Intel iMac A1224 model purch'd July 08, suddenly not displaying video

Hi there, my iMac has also developed a fault with the exact symptoms as yours - it stopped working last night - 18th October after attempting to switch on from standy mode.

Hopefully Apple will fix this, even tho i don't have AppleCare, less than two years for a fault on ANY computer is unacceptable, let alone an Apple iMac.

Any other help is greatly appreciated...

...will contact Apple shortly...

tried all the fixes that i could find:
Reset the SMC / Reset the PRAM / Unplugged the power lead, held the power button down for 10 seconds, then plugged the power lead back in & turned on - just a very loud fan noise.

The mouse & keyboard do not even light up, so appears no power to any USB ports, switched power leads and wall sockets...unable to type any commands - maybe why PRAM doesn't appear to work - are your symptoms similar..?

Yes, as i mentioned before, the keyboard lights do not show any power. I have changed to another keyboard / usb port - still not working..! The Apple Mouse does show a light, however this doesn't work either...! Can't even eject the DVD in the drive by holding the mouse button down..!

I understand your frustration, however the reason i specifically did not purchase AppleCare was bcs this is a desktop PC, which is never moved around, it has been on my desk for the last 20 months...so no danger of any kind of damage.

You just don't expect any computer to fail in that time. In the UK, and i'm sure in Australia, we have a sale of goods act which protect the consumer for goods being "fit for the purpose", so, regardless of Apple only giving a 12 month warranty, goods being "fit for purpose" would last a lot longer than 20 months, so if i took this to arbitration, i would be in a very strong position.

I have booked an appt with an Apple Genius tomorrow, who will take a look. I also spoke to Apple Support who weren't that helpful...!

I have tried everything, so i'm not entirely sure what the Apple Genius can do, except maybe send it off for diagnosis...!

Hi Susan, just to let you know, i haven't made it yet to the Apple Store as my car broke down two days ago and is still awaiting repair..! I had to re-schedule for tomorrow - if my car is ready by then..!

I've tried every possible fix in the book, and i know the Apple keyboard is working fine as i used this on another MAC & Windows PC. The Apple mouse does show a light underneath, but holding down the mouse key doesn't eject the DVD, and the MS Mouse doesn't show a light, so it appears the USB ports are not working.

When starting my iMac, i hear the fans running, then after about 3 - 5 seconds it appears to shut down & restart automatically, with the fans running again and the DVD spinning up for between 30 - 60 seconds, then nothing else aside from the internal fans humming away - no start-up chimes or display.

I've also removed & replaced the memory, swapping both modules over, using one module one at a time in each port, in fact when i removed both modules, and started the iMac, nothing changed, so i'm pretty sure the memory is ok.

Will keep you posted on my visit to the Apple store, though i am very doubtful if they can do anything in the store that i already haven't done.

ok, made it to the Apple Store, the fault has now been diagnosed as a faulty logic board - exactly what i told the Apple Store Genius...! I am out of warrantly, however i will contact AppleCare tomorrow to demand that Apple fix this for free.

There is no way i am paying for this repair, an iMac less than two years old failing..! I will also explain that i intentionally did not purchase AppleCare as it is a desktop PC, not likely to be moved around, or dropped etc. etc..and my faith in this, my first iMac computer was such that this was never expected to happen, given the quality of Apple products...hmmmmmm...! V poor quality, and it seems i am not alone...!

It doesn't actually matter that Apple only give a 1 year warranty, i have consumer rights - i.e. Sale of Goods Act - Goods must be "fit for purpose" and clearly less than two years use of a "cutting edge - iMac" does not constitute "fit for purpose"

I shall contact Applecare, and if that fails i will start legal action - i'm lucky enough to have a family member who is an expert in consumer law, and will provide legal services for free.

Apple clearly need to look after their customers better than this, i am actually quite disappointed to say the least.

- just an update from another topic:

My Intel 24" iMac has also failed, diagnosed as a faulty logic board. I deliberately did not purchase the extended warranty as this is a desktop unit, that in 20 months of ownership has never been moved, dropped or transported anywhere.
Why, when you are led to believe you are purchasing a quality Apple product, that you pay a premium for, should a warranty ever enter your mind.

Anyhow, I’ve contacted Apple Customer Services, supervisors etc several times, however they are not, at this point willing to cover the cost of repair - £380.

I've explained that this is a premium product, with the equivalent cost far higher than a similar spec PC, and what i would say is a 'sealed' unit design, so is very difficult for me to repair.

I am hugely disappointed in their attitude to me, and their refusal to cover the repair costs. This is my first iMac, and although i did enjoy using this, the prohibitive cost of repair can't justify me spending my own money, when i can now purchase a relatively good spec desktop PC running Windows 7 for the same price!

Apple clearly needs to focus on quality over cost, and this has proved very expensive for me, and i am still without a computer…!

I will keep on trying to request Apple to cover the costs, however, i can see myself eventually "ripping" the hard disk out, transferring all my data across and then selling this useless lump of aluminium and glass on eBay for spares or maybe as a door-stop...??!!

Extremely disappointed, never again will i purchase any kind of Mac...Apple seriously need to listen, as it’s their customers that support them, not the other way round...!

I will post updates, and if anyone can offer any kind of assistance, then this will be greatly appreciated.

Message was edited by: AdamiMac2007

I've had this same issue few times. it comes and goes with no logic what so ever. And I've tried everything, really. Anyway, last night it happened again and I spent many frustrating hours trying to fix with no success.

There was no change this morning, screen is black but the computer is on. I used my other computer to log in using screen share. I noticed that the desktop image was back to default and few other weird things. On system prefs => display, it looked like the secondary display settings, also the title said: "display 32-bit", which was weird as i thought my iMac was 64-bit (model iMac9,1). Frankly, I don't even know what's the difference.

Also under "This Mac" Graphics / Display read: "No info"

Then I found this page: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=4712 and with the little help from here: http://netkas.org/?p=127 I did some very geek stuff for my knowledge and I managed to get my iMac back to life. (had to edit file permissions)

So my guess is that this has something to do with 32-bit/64-bit thingy. I'm running snow leopard, didn't have clean installation.

Let's see, I couldn't care less to spend any more time with this problem, but I also don't want to take my computer to Apple care for now...

Good luck!

Hi Susan, soooo glad to hear your iMac is now working again.....really pleased for you....! I wish i had the same luck...!

I hope you manage to keep faith in the computer....does sound strange that your iMac suddenly started working again...for no apparant reason...! Did the repair shop offer any info as to what it could be...?