Q: I took my iMac 2010 to a "Third Party" company to replace my hdd, they did, but now it will not boot. if i took this to the Apple ... more
-
Sep 21, 2014 6:19 AMby DewiRobbo,The iMac was not booting before-hand, and i looked on-line and saw that the hard drive failure is very common in iMac 2010 models, he gave me an update a few days later and told me it was the hd that was the problem although it was now still not booting. I did not get much information as i spoke on the phone with the tech briefly, he installed the hard drive and was going to install new OS but couldn't boot it off of anything, i didn't get any info on grey screen or black screen, just not booting.
-
Sep 21, 2014 7:16 AMby DewiRobbo,Here is a video of my brother vlogging the problem with the mac, hope this information is helpful! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWjHiFcRk8Y#t=301
-
Sep 21, 2014 7:53 AMby Drew Reece,That video tells us NOTHING.
We need to know what actually happens when you press the power button -
Does it make any noise, can you hear the fan? Get close to try to hear any noises.
Does it beep?
Any indication of it trying to startup?
Does the screen light up?
Does it go grey?
Does it get to the Apple logo?
You should try to be methodical in your approach, each stage of boot means something, which can help you work out where the fault may be.
It sounds more like you have guessed the HD was dead & not attempted the basic trouble shooting steps such as booting from another disk or from an install disk? If that is the case you should go back & try those otherwise list the steps you have tried.
Things to try …
OS X Mavericks: Reset your computer’s PRAM
OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? <- Verbose mode may also give you info, you'll need to photograph any errors since you can't screen grab them.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode <- If you have a machine to connect via Firewire or Thunderbolt, you can try to repair the disk or recover the data via this method.
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://www.kelleycomputing.net/rember/ <- third party test for RAM - you will need another disk to boot from.
The manual can give you a general place to start too if you haven't tested it much so far.
This may help you get another disk or USB drive to make a bootable USB installer.
http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/08/make-a-bootable-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-installer-from -a-usb-flash-drive/
As Ralph said RAM failures will often cause the Mac to produce beeps on startup, so it may not be that, you clan remove & reseat the RAM if you feel able - the manual will have it under 'User Installable parts' IIRC (or see iFixit.com)
-
Sep 21, 2014 8:00 AMby DewiRobbo,Answering your questions
Does it beep? No
Any indication of trying to start up? Yes, Shows loading circle with grey screen.
Does the screen light up? Yes. It goes grey, if thats what you mean.
Does it go grey? Yes
Does it get to the apple logo? it gets to it and then turns off.
Hope this helps.
-
Sep 21, 2014 8:11 AMby Drew Reece,Yes that does help
Intel-based Mac: Startup sequence and error codes, symbols
Looks like it is not finding a valid boot.efi, but see the troubleshooting link on that page too.
Try booting from other media to rule out the internal HD & the system files on that disk.
There are other explanations around for the boot process too…
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/22/mac-101-whats-happening-when-your-mac-is-starting -up/
-
Sep 21, 2014 9:20 AMby Drew Reece,Bad RAM doesn't really fit with my understanding of the errors you describe - a verbose boot may give you info of that early part of the boot sequence or use Apple hardware test/ rember to test RAM. It wouldn't be the first time I am wrong though
The Mac won't boot with no RAM so you must install at least one module (ideally the original module if you have it), check the manual to see if you need to use a specific slot.
It can't hurt to swap RAM or use one module so long as you follow safe antistatic procedures, Apple seem to be happy with grounding yourself on the case before you unplug the mains supply. I also touch a grounded radiator or connect a wrist strap when working for extended periods.
