Uses for a dead iMac?

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Matt
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My old-ish (2012) iMac has had its graphic card die - grey screen with vertical pink bars on the boot and a perpetual booting loop I can't get any control over.

Any ideas what to do with it? Disposal if I strip it down and destroy the HDD? (Or can I somehow gain control to securely wipe it?)

Or can I somehow rig it as a monitor for an old pc?

Or is getting the card fixed even worth considering? It had been displaying a few quirks so I was in the process of thinking about retiring it.

All suggestions welcome!

Thanks
 
What Neil said. Remove the old HDD first (put it in a caddy to keep using it or drill through it if you want to throw it away). If you can't get it out then drill through the casing in the region you expect to find the drive.

I suspect the graphics chip is soldered to the mobo, and the screen is driven through a proprietary connector to prevent it being recyclable.
 
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Macs seem to last 5 years at best now. It's really end of life. Any money spent on repair will probably be a waste.

I used Bramley Computers when mine first went wrong. They cleaned it out and it was less weird than before but I think my graphics card was on the way out too as it would put random squares on the screen particularly when the HDD was being accessed. I sold mine to them after I got a new one.

I'd think if they buy it off you they'd sort out wiping the drive for you. The main issue is detaching it from 'find my mac' if you have that turned on and detaching it from your apple id. I hadn't realised what a security feature that is as it makes it impossible for someone to just wipe the drive and reinstall macosx as it knows the computer was yours until you detach it yourself.
 
I'd think if they buy it off you they'd sort out wiping the drive for you. The main issue is detaching it from 'find my mac' if you have that turned on and detaching it from your apple id. I hadn't realised what a security feature that is as it makes it impossible for someone to just wipe the drive and reinstall macosx as it knows the computer was yours until you detach it yourself.

It should be easy to wipe with a non-apple computer: just format the drive to prevent casual data access, or use data destruction software to over-write the drive.
 
Makes sense, but any idea how to wipe hdd if I can't get I? Security us my only concern with that route.
Can you get it to boot to utility? Hold the option key I think (the one that looks like a train track junction) boot to recovery and do disk utils.

Otherwise it's a screen off job to get the drive out physically.

Gotta love the all in ones..
 
You can buy connectors that you can use internal HDD externally on any PC with two usb ports. One for power and the other for data.
I have the cables somewhere, I will take a pic if I can find them.
Its slow to use everyday but you can wipe them clean at least that way, I did it with a laptop hdd before.
However apple probably put the most awkward obscure connector on the hdd possible so you cant do anything with it yourself.
 
It seems someone on ebay has a similar problem (but their bars are green, not pink).
If you read the description, they found a way to access and wipe the disk; will this work on yours?
 
Macs seem to last 5 years at best now. It's really end of life. Any money spent on repair will probably be a waste.

I used Bramley Computers when mine first went wrong. They cleaned it out and it was less weird than before but I think my graphics card was on the way out too as it would put random squares on the screen particularly when the HDD was being accessed. I sold mine to them after I got a new one.

I'd think if they buy it off you they'd sort out wiping the drive for you. The main issue is detaching it from 'find my mac' if you have that turned on and detaching it from your apple id. I hadn't realised what a security feature that is as it makes it impossible for someone to just wipe the drive and reinstall macosx as it knows the computer was yours until you detach it yourself.

Thanks ;-)

2012 (no DVD drive) the graphics card is integrated into the logic board so very pricey. 2011 & earlier they're separate so can be replaced but still not cheap. I might have one in stock though possibly.

Failing that as Suzy says above I buy them, rip the drives out & securely wipe them (before or after recovering the data if needed).

If it'll boot off the recovery partition (which they'll often do even if won't boot normally as it's less strain on the graphics, if you can get into disk utility you can securely wipe the drive there.
 
If your breaking it up what kind of keyboard is on it, UK or US?
 
Just had the same this week with my old 2010 I.mac ,so having been there I can advise you properly , the screen is really simple to remove ,get a sat nav or similar plastic sucker ,stick to right hand top side of screen pull firmly but gently and the screen will detach itself slightly ,then insert a old credit card type item in the gap slide it along to the other end and lift the screen off ,the l.c.d is now in view it's held on by 8 screws ,you need a small hexagon head screwdriver or kit to unscrew those ,you can't lose them as they stick to the screen magnets ,the l.c.d will now tilt forward ,there are 4 electrical connectors to undo very easy if a bit fiddly .
Now lift off the L.C.D screen and the hard drive is dead centre held in by 4 more star screws ,undo and lift out .

Keep the old hard drive if needed ,it can be used as a back up in a 3.5 inch enclosure and you can also access your info off of it

. It takes less time to do this hard drive removal around 10 minutes than to type it .plenty of vids on u.tube to .you can re-assemble the carcass now don't bother to re.connect wires and you now have a spares if repair carcass without your personal info on it .as soon as my new one arrives it's e.bay bound
 
If your breaking it up what kind of keyboard is on it, UK or US?
Got a wireless keyboard and mouse from mine for sale ,not sure of a price without checking ,see post above
 
Sorry didn't read the first post properly stating it was a imac, I should stop reading the forums in the pub, especially after a few pints
 
here is the connector, its like £4 or something

rhgfnn1406166475009.jpg
 
here is the connector, its like £4 or something

rhgfnn1406166475009.jpg
Nope that won't fit a i.mac hard drive as far as I can see ,I would post a pic but no I.mac I,m afraid LOL
 
It's the same connector, but that'll only power a 2.5" drive, it won't supply enough juice to power a 3.5" drive in an iMac (unless you've a post 2012 21" as they do use a 2.5" drive)
 
Take it to the mac store. I have a 2011 model and I had similar issues. First I took it to a third party mac doctor. Apparently the board had overheated and the graphics chip had melted off the board. They fixed it for a couple of hundred quid. 6 months later it happened again. I took it to another shop and they told me there is a known issue with certain models and they have a recall or some such. I was advised to take it to Apple Store and not mention I'd had it fixed prior. I did and they replaced the logic board for free.
That was 2 years ago or so. So yeah you might be in luck. Worth a go or looking into at least. Good luck.
 
They will probably consider it a obsolete model now though ,I phoned round a Couple of places with mine and was quoted more for a repair than it was worth .name of the game these days bite the bullet and buy a new one
 
Take it to the mac store. I have a 2011 model and I had similar issues. First I took it to a third party mac doctor. Apparently the board had overheated and the graphics chip had melted off the board. They fixed it for a couple of hundred quid. 6 months later it happened again. I took it to another shop and they told me there is a known issue with certain models and they have a recall or some such. I was advised to take it to Apple Store and not mention I'd had it fixed prior. I did and they replaced the logic board for free.
That was 2 years ago or so. So yeah you might be in luck. Worth a go or looking into at least. Good luck.

I've read they extended this for 3 years post purchase so I may be out of time, but no harm in giving it a go - will see what they say...

Just had the same this week with my old 2010 I.mac ,so having been there I can advise you properly , the screen is really simple to remove ,get a sat nav or similar plastic sucker ,stick to right hand top side of screen pull firmly but gently and the screen will detach itself slightly ,then insert a old credit card type item in the gap slide it along to the other end and lift the screen off ,the l.c.d is now in view it's held on by 8 screws ,you need a small hexagon head screwdriver or kit to unscrew those ,you can't lose them as they stick to the screen magnets ,the l.c.d will now tilt forward ,there are 4 electrical connectors to undo very easy if a bit fiddly .
Now lift off the L.C.D screen and the hard drive is dead centre held in by 4 more star screws ,undo and lift out .

Keep the old hard drive if needed ,it can be used as a back up in a 3.5 inch enclosure and you can also access your info off of it

. It takes less time to do this hard drive removal around 10 minutes than to type it .plenty of vids on u.tube to .you can re-assemble the carcass now don't bother to re.connect wires and you now have a spares if repair carcass without your personal info on it .as soon as my new one arrives it's e.bay bound

Thanks for this - really helpful and will give it a go later if a call to the Apple store fails.
 
There's no need to dismantle - hold T key down and boot. That should put the machine into target disk mode. Plug in to another Mac using Thunderbolt or FireWire and the drive will appear as an external device on the working Mac. From there you can copy and/or delete date, erase the drive (with various security options) and re=partition.

Current machines without Thunderbolt or FireWire can also use USB-C. Standard USB 2/3 is not supported.
 
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