late '08 iMac - hard drive losing its mind?

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late '08 iMac - hard drive losing its mind?

Hi everyone,

I think I'm just about out of options and will need to cart our iMac into the Apple Store, so just looking for ideas before doing so...

Late '08 iMac (2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo / 24-inch - 800MHz) started slowing down, spinning beach ball more than ever, sometimes the beach ball would not disappear and then we'd have to power off/on. The machine is running OS X 10.7.4 w/ the original 2GB RAM.

From time to time, the power up would be met with the recovery screen (1. Restore from TM 2. Reinstall OS X 3. Get Help Online 4. Disk Utility). Usually if I reset the SMC, a subsequent startup would get me back into the desktop. I've also reset the PRAM/NVRAM.

The OS has never been loaded clean (always upgrades) so eventually I decided to load a clean 10.7.4 from USB drive. So I pop the USB with the .dmg file in and power up holding the option button, select reinstall OS X and the only destination drives I see are the thumb drive and the external G-Tech used for TM backups! : )

So, I give up on that, reboot and the it goes right back to the desktop. How can the OS load me to the desktop but I can't see when booting to the recovery screen?

I think my next step is releasing our iMac to the Apple Store for triage (new hard drive), but I'm still scratching my head about what exactly is going on here.

It looks like I can't upgrade to SDD drive, so anything to consider when having Apple look at it? I already have a RAM upgrade on the way... not that RAM is going to help this issue - just overdue to upgrade especially considering the low prices.

Thanks for help and suggestions!

Scott

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.6), mixed environment

Posted on Jun 18, 2012 6:49 AM

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Answer 1

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RRFS

Level 5

4,522 points

Jun 18, 2012 8:13 AM in response to sbpwjm

Why can't you do an upgrade to a SSD? I installed one in my 2008 20" and it works perfectly. Using Disk Utility check the S.M.A.R.T status of your drive, then repair your drive. Since you have been good about backing up a clean (Reformatted) install is a good option. Lion is resource hungry so it is not surprising that with only 2GB of RAM you are having some issues.

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Answer 2

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Jun 18, 2012 8:14 AM in response to sbpwjm

First thing I would do is to install that new memory, then see what happens. A number of people have reported poor Lion performance in 2GB, which was fixed by going to 4GB+.

On your hard drive, I would download Smart Utility to see what it tells you about the health of the drive.

When in Lion recovery, have you run Disk Utility to repair your hard drive, and if so does it complete without unrepairable errors?

You can upgrade to an SSD drive, most of them either come with or have available a 3.5" adapter, so you can use the 2.5" SSD in a 3.5" drive bay. SSDs use serial ATA connectors, so I'd say it is an option. The Apple store won't install one, however, you could work through an Apple Authorized Service Provider, who could either source and install an SSD, or you could buy one and they could install it for you. You can check this to find an AASP near you.

Before going to Apple, I would at least run the Apple Hardware Testfirst, to see if it finds any obvious hardware problems. You'll need your original OS X disks to run it.

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Answer 3

sbpwjm Author

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Jun 18, 2012 9:41 AM in response to sbpwjm

Thanks for those replys, much appreciated.

I based my SDD opinion based on the scanner on the Crucial site - there was a disclaimer about using the SDD drives in this version of the iMac. I checked with OWC just now and they did provide some options. The DIY install looks a l little daunting - mostly the amount and short runs of all the cables.

The Volitans software is different than the Disk Utility S.M.A.R.T status, yes?

I've only run the diags once (not via boot from OSX disc) and it reported no errors so I went no further. Although I wonder if I'll see the drive when I boot from the disc as I haven't see it before. I'll try Volitans software and the AHT when I get home from work.

Apart from the above before going to Apple, I'll wait for and install the RAM - doubling should help. 😝

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Answer 4

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Jun 18, 2012 10:41 AM in response to sbpwjm

Replacing the hard drive is involved, and ifixit.com will have a good step-by-step.

When you run the Apple hardware test, choose the extended test when prompted. It will take awhlie to complete it.

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Answer 5

sbpwjm Author

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Jun 18, 2012 12:07 PM in response to BGreg

I've use the trial version of Volitan SMART utility and almost immediately it reports my HD as "Failing" with 1 pending bad sector, 1 uncorrectable error.

I'll see what happens when I run the AHT.

Thanks!

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Answer 6

sbpwjm Author

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Jun 18, 2012 1:18 PM in response to sbpwjm

AHT tells me - even with the extended tests (which ran only 53 minutes) that there are no problems. I wonder if this is because it isn't seeing the drive.

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Answer 7

RRFS

Level 5

4,522 points

Jun 18, 2012 1:53 PM in response to sbpwjm

AHT doesn't always see the problems although the Genius Bar has some better tests they run. Personally if you aren't confident installing a SSD take it to an Apple repair store and have a SSD installed. Yes they are smaller in GB capacity and cost more per GB but they create less heat, run faster and have no moving parts to wear out. Using an external backup drive you can daisy chain another for data storage.

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Answer 8

BGreg

Level 6

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Jun 18, 2012 2:08 PM in response to sbpwjm

Smart Utility gives you insights into the counters that Disk Utility only summarizes, and my sense is that the Apple hardware test focus's more on the hardware to the drive and not neccesarily deep into the drive itself. Have you run Disk Utility to see what it says?

So, certainly the additional memory will help you with Lion. It also sounds like it may be time for a new hard drive or an SSD. If Disk Utility says there are issues, that would confirm the diagnosis. You can try zeroing the drive by writing zero's to it, which resets the bad sector table. However, if there are core drive hardware issues, that's only a temporary fix.

If you decide to go with an SSD, remember to allow some space for growth as well as free space for the system to use.

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Answer 9

sbpwjm Author

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Jun 19, 2012 7:05 AM in response to BGreg

I have used the Disk Utility and ran both Verify/Repair Disk and Verify/Repair Disk Permissions. The Verify found no issues at all. The disk permissions test found a few errors and I ran repair against those.

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