My Mac is dying - what's the best course of action?

My computer has been running poorly for months. Today I tried to run Disk Utility and I was informed my hard drive was failing and DU couldn't be run.
Technically, I can't really afford any action right now but clearly I need to do something. In your opinion, is it better to scour Craigslist for another Mac, or bring it to a repair shop and see what can be done? I would need to replace the hard drive of course, but I would also need to replace the CD Rom reader because that stopped working awhile back.
I have a 2006 Intel iMac running 10.4.8.

Hi,
The first thing you should do, if you haven' already... is make a Clone Backup to preserve all your date...

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My iPhone been in water and as know shut off what's the best course of action

My iPhone as been in water what's the best course of action it as shut down

Did it just get wet, or was it submerged in water for a period of time?
Here's some iPad tips that should also apply to the iPhone
http://www.gazelle.com/how-to/ipad/ipad-recover-from-water-damage
http://www.knowyourmobile.com/appleiphone/ipad/ipaduserguides/701079/how_to_fix_ an_ipad_if_it_gets_wet.html
You posted in the iPad forum instead of the iPhone forum. To get answers to your question, next time post in the proper forum. See https://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa I'll request that Apple relocate your post.
 Cheers, Tom

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Running virus detction locally, from the cloud, booting a standalone solution....there are several choices available. I'd like to get some feedback on what you think the best way might be, understanding there are different types / viruses that behave differently etc.
Thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hello,
Just to add to PieterV's excellent reply, these days, pretty much all anti-malware programs resort to using some sort of technology hosted in the cloud, whether its looking up sites to see if they are malicious before allowing a connection, checking the "reputation" of downloaded software by its age and prevalance, and so forth.
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I am a volunteer and neither a Lenovo nor a Microsoft employee. • Dexter is a good dog • Dexter je dobrý pes
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10.6.8 software update won't reboot. It replaces the Apple logo with a circle with a diagonal line though it. What's the best course of action from here?

I used software update last night and my iMac didn't restart afterwards. I spun the little "dashed" wheel for a bit and then replaced the Apple Logo with a slashed circle symbol. I"ve tried several fixes without success and would like to know what my best approach might be.
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com.apple.iokiast.IOUSBMassStorageClass
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What you can do is backup your Users folders to another external drive (not TimeMachine) first so you have your files outside of TM. Disconnect this drive for safety reasons.
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iPad Repair & Screen Replacement Services
http://www.ifixyouri.com/16-ipad-repairs
RepairZoom iPad Repair
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Problem PSU. What's the correct course of action?

Hi all. I have an iMac G5 (ambient sensor) with serial number W85270XXXXX. I'm fairly sure I have a PSU problem as the machine will shut down without warning (mostly after it's been inactive for a while, but sometimes during boot).
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Jonathan--
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charlie

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My Mac is dying - what's the best course of action?

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