Why won't my iMac boot? Just get the spinning wheel. Need suggestions

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Level 1

54 points

Why won't my iMac boot? Just get the spinning wheel. Need suggestions

My iMac 4,1 (probably around 2006 vintage, 24" screen) won't boot. I get a white screen with the Apple logo and a spinning wheel I've let it sit for an hour and it never will move on to boot the system. I am running Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6.8) and can't upgrade further because of Intel Core Duo 32 bit processor.

To top it off, I thought that maybe putting the installation cdrom into the drive would have it boot to that drive and then I could run some diagnostics. It won't boot to that either and now I don't know how to get the cdrom out.

This iMac it too old for Apple to repair. Any suggestions? I need it for a second system to run along side my MBP.

Thanks for your help.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8), model 4,1, Intel Core Due 32-bit

Posted on Mar 6, 2015 2:06 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,709 points

Mar 6, 2015 2:19 PM in response to veehbJ

The first iMac with a 24" screen was released in September 2006 and is a model 6,1. No model 4,1 was available with a 24" screen. The last Model 4,1 iMacs had a 20" screen and was released in January 2006. The maximum OS for it was Snow Leopard. It is considered Obsolete.

You need to reinstall Snow Leopard which can be done without erasing the drive (assuming the drive is OK.) You do need to boot from a Snow Leopard DVD. Can you get the installer DVD to mount on the Desktop? How did you try booting from the DVD? Did you do this:

Booting From An OS X Installer Disc

1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.

2. Restart the computer.

3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.

4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple

logo appears.

5. Wait for installer to finish loading.

Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive

Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:

1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the

left mouse button until the disc ejects.

2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.

3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.

4. Press COMMAND-E.

5. If none of the above work try this: Open the Terminal application in

your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following:

/usr/bin/drutil eject

If this fails then try this:

Boot the computer into Single-user Mode. At the prompt enter the same command as used above. To restart the computer enter "reboot" at the prompt without quotes.

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Answer 2

veehbJ Author

Level 1

54 points

Mar 6, 2015 2:41 PM in response to Kappy

Thanks, Kappy for your quick reply

You are right, this is a 20" iMac and has the Intel Core Due 32-bit processor. It was running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) and was running just fine. I turned it on and got the grey screen, apple logo and spinning gear. I have read many suggestions in this forum, but nothing seems to work. The only peripherals are the Apple keyboard and mouse. I've tried moving them to different USB ports. I've tried to boot in Single User mode. I put the cdrom in and have tried booting with the C key help down. I've tried to reset the NVRAM, didn't do anything.

Without the system running, none of the eject CDROM options will work.

It won't boot to the CDROM (or DVD?).

I understand that Apple no longer supports this computer.

Any other suggestions? Maybe I need to find a non-Apple repair shot and let them take a look. I'd really like to get it running again.

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,709 points

Mar 6, 2015 2:56 PM in response to veehbJ

I hate to say that the hard drive may have died or some other serious hardware failure has occurred.

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Answer 4

veehbJ Author

Level 1

54 points

Mar 6, 2015 9:08 PM in response to Kappy

Kappy,

Yes, I'm afraid you are probably right, that I have a hardware failure. Guess I'll invest a few bucks and see what it will take to get it running again. It works great as a second computer when I need four screens.

If it's too expensive to repair, I might just pick up a new 27" iMac. I'm trying to decide if it is worth the cost to go to the high resolution screen. I don't do a lot of video or high end photo processing. My MBP isn't going to last forever (it's four years old and hanging in there). Either of them can run two external monitors. That is a lot of screen real estate.

A lot of us sure appreciate your help and advice here, Kappy!

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