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Blue then pink screen

My iMac screen randomly turned blue, then pink, then went to the startup screen - which was all glitched out while I was using it.


The glitchy startup wouldn’t go away, so I had to remove the power cord, and am currently too worried to turn it on.


What should I do????


(If it helps, it’s as old mid-2011 model of the Apple desktop)

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Apr 28, 2022 4:16 PM

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Posted on Apr 29, 2022 2:33 PM

It's an ~eleven year old Mac, and one unable to run current macOS, and a model that tends to be harder to work on, and it's the previous processor architecture.


If you do decide to spend money on this iMac, I'd suggest upgrading internal memory (to 16 GB) and replacing an existing HDD with an SSD (if not already using an SSD) while the iMac box is open. But... absent some unusual or sentimental value, I'd likely use that repair money on a newer or new Mac.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 29, 2022 2:33 PM in response to Someone_Random_With_Problems

It's an ~eleven year old Mac, and one unable to run current macOS, and a model that tends to be harder to work on, and it's the previous processor architecture.


If you do decide to spend money on this iMac, I'd suggest upgrading internal memory (to 16 GB) and replacing an existing HDD with an SSD (if not already using an SSD) while the iMac box is open. But... absent some unusual or sentimental value, I'd likely use that repair money on a newer or new Mac.

Apr 28, 2022 4:26 PM in response to Someone_Random_With_Problems

That’s usually a graphics hardware problem, or maybe memory or processor. Bad hardware.


You can try a reboot, though that’s unlikely to clear this.


Which means this iMac is probably “pining for the fjords”; headed for replacement.


Repairs this far back (2011) aren’t something I’d usually recommend, absent some sentimental value or such.


Get a backup if you can, if you don’t already have a complete and current one.


If you’re stuck for backups, target disk mode might allow that backup, from another Mac.


Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode - Apple Support


Diagnostics (Apple Hardware Test, here) might or might not show an error:


https://github.com/upekkha/AppleHardwareTest

Apr 29, 2022 4:28 PM in response to Someone_Random_With_Problems

Someone_Random_With_Problems wrote:

Yeah, decided to buy a new desktop instead - it’s about time for a new upgrade!


I'd go for 16 GB memory minimally with Apple silicon and potentially more, and purchase as much SSD storage as you'll need over the life of the new Mac, as neither is upgradable with M1/Pro/Max/Ultra.

Blue then pink screen

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