lcaliu23
Level 1 (4 points)
Desktops

Q: iMac with no hard drive

I have an iMac and unfortunately its hard drive died. I'm deducing that it could be that the hdd burnt because I had some black outs and I didn't have a voltage regulator, or maybe that I installed OS X Captain several times (it was functioning excessively slow), or else both.

I went to my local Apple Service Center and the repairman said they didn't have the tools for my iMac version (the thin versions, I don't know the specs, I didn't write it down before it died). Plus, the repair would cost a lot and a new hard drive is very expensive.

 

I wondered if I could use iMac for anything else, and maybe if I could use it as a secondary screen. I have a Thunderbolt Cable and a MacBook Pro, so could I do something with it and use it as display?

iMac

Posted on Jul 29, 2016 5:56 PM

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lcaliu23

Q: iMac with no hard drive

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Jul 29, 2016 7:36 PM in response to lcaliu23
    Level 9 (58,184 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 29, 2016 7:36 PM in response to lcaliu23

    Whoever you took the computer to is NOT an Apple Authorized Service Provider! Please click Apple Authorized Service Provider Locator to begin finding one in your area. Any Apple Authorized Service Provider would have the proper tools and knowledge on how to repair the computer. Consider yourself lucky, the person you took it to at least was honest enough to tell you they did not have the competence or knowledge to work on your computer.

  • by woodmeister50,

    woodmeister50 woodmeister50 Jul 30, 2016 3:17 AM in response to lcaliu23
    Level 5 (5,505 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 30, 2016 3:17 AM in response to lcaliu23

    You did not make any mention of what model/year your iMac is.

    So exactly what you can or cannot do with it is difficult to answer.

     

    However, every Mac can boot from an external drive, even if the internal

    drive has failed.  The type of drive and how fast booting will be depends entirely

    on the model of iMac you have.

     

    Some iMacs can be used in a Target Display mode.  See this to determine

    if you can and how to connect:

    Use your iMac as a display with Target Display Mode - Apple Support

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Jul 30, 2016 4:44 AM in response to lcaliu23
    Level 6 (13,660 points)
    iPad
    Jul 30, 2016 4:44 AM in response to lcaliu23

    Woodmeister50 is correct.

    If your iMac has a Thunderbolt port and/or FW800 port, you can purchase either an external, fast Thunderbolt drive, an SDD in a Thunderbolt drive enclosure, if your iMac has USB 3.0 connections, then a USB 3.0 external hard drive or a FireWire 800 hard drive, format these drives as a OS X extended (journaled) drive with GUID partition scheme and totally install OS X to the drive and boot and run your iMac from the external drive.

    For best response speed, Thunderbolt connected hard drive or SSD is best, followed by USB 3.0, then FireWire 800 and the last and slowest external connected speed drive, USB 2.0.

     

    Good Luck!