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From: Ian Piper on 28 Mar 2010 15:55
My wife's iMac died a couple of hours ago. At least, the hard disk
died. I'm pretty sure it's irretrievable: Disk Utility, Disk Warrior,
Drive Genius and Techtool Pro are unanimous that it's as dead as some
doo-doos. Between the network and Time Machine we should be OK for
backups. However, I now need to change the dead 'un for a live 'un.

The disk in my slightly older iMac is a 250 GB Seagate Barracuda. Apart
from being 320GB IIRC I don't know what the dead disk is. So, two
questions:

1. Is replacing the internal hard disk the kind of thing a reasonably
tech-savvy Mac bod (well, me) can take on?
2. Can you recommend a make/model/size of disk suitable for an iMac?

Thanks,


Ian.
--
Ian Piper
Author of "Learn Xcode Tools for Mac OS X and iPhone Development",
Apress, December 2009
Learn more here: http://learnxcodebook.com/�
--�

From: Ian Piper on 28 Mar 2010 17:36
On 2010-03-28 20:55:01 +0100, Ian Piper <ianpiper(a)mac.com> said:

> My wife's iMac died a couple of hours ago. At least, the hard disk
> died. I'm pretty sure it's irretrievable: Disk Utility, Disk Warrior,
> Drive Genius and Techtool Pro are unanimous that it's as dead as some
> doo-doos. Between the network and Time Machine we should be OK for
> backups. However, I now need to change the dead 'un for a live 'un.
>
> The disk in my slightly older iMac is a 250 GB Seagate Barracuda. Apart
> from being 320GB IIRC I don't know what the dead disk is. So, two
> questions:
>
> 1. Is replacing the internal hard disk the kind of thing a reasonably
> tech-savvy Mac bod (well, me) can take on?
> 2. Can you recommend a make/model/size of disk suitable for an iMac?
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Ian.

I should have mentioned that this is one of the newer aluminium and
black-bezel jobs. I've seen some instructions on the web that look
quite hair-raising. Central to these seems to be the use of a rubber
sucker thingie for removing the glass from the front. Are these things
in common circulation, and if so what are they called?


Ian.
--
Ian Piper
Author of "Learn Xcode Tools for Mac OS X and iPhone Development",
Apress, December 2009
Learn more here: http://learnxcodebook.com/�
--�

From: D.M. Procida on 28 Mar 2010 17:40
Ian Piper <ianpiper(a)mac.com> wrote:

> I should have mentioned that this is one of the newer aluminium and
> black-bezel jobs. I've seen some instructions on the web that look
> quite hair-raising. Central to these seems to be the use of a rubber
> sucker thingie for removing the glass from the front. Are these things
> in common circulation, and if so what are they called?

You can often get them with sets of 12v halogen lights, they're used for
removing them from their sockets.

Daniele
From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 28 Mar 2010 17:44
On Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:36:52 +0100, Ian Piper <ianpiper(a)mac.com>
wrote:

>I should have mentioned that this is one of the newer aluminium and
>black-bezel jobs. I've seen some instructions on the web that look
>quite hair-raising. Central to these seems to be the use of a rubber
>sucker thingie for removing the glass from the front. Are these things
>in common circulation, and if so what are they called?

http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=dent+puller

If you post your exact iMac model (ask System Profiler from the
install DVD, or the model number on the back) that'd be helpful.

Otherwise, I find Western Digitals very quiet. Samsungs are sometimes
vibration prone, Maxtors run hot, and Seagates are clicky.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"The answer to the second question," said Merry, "is that we could get off
in an hour. I have prepared practically everything. There are six ponies
in the stable across the fields." -- J R R Tolkien
From: David Empson on 28 Mar 2010 19:03
Ian Piper <ianpiper(a)mac.com> wrote:

> My wife's iMac died a couple of hours ago. At least, the hard disk
> died. I'm pretty sure it's irretrievable: Disk Utility, Disk Warrior,
> Drive Genius and Techtool Pro are unanimous that it's as dead as some
> doo-doos. Between the network and Time Machine we should be OK for
> backups. However, I now need to change the dead 'un for a live 'un.
>
> The disk in my slightly older iMac is a 250 GB Seagate Barracuda. Apart
> from being 320GB IIRC I don't know what the dead disk is. So, two
> questions:
>
> 1. Is replacing the internal hard disk the kind of thing a reasonably
> tech-savvy Mac bod (well, me) can take on?
> 2. Can you recommend a make/model/size of disk suitable for an iMac?

The answer to both questions depends on exactly which iMac model you are
talking about.

Given that it has a 320 GB hard drive (presumably supplied by Apple), it
is probably at least a "Mid 2007" iMac (glass panel over display, with
black surround, aluminium body and black plastic rear), as that is the
first model I can find where Apple offered a 320 GB hard drive as an
option.

It could be as recent as an Early 2009 iMac.

For any of these models, do you have AppleCare on the computer, or is it
new enough to still be under its original 1 year warranty? If so, Apple
should be able to replace the hard drive for you, and it should be free.

If the warranty/AppleCare has expired then you can replace the drive
yourself, but it is not easy. I haven't done this in any iMac more
recent than an early iMac G5 (which was designed for easy access). My
understanding is that more recent models require removing the display to
get access to the hard drive, and the ones with a glass panel over the
screen require the use of a suction cup to remove the panel safely.

Someone who has actually done this might be able to help further, or you
may be able to find instructions at www.ifixit.com, but first you need
to confirm exactly which model you have.

--
David Empson
dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz
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