my imac 2011 snow leopard boots up to desktop but can't access ANY function just the beach ball spinning forever

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my imac 2011 snow leopard boots up to desktop but can't access ANY function just the beach ball spinning forever

My iMac boots up to the desktop. I let it warm up but as soon as I select ANY function the beachball appears and I have no function or access to ANYTHING- just this spinning ball. It has been shutdown for about 6 weeks. I have reset the PRAM and it seems to be getting very hot. It has been trying to load in safe mode now for about 30 minutes. Does that sound right?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Dec 21, 2012 3:03 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

141,162 points

Dec 21, 2012 3:08 PM in response to Soundzalive

Start your Mac using your original Applications Install DVD and run Apple Hardware Test:

You must remove the firmware password, if one has been set, before you can use AHT.

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Answer 2

Soundzalive Author

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Dec 21, 2012 3:21 PM in response to John Galt

Thanks John. I'll give it a go once I find my dvd (i think my daughter has it - could take a while). did try to boot up in hardware - holding down D key but nothing happened. Any

thing you can add to that. Also when I reset the power supply the fan is working overtime. Cheers mate.

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Answer 3

Soundzalive Author

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Dec 21, 2012 4:06 PM in response to Soundzalive

Have managed to open AHT. Diagnostic showed nothing. Rebooted. Same problem

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Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

141,162 points

Dec 21, 2012 4:09 PM in response to Soundzalive

Yes. If your Mac shipped with DVDs then you must boot from the Applications Install DVD to run Apple Hardware Test.

Certain Macs may run AHT with the D key option if they are one of these: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4904

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Answer 5

John Galt

Level 10

141,162 points

Dec 21, 2012 4:11 PM in response to Soundzalive

Soundzalive wrote:

Have managed to open AHT. Diagnostic showed nothing. Rebooted. Same problem

OK, then run Disk Utility from the System Install DVD. This is not likely to be the same one used for Apple Hardware Test.

Select your startup volume (usually it is named "Macintosh HD") and click Repair Disk.

Report any errors it finds.

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Answer 6

Soundzalive Author

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Dec 26, 2012 5:54 PM in response to John Galt

Hi John,

Ran utility disk. The repair ran overnight for around 9 hours to no avail. Tried to stop it, ran for another hour and had to force quit the sytem as nothing was responding. Just rebooted the disc to run a reinstall of the O.S but disc utility cannot find the hard drive...the search gear doesn't even spin. Again I had to force quit the sytem and now I can't even boot to the desktop. What now? Sounds like a new hard drive? Can the data be saved? The unit has had very little use and is only used as a Protools device for audio recording. Thanks for your input.

Cheers Bob H.

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Answer 7

John Galt

Level 10

141,162 points

Dec 27, 2012 12:58 AM in response to Soundzalive

Soundzalive wrote:

... Sounds like a new hard drive?

Yes. Read this to determine if it applies: iMac 1TB Seagate Hard Drive Replacement Program

Whether your data can be retrieved or not is unknown. To determine the answer would require a non-trivial expense and there is no guarantee it would be successful.

Schedule a visit to the Genius Bar using the link in the above document, even if it indicates your iMac is not eligible for the replacement. Only Apple can make a final determination.

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