my new iMac just died

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Level 1

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my new iMac just died

I have a 2.4Ghz, 20" Intel iMac... screen went black and it won't turn back on. No sounds, no lights, no nothing. It may have died while trying to wake up from sleep mode, but since the screen was already black in sleep mode, I can't be sure... I think I heard the fan start to turn on and then stop, but I wasn't paying very close attention until I realized nothing was happening. Tried plugging in to different outlets... no luck. There was no storm or power surge in my house (but it was in a surge protector anyway). Anyone have this problem? Is this a known firmware issue, or a known hardware issue? I have an appointment to take it in to an Apple store. If they have to replace it, I hope they can retrieve the files on the hard drive. Just posting this to let others know that it happened, and in case anyone has any insight. I'll follow up after I visit with the "Geniuses".

Thanks!

iMac 2.4Ghz Intel Duo Core, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Sep 12, 2007 7:26 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 13, 2007 8:10 PM in response to bawlmermac

Yes, I have the same problem. There are several threads on sudden shut down, sudden death, crashes, etc. Some point to possible overheating, some to use of Epson Scanners, some to bad memory. There is definitely a problem here, but I don't theink anyone has figured it out yet. I'm ready to take mine back to the Genius Bar.

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Answer 2

thxdude

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Sep 13, 2007 9:24 PM in response to bawlmermac

Join the crowd. My 2.8Ghz 24'' died after a week of use. No power, nothing. Worst part is non of the Apple stores had the kit to fix it and the 2.8Ghz is a non stocked machine. So while its suppose to be in tomorrow, I've been sitting now just under 3 week without the machine. Not very happy about that situation. Apple really dropped the ball on the repair for these things.

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Answer 3

bawlmermac Author

Level 1

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Sep 14, 2007 6:35 AM in response to bawlmermac

I went to the Genius Bar in Columbia, MD yesterday, and they told me that mine was the first dead new iMac that they've seen (and were quite excited to take one apart), so at least it's not a completely rampant problem. They think its a problem with the power and not the logic board, so they are ordering me a new power supply which will take 2 days, and then up to 8 business days beyond that to fix (although the Genius I spoke with says it should only take 3-4 days if all goes well). They weren't able to just exchange it since I'm out of my 14 day grace period for returns. At least all of that is covered since I'm still in my 90 day grace period. However, they wanted to charge me $150 to back up my hard drive in case "something bad" happens. My thought is, if the hard drive is already screwed, then why pay $150 more? Also, they couldn't guarantee that they could get my band's studio master CD out of the optical drive... or at least they couldn't guarantee that it would remain safe during the repair process. I know that's just legal a**-covering, but come on Apple... that's like a car mechanic not guaranteeing that your car will come back to you with the registration still in the glove box, or I suppose more accurately, not giving your car back with your band's studio master CD in the CD player. Anyway, I'll follow up when I get it back. We'll see how this goes.

Also, I had an Epson Scanner hooked up to my computer, and I had installed additional 2GB of RAM, but the iMac was running fine with both for several weeks before this happened, so I really don't think that's the issue, but it is a surprising coincidence.

And I assume that they all run hot since they are basically designed like vertical laptops, and we all know how gosh-darned* hot laptops run (*can't curse on these boards). 😉

Message was edited by: bawlmermac

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Answer 4

Will-Hi

Level 5

4,307 points

Sep 14, 2007 9:30 AM in response to bawlmermac

However, they wanted to charge me $150 to back up my hard drive in case "something bad" happens. My thought is, if the hard drive is already screwed, then why pay $150 more?

Well, if you already have a backup, then it's OK; but if you don't, and something happens to your drive during the repair (or if they have to reinstall Mac OS X, for example), then a backup of your data could come in handy. But $150 seems a bit much (after all, it's a backup, not data recovery)…

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Answer 5

bawlmermac Author

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Sep 18, 2007 8:33 AM in response to bawlmermac

Just got my iMac back after only 4 days (3 business days), and it works fine now. They only replaced the power supply. I didn't lose any data, and the iMac came back in pristine condition. They told me that the longest part of the repair was cleaning the glass and putting it back on the screen. Like I said before, it was their first time opening the new iMac, but I guess Apple provides them with the step-by-step instructions because it doesn't seem like novices worked on it. I'm quite pleased with the process. Let's just hope it doesn't die again. If it does, I'll certainly update this thread.

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Answer 6

WillGonz

Level 1

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Sep 20, 2007 2:52 PM in response to bawlmermac

A co-worker was in the process of buying a computer. He was torn between Dell and Apple. I told him to get the new 20" iMac. So, he went to a local Compusa (because that and Best Buy is all we have in this area) they didn't have them in stock yet. I was going over to the Seattle area which is a 4 hour drive from our little Inland Northwest area. They had some at the Bellevue store so I picked him up one. He and his family enjoyed it very much. My co-worker is in the middle of some gaming when the system just went dark. He tried to power it back on and nothing. He tired to take it to CompUSA (an Apple authorized service center) and they did not have the required tools from Apple to service the system. So he called Apple, they wanted him to take it back to the Bellevue store where I bought it. He told them that it was 4 hours away. They said if you want you can mail it back to the store at his expense. He didn't want to do that. So, he found a local Mom and Pop computer store that is authorized to service Apple hardware. They recieved a replacement power supply from Apple and installed it. To much of their dismay the system still would not boot. It is almost 7 days later and his computer is still dead.

Apple's Hardware is beautiful and OS X is just as great. But there is some good to be said about Dell's on-site repair. Something if Apple did would be wonderful. Apple is gaining market share, but can they hold it?

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Answer 7

Sep 20, 2007 8:19 PM in response to bawlmermac

I just went through a month of troubleshooting my iMac Core Duo, 1.5 years old. To make a long story short, I had random shut downs (while asleep, eventually while on, eventually machine wouldn't turn on). I did my own power supply replace, computer booted but problem wasn't fixed. I unplugged the HD ambient temp sensor and it solved my problem. The sensor was acting like there was high temp in the machine and acted like a fail-safe. Eventually the computer didn't respond, maybe the sensor got "stuck". Each time I unplugged a power supply it worked again, but still random shutdown after a few hours (like pulling the plug). To me most RSD symptoms described in forums sound the exact same, and logic board/power supply replaces didn't work. If that's the case, try one of the HD or optical sensors as the problem.

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Answer 8

Sep 22, 2007 8:30 AM in response to bawlmermac

Another instance: Purchased a new Alum iMac 20" 2.0GHz for my sister. 60 hours later, after applying all updates with the usual restarts and permission repairs, it died peacefully in its sleep. Tried to no avail all the reset tricks, plugs and unplugs. Fans would gently hum but no other signs of life. FutureShop confirmed its death. Now awaiting a replacement.

Paula's Dad

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Answer 9

MitchF

Level 1

4 points

Sep 24, 2007 9:13 PM in response to bawlmermac

Yep, my 24" new iMac died after 3 weeks of use. It just powered down and then made an electical fizzing sound every ten seconds ! Power supply failure. Gone..

The repair process took two weeks due to the repairer having to wait for Apple to send the tools to perform the repair. The parts apparently arrived the next day. Apparently, the major part of the repair is ensuring that no dust gets on the glass screen. They ship bags and chemicals apparently....

Mitch

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Answer 10

ronjay

Level 1

0 points

Oct 5, 2007 3:31 PM in response to MitchF

My 20" Intel iMac had the same issue, i.e. screen blank, non responsive (this is not the new Intel iMac with the black logo, this is the one with the grey logo). Took it to the genius bar and it was fixed in a day. The issue was a faulty power supply. Looks like there are some bad power supplies out there along with the other issue others have mentioned. Mine was about year old before this happened.

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Answer 11

bawlmermac Author

Level 1

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Oct 5, 2007 10:59 PM in response to bawlmermac

I'm back... ok, now my built in camera isn't working... I start up Photo Booth and get a green screen... I get the green light that shows the camera is on, but my ugly mug doesn't show up. I take a picture and get a green square. Tried installing 3rd party iGlasses, that didn't do anything. Tried rebooting PRAM, nothing. Tried restarting SMC, nothing. Tried repairing disk permissions, but nothing effected my camera. This worked before I took it in to get the power supply repaired. Is it possible that they disconnected the camera when they opened it up?

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Answer 12

Oct 16, 2007 5:49 PM in response to bawlmermac

my new iMac just died today..im wondering does anyone know where i can get directions to take it apart so i can swap the logic board or power supply

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Answer 13

Oct 16, 2007 7:05 PM in response to bawlmermac

Oh Yeah, I'm on my second machine now, first purchase was on saturday, started setting it up, couldn't migrate because it's an old ibook g3. but then the sceen would go black but not off. the light in the mouse was still active. Sometimes it would reboot on it's own. My kids were able to play some games for 30-40 min with no problems and the suddenly black screen. We'd restart then before it would finish loading the screen went black again, by the end sunday there was no using it at all. My son's game disk is still stuck in the drive and the tech's at the shop need to tear the thing apart to get it out. Fingers crossed on this one.

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Answer 14

Nov 9, 2007 11:34 AM in response to bawlmermac

Same exact thing here. Just got back from local Apple repair affiliate, after having the power supply repaired on my 20" iMac. Now the camera doesn't work. Is this something I could fix myself? It's a 30 mile drive back to the store and it took 2 weeks for them to repair the power supply. Don't want to go through all that again.

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Answer 15

glisse

Level 1

4 points

Nov 24, 2007 4:29 AM in response to bawlmermac

My less than 2 week old 20" iMac just died. Whilst copying a file to an external FW drive, the screen suddenly went totally white. When rebooting the iMac it chimes and then displays the same totally white screen. Luckily I've been able to copy off my important files using target disk mode. Any ideas?
Thanks

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