jangell2

Q: My Old iMac Won't Boot Up!

Bought a new iMac, sold the old mid-2011 (I think) 21 1/2" model and shipped it to the buyer.  I had the original iMac box, so it was well protected.

 

He has hooked up the keyboard, put batteries in the mouse, and plugged in the  power.  He has it in a room where there is no ethernet cable so he plans to use the wifi.

 

He turns it on and it makes that power on sound and then, nothing.  Screen stays black.  It stays black and never goes grey.  We've powered on and powered up.  He unplugged the power and plugged back in and powered up.  Always the same results.

 

When I shipped the computer I had powered down from the Welcome setup screen, it was working.  Now it's not.  The only difference from my use of it and his is that I always had it plugged into ethernet.  I've not tried using the wifi.

 

In addition to the iMac not being in my house, it's not in my state, so I don't have access to it.

 

If you have any ideas on how to proceed, I'd love to read them.

Posted on Jan 27, 2015 10:07 AM

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Q: My Old iMac Won't Boot Up!

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  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 Jan 28, 2015 11:15 AM in response to jangell2
    Community Specialists
    Jan 28, 2015 11:15 AM in response to jangell2

    Hi jangell2,

     

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!

     

    I understand that the iMac you sold is now having startup issues. The troubleshooting steps I would recommend in this situation are outlined in the attached article below. 

     

    Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck - Apple Support

     

    Best regards,

    Joe

  • by jangell2,

    jangell2 jangell2 Jan 28, 2015 1:27 PM in response to joe_7399
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 28, 2015 1:27 PM in response to joe_7399

    Thanks Joe.  The buyer of the computer won't be available until tomorrow afternoon to work on the issue.  Thanks for these ideas.  I'll let you know what happens.

  • by jangell2,

    jangell2 jangell2 Jan 30, 2015 6:43 AM in response to joe_7399
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 30, 2015 6:43 AM in response to joe_7399

    We tried your suggestions and some more and nothing worked.  The buyer is shipping the mac back.  When it's back in my hands, I'll have a better chance of getting it to work.

  • by jangell2,

    jangell2 jangell2 Feb 6, 2015 12:09 PM in response to joe_7399
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 6, 2015 12:09 PM in response to joe_7399

    I've got the old mac back and I hooked it up, powered it on, and...it works.  It goes right to the Welcome Screen for the initial setup.  the monitor lights up just fine.  I did absolutely nothing to fix it.  It works.  I shut the mac off multiple times and it powered up flawlessly each time.   I can only assume the buyer changed his mind and needed an excuse to return it.

     

    I found elsewhere mention that there's a watch style batter on the EMC card and if it goes dead it can cause problems.  I found instructions on how to replace it and it's quite involved.  That little watch battery is now over three years-old and I'm wondering if I should replace it?  Ideas anyone?  I just as soon not.

     

    Those instructions did come in handy because when I got it back, there was very noticeable dust in the inside of the screen.  I found it quite easy to remove the screen and clean it off.