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2011 iMac not starting, then starting, and then not starting again

H

Henrik85

Cancelled
Original poster
Mar 3, 2009
52
0
My 27 inc iMac (bought in July 2011) is acting really strange.

I've been away for one week, and the iMac has been disconnected from the power outlet during this time.

When I first tried to power it on, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. Imagine pressing the power button with the power cord disconnected. That's how it was.

I tried plugging it out and back in, with or without USB devices etc, but it was just completely dead.

All I could do at this point was to call Apple, so I disconnected everything and laid the iMac face down on the sofa in order to see the serial number.

Then, when I plugged it back in, it started on the 4th or 5th attempt. Everything was working fine.

Then, I powered it off and tried to start it again. Guess what? Dead again.

After pressing the power button about 15 times, it started again, and now I'm too scared to turn it off. Restarting works.

It was working 100% perfect before I left. There's nothing wrong with the power strip it's connected to.

What the h*ll is going on?
 
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Ok, it seems to be working now. I've started it several times now, and I even pulled out the power cord and tried. No problems.

Very, very strange though.
 
It's been starting just fine every day since my last post... I also went for a shorter trip (5 days) recently, where I also left the iMac unplugged. Worked fine when I got back... Strange indeed.
 
Seriously...

Guess what? It happened today - AGAIN! :mad:

I've been on the phone with Apple for like 2 hours.

At first it was just _completely_ dead. I don't think it has been this "dead" before. I started hoping that I maybe would get a completely new machine, or my money back.

But eventually, after a lot of button-pressing and cable-inserting, it finally started again, as usual.

Then they made me run the "Capture Data" app which renders a tgz file that you send back to them. It showed nothing wrong (of course).

Then I was instructed to reset the PRAM. Dunno if that had any effect.

Then, finally, they wanted me to run the pre-boot hardware diagnostics. Nothing there either.

So right now, it works and turns on every time. But I know it won't last forever. It's VERY irritating actually. Right now I just feel like selling it, I've had enough... But then I will either loose a lot of money by selling it cheaper and telling the buyer about this potential problem, OR sell it without saying anything which could come back to haunt me later, even though the computer still has a lot left on its warranty. Anyway, I think I'm just too honest to do that...

EDIT: I think I'll just never turn it off anymore... Rebooting it always works 100%, so I'll just put it to sleep when I'm not using it... Should save me a lot of frustration, don't you think?
 
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Resetting pram is the first thing you should do if anythings is acting weird.

Id just shut it down and see if it still happens. If it does reset pram and see if it happens again, if so call apple and let them know so they can take a closer look themselves. There's only so much you can do over the phone.
 
Ive seen this on an iMac at work, old 24" model
Leave it turned off at the power point over night, come in the next day, turn on the power point and if I press the power button immediately on the iMac it won't turn on. Leave it for 10-15secs and then no problem. Maybe there are some capacitors or something that need to be charged before it turns on?
 
Alpha-Sphere said:
Resetting pram is the first thing you should do if anythings is acting weird.
Click to expand...

I did that. Dunno if it helped. This actually made me start putting my iMac to sleep all the time, rather than shutting it off.. I can't believe I didn't start doing that earlier, it's just so much more convenient.
 
basher said:
Since the iMac is still new it might be best to take it to an Apple store to take advantage of your warranty.
Click to expand...
The problem is that is really hard to point out a fault if it happens 100% randomly... I can't prove that it happens, it's as simple as that.

If it ever happens again, I'll record it, as proof :p
 
Henrik85 said:
So right now, it works and turns on every time. But I know it won't last forever. It's VERY irritating actually. Right now I just feel like selling it, I've had enough... But then I will either loose a lot of money by selling it cheaper and telling the buyer about this potential problem, OR sell it without saying anything which could come back to haunt me later, even though the computer still has a lot left on its warranty. Anyway, I think I'm just too honest to do that...
Click to expand...

Selling a computer with a known but hidden fault without telling the buyer is very dodgy and could be fraud. Not something I would try.

Make sure that you have an official record of the problem. Apple will have to fix a problem that was present when the Mac was sold long after the one year warranty runs out.

On the positive side, the problem might be with the power switch and nothing else. Maybe a problem with the power switch not working when it's not very warm. You came home from a holiday, you turned the heating off or low while you were not at home, power switch doesn't work, and it works again once the room warms up. A problem like that, the repair person might never find it. On the other hand, the Mac would work for many years even with that problem.
 
I realize that posting here is pretty much pointless... But I just thought I'd let you know that it happened once again today... The iMac had been disconnected from the AC during the night. Moved it to another location, and it's completely dead again. I've tried everything, and I don't think it's ever going to boot up again... This is my first and last iMac ever... :mad:
 
Henrik85 said:
I realize that posting here is pretty much pointless... But I just thought I'd let you know that it happened once again today... The iMac had been disconnected from the AC during the night. Moved it to another location, and it's completely dead again. I've tried everything, and I don't think it's ever going to boot up again... This is my first and last iMac ever... :mad:
Click to expand...

You're still in warranty with or without AppleCare. Just demand a replacement.

And don't let one faulty unit turn you off the entire brand. All technology has some amount of failure rate.
 
forty2j said:
You're still in warranty with or without AppleCare. Just demand a replacement.

And don't let one faulty unit turn you off the entire brand. All technology has some amount of failure rate.
Click to expand...
Actually, my warranty just expired :( I hope it's not going to be too expensive...

I've had four different Macs, two iPhones, and lot's of other Apple products, and this machine is the only one I've ever had any troubles with... Probably just bad luck :(
 
Left it plugged in over night... Came home... Started on the first try... Then I shut it down... and it's dead again :confused:

I managed to get it to start one more time.

I'll leave it unplugged during the night and take it to the place where I got it first thing tomorrow. I might still be covered by a Swedish consumer law which is valid regardless of Apple's warranty.
 
I'm having the same problem.

My iMac is experiencing the same problem, you got any solution?
 
Should have taken it in when it first had the issue. Don't let those Apple fraudsters claim your warranty is up. They should have fixed it when it was in warranty. Their own fault for not telling you to get it serviced.
 
alan.ocs said:
My iMac is experiencing the same problem, you got any solution?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately not. I sent it off to a repair/service center, and they couldn't reproduce the fault (just as I expected). Even though it was completely dead when I first brought it in (I told them to test it). It started on the first try when I got it home again, and then started again on the first try... Anyway, I'll just "live with it" now. As long as I just sleep/wake it, it works flawless... It's the best computer I've ever owned apart from that, and I'm not planning on replacing it for a long, long time.
 
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