2010 21.5" iMac SSD upgrade

[iTurbo]

My Mom recently bought a new 2017 27" iMac to replace her old 2010 21.5" model. It sounds like the HDD went out on the old one and refused to boot.

She wanted to know if I wanted it, so I found an SSD upgrade from OWC for it and watched the upgrade video last night. Seems pretty straightforward and the price doesn't seem bad (~$160) for the 240 GB version which includes a NewerTech adapter and thermal sensor. Seems like it'd be a good performance gain as well.

Questions:
Has anybody else here used this upgrade on their iMac?
If indeed the HDD did fail, should the iMac still boot on the original DVD?
What would be the best version of OSX to run on this iMac? It is dual core i3 and has 12 GB RAM.

 

[iTurbo]

OK, I have the aforementioned iMac in my possession and I've been trying to troubleshoot the problem.

Upon pressing the power button, I hear two odd clicks, but the apple logo appears on screen and the progress bar appears. I can hear the HDD (seems normal to me) and it gets about 1/2 through the startup progress bar and gives one final odd click and the iMac powers off.

I've tried resetting the SMC and pram (command-option-P-R) to no avail. I tried inserting the original Mac OSX DVD that came with it and that didn't do anything either. As a last ditch effort, I tried to start it holding down command-option-delete-shift to force it to startup off the optical drive and that didn't work either.

Does this sound like a failed HDD? Help before I spend money on this!!

 

[cwanja]

If you press C post chime, can you select the DVD and boot to that? I now you said you inserted the media, but did you try to boot from it?

The clicks sure sound like a hard-drive.

 

[iTurbo]

I found this article and have tried every key combination listed to get it to startup, including holding down 'C' at the startup chime, with the original Mac OSX installer DVD inserted. It seems to want to boot from the HDD no matter what. I am using an Apple extended keyboard with a wired USB connection as well.

https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/mac-startup-options/

 

[cwanja]

It is possible the DVD drive is no longer working and that could be the culprit of the clicking as well. Did you or does your mom know if anything was ever stuck in there that did not come out? If anything, you could take it to an Apple store and see if they can get it to boot. They will look at it for free, but extended repairs would cost you.

Without it booting to even a CD or external drive, I am not sure there is much hope for it.

 

[iTurbo]

Alright, finally some progress late last night!

It turns out the Apple extended keyboard (wired USB) I was using was broken so the iMac wasn't seeing the keys I was holding down. So I plugged in an Apple USB keyboard from my old Quicksilver G4 and finally got it to boot from the Mac OSX installer DVD.

With that, I went to Disk Utility and tried verifying the HDD. Immediately it told me that the HDD needed to be repaired. So I did that and it almost immediately said the HDD was repaired, but continued on repairing boot partition maps or something such for hours afterwards.....finally it told me that the HDD was not able to be repaired by Disk Utility and that I should back immediately back up files.

I tried starting it up off the HDD this morning just to see, and it still does the same thing. It gets 1/2-2/3 through the startup progress bar, lets out an odd click sound and powers itself down. I think I'm going to go ahead and order the 240GB SSD kit from OWC now that I'm sure the HDD has indeed failed.

 

[cwanja]

Sounds exactly like you are on the right trail. If you have a spare external hard-drive you could partition it and install macOS on there and run that for a few days to make sure that all of the other hardware works in the machine. But the fact that it is running from the DVD drive is a pretty good sign already.

 

[Guy Clark]

My Mom recently bought a new 2017 27" iMac to replace her old 2010 21.5" model. It sounds like the HDD went out on the old one and refused to boot.

She wanted to know if I wanted it, so I found an SSD upgrade from OWC for it and watched the upgrade video last night. Seems pretty straightforward and the price doesn't seem bad (~$160) for the 240 GB version which includes a NewerTech adapter and thermal sensor. Seems like it'd be a good performance gain as well.

Questions:
Has anybody else here used this upgrade on their iMac?
If indeed the HDD did fail, should the iMac still boot on the original DVD?
What would be the best version of OSX to run on this iMac? It is dual core i3 and has 12 GB RAM.

Personally I would go with a Seagate Hybrid Dive which will provide a significant performance with higher capacity for a lower price. I have carried out this upgrade on both my mid 2011 21.5" iMac and late 2015 21.5" 4k iMac and I can thoroughly recommend it
https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/solutions/solid-state-hybrid/
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+21.5-Inch+EMC+2389+Hard+Drive+Replacement/6284

The highest version of macOS you will be able to run is the current macOS High Sierra however it will not be compatible with the soon to be released macOS Mojave.

 

[iTurbo]

Thanks Guy, I will definitely look into the Seagate Hybrid Drive option too.

Some more progress on this iMac.

I started it up on the original Mac OSX installer DVD again today during my lunch hour and started Disk Utility. Clicked 'repair' again before leaving back to work and 4 hours later when I got home it was still at it. Thankfully about 15 minutes later it stopped and once again told me it was unable to repair the HDD.

But, I started it up off the HDD just to see what would happen and it took *forever*, but it actually booted up into 10.13.4 (High Sierra)!! It is slow as molasses and takes a good minute just to open a simple JPG picture!

The good thing is everything else seems to work just fine. About This Mac/System Report, Activity Monitor seems normal etc.. And it has even more RAM than I thought. It's maxed out with 16 GB!

 

[Zeke D]

If you decide to go the SSD route, don't bother with that kit from OWC. It's ridiculously overpriced, and is inelegant. You can do a better solution for less than half the price.

An ADATA SU800 256GB SSD is on Amazon for about $53: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K8A2A0E/ getting anything faster is a waste, since the 2010 is SATAII.

I recommend this adapter for $12 due to superior screw placement: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ELRRKW8/

Finally, get yourself a sensor (593-0493) and tape it to the SSD. You can get these for about $3: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iMac...ensor-Cable-922-8194-PN-593-0493/262061276596

If you have to get the sensor from china or something, use MacsFanControl until you get the sensor. The OWC sensor, aside from being $35, is rigid and you gotta screw around with it to make it fit good.

The amazon items are all fulfilled by Amazon, so they have free 2-day shipping to prime members.

Total cost for my solution: $70

 

[tyche]

I have a 21.5" iMac and when I installed my ssd I did this

1) install ssd with some two sided tape to hold it. These things are light and I don't juggle my iMac around
2) installed HDD Fan Control and configured it.

That was almost 7 years ago and I've never had a single problem with fan noise or overheating and it runs like a dream even today. High Sierra works just fine but there won't be another upgrade for this model.

Edit: just to clarify. I have 2010 model and I don’t use bootcamp.

 

[iTurbo]

Thanks Zeke for the info and links!

One other question.....The OWC kit includes two suction cups for removing the front glass. Do I necessarily need these or is there another way to remove it safely?

 

[Zeke D]

Thanks Zeke for the info and links!

One other question.....The OWC kit includes two suction cups for removing the front glass. Do I necessarily need these or is there another way to remove it safely?

Any suction cup will work. Go with this one for $4 (you can get two if you feel safer, and these are the same as the ones that come from OWC): https://www.amazon.com/Suction-iPhone-Screen-Repair-Trineybell/dp/B003FVVD70/

Even if you buy two of these suction cups, you're still half of what OWC wants.