3 week old 27" iMac woes

[DrewDaHilp1]

So yesterday I woke up to have my brand new iMac froze(I could move the cursor but couldn't click anything). I shut it down and turned it back on only to get stuck on the grey screen. Restarted ran disc utility, checked and verified, restarted, still got the grey screen. Ran hardware test, came up ok. Reset PRAM nothing. Tried reinstalling Mount Lion, got stuck on negative time remaining( I let it go over night and it got to -6 hours plus). Contacted Apple Support and they just ran me through things I've already done.
Called Apple Support back and ask for a senior tech who has me running an internet recovery which I don't think I tried before. Hopefully this works, never had a problem with my other iMacs other than having to replace a HDD on an older machine.
This is so frustrating.

ETA: Have Genius appointment for later today. If they can't get it to work I don't want a repair, I want a replacement.

 

[Serban]

let us know.
in how many hours have you Genius appointment ?

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

let us know.
in how many hours have you Genius appointment ?

About 3 hours from now. I'll keep this updated.

 

[DerekS]

I'm betting the hard drive died. It happens, even with new hardware.

 

[Brian Y]

Did the restore not work then?

Does sound like a HDD - if you bought it FROM Apple, they'll replace it - if you bought it elsewhere you'll probably have to go back to the place you bought it from if you want a new one.

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Did the restore not work then?

Does sound like a HDD - if you bought it FROM Apple, they'll replace it - if you bought it elsewhere you'll probably have to go back to the place you bought it from if you want a new one.

None of the restores worked. Yes I bought it from Apple. My genius appointment is a little under 2 hours away. I'm going to see what my options are after that.

 

[Brian Y]

None of the restores worked. Yes I bought it from Apple. My genius appointment is a little under 2 hours away. I'm going to see what my options are after that.

They'll most likely just replace it

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Well got to the Apple Store 15 minutes early for my appointment then it took the genius 20 minutes past my appointment to get to me. The genius couldn't do anything. Hardware all tested okay with their diagnostic tools. They tried to reinstall OS several times and couldn't, something about it getting confused/not working with the fusion drive.
Worse part of it all is that I lost a over a years worth of data because I hadn't got around to getting big enough external HDD to back it up.
I was never expecting a brand new machine to fail(lesson learned).
Now I'm on the phone with customer service trying to set up a return, simply because I don't want to have to deal with the hassle of going to the Apple Store again it's over an hour round trip, not to mention having to fight to get an employees attention.

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Just got off the phone with Apple estimated date of delivery for a new one is Mar 18th-25th. Another month of waiting.

 

[mushroomtip]

Well got to the Apple Store 15 minutes early for my appointment then it took the genius 20 minutes past my appointment to get to me. The genius couldn't do anything. Hardware all tested okay with their diagnostic tools. They tried to reinstall OS several times and couldn't, something about it getting confused/not working with the fusion drive.
Worse part of it all is that I lost a over a years worth of data because I hadn't got around to getting big enough external HDD to back it up.
I was never expecting a brand new machine to fail(lesson learned).
Now I'm on the phone with customer service trying to set up a return, simply because I don't want to have to deal with the hassle of going to the Apple Store again it's over an hour round trip, not to mention having to fight to get an employees attention.

why didnt you do a return while you were at the store ? they should have done it right there when they knew there was nothing they could do. what kind of geniuses are they ?

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Update

I was able to separate the Fusion drives, and install the OS on to the HDD. Now I just have to figure out how to link them back together.

ETA:

So I was able to relink the drives, had to reinstall OS after that. I've shut down a few times and it seems to work okay. I'm not 100% confident in my repair so I am going to call apple and see if I can have my replacement sent to the local store that way I can still have a computer to use while I wait on the replacement.

 

[Brian Y]

why didnt you do a return while you were at the store ? they should have done it right there when they knew there was nothing they could do. what kind of geniuses are they ?

Realistic ones?

They either didn't have stock or it was a CTO model. They can't just build a CTO machine in store for him to take away

Op: they will usually do an advance replacement (i.e. ship you a new one and THEN collect the old one) but they'll normally take a credit card as deposit for obvious reasons .

 

[mushroomtip]

Realistic ones?

They either didn't have stock or it was a CTO model. They can't just build a CTO machine in store for him to take away

Op: they will usually do an advance replacement (i.e. ship you a new one and THEN collect the old one) but they'll normally take a credit card as deposit for obvious reasons .

I would have returned it on the spot then walked over to a display model and placed a new order . or wait til the funds clear then place a new order. there was no reason to bring the defected unit home to process a return.

 

[itsamacthing]

Backups... backups, and one more backup. Always have them

 

[Brian Y]

I would have returned it on the spot then walked over to a display model and placed a new order . or wait til the funds clear then place a new order. there was no reason to bring the defected unit home to process a return.

Again, if it's CTO or bought online they cannot do a refund in store. The systems are not linked.

They can order a replacement, or if it was a standard model (not CTO) they can swap it (depending on stock) or put the money back onto a gift card (which cannot be spent online).

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

I would have returned it on the spot then walked over to a display model and placed a new order . or wait til the funds clear then place a new order. there was no reason to bring the defected unit home to process a return.

It was a BTO so I couldn't have even exchanged it right then and there. I know it sounds stupid but I took it home in the hopes of recovering my data, but instead decided to try and fix it myself which I did. I'm supposed to send this one off ASAP and then wait until mid March to get the replacement. I am going to call Apple again today and see if I can keep this one and have the replacement shipped to the store and do an exchange there.

Yes I seemed to have fixed it, but I'm weary to trust this one 100%.

 

[Ephland]

It was a BTO so I couldn't have even exchanged it right then and there. I know it sounds stupid but I took it home in the hopes of recovering my data, but instead decided to try and fix it myself which I did. I'm supposed to send this one off ASAP and then wait until mid March to get the replacement. I am going to call Apple again today and see if I can keep this one and have the replacement shipped to the store and do an exchange there.

Yes I seemed to have fixed it, but I'm weary to trust this one 100%.

This same issue just happened to me last night, although I am on a 2010 27". Were you able to retrieve all your data? Could you explain how you were able to fix the issue?

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

This same issue just happened to me last night, although I am on a 2010 27". Were you able to retrieve all your data? Could you explain how you were able to fix the issue?

I wasn't able to save my data, fortunately I have copies of the truly important things backed up in multiple areas.

The fix. Well the problem first, Mountain Lion was getting stuck in the endless install loop. After my genius appointment and the genius mentioning that he thought the fusion was what was causing the hang, I looked up how to detach the fusion(which is basically just deleting the drive).
I found the link to an Ars article on how to do it in this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1485175/
The link to the actual article is here http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/11/achieving-fusion-with-a-service-training-doc-ars-tears-open-apples-fusion-drive/

Once I had the fusion separated I reinstalled ML, and the drives showed up independantly. I chose to install on the HDD. Once the install was complete, it was up and running with the drives separate. I shut down just to see if it would restart and it couldn't because it couldn't find the start up files.

Here's where my memory is lacking because it was late(to me) when I doing all of this. I am pretty sure that I restarted and used disk utility(the drives show up red and an error message appears you can chose to fix or to ignore) to fix how the system saw the two drives and then just reinstalled ML again and the install took. It was that or reverse, disk utility to fix the drives and then reinstall ML.

Since then I've been able to shut down and restart with no problems whatsoever and it appears to be working fine.

 

[Ephland]

I wasn't able to save my data, fortunately I have copies of the truly important things backed up in multiple areas.

The fix. Well the problem first, Mountain Lion was getting stuck in the endless install loop. After my genius appointment and the genius mentioning that he thought the fusion was what was causing the hang, I looked up how to detach the fusion(which is basically just deleting the drive).
I found the link to an Ars article on how to do it in this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1485175/
The link to the actual article is here http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/11/achieving-fusion-with-a-service-training-doc-ars-tears-open-apples-fusion-drive/

Once I had the fusion separated I reinstalled ML, and the drives showed up independantly. I chose to install on the HDD. Once the install was complete, it was up and running with the drives separate. I shut down just to see if it would restart and it couldn't because it couldn't find the start up files.

Here's where my memory is lacking because it was late(to me) when I doing all of this. I am pretty sure that I restarted and used disk utility(the drives show up red and an error message appears you can chose to fix or to ignore) to fix how the system saw the two drives and then just reinstalled ML again and the install took. It was that or reverse, disk utility to fix the drives and then reinstall ML.

Since then I've been able to shut down and restart with no problems whatsoever and it appears to be working fine.

Thanks for the response. Since I am on a 2010 iMac, the Fusion Drive isn't part of the equation, which is confusing me because other than that, my issue sounds exactly like yours.

I was able to start from the original disc, ran Disk First Aid and everything checks out OK. The drive shows up, correctly named and looking completely normal. But the thing will still not get past that grey screen on its own.

 

[mushroomtip]

Again, if it's CTO or bought online they cannot do a refund in store. The systems are not linked.

They can order a replacement, or if it was a standard model (not CTO) they can swap it (depending on stock) or put the money back onto a gift card (which cannot be spent online).

Again you can get a refund in store . at least that is the case in NY .

----------

It was a BTO so I couldn't have even exchanged it right then and there. I know it sounds stupid but I took it home in the hopes of recovering my data, but instead decided to try and fix it myself which I did. I'm supposed to send this one off ASAP and then wait until mid March to get the replacement. I am going to call Apple again today and see if I can keep this one and have the replacement shipped to the store and do an exchange there.

Yes I seemed to have fixed it, but I'm weary to trust this one 100%.

that makes complete sense now . I would definitely exchange it , even after your fix. were you able to recover you data ?

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Thanks for the response. Since I am on a 2010 iMac, the Fusion Drive isn't part of the equation, which is confusing me because other than that, my issue sounds exactly like yours.

I was able to start from the original disc, ran Disk First Aid and everything checks out OK. The drive shows up, correctly named and looking completely normal. But the thing will still not get past that grey screen on its own.

Sounds like your HDD is failing.

 

[Brian Y]

Again you can get a refund in store . at least that is the case in NY .

You cannot return BTO models in store for a refund. They have a custom part number which is not recognised by retail till systems - hence no refund.

The only way they could possible do a refund in store is if they take it, ship it to Apple themselves, and then have the online store process the refund when they receive it. Might as well do it yourself.

 

[jaxhunter]

They can return BTO machines in-store but they may not be able to replace them. Some of the BTO parts are simply not available in-store. At my store we returned a number of BTO machines and repalced them with upgraded machines on the spot. Usually this only works if there was a base machine that could have it's memory upgraded. Sometimes we would discount a higher priced machine to better matcht he specs but that was a rare customer-service case. For the most part though the only thing you can do in-store with a BTO machine is get a refund. But don't let them tell you they can't return the machine; there's always a way for them to override the system and get you your money back.

As far as that is concerned there should be no reason an Apple Store gift card won't work online. I used 3 to purchase my 2012 iMac. you can use up to 8 at a time. There may be some location specific rules that alter this but in general you should be able to make it work.

As a former Genius I will say this: a machine can and will be replaced at any time for any reason other than damage during the return period (whatever that is). We extended the cuoutesy of a replacement machine for a little bit outside that window for iMac customers because of the difficulty of opening the machine and the likelihood that it just won't be the same after the repair (dust under the glass or things just don't sit right, etc). All the other machines (Mac Pro, Mac Mini or any of the MacBooks) would require a major repair (display, power supply or logic board) to "qualify" for a machine replacement after the return period expires. After about a month or so then a machine would need at least 4 major repairs during the warranty period to qualify for a replacement. This is where AppleCare can really be a benefit.

Say 2-3 years from the date of purchase your iMac needs it's 4th major repair. If you had purchased AppleCare you could push Apple to replace your machine. At this point the Geniuses would replace your old machine with a brand new unit that most closely matches your old machine's specs and purchase price. If you had not purchased AppleCare and extended your warranty then it does not matter how many repairs you had on the machine after the first year. You could probably write a letter to Tim Cook and plead your case but no store manager would authorize such a replacement on an out-of-warranty machine unless there were extreme circumstances.

 

[mushroomtip]

You cannot return BTO models in store for a refund. They have a custom part number which is not recognised by retail till systems - hence no refund.

The only way they could possible do a refund in store is if they take it, ship it to Apple themselves, and then have the online store process the refund when they receive it. Might as well do it yourself.

well the Apple return policy must be wrong .

 

[Brian Y]

well the Apple return policy must be wrong .

Must be different in the US then. It's not possible this side of the pond.