My mid 2011 iMac has 8GB of RAM installed. Photoshop CS5 tells me that there is only 2100MB of Available Ram.

My mid 2011 27" iMac has 8GB of RAM installed. Photoshop CS5 > Preferences > Performance > Memory Usage tells me that I have 2100MB (ie 2.1GB) of Available RAM - which is ridiculous. When I use DiskWarrior to defragment Time Machine it tells me that "The directory of the disk "Time Machine" cannot be rebuilt. There is not enough memory".
The same setup but with my old 24" plastic bodied iMac with the max of 3GB of RAM has no trouble at all with Disk Warrior and Photoshop CS5 tells me there is 2866MB of Available RAM. Something is not quite right.
Can anyone advise me as to what the problem might be. Do I have faulty RAM modules?

Quote from: Jack on 28-August-11, 01:11:56
What is your current UEFI/BIOS Version?
The usual cause of such problems is (apart from bad memory slots or a defect of the processor's memory controller) a contact problem between the boards CPU Socket contact pins and the CPU's contact pads. Broke or bent pins are one explanation, in other instances a heatsink that is fastened to tight can also cause such issues.
I'll have the BIOS version up in a moment, but I'll see about diagnosing if one of those problems might just be what is my problem. Any tips on doing that?
Also, BIOS version is up in the OP now.

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Hi, FaceTime on my mid 2011 iMac running Yosemite 10.10.2.

Hi, FaceTime on my mid 2011 iMac running Yosemite 10.10.2. I have contacts some of which only show option for audio FaceTime, on my iPhone an iPad the same contacts are available for video. Anyone know why, I can video some contacts from my iMac - but not others. The contacts are all synced via iCloud and the audio FaceTime from the iMac works fine to them but the video option is greyed out. If I go to my iPhone or iPad - there they are all ready to receive video. Curious. Anyone have any ideas i have exhausted the web searching.

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of this test is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account. Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The "Guest User" login created by "Find My Mac" is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

I have an 21.5 Mid 2011 iMac and i want to upgrade my RAM. Currently I have two 2GB and two free slots. Do I have to put in two 2GB in the free slots or can I use two 4GB or 8GB?

I have an 21.5 Mid 2011 iMac and I want to upgrade my RAM. Currently I have two 2GB and two free slots. Do I have to put in two 2GB in the free slots or can I use two 4GB or 8GB?

You can leave the existing RAM in their current slots and add compatible modules in the empty slots. For best performance, add two of teh same size. Our 2010 iMac 21" shipped with 4GB RAM---two 2GB modules in two of the four slots. I added two 2GB modules to the empty slots and now have 8 GB RAM.
Be sure to order RAM from a trusted Mac-savvy RAM vendor. Some vendors thing a Mac is a hamburger. For over a decade I've bought all our Mac RAM (and we have 18 Macs in teh family!) from one vendor:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2011/DDR3_21.5_27
The link is to the proper RAM for your Mac.
Crucial.com is also a trusted vendor.

Maximum RAM upgrade possible on a mid 2011 iMac 27"

Can I upgrade my mid 2011 Imac 27" to 32 gb of RAM. Apple handbook says only possible to upgrade to 16gm (4x 4gb cards). Has anyone upgraded a 2011 Imac 27" to 32gb of RAM?

Yes, both OWC, http://www.macsales.com and Crucial, http://www.crucial.com offer 32 GB ram kits that are guaranteed to work...to do that you would be best to not buy from sources that are not Mac specialists and who guarantee their ram to work.

What is the max RAM for a mid-2011 iMac?

MMy mid-2011 iMac shows that I can upgrade to 16mb of Ram, but I have redact that I can actually upgrade to 32mb. Which is true?

It can take 32GB of RAM.
(108544)

I have a 27in mid 2011 iMac and a 2006 mac mini

i have a 27in mid 2011 iMac and i have been given a 2006 mac mini i have no screen to see whats going on on the mini and there is no os onboard how do i get OS X on to the mini so i can get to use this with a tv with hdmi i have the mini dvi to vga connector and a vga to hdmi lead into a samsung 32in led tv, tv keeps saying not connected???

- You said "Apple dvi to via converter with a via to hdmi cable . What is a "via"? I think you mean VGA.
Just what VGA to HDMI cable to you have? VGA is analogue while HDMI is digital. The Mini DVi out is both analogue and digital (DVI-AD). You would need a converter to convert the analogue VGA to digital.
- Yes, when you boot up you should get a chime if the Mac is functional. The chime The sound indicates that diagnostic tests run immediately at startup have found no hardware or fundamental software problems.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_startup
Thus it appears the Mini also has a hardware problem.
Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store. It is free.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

How do I restore my 27" mid-2011 iMac EXACTLY the way it was after hard disk replacement?

Hi all.
Recently received an email from Apple saying that the 1TB Seagate hard drive in my 27" mid-2011 iMac is apt to fail anytime. Apparently they used some bad hard drives in the mid-2011 27" iMacs which are problematic so they're offering me a free replacement to a brand new hard drive. I'll be sending in my iMac for the replacement sometime in the next few days.
In preparation for it, I've backed up my entire system using Time Machine into an external harddrive. The backup is up to date & includes all system files. I've also made a Lion install disk on an 8GB USB flash/pen drive using Carbon Copy Cloner.
My question is: When I get my iMac back after the hard disk replacement, will I be able to restore my iMac to EXACTLY the way it was before the replacement using the Time Machine backup & the Lion install disk that I've prepared? When I mean EXACTLY, I do mean EXACTLY, e.g I don't have to re-install all the programs I have, my settings for the programs I have will stay intact, everything is where it should be etc...i.e EXACTLY the way my iMac is right now.
If yes, how do I do it? I've read Pondini's guide: http://pondini.org/TM/14.html
However it is less than clear on certain points, e.g in my case, which one do I have to use to restore my system to the way it was...the Time Machine backups I have on the external HDD or the Lion install disk that I made using Carbon Copy Cloner? And how do I go about doing the restore?
I'd appreciate any & all help given. Thanks in advance!

daniirwan wrote:
baltwo: Thanks for your input! I didn't think of wiping the old HDD before sending it in for the replacement..all those sensitive user data! One question: What's a FWHD?
Already answered. Just note that FW is much faster than USB. See http://help.bombich.com/kb/troubleshooting/how-long-should-the-clone-or-backup-t ake for details.
I already have CCC installed so I'll probably try it out. Are the steps outline here the one that I should do to restore the CCC clone when I get my Mac with the new HDD back? See: http://help.bombich.com/kb/overview/restoring-data-from-your-backup#full_volume_ restore
Yes.
Another question: while I'm booted on the backup/clone, and just after I've wiped the old HDD, how do I reinstall the OS to create a generic user account? Will I have to use a Lion install USB disk?
No. IIRC (if I remember correctly), you can either use a saved Lion installer (hopefully it exists on your backup/clone) or use the Recovery HD. If you have the USB stick w/Lion installer on it, use that.

PC Games and peripherals on Windows 7 on Lion on mid-2011 iMac. Possible?

Sorry for the long marquee, but I want to get anecdotal-experience answers on this convoluted subject before I waste a couple months of my fairly-rapidly-closing life --carpe diem. all y'all -- on something that's doomed from the very start.
For reasons I can't quite fathom (relative installed population, maybe), there are very few racing sims -- none, as far as I'm concerned -- for the Mac. That's most def not true for the PC -- I've been a Mac-only user since 1989, but the PC has always been -- when working -- a pretty good gaming platform (ALL it's good for AFAIC), with tons of titles, and the ability to accomodate multi, MULTI-axis controllers, like force-feedback steering wheels with gas, brake, and clutch pedals, and gearshift. I know of nothing like that for the Mac, even if there were racing sims that would run on a Mac.
So here's what I need to know: if I had a Boot Camp partition on my home drive (Macintosh HD), with a 32-bit or 64-bit (full version) of Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, or Windows 7 Ultimate (necessary for my Mid-2011 27" iMac running Lion or above) installed on that partition, could I then install PC racing sims on that Boot Camp Windows 7-whatever Platform, and be able to use multi-axis controllers, like a Thrustmaster wheel, pedal, and shifter set?
Please, if anyone has been able to do this, by whatever means, on a mid-2011 iMac running OS X 10.7.x or above, I'd be eternally grateful if you could share your experience.
Thanks!
Bart

Seeing as how there are about 117 different versions of 64-bit Windows 7 out there, is there any particular version that is more advantageous -- in the case of Microsoft products, that means less bug-ridden -- for use on Boot Camp? I've seen reasonably priced ($66) versions like this:
"Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit FULL - BRANDED"
But then the description consists of this mangled English:
"This product will be branded HP, Dell, etc. but will do a FULL install on any brand computer and includes a DVD and COA. This is only unique to branded? [sic -- BB] OEM Windows products and not to non branded OEM Windows products. If you are the person people always seem to ask for help when their computer isnt right you should be fine with this. If you are not that kind of user you may want to stick to a non branded oem. Once again this only applies to Mac users [really sic -- BB]."
This is the only part of the description on this product page that even mentions "Mac users," and I'm left wondering if this "FULL - BRANDED" 64-bit version of Windows 7 will work OK on a Boot Camp partition on an OS X 10.7.x -- 10.8.x iMac.
Knowing all too well what a rat's-nest Windows has been since it was first foisted upon an unsuspecting public in 1985, with security problems that, after nearly 30 years, have still not been addressed, I want a 64-bit version of Win 7 that's going to give me the least amount of grief on my Boot Camp partition.
As this thread seems to be pretty much a dead letter, as many discussion threads become after an answer is provided, should I create a new question titled:
"Which 64-bit version of Windows 7 will work best on a Boot Camp partition on an OS X 10.7.x -- 10.8.x iMac?"
Thanks again!
Bart

Apple DVD player not working on Mid 2011 iMac running 10.7.2

I have a 21.5-inch, Mid 2011 iMac which came with Lion preinstalled. When I insert a DVD, Apple's DVD player comes up with the following error:
"A valid video device could not be found for playback. [-70017]"
The DVD player works. I can play DVDs using VLC, and I can use it to burn in iDVD, but Apple's own DVD player simply will not recognize it. I hoped this problem might be solved when I upgraded to 10.7.2, but alas it has not.
Does anyone know how to fix or work around this issue? This computer is used daily for my media-heavy job, so leaving it somewhere for service is not really feasible unless I'm completely unable to work on it.

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of this exercise is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account, or is system-wide. Enable guest logins and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select “Help” from the menu bar, and enter “Set up a guest account” (without the quotes) in the search box.
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Any application you run will behave as if you were running it for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
As Guest, launch the player and test. Same problem(s)?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

Unable to install Yosemite on mid 2011 iMac 27"

OK, so I have tried to install Yosemite on this mid 2011 iMac for two days now and I get the exact same error message every time:
An error occured when extracting files from the archive AdditionalSpeechVoices.pkg. Abort the installation and reboot.
I have formatted the harddrive, reinstalled the original OS using the Restore via Internet option (the Mac works perfectly with Mac OS X 10.7.X) and then I try to upgrade to Yosemite via App Store and the error is back.
Any ideas regarding what might cause this problem?
TIA

If you find you'll need to replace a faulty module(s) I recommend you do so from Crucial.com which has an excellent reputation for providing top quality and compatible memory modules for Macs. They are guaranteed to work and are warranted. Otherworldcomputing.com is another recognized, reliable source for Mac memory.

2011 MBP with 8GB of RAM, generally slow under Lion, possibly thrashing

I have a 17" 2011 MBP with 8GB of RAM and the fastest CPU available at the time. It came with Snow Leopard, and it was really fast with basically everything I threw at it.
Since the upgrade to Lion, it has a general tendency to get really unresponsive. My workload hasn't fundamentally changed. Rather than just hope it's bugs in Lion that will get fixed, I'd like to see if anyone can advise me on things I might investigate, either to fix things myself, or to be more intelligent about identifying bugs I can report.
One thing I notice is that Time Machine backups will bring the system to its knees. Everything will be going along just fine, and then TM will kick on, and all my apps will stop responding. Once TM has finished, things will slowly come back to normal. There's a lot of disk activity, which I have assumed was swapping. Another thing that causes trouble is that mds (and a whole bunch of mdsworkers) will frequently kick on, and will slow down the system.
CPU load is always quite low, but free memory is always very low. (However, in some OS's Free Memory is misleading, because a lot of disk blocks are cached in RAM, so it's not really "used" either..)
What I can't really distinguish for sure is if the system is slow because of swapping/thrashing (which is what I assume) or if it's slowed down for some other reason related to disk activity.
Here are the apps I typically run:
- NetBeans (which is a pig, taking up over 1GB or real memory)
- Safari (which is also a pig, often taking up more than 1GB between the main Safari process and the Web Content process)
- Sometimes Parallels (2GB for the VM, and probably another 1GB for other stuff, because it's also a pig)
- kernel_task typically reports taking up over 1GB of real memory
- WindowServer also reports using 280MB
- various other small apps like Mail, NetNewsWire, Preview, Terminal, Adium, Smultron, Colloquy, none of which use much memory
I got the 8GB, because I knew I was going to use a lot of memory for stuff, and it was great under Snow Leopard. But with Lion, it just doesn't seem to be enough. Even with all of those huge processes, I can't believe that their working sets are really as big as their virtual and physical memory footprints seem to be. I mean it's not unusual for a process to have 2GB of virtual space but only a few 100MB of real memory, and some of that is shared object libraries, where the same physical memory is mapped into multiple processes. (Have shared object libraries stopped being physically shared under Lion?)
Are other people having similar trouble? Any suggested remedies? Any suggestions on how to investigate so I can see if there are any actual bugs?
I would like to understand why my system went from zippy to slow after I upgraded to Lion. Actually, quite a few things have broken. Time Machine has become a pig, bluetooth doesn't work reliably anymore, airport doesn't connect reliably anymore, and lots of little annoying bugs. But this is common for early point releases of new OS's, so I can't complain too much. But for Lion to have really regressed in memory management is definitely not good.

Safari, for what ever reason, has become a huge memory
pig. The longer you are using it the more memory it
gobbles up.
In Activity Monitor, check the Page outs and Swapped used.
This will tell you how much memory swapping is going on.
As for Time Machine, you may want to set your Parallels
HD image not to get backed up by Time Machine. May
help since it is a huge collection of files. But there have been
issues reported with Time Machine and Lion. I don't
use it myself and opt for the cloning methodology and
seperate data backup strategy. Also, in Spotlight
preferences under the Privacy Tab, I have added
my Windows VM folders, for same reason. Unless you really
need to find something on the windows VM volumes when you
don't have the Windows VM active, it just eats up alot
of disk access time.
For solving airport issues check this article:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20117247-263/fixing-airport-problems-in-os- x/?tag=mncol;txt
For Bluetooth devices, try removing them, and have them rediscovered if you
can.
Hopefully, this gives you a start on cleaning things up.

What system did my 'Mid 2011' iMac come with?

I have upgraded to Mountain Lion but I'm wondering if the system actually came with Lion or Snow Leopard?

mulgravebrad wrote:
A friend has asked if he buys the machine can he reinstall Snow Leopard on it?
Good question. The Mid 2011 iMac can run Mac OS X Snow Leopard without any problem, but there's a problem: you need a special Snow Leopard version that it's only available on the Mac OS X DVD that Mid 2011 iMacs have got.
If your friend tries to call Apple to try to get DVDs for a Mid 2011 iMac, Apple will ask him/her for the serial number of the iMac. As your iMac came with Lion, Apple won't send him/her the DVDs he/she needs to install Mac OS X.
In conclusion, it's possible to install Snow Leopard, but things like a possible firmware restriction and the lack of the Snow Leopard version that your iMac needs may trun this into a very difficult task

My Mid-2011 iMac with pre-installed Lion can't load AHT (Apple Hardware Test) over internet

I have a Mid-2011 iMac (3.4GHz) of which Apple's Support document for the Apple Hardware Test (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1509) says:
Some Macintosh computers that shipped with OS X Lion support the use of Apple Hardware Test over the Internet. These computers will start up to an Internet-based version of AHT if the hard drive does not contain AHT.
Well, this doesn't work for me. My Mac is on a DHCP-supporting router which has constant internet connection. Yet, when I turn off the Mac and then on again, holding the D key down even before the screen turns on, the Mac does indeed react to this key as it's then turning the screen on and taking another about half minute before it continues with the boot process along with showing the Mac symbol. Without the D, the Mac symbol comes up quickly.
So, it appears that the iMac is indeed trying to get AHT over the internet. Just that it doesn't succeed in it, and probably timing out after a while.
Any suggestions how to fix this?

Re
extract from kb article
PPPoE (where there is no router handling the PPPoE connection)
No
No
Captive-Networks (where you click an "Agree" button to access the Internet)
Yes
No
Proxies (where specific proxy servers must be configured in network preferences)
No
No
Certificate-based authentication / 802.1x
No
No
try check if you are in that case for your internet acces ?
could be a firewall problem too , if is possible try desable firewall ( or any internet filter )
no you can not see a wifi selection if you are wired ( using cable )
by the way D key for AHT need to be pressed AFTER start up sound , and hold at min one minute
HTH
Pierre

Cannot upgrade Thunderbolt firmware on mid-2011 iMac

Hi - I'm having problems updating the Thunderbolt firmware on my mid-2011 iMac (21.5").
Can anyone point me to the proper location for this firmware download? I've found several on the site, but none seem to work for me, due to a variety of OS incompatibilities.
For the curious, here's what my system says:
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac12,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 12 GB
Boot ROM Version: IM121.0047.B1F
SMC Version (system): 1.71f22
Thunderbolt Bus:
Vendor Name: Apple Inc.
Device Name: iMac
UID: 0x0001000A15928E80
Route String: 0
Firmware Version: d.16 (Eng 1)
Domain UUID: 78CF7309-6B81-CC54-A320-6D5B13722358
Port:
Status: No device connected
Link Status: 0x7
Speed: Up to 10 Gb/s x2
Receptacle: 1
Port Micro Firmware Version: 1.2.1
And here are the error messages from a variety of firmware update locations:
Thunderbolt Firmware Update v1.2
First error: The package was signed with a certificate that has expired (c'mon Apple!)... Do you want to continue with the installation anyway? (yes!)
Second error: Alert: This software is not supported on your system. (any reason why? OS, old other firmware, what?)
I've tried the tricks of PRAM and SMC resets, moved the com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist to the desktop and rebooted, etc., etc., but nothing seems to work.
The issue driving this exploration is that the Thunderbolt port appears to be dead - won't support Target Desktop Mode or the Thunderbolt Gigabit Ethernet adapter.
Thanks in advance for any help!

From that very page, it appears that this model does support Target Display Mode - please see the bold text below.
Am I reading it incorrectly?
Thanks for your help here - it's good to have more than 1 set of eyes looking at this!
- Jeff
What are the requirements for TDM?
A Mac notebook or desktop with a Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt connection
A Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort cable
A supported iMac with OS X 10.6.1 or later. The table below shows iMac computers that support TDM, the required cables, and the port of the computer to which you are connecting the iMac.
iMac Model
Cable Supported
Port on Source Computer
iMac (27-inch Late 2009)
Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort
Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt
iMac (27-inch Mid 2010)
Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort
Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt
iMac (Mid 2011)
Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt
iMac (Mid 2012 and later)
Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt

Upgrade Mid 2011 iMac 27'' Graphics Card?

Hello all, and thanks in advance. I have a mid 2011 iMac 27'' and for work, I do a lot of film and effects editing. I have currently ordered more RAM but my newly updated programs require an Nvidia card with CUDA drivers for rendering. Is it possible to upgrade the graphics card in my mid 2011 iMac to a newer, faster card?

Thanks for the quick response. I understand they are part of the logic board, and it appears that they weren't designed to be easily accessible, but is it even possible? With some risky work, could it be possible to place a new card in? Or is it designed so other cards won't even fit?

My mid 2011 iMac has 8GB of RAM installed. Photoshop CS5 tells me that there is only 2100MB of Available Ram.

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