Rachel Schenck
Level 1 (19 points)
Notebooks

Q: iMac can't open anything

I have a very old iMac and I can't get it to respond to anything I do. It started one day when I was trying to open an application and the rainbow wheel just kept spinning. I had to shut down the computer to get it to stop.

 

I've tried multiple things to try and open utility/repair programs but with the same result; the spinning wheel that never goes away. I've tried starting in Safe Mode, Recovery mode and I've tried resetting the PRAM, all with no luck. When I start in Safe Mode, the computer doesn't get passed the login screen. I can login but then it just shows the purple/blue starry background and never shows the hard drive. I tried starting in Recovery mode and it ended up just starting up like normal.

 

It hasn't had a problem starting up the normal way, but the minute I would click on any program, the wheel would just spin. However, I just tried to start it up normally and now it just sits on the apple screen with the gray spinning wheel.

 

I haven't taken it to the Apple store yet as I'm hoping this community will have some ideas.

 

I'm sure you'd love to know the specifics of the computer (as I said, it's very old, I think early 2007) but I can't even get into the system to get that info! For obvious reasons, it's not up to date on OS operating system but I'd hate to chuck it as it's used by my kids.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

iMac, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on Jul 16, 2015 1:05 PM

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Rachel Schenck

Q: iMac can't open anything

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  • by Rachel Schenck,

    Rachel Schenck Rachel Schenck Jul 26, 2015 5:25 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 26, 2015 5:25 PM in response to Drew Reece

    I ran both level of tests for a couple hours (loop mode) and it found no problems. I still can't seem to get into the system when logging in via safe mode. Any ideas on what to try next?

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jul 28, 2015 3:25 PM in response to Rachel Schenck
    Level 5 (7,547 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 28, 2015 3:25 PM in response to Rachel Schenck

    Install OS X to another disk to see if the iMac boots & works correctly. That will indicate if the hardware itself can work from a 'known good' OS.

     

    If you can't get any further an Apple store may be able to point you towards repair shops or search for local Apple service centres etc. There are some places that will service or repair older Macs.

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