto and copy them to albums on your Mac. Don't expect photos to remain in your PhotoStream permanently.

Hi guys i have an macbook 13 late 2007 and does not work when i start it up all u can see is blank white screen and after that its keep bepping high peech tone 3 times i was thinking the hard drive but im not too sure please guys help.

Hi guys i have an macbook 13 late 2007 and does not work when i start it up all u can see is blank white screen and after that its keep bepping high peech tone 3 times i was thinking the hard drive but im not too sure please guys help.

Try to reset the PRAM first then go from there.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

Imac hard drive replacement

Incredibly my rarely used 2011 Imac Hard Drive is toast. I saw they have a replacement program but even though it is way too soon for a hard drive OF QUALITY to be going out so soon as mine - mine is not included in the replacement program.
Which I have a problem with - how odd it is that they had enough trouble with these computers/hard drives to do a replacement program but mine which did the same thing, expired way too soon isn't covered. I've not had use of the computer for 4 months while I tried to fix the problem so it lasted a little over a year.
Anyway I need to know what to do to try to replace it myself as i haven't the funds to take it to Apple for repair. Plus, Apple Computers and me are history I will never buy another after spending over $1200 for a computer that's nothing more than a very large paperweight right now.
How do I know what size and all that?
I may not be able to afford even that so more than likely this is going to be a very nice looking worthless computer going to the landfill.

I Am leaning more toward Kappy's comments, based on your attitude and comments, but I will ask some questions and add some useful comments as I am in a somewhat charitable mood.
Do you still have AppleCare on this iMac?
From your rather blunt comments I assume no, but have to ask anyhow.
This is why I recommend purchasing and registering for 3- year extended AppleCare.
Because of the nature of the newer iMac designs, hardware failure seems more likely or commonplace occurrence. I believe it's more of a excessive heat related issue than anything else despite what Apple has qualified as "normal" operating temps for these iMac models.
Check out the iFixit home site and search for iMac disassembly or tear/take down. Or search for iMac hard drive replacement on the site.
Another option is for you to purchase an external FireWire 400/800 drive as your new boot drive.
Running your iMac from a FW800 drive will be about as fast as running it from the iMac's Internal drive.
If you can afford it get as large a drive as you can afford.
And just for your info, while hard drives can last for years without issue they will go bad, eventually.
Some drives crash and burn faster than others. Especiallly true of the notebook style drives that Apple installs into the newer design iMac. With hard drives, the question is not if they will fail, but when will they fail.
If you had all of your data backed up to an extra, external drive or optical discs to begin with, you wouldn't be so upset about your internal drive dying as your data still would've been intact on another drive or discs in the first place.
I Always advocate for having some sort of backup strategy for your important data in the event of hardware or hard drive storage failure.

Slow iMac and Time machine won't recognize iMac hard drive

I have an older iMac (2.16GHz Intel) that is upgraded to OSX10.6.7. Recently it has been running very slow (although it did not seem to correlate with any particular install that I know of). I have looked at the Activity Monitor and cannot find anything that is consuming vast amounts of memory (although I can't say that I really know what I'm looking for exactly, just no high numbers). I did a Safe Boot and it is still really slow there (EXAMPLE of slow is taking several minutes to open a program or taking 27 hours to download my pictures (which only took 13 minutes on my MacBook)). I know my iMac could use more memory (1G), but the slow problem is there even if only running one program. I can't find a particular pattern to it, it just hangs up and then comes back most of the time. It did however start shutting itself down recently. I finally got into disk utility (I've been trying to run disk utility and it usually goes into an eternal spin that I can't even force quit - have to hard boot). So from disk utility I ran verify disk in first aid - it says "the volume Macintosh HD appears to be ok." I"m not sure what else I'm supposed to do in here either. So my first question is Does anyone have any other suggestions for the slowness? Second, in the meantime I'm desperately trying to back up my data on the time machine that I stupidly have never set up as a back up. I can manually put files one at a time over there, but if I try to use it as a time capsule (system preferences, time capsule on) my hard drive does not show up as one of the options???? My external drive and the data that is already on the time capsule show up, but not my iMac hard drive. So my second question is How do I get my time machine to see my hard drive or is there another way to get my files to move over there? I realize I'm in trouble, any help would be greatly appreciated. I've tried to provide as much info as possible. Maybe there is something obvious I'm missing.

My own response, or rather an update: I took the computer up to the Genius Bar - my hard drive is bad. They are going to try to rescue my data. For those of you reading this with a similar problem, make an appointment and go to the Apple Store if you can. Mike, my personal "genius" for this encounter, said that stressing the machine when the hard drive is going bad just risks damaging it more. If you potentially have a hardware issue, take it and let them determine what is wrong. They have tools and diagnostics most of us wouldn't know how to use if we read about them here - and they have ways of retrieving data (I hope) that most of us do not have. Please note that disk utility said my hard drive was ok, but the diagnostics they did showed that in fact my hard drive was much less than ok, but it was still "mounting" hence the disk utility reporting it was ok. It is over an hour drive for me to get to the Apple store, and I only wish I had gone sooner.

Hi. My iMac hard drive is running Mavericks. I have an old version of Quark Xpress (3.32) which won't run in Mavericks. Can I partition my hard drive and run an older system on one partition, so I can access my Quark? Is that possible?

Hi. My iMac hard drive is running Mavericks. I have an old version of Quark Xpress (3.32) which won't run in Mavericks. Can I partition my hard drive and run an older system on one partition, so I can access my Quark? Is that possible?

Hi ancelau,
QuarkXPress 3 is a Classic Mac OS application, so you need a version of OS X that still supports Classic. I believe 10.4 was the last one.
So if you have an iMac that boots with 10.4, then yes that is possible. I doubt though that newer Macs boot with OS X 10.4.
So why don't you upgrade QuarkXPress 3 to a newer version? I am not just asking that because I want you to spend money with us.
Typically using software that was released almost 20 years ago is just feasible when you keep an environment that was current at the time of release or a few years after, so an older Mac with a operating system present at that time. 20 years in IT is a lot.
So my opinion is that on a new Mac with a brand new operating system you need to use something a bit more current.
How about QuarkXPress 9 (released 3 years ago) or QuarkXPress 10? You are better off with v9, as QuarkXPress 10 only opens v7 and higher (whereas QuarkXPress 9 opens v3.1 and higher).
Or - I am even happy to make an exception - upgrade to 9 and we give you 10 for free? Let me know please.
Thanks
Matthias

Please help RE retrieval/transfer of imac hard drive to imac Part 2

Absolutely any assistance would be gratefully appreciated thank you. I am computer illiterate and I need assistance retrieving data from a imac hard drive (rest of computer isn't working) to a newer imac. Previously had received help from the forum and found out I needed an external casing (thank you again to all those that helped), but no shops near me sell them, sales person told me Sata HDD Docking (OTB) would be able to do a similar thing. I really suck with technology, so I humbly ask if any patient persons more intelligent than me could help me with some basic questions to help me retrieve/transfer data. Let me know if I need to give details. Any links to guides or tutorials welcome as well, but I tend to second guess myself and fail at basic terms often, there are probably 6 year olds with better computer skills and knowledge than me, so yeah, pity welcome, help even more so. Oh first question am I still suppose to use Migration Assistent or do I just turn on computer with old HD in dock connected?

Okay, I apologize for throwing you the following curveball - it appears the shop assistent I was talking to may not have been as knowledgeable as I had hoped, because I don't think my imac is compatible with USB 3.0? I tried putting it into the dock but nothing happened - it gave me four options, transfer from another Mac, transfer from a PC, transfer from a Time Machine (and something else) and forth option was not to transfer now.
I attempted to transfer from Mac and Time Machine options, but with both the loading dial spun for 10 mins with each with no change. So I decided to try and set up the computer anyway. The internet set up part came up but at the time I didn't know how to set it up, and now with retrospect I assume I have to set that up before I "register this computer" as no hard drive is showing onmy computer at the moment? Sorry for the sudden and strange switch in problems but now that I have set up the internet - could you or anyone else please tell me how I can register the computer details (or why the hard drive icon is not appearing assuming those things are connected - when I did fill those details out before it told me it couldn't send them now and would have to be done later?)
Sorry for being so clueless - any help appreciated.
I am looking up my imacs specs now to see if it actually can access this dock. (thank you once again)

IMac hard drive making a chirping noise!!

IMac hard drive making a chirping noise!! Its a quiet chirp that goes along with the hum of the hard drive. It doesn't always do it but I'm worried anyways. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it a problem?

They told me it's likely the CPU Fan - a known issue - and said that resetting the SMU was the first step towards fixing it. I performed that reset, but the crickets in my machine are still alive and chirping. Step #2, as it was told, is to take the machine back to the Apple service center to be repaired. BUT - looking through other threads here on the same issue, it looks like the issue is currently handled by replacing the CPU fan with another identical model and that because the underlying engineering issue has not been fixed, the crickets will return.
So if this problem is not harmful to the computer, I may be ignoring it for the time being.
Regarding the recalls though, where did you find the serial number range for the recall? I should check mine against that list.

I recently had the genius bar change my imac hard drive because it crashed. For some reason Time Machine didn't back up some of my important files. Can I get my damaged hard drive back from the genius bar to see if I can access that info?

I recently had the genius bar change my imac hard drive because it crashed. For some reason Time Machine didn't back up some of my important files. Can I get my damaged hard drive back from the genius bar to see if I can access that info?

Unfortunately, that drive is long gone, probably back to the mfr. Drives are not returned when they are exchanged. You can go by and ask them, but the chances are slim to none.

I need to replace my late 2006 20" imac hard drive

here's what i have
VIN,IMAC (20-INCH LATE 2006)
running leopard 10.5.8
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier:    iMac5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 3 GB
Bus Speed:    667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM51.0090.B09
SMC Version (system): 1.9f4
Serial Number (system): W8******VUV
WDC WD2500JS-40TGB0:
Capacity: 232.89 GB
Model:    WDC WD2500JS-40TGB0
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Failing
Volumes: Macintosh HD:
Capacity: 232.57 GB
Available: 106.04 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:    disk0s2
disk utility shows this:
my mac is still running like a champ but as the pictures above show it's time
i've found a lot of people with the same question i have on this site with answers but most links that people suggest are broken or 2 of the hard drives they've recommended are discontiued
i've got a frys electronics and best buy near by or internet if that's the best way to go about it
what exactly do i need to look for when i'm at a store or online?
what size hard drive, any? 250GB, 500GB, 750GB, 1TB
3.5" SATA
7200RPM
does cache matter?
anything else?
people's responses to: Need to replace my late 2006 imac hard drive - what should i be looking for to replace it?
1. You can use any 3.5" Sata drive, WD or Seagate would be good choices.
2. Do not use "green" drives like the WD Blue series. WD Black are fine as are Seagates.
3. The 2T green will work fine in the Intel iMac's. I always suggest using the quieter and cooler running Blue's or Green's in the iMac's.
4. Personally I have upgraded the Hard Drive in several Early Core Duo's using both 320GB and 500GB WD Cavair Blue's.
5. WD Caviar Blue or WD Caviar Green, they run cooler and quieter than the WD Black or Seagate's.
6. I'm very happy with the WD Caviar Blue that replaced my factory installed 160GB Seagate HD a few months ago.
i've found some good DIY tutorials for install
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShY8zuT-wPg&feature=player_embedded
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+20-Inch+EMC+2105+and+2118+Hard+Drive+Repl acement/1092/1
any help will be appreciated,
sean k
<Edited by Host>

thanks for the quick reply kappy,
i plan to purchase a new imac when they are actually shipped, in stores, and i know all my handicap assisted devises will work on it
you say "Do not buy a drive designed for SATA 3 6 Gb/s interfaces as some may not work on the controller in your iMac"
at frys it breaks the groups like this:
Interface (32)
SATA/300 (17)
SATA/600 (9)
PATA/100 (6)
could you take a look at this link to frys and recommend a hard drive
http://www.frys.com/search?cat=-69564&pType=pDisplay&fq=100413%203.5-100415%2072 00
or bestbuy internal hard drives
like you said it's got a limited life and just need something to get by till the new imacs arrive

IMac hard drive making clicking sound (audio sample)

A couple of nights ago I realized my five year old iMac was making a sound I have never heard it make before. It is a scratching noise that I assume is coming from my internal hard drive (hard drive is stock, has never been replaced). It isn't a super loud noise, but it sounds like the noise some hard drives make when they are "searching" or "thinking". I'm wondering if my hard drive is beginning to fail, or if the problem could be something as simple as dust or dirt caught in the drive. An audio sample is in the link below, please help me diagnose my problem. Thanks!
Audio sample: http://cl.ly/073d3U1e1t280M2X0m3F

When you ran SMART Utility, were any of the sensors out of range or close to it, although not enough to trip the health measure? Just wondering. I once replaced an older hard drive that was showing error rates above normal, even when the drive was still 'verified'.
Other than that, you've run several tests that would say the hardware is OK. As GeekStacy said, new hard drive noises are typically not good. So I'd be sure you have a good backup regimen, and if the noises get yet louder or more noticeable, you can either run these various tests again or replace the hard drive.

IMac hard drive failing; external TM will restore but won't then back up

It appears my early 2009 (OS X 10.9.5) hard drive is failing as it crashed 6 months ago, in November and again this week. SMART Utility says it has re-allocated 6 bad sectors and there has been 1 re-allocated event. Each Time I have successfully restored from an external hard drive with TM on it. Prior to the November fail, CCC reported an odd (unknown to me system file) corrupt file but, instead of replacing the file as perhaps I should, I decided to re-boot which it wouldn't do and hence the November TM restore.
However, despite restoring successfully the external TM will no longer make back ups. I have tried repairing it but it is greyed out and Verify says 'unable to complete.' Eventually I did get the greyed out button to work but Repair reported:
Verifying volume “Time Machine”
Checking file system
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Keys out of order
Invalid extent entry
Incorrect block count for file iNode785919y8
(It should be 13 instead of 4194317)Invalid extent entry
Missing thread record (id = 82)
Incorrect size for file iNode78591999
(It should be 4096 instead of 274877907467)
Invalid extent entry
File record has hard link chain flag (id = 78591999)
File has incorrect number of links (id = 78591999)
(It should be 1 instead of 17)
Missing thread record (id = 18)
Invalid extent entry
Invalid extent entry
Invalid extent entry
Incorrect block count for file iNo$e78592002
(It should be 4194317 instead of 13)
Missing thread record (id = 82)
Invalid extent entry
Incorrect size for file iN/de7x592003
(It should be 4096 instead of 274877907467)
Invalid extent entry
File record has hard link chain flag (id = 78592067)
File has incorrect number of links (id = 78592067)
(It should be 1 instead of 17)
Missing thread record (id = 4194322)
Invalid extent entry
Invalid extent entry
File record has hard link chain flag (id = 78592004)
File has incorrect number of links (id = 78592004)
(It should be 1 instead of 17)
Missing thread record (id = 18)
Incorrect size for file iNode78592005
(It should be 0 instead of 64)I
nvalid extent entry
Invalid extent entryIncorrect size for file iNode78592006
(It should be 0 instead of 4194304)
Invalid extent entry
Invalid extent entry
Missing thread record (id = 4194322)
Invalid extent entry
Invalid extent entry
File record has hard link chain flag (id = 82786312)
File has incorrect number of links (id = 82786312)
(It should be 1 instead of 17)
Missing thread record (id = 18)
Incorrect block count for file )Nod%78592009
(It should be 65 instead of 1)
Invalid extent entry
Invalid extent entry
Incorrect block count for file iNode78592010
(It should be 0 instead of 4194304)
Invalid extent entry
Incorrect size for file iNode78592011
(It should be 0 instead of 274877906944)
Invalid catalog record type
The volume Time Machine could not be verified completely.
Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.
Whilst pondering this, the hard drive crashed again this week. Bizarrely I was able to restore from the very same external TM that will not let me do further back ups nor be repaired.
I wonder if there are any further checks I can do to establish if my iMac hard drive is failing? I will then decide whether to replace the hard drive - I see I can fit a WD 6TB with the jumpers set to reduce the speed to 3GB/s - or buy a new iMac.
I wonder also whether there is anything I can do to preserve my TM back ups. I realise I am being guided to re-format this external drive, but can I do that and then add back the actual existing back ups (which I would transfer to another disk before re-formatting) rather than start again from no history newly formatted?

Omdineen wrote:
It boots up to where its just my background and the Finder bar but then crashes, so I can't click anything. Anything from here or am I just screwed?
There are a few remaining options.
If you have another Mac with a FireWire port, try FireWire Target Disk Mode: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
You need a FireWire cable to connect the two Macs. This will allow you to mount your failing HD on a working Mac and copy files that way.
Try Safe Mode - read about it first:
Safe Mode or "Safe Boot" is a troubleshooting mode that bypasses all third party system extensions and loads only required system components.
Starting up in Safe Mode
This assumes the Finder is crashing due to a third party system extension or optional system component that Safe Mode will prevent from loading. You should still be able to copy files directly to an external device, but file sharing will be disabled.
Lastly boot from the DVD again, repair the disk again, reinstall OS X, and keep your fingers crossed. You're squeezing the last drops of life from the thing.

After four months my Imac hard drive suddenly began making very audible noises. What should I do? audible noises. What should I do?

After four months my Imac hard drive suddenly began making very audible noises. What should I do?

Back up your system, make a Genius Bar appointment and take it in. If it's 4 months old you are still on warranty, let them fix it.

Where is the hard drive on hp mini 1000

where is the hard drive on hp mini 1000

Hi,
You machine can have 1 of these:
8-GB solid-state drive
16-GB solid-state drive
60-GB, 4200-rpm hard drive
and they are tricky ones in a tricky place. You can find them using the following book (pp 42 & 43 under Mass Storage Devices):
h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01631228.pdf
Regards.
BH
**Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

Replacing iMac Hard Drive

My existing hard drive is nearing its maximum capacity, and I want to replace it with a newer, larger hard drive. I have a 450MHz Indigo iMac G3 running OS X Tiger. In all other respects, the system is working beautifully. Anyone have suggestions for a compatible HD that I should buy? The larger the drive the better - I have quite a lot of photos and music to load into the new drive from an external HD as well as my current.
As a second question, what's the best way of going about making this transition? What are the steps involved?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
iMac G3 450MHz Mac OS X (10.4.7)

The iMac G3 takes any old standard desktop hard drive however you should get a 3.5", 7,200 rpm drive with at least an 8Mb Cache - this will give you a significant speed boost over the original drive.
As already stated you can install up to a 128Gb drive. This is due to the addressing limit on the IDE bus. You can install a larger drive but only the first 128Gb will be accessible. So it's sensible to buy a 120Gb drive to maximize your investment.
You should also purchase an external Firewire hard disk enclosure. Once you've removed the small internal hard drive you'll screw it in to this and then connect it to your FW port and 'clone' your data across using Carbon Copy Cloner. You can then use the old drive as a back-up device.
Alternatively to avoid that hassle and the risks involved with opening the iMac up just buy an External Firewire Hard drive (There are no limits on the size so you could buy a 1.5 Tetrabyte(!) drive to use). Of course this option involves additional cables and power cables. Any new external drive will be far faster than the internal (if connected via FW not USB) and you can install Mac OS on the external if you wish. Check with the Vendor that the external drive or enclosure has an Oxford or bootable chipset.
HTH
mrtotes

IMac Hard Drive expectations, Are mine too high?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for