Imac not going past recovery mode

A failing hard drive is a very likely possibility which was not explicitly mentioned. Plus if you installed a third party hard drive or SSD, then you also need to install a thermal sensor as well or the fans will run at high speed.

You need to run the Apple Diagnostics to see which sensor is reporting issues which may give you a clue to which component is at fault.

Not knowing if you got genuine Apple parts, it will be hard to troubleshoot your Mac, especially if it can't even boot up in Recovery Mode. Unfortunately, Apple will not touch your Mac and wouldn't be able to help since a 2011 iMac is now considered "obsolete."

I assume that you have already tried running the Apple Hardware Test, or booting up in Safe Mode ... correct? ... or booted up with an external startup drive ... correct?

• Ref: Mac Basic Startup Troubleshooting Steps - Apple Community

JustYourNormalDude wrote:

I have a 2011 iMac that when i press the power button, Promptly spins the fan and will go to recovery mode. I have been on apple support countless times to no avail. Is there any way to bypass this and get to the OS?

Basically, no. When your Mac boots up in Recovery Mode, there is(are) issues that is preventing it from completing the boot up process. Most likely, it could be hardware related. Although, software could be a culprit, as well.

You mention that you have replaced a number of items already. Is this something that Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider perform ... or was this done by you or another third-party?

There is usually diagnostic LEDs on the Logic Board of the iMac Logic Boards which provides another method to determine where a fault lies (or at least where to look) especially if there is no video output. It is usually fairly easy to locate the Apple service guide for your iMac.

What does "the Apple Diagnostics and my mac refuses to go there" mean? Details are very important since we cannot see what happens including exact error messages.

Plus you have no idea if the parts you purchased are even any good. Even when purchasing parts from a vendor with a stellar reputation there is always a possibility of receiving a defective part. Plus once in a long while one bad part may damage a second part, so when you install a single new part the other bad part may sometimes damage the new good part. Luckily this situation is rare, but it is always something that must be considered. Normally a computer will only have one defective part when there is a problem unless accidental damage or a lightning storm or electrical surge were involved.

FYI, the 27" 2011 iMac has a known GPU failure so that just adds yet another complication to the mix. The diagnostic LEDs on the Logic Board will be crucial in trying to diagnose the problem.

It means the video card and LCD Panel are not communicating. Assuming the LCD Panel cable and connectors are not damaged and are fully seated, then it is most likely a bad GPU and is the first thing to attempt to replace. If you have the 27" iMac, the GPU in it is known to have a high rate of failure (at one time Apple had a free repair program that is now expired).

I'm not real familiar with the 2011+ models. Usually it is possible to replace the cable, but you have to check. The question is does anyone sell the cable?