Hi
Am having some problems with my iMac (late 2007) since I did the latest Apple patch and updated Skype.
I received error messages on the first time that I logged into my computer telling me that Skype had a corrupt file, so I deleted all of the Skype files.
The problems that I am getting:
1. Slow processing and cannot handle more than one window open at any time
2. At start up it goes to a folder with a question mark in it which flashes and will not allow to boot up with zapping the pram
3. Time machine will not allow me to restore anything
I did the following:
1. Zapped the pram
2. Ran disc utility in safe mode and ran repaired
3. Reinstalled Leopard.
None of these have worked. It's very frustrating as it is a work machine and is holding me up a lot.
Help appreciated.
Reply 1 : iMac problems since last patch
Couple of things, you have a Mid-2007 iMac. There was no Late 2007, only an Early 2008. Just a minor point, since Apple doesn't really make any effort to distinguish between refreshes to the general public.
From what you describe, it sounds like your HDD is about to die. Actually not an uncommon problem with the Mid-07s. The updates were just coincidental most likely. It's likely been failing for some time, and you were just more aware of it because of the latest couple of updates.
Take the system somewhere to get a diagnostic run on it, and I'll bet a shiny nickel the HDD fails testing. Just make sure they run more than their simple AST "diagnostic" program. All that program does is check for the electrical connectivity of a device, it doesn't really test anything. They've also folded in their battery and adapter testing program, but that doesn't mean anything to you with a desktop model. They won't run the "big boy" diagnostics in front of you, so make sure they check your system in for diagnostics. Since the thing is certainly out of warranty by now, figure on something in the neighborhood of 250USD to fix it, and you really don't likely want to try and do this yourself. Getting an iMac apart without the proper tools just is asking for trouble. It also requires some tools the average person doesn't have in their home toolbox.
If you get it diagnosed at an Apple store for free, you can probably take the system, complete with a 3.5" SATA drive of your own, and find some local AASP that is willing to put your drive into the system for just the cost of an hour's labor. The risk here is that if the drive is DOA or fails at some point, you'll have to pay again to get it swapped out. You buy from Apple, they'll give a 90 day warranty on that drive. So you wouldn't pay labor on the repeat service. Now, the odds of a drive being DOA or failing that quickly are small, but it is always a risk. You need to do the risk analysis of whether or not you want to take a chance and potentially save a little money.
Reply 2 : iMac problems since last patch
Thanks for response, Jimmy.
Since posting earlier, the entire computer refused to power up. After 30 mins of cooling down, I managed to log straight in and have copied my documents across to another computer ready for the inevitable replacement hard drive. It's booked into the Genius bar on Tuesday.
This iMac has been nothing but trouble - the graphics card failed after 16 mths and now this.
I would never buy another.
Reply 3 : iMac problems since last patch
The Mid-07 line was... Tempermental, shall we say. The entire 2007 year was just kind of a bad one for quality at Apple. The newer unibody iMacs are really quite nice. I am posting this from one right now. Have yet to see a single LCD panel that even rivals that of the 2009-2010 iMacs. Everyone comments on the image quality. You just have to accept that they aren't designed to be DIY friendly.
Of course your latest comments suggest the problem may be worse than just a bad HDD.
Reply 4 : iMac problems since last patch
Actually, mine is an early 2008 and Apple tell me that Third Generation iMacs can be anywhere between July 2007 and April 2008.
In fact, i am not suspicious that it is even the HDD. After some research on the net, there is clearly a problem with overheating in these machines and mine may not have had enough airflow around it.
I've wiped it and reloaded a lot of programmes without it complaining at all and been working on it all day after moving it to a better position.
But I found somewhere that will put a new 1tb HDD in and 4gb memory for under 200 so it might be worth doing that anyway as an upgrade.
I'm fed up being told that the machine I bought was 'not good one for Apple'. It happened with my quad processor G5 too.
Reply 5 : iMac problems since last patch
It happens. Apple is better than the average, but the rest of the market doesn't exactly set a high bar to clear with HP and Acer fighting it out for the King Bottomfeeder crown. Doesn't mean Apple won't have issues sometimes. The quad G5s tended to be water cooled, and they had issues with the tubing leaking. Water cooling systems work almost exactly like that of a car, and in fact the solution in them is basically antifreeze. But just like if your car springs a leak in the antifreeze circulation system, once you start running out of antifreeze, your engine starts overheating... So it is with your computer.
The big difference between Apple and other companies, is that they tend to learn from their mistakes. They've had some bad designs in the past, and by the next refresh, you can see signs of them trying to address those issues. The 06 model iMacs with the white plastic casing were just awful. Talk about PITA to get open. The final model before the aluminum models hit wasn't too bad, and they finally got rid of these little release latches that had a tendency to get stuck and practically force you to rip them off.
And the Early 08 model wouldn't have been sold until very late in 07 at the absolute earliest. We're talking like December... Probably late December at that. So, not sure what someone at the Apple store is smoking, but they're certainly blowing it up your rear. But then Apple doesn't really hire based on technical skill, they go more for personality, figuring they can train people to repair systems. And that you can do, but you can't really teach good diagnosing skills. Of course they said third generation, which they probably mean as the aluminum model, and would more properly be the SECOND generation Intel iMac. Third gen would be the unibody models that started in Late 09. But that's kind of a stupid system of marking models because Apple did about 3 refreshes for the white plastic models, then there were 3-4 for the aluminums, not counting the 24" models, and so far there have been two refreshes for the unibody models. Each one of those has subtle changes that a tech needs to be aware of... So I feel myself coming back to my comment about them blowing smoke.
I HAVE seen some of those models get pretty caked with dust, but unless you had the thing sitting under a heating vent that was running or the thing was in an area with virtually zero air circulation (which would seem to make it hard for you to exist), I'm not sure I buy it. It may not necessarily be a bad HDD, though I've had systems come in where I work... I test them, everything seems fine, so I send it back, then maybe a week later the thing comes back, and this time the HDD fails testing. A bad HDD can have intermittent symptoms depending on how far along the path to failure it is. I've had drives back during IBM's infamous Death Star line that made the "click of death" part of the common vernacular among hardware techs. That drive might work great for a week straight, then suddenly it'd just refuse to boot at all for a day. Then it'd work again, then it'd stop, rinse and repeat until I got around to replacing it. Expect your symptoms to return.
