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2 Week Old iMac - Hard Drive Problems

P

pete78

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 14, 2011
64
0
Hi all,

Got my 27inch 2012 iMac couple of weeks ago. Couple of days ago I could not log into the iMac, had to run Disk Utility and repair the drive. Now today, even though my iMac does boot up, when I run Disk Utility it comes back with errors, and when I try to run "repair" it says it's not possible that I need to reformat and reinstall the operating system. But like I said, I can still boot up and use the iMac (I'm typing this message from the iMac).

I have a Genius Bar appointment today. I'm a little concerned that I am getting these kinds of errors so soon, especially since this is my first iMac and my main reason for switching was to avoid some of the reliability/stability issues I had with PCs. Ironically, I've never had such a major HD issue with any of my PCs this early.

Should I automatically request a new HD? a new iMac? I've seen tear downs online, and I'm not very comfortable with people sucking out the screen and diving into my iMac two weeks in.

Obviously, this is all pretty frustrating.
 
WizardHunt

WizardHunt

macrumors 68000
May 11, 2007
1,694
38
Las Vegas, Nevada USA
pete78 said:
Hi all,

Got my 27inch 2012 iMac couple of weeks ago. Couple of days ago I could not log into the iMac, had to run Disk Utility and repair the drive. Now today, even though my iMac does boot up, when I run Disk Utility it comes back with errors, and when I try to run "repair" it says it's not possible that I need to reformat and reinstall the operating system. But like I said, I can still boot up and use the iMac (I'm typing this message from the iMac).

I have a Genius Bar appointment today. I'm a little concerned that I am getting these kinds of errors so soon, especially since this is my first iMac and my main reason for switching was to avoid some of the reliability/stability issues I had with PCs. Ironically, I've never had such a major HD issue with any of my PCs this early.

Should I automatically request a new HD? a new iMac? I've seen tear downs online, and I'm not very comfortable with people sucking out the screen and diving into my iMac two weeks in.

Obviously, this is all pretty frustrating.
Click to expand...

What is your configuration? Hard drive with fusion or without fusion? What size is the hard drive?
 
P

pete78

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 14, 2011
64
0
3TB, Fusion Drive. 3.4 i7. 680mx. 32GB (after market RAM from OWC).
 
lee27

lee27

macrumors regular
Mar 24, 2012
105
77
pete78 said:
Hi all,

Got my 27inch 2012 iMac couple of weeks ago. Couple of days ago I could not log into the iMac, had to run Disk Utility and repair the drive. Now today, even though my iMac does boot up, when I run Disk Utility it comes back with errors, and when I try to run "repair" it says it's not possible that I need to reformat and reinstall the operating system. But like I said, I can still boot up and use the iMac (I'm typing this message from the iMac).

I have a Genius Bar appointment today. I'm a little concerned that I am getting these kinds of errors so soon, especially since this is my first iMac and my main reason for switching was to avoid some of the reliability/stability issues I had with PCs. Ironically, I've never had such a major HD issue with any of my PCs this early.

Should I automatically request a new HD? a new iMac? I've seen tear downs online, and I'm not very comfortable with people sucking out the screen and diving into my iMac two weeks in.

Obviously, this is all pretty frustrating.
Click to expand...
I have the same issue
Have you tried repairing your HD in recovery mode?
 
Last edited:
P

pete78

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 14, 2011
64
0
lee27 said:
I have the same issue
Have you tried repairing your HD in recovery mode?
Click to expand...

Yes, and that's where I got the reformat and reinstall prompt. Going to the Apple Store now. Will report back.
 
James_C

James_C

macrumors 68030
Sep 13, 2002
2,817
1,822
Bristol, UK
Pete, Apple just uses the same components that you can find in most PC's although the Fusion drive is unique to Apple, it will be made with a pretty standard Hard Disk with a SSD drive.

The reputed reliability of Mac is partly because Apple spends a lot longer on the design of how the computer is put together than most PC's, and the fact that Apple has complete control over the hardware and the software. Microsoft has to contend with almost every combination of hardware you can imagine.

The actual hard disk in a Mac is as likely to fail as one in a Dell. Unfortunately it looks like you got a dud this time. Apple are very good, providing the machine is only a couple of weeks old if you take it back to the same shop you bought it they will allow you to swap it for a new one. If you have had it longer than that then you might need to book it in for repair.
 
P

pete78

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 14, 2011
64
0
As James, predicted, they offered me a new machine. They didn't even look into the issue too deeply because they agreed that this was not normal behavior for a brand new machine and they were not comfortable with anything but giving me a new unit. Problem is, who knows how long before I get the replacement iMac. Mind you I had waited nearly 2 months for this faulty iMac.

James, I understand that Apple uses the same components as PCs, but I've never had such a major issue so soon on any of the PCs that I've owned; so I understand the law of averages and that an iMac can fail, but in my particular case, given my extensive PC experience and the reasons for my switch to Apple, this is quite a disappointing experience (and an ironic one as well).

Hopefully the next iMac I receive works properly.
 
James_C

James_C

macrumors 68030
Sep 13, 2002
2,817
1,822
Bristol, UK
Pete,

Glad to hear they are going to replace it. Hopefully you will not have to wait too long. I am still using my 2006 Mac Pro, so hopefully your new iMac will last you a long time.
 
philipma1957

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,365
251
Howell, New Jersey
pete78 said:
As James, predicted, they offered me a new machine. They didn't even look into the issue too deeply because they agreed that this was not normal behavior for a brand new machine and they were not comfortable with anything but giving me a new unit. Problem is, who knows how long before I get the replacement iMac. Mind you I had waited nearly 2 months for this faulty iMac.

James, I understand that Apple uses the same components as PCs, but I've never had such a major issue so soon on any of the PCs that I've owned; so I understand the law of averages and that an iMac can fail, but in my particular case, given my extensive PC experience and the reasons for my switch to Apple, this is quite a disappointing experience (and an ironic one as well).

Hopefully the next iMac I receive works properly.
Click to expand...

how much was on your fusion drive. you had a 3tb hdd and is has a 128gb ssd.



there have been tests that show the ssd can be overwhelmed with volume. did you do a long copy to the iMac?


did you do a lot of info.




read this

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6679/a-month-with-apples-fusion-drive



he talks about the fusion drive issues as it fills. basically the bigger the ssd size is the longer it takes this to be a problem.
 
P

pete78

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 14, 2011
64
0
philipma1957 said:
how much was on your fusion drive. you had a 3tb hdd and is has a 128gb ssd.



there have been tests that show the ssd can be overwhelmed with volume. did you do a long copy to the iMac?


did you do a lot of info.




read this

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6679/a-month-with-apples-fusion-drive



he talks about the fusion drive issues as it fills. basically the bigger the ssd size is the longer it takes this to be a problem.
Click to expand...

Just to update and respond, the drive has 3.11TB capacity, and 2.89TB is free. I'm not sure if it is possible to see further breakdown (i.e., how much is on the regular HD and how much is on the 128GB flash storage drive). Only major program installed was Mac Office, nothing else. This all just very frustrating as this is my first iMac and was expecting worry-free and intuitive operation. Now, instead, I have a defective iMac and not sure when my replacement iMac will arrive.

Basically, my brand new, almost $3000 two-week old iMac feels and operates like a 2004 Dell Inspiron PC loaded with malware. The HD is all messed up, which is causing slow downs, freezing requiring hard reboots, weird sleep behavior, and never ending spinning rainbow icons. This sucks.
 
Last edited:
philipma1957

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,365
251
Howell, New Jersey
pete78 said:
Just to update and respond, the drive has 3.11TB capacity, and 2.89TB is free. I'm not sure if it is possible to see further breakdown (i.e., how much is on the regular HD and how much is on the 128GB flash storage drive). Only major program installed was Mac Office, nothing else. This all just very frustrating as this is my first iMac and was expecting worry-free and intuitive operation. Now, instead, I have a defective iMac and not sure when my replacement iMac will arrive.

Basically, my brand new, almost $3000 two-week old iMac feels and operates like a 2004 Dell Inspiron PC loaded with malware. The HD is all messed up, which is causing slow downs, freezing requiring hard reboots, weird sleep behavior, and never ending spinning rainbow icons. This sucks.
Click to expand...

no the fusion drive was not overfilled.
issue could be a defective hdd.
i have had new hdds run really slow due to defect.
this happened with 2008-2009 models of the 2.5 inch seagate 500gb 7200 rpm model.


that does really stink as now you have a long wait for a replacement.
 
Mike in Kansas

Mike in Kansas

macrumors 6502a
Sep 2, 2008
962
74
Metro Kansas City
pete78 said:
Just to update and respond, the drive has 3.11TB capacity, and 2.89TB is free. I'm not sure if it is possible to see further breakdown (i.e., how much is on the regular HD and how much is on the 128GB flash storage drive)
Click to expand...

For future reference, iStat Menus shows the activity and usage on a disk-by-disk basis in an FD array. Very interesting to watch what disks are getting written to or read from when doing things on your Mac.
 
CaptMike

CaptMike

macrumors regular
Mar 27, 2012
173
0
I received my fusion 21.5 a few days ago and I have not experienced any hard drive issues yet.
 
J

Jagretzky02

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2013
1
0
Same issues

I have also been having problems with my new iMac. Seems every time I restart it, it goes to the gray screen with the apple logo and a gear that spins and never does anything else, this is my third time with the issue. First time, I recovered from time machine backup. Second time, I called apple and they had me download and restore the OS thinking there may be a corrupt file which was yesterday. Today was the third time I went to restart and all I got was the gray screen. As long as I don't restart it the computer, it runs flawlessly. Of course with the money spent I want to be able to restart it. I have a Genius Bar appt. tomorrow, hopefully they can figure it and if it is the hdd they can replace it.

Received iMac mid January 2013 first issue was mid March, then May 5 and 6
27 in 1 TB fusion hdd.
Everything else is stock.
 
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