HELP! I think my iMac has died - blank screen on startup

[rediffusion]

Hi,

My iMac chimes when I press the start button but the screen doesn't come on. It's making a whirring noise so it's doing something. There's a DVD in it but it won't come out when i press the eject button on my keyboard. The iMac also doesn't show up on the network of my MacBook which it usually does

I was having a few problems earlier this week with the screen doing strange things - occasionally turning off, then coming back on. It was suggested that it might be a dying logic board but I tried a Apple Hardware Test this morning but it said no problems found.

I have some files backed up but desperately need to get some recent documents off it [I know, I should have backed it up more often :(]. Is there any way to get access to the files on the hard disc?

Has anybody got any advice?

R ;)

[celticpride678]

Try resetting the PRAM and SMC.

It sounds like a failed logic board/hard drive though.

[rediffusion]

Try resetting the PRAM and SMC.

It sounds like a failed logic board/hard drive though.

How do i do that?

[celticpride678]

How do i do that?

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

[rediffusion]

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

neither seem to work :(

any other ideas?

[celticpride678]

neither seem to work :(

any other ideas?

None from me, again, it sounds like a failed logic board, which would have to be replaced.

[rediffusion]

is there any way of connecting another monitor to the iMac to view the HD?

[celticpride678]

is there any way of connecting another monitor to the iMac to view the HD?

If the logic board failed, it wouldn't matter (it's not the display if it can't be found on the network either).

[Mac-Michael]

is there any way of connecting another monitor to the iMac to view the HD?

Does the iMac have FireWire? Target Disk Mode (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661)

This won't work if the above poster is right.

[rediffusion]

Does the iMac have FireWire? Target Disk Mode (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661)

This won't work if the above poster is right.

Thanks for your advice, I'm going to try this tonight when I get home from work.

I've made an appointment at the Apple Genius bar tomorrow for them to look at it. One concern is that I have some 'dubious' software on the machine. How much do Apple snoop around on your hard disc when they do repairs?

[mrsir2009]

Thanks for your advice, I'm going to try this tonight when I get home from work.

I've made an appointment at the Apple Genius bar tomorrow for them to look at it. One concern is that I have some 'dubious' software on the machine. How much do Apple snoop around on your hard disc when they do repairs?

You mean illegal? I don't think its any of their business, and they wouldn't do anything even if they did see it.

[rediffusion]

You mean illegal? I don't think its any of their business, and they wouldn't do anything even if they did see it.

Yes, I confess :(
So I should be OK?

[ouimetnick]

Yes, I confess :(
So I should be OK?

Yes, you should be fine. Just let us know what Apple said the problem is. i want to know the results of your visit

[rediffusion]

Yes, you should be fine. Just let us know what Apple said the problem is. i want to know the results of your visit

Turns out it was the graphics card that had gone. It cost me $579 to get it fixed - that'll teach me not to get AppleCare :(

[ouimetnick]

Turns out it was the graphics card that had gone. It cost me $579 to get it fixed - that'll teach me not to get AppleCare :(

:confused:If it was under AppleCare, the repair would be free.:confused:

[rediffusion]

...that'll teach me not to get AppleCare :(

ie - i haven't got AppleCare and have now been taught an expensive lesson :eek:

[rediffusion]

This is going from bad to worse. Less than 36 hours after I picked up my repaired iMac, this is happening....

First this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-VWVSHLT7w

And then....

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/9343/mobilephotojul242010836.jpg

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/9343/mobilephotojul242010836.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/313/mobilephotojul242010837.jpg

:(

As you can imagine, I'm not too happy. When I took it to the genius bar I specifically asked told them that I didn't want to pay $579 for a new graphics card if there were other problems.

Some questions:
Anybody know what this new problem is? Logic board?
Where do I stand with Apple?
What should I do next?

I would appreciate some advice before I spend another $20 on a taxi to the Apple store.

thanks,
R ;)

[JAPears]

looks like its probably a logic board issue, considering they just swapped the graphics out, unless they gave you a faulty gpu

[rediffusion]

I've made an appointment with the Apple Genius Bar tomorrow. I fear that the computer will need to be replaced but am frustrated that I asked them to give it a thorough examination when I took it in. I clearly explained that it was doing strange things before the screen stopped working completely. I also made it clear that I didn't want to replace the graphics card if there were also other unrepairable issues (which there clearly were).

I am now worried that they will not refund the repair costs for a computer that no longer works properly. I really can't afford paying the $579 plus having to get a new iMac.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

thanks,
R

[tiptopp]

I had problems over the weekend with my iMac, so decided to search MR, and came across your post. My symptoms are almost exactly the same, although I turned off sound before the last time I used it, so don't know if it's chiming or not. And I'm not convinced it's trying very hard to boot up.

We'd been having problems with it which were very similar to when my Macbook disk went, so I thought that I'd do the hardware tests. 20 minutes into the extended version, the screen went blank, which is apparently normal when it's checking the graphics card. But three hours later it was still black, and no amount of restarting with option/C/D/Eject/Mouse buttons will bring it back to life. There's no sign of it on the network, so I might try the firewire trick tonight, but I'm seeing a Genius tomorrow... Just hope it's not as expensive as your problem looks!

On the other hand, with a possible iMac refresh on the near horizon, this might be an upgrade opportunity!

Cheers,

TT