Strange Smell

Unplug it and return it to an Apple Store.

I hope you have warranty left.

Sorry :~(

You just got the iMac yesterday or you just got the smell? If the iMac is new you'll get some odor from it. They do generate heat and it'll put off an odor. Mine did. It wasn't a pronounced smell but I could smell it just the same. If it's working properly and doesn't shut itself down I'd probably give it a day or two and see if it goes away.

But if you're really worried about it then yeah I'd take it back as Carl suggested.

Flare I really can't say without actually smelling it but you know it's like a new car smell. Once you've had it for a while it'll go away. The fact that when you start up and have the iMac running it's going to generate heat and that heat is what brings out that smell.

I certainly don't want to say "Don't worry about it" because you may very well have an issue. But I'm saying that that odor maybe nothing more than the solder flux heating up a burning off. After a few days and you're still smelling it I'd contact Apple.

I had the exact scenario. It's a bad power supply. Knowing I was covered by the original hardware warrany, I lived with the metallic electric smell for a few days. After a few days, the iMac wouldn't come on at all. It's a common problem and your iMac is still protected by the manufacturer's warrantly.

You can wait until it dies (soon) and use the time to back up your data, or you can send it to Apple for repair. Taking it to an Applestore would be the fastest and cheapest way to get the repair done. They had parts on hand for mine and it took 3-5 days to get it back. The repair is pretty simple and they won't question your diagnosis. There's a very low risk that your HD data would be lost. When it boots for the Geniuses, just let them smell the top exhaust slit. They'll know what you're talking about.

Back it up and get it fixed before November! 🙂 Even if it hasn't completely died.