A mid-2010 iMac for free

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Throw it in the trash. Why fix it? It's junk. You collect empty beer, whiskey, milk bottles? Maybe toilet paper grommets?

The aluminum case worth something where I live. 4-6$ by its weight.
If sold as a DIY materials, the aluminum cases, LCD panel (if still working) and protective glass can be sold at 40$...

 

[zoran]

Is it possible to install HSierra on a drive thats in an external case and then install that drive to a 2010 iMac making it the iMacs startup drive? The only computer that can help me with this task is a MBPro.
Since my iMac has no drive, i was thinking to making one with HSierra on it to be ready to boot.

 

[DeltaMac]

What year MBPro do you have?
If it supports High Sierra, then, yes, you can install High Sierra, using your MBPro with your new drive in an external case. All you need to do is point the install to your external drive. (Prep the external drive first, by formatting a new drive as GUID, with macOS Extended (journaled) as the format. The High Sierra installer will automatically change the format to APFS, as a normal part of the system install.
When the install is complete, move the drive to the internal slot on the 2010 iMac, and try to boot from that...
You could make an attempt as an external drive to boot the iMac, but, I think, the best test is to boot from the internal SATA port

I continue to recommend that it would be a Good Idea™ to replace (or at least test) the button battery, as that can be possible source of the occasional weird issue. Big job when you have to remove the logic board just to get at the battery, but would be one more thing to check off in the list of items that might cause boot issues.

** regardless of the opinions of a few others here, I totally enjoy "revitalizing" those (now) older Macs. In fact, I have a 2010 iMac that I use as a dedicated system with some software that will clear passwords, and do other hardware checks on used (android) phones of various brands. (not everything done on a Mac is about Apple 😎 , but my now-old iMac continues to do what I ask of it.)

 

[zoran]

Its an M1 MBpro and a mid2010 iMac.
Leaving aside the opinions of those "few others" i love that machine too and i cannot just chuck it in the bin 🙂
If its a failed button battery would it make a continuous chime, as if its begining to boot but cant actually boot?

 

[zoran]

Is there anyone with a working 27” 2009-2011 iMac that can unplug the power from the HardDrive(or SSD) and see when starting the iMac he hears a chiming sound and then a beep and all this happens again and again.

 

[Hazima]

Hey, same situation here. I was given a free mid 2010 27” EMC 2390, without disk as well. But mine doesn’t boot all all. I wonder if it’s the battery. Do let me know if you have fixed it, that would give me some insights!

 

[zoran]

But mine doesn’t boot all all.

Hmm I’m not sure but might it be a faulty supply?

 

[DeltaMac]

When you say it doesn't boot - does anything happen? Does the screen light up? Try this with dim, or no lights in the room, just to watch for ANY light from the screen. You should hear some noise at power on from the optical drive, as that does a power reset when your Mac is first turned on. Also, try plugging a USB device/external drive into one of the USB ports, to check if that device shows any power (most devices will have some kind of power indication), or you can also try pressing the caps lock on the keyboard (if that is a wired USB keyboard, the caps lock should have a light, showing that caps lock is turned on.)

** first thing to try ** Flip that heavy iMac upside down (Be careful!) so the bottom vents are facing up. Plug the power cord in, and look into the bottom vents. You should see a lighted LED. It will be a few inches left of center Press and release the power button. You should see more LEDs light as the POST (Power ON Self Test) progresses. All 4 LEDs will remain lit up if the display and graphics card completes the power on test on a good system.


Finally, if the hard drive was removed before the iMac was disposed of, then it is also possible that other connectors were opened as well. A good next step would be to open up the iMac, and look for loose connections.

 

[zoran]

These goodies came in a bag, along with my iMac... what are they for?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Is a computer hardware 101 class opening?

 

[PaulD-UK]

That looks like:
1. A Sata or eSata cable,
2. Some sort of power cable for PC equipment, maybe an external Sata disk enclosure.
And 3. a PC Sata disk power splitter cable.

 

[DeltaMac]

Looks like several adapters that allow you to replace an Apple OEM drive with other brands that don't provide connection to the drive temp sensor. The picture in middle particularly looks like what you could buy from OWC for iMacs in the 2009-2010 era. iFixit.com still sells something that looks very close to what you have. https://www.ifixit.com/products/ima...XTrQxkAlKXwOEFyWI33EW1F5BIKVSEpEaAhfWEALw_wcB

 

[zoran]

I've used the power splitter cable and connected an SSD. I started the iMac, either pressing the option button or not, i still get a chime and right after the chime, the iMac restarts. If things were normal, i should get a screen asking me what to do with the drive... shouldn't i ?
I've also changed the ram modules in the slots, nothing worth noticed there... the chime and restart issue appears again.
Any more thoughts?

 

[DeltaMac]

Take a look at my previous post #33 -
Do you ever get any video on the screen at any time, even just an Apple icon?
What type of keyboard are you using? Wired USB? Does it have a Windows key next to the space bar, or is it an Apple setup, with an Apple command key (No Windows key, Windows keyboard Option and command keys are reversed during initial boot, the Alt (Option) key is considered the Command key by your Mac, and the Windows key is what you hold for Option to get the boot picker screen. Normal Apple layout would use the keys as marked, but not on a Windows keyboard. (Just in case that is an issue that is affecting your progress)
Have you tried watching the troubleshooting LEDs (visible through the ventilation ports on the bottom edge of the screen? -- again, you have to tip the display up to view those LEDs. There's 4 LEDs, which should all come on, in sequence, with a correctly working iMac. (The LEDs don't all light up together, but show up as part of the boot sequence. LED #1 will come on whenever the power cord is connected, the other 3 light up, during boot sequence.

 

[zoran]

Im sorry Delta, i must of bypassed your great comments, thats why i hadn't replied... terribly sorry!

When you say it doesn't boot - does anything happen? Does the screen light up? Try this with dim, or no lights in the room, just to watch for ANY light from the screen.

Screen will not light up, even at dark.

You should hear some noise at power on from the optical drive, as that does a power reset when your Mac is first turned on. Also, try plugging a USB device/external drive into one of the USB ports, to check if that device shows any power (most devices will have some kind of power indication), or you can also try pressing the caps lock on the keyboard (if that is a wired USB keyboard, the caps lock should have a light, showing that caps lock is turned on.)

I cant hear anything from the optical drive. It has been faulty for at least 5years now, so maybe thats why i cant hear it.
I inserted an external drive to the USB port and its light indicator does light up.
The Capslock light will not turn on when pressed.

** first thing to try ** Flip that heavy iMac upside down (Be careful!) so the bottom vents are facing up. Plug the power cord in, and look into the bottom vents. You should see a lighted LED. It will be a few inches left of center Press and release the power button. You should see more LEDs light as the POST (Power ON Self Test) progresses. All 4 LEDs will remain lit up if the display and graphics card completes the power on test on a good system.

One green led is on when iMac is plugged to power.
When i turn the iMac on, a 2nd green led lights up.
And when the chime is heard a 3rd green led light up. The chime after that is on a loop playing again and again (all 3leds are still it). Then when i turn the iMac off just one green led light stays lit.

Finally, if the hard drive was removed before the iMac was disposed of, then it is also possible that other connectors were opened as well. A good next step would be to open up the iMac, and look for loose connections.

One thing i noticed was that the "DisplayPortConnector" has one of its two connectors broken, but it still clicks in when slided in... you think that could be an issue?

 

[zoran]

Do you ever get any video on the screen at any time, even just an Apple icon?

Nope nothing.

What type of keyboard are you using? Wired USB? Does it have a Windows key next to the space bar, or is it an Apple setup, with an Apple command key (No Windows key, Windows keyboard Option and command keys are reversed during initial boot, the Alt (Option) key is considered the Command key by your Mac, and the Windows key is what you hold for Option to get the boot picker screen. Normal Apple layout would use the keys as marked, but not on a Windows keyboard. (Just in case that is an issue that is affecting your progress)

I have a wired Apple usb keyboard

 

[Adora]

I still have a 27" 2011 iMac. I has still an HDD SuperDrive and seems to run pretty good with 16GB RAM. Sadly no USB 3.0 and booting from Thunderbolt 1 is not possible somehow. My TB2 Dock works with it, also an adapter to USB 3.0 and eSATA but both only after booting the OS from the SSD. I never dare opening it up, to put an SSD in. And now I am sick an can't even really lift it because it's so heavy.


You can have it for free too if you come around. 😉

 

[zoran]

I never dare opening it up, to put an SSD in. And now I am sick an can't even really lift it because it's so heavy.
You can have it for free too if you come around. 😉

Thanks for your suggestion #Adora.
I would never take it for free, and certainly not from you. On the other hand, if i was close, i would only pass by to help you get it working again.
I wouldn't sell it, just because its a great iconic computer, it still fast enough to be working!

 

[DeltaMac]

For no video, and no LED #4 (tells you that the computer and the LCD panel are communicating), Apple's tech guide says:
Verify the connections between the LCD panel and the Logic board.
Inspect the LCD cables for damage.
Verify that an external display works. If that does work:
Test/replace the LED backlight board.
Test/replace the LCD panel.
Replace the logic board.

Just saw the end of your post #40, that one of the displayport connectors is broken.
If that is on the cable, then easy to replace. It's Apple part #922-9486, and here's an example
If you found something broken on the LCD panel itself, or the connector on the logic board, then not much else you can do, if the connector is not allowing the connection properly. But, you could still try testing an external display, that will, at least, tell you that the logic board, and the vid card should be OK

 

[zoran]

The only display ive got is a LCDtv, that has HDMI and USB ports. The iMac has a miniDisplay port so... i guess i need a miniDisplay port to HDMI or USB adapter?

 

[DeltaMac]

Mini DisplayPort to HDMI should be your best choice to connect to a TV
Good luck!

 

[zoran]

Even if the adapter is connected, wont i hear the issue i have with the continuous chime? How will the tv get a display signal if the iMac cannot boot?

 

[DeltaMac]

This is not related to the adapter, but just another step to find out what works, and what doesn't work
You are troubleshooting to find out why your iMac is not communicating with the LCD panel (the #4 LED does not light up), so it's a test to see if ANY video comes on. Maybe it is not booting properly, because there's a problem with the only video output (your built-in display) so-- this is just a test to see if a working video screen-- your TV, will allow video, and possibly boot. You won't know until you try.
Maybe the whole issue is the damaged display connector that you already found. If you want to try something to get your free iMac working, that might be worth the time to find a fix for that (?)

 

[zoran]

Regarding the damaged display connector, i just remembered that the issue im facing now, was apparent before the connector broke. I actually broke one of the many times as i was opening the iMac to see what was wrong.
So the issue is definitely not because of that connector.

 

[zoran]

This is not related to the adapter, but just another step to find out what works, and what doesn't work

Im just saying that if the system will not boot, how on earth will i have video through the mini display port? Its just a thought and please correct me if im wrong. 🙂