Apple iMac 20-Inch "Core Duo" 2.0 A1174

[andysa1966]

Hi

got given an old imac, turns on but wont boot with question mark at startup, im guessing the hard drive, i managed to get the cover off but looks inaccessible inside without destroying it, are these imacs diy repairable? or is the recycling centre

 

[jerwin]

Everymac says it's an A1244...
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-2.0-20-inch-aluminum-specs.html

and ifixit has some guides for it.
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel_20"_EMC_2133_and_2210

You'll have to judge whether those repairs are within your comfort zone.

 

[DeltaMac]

Everymac says it's an A1244...
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-2.0-20-inch-aluminum-specs.html
...

You'll have to judge whether those repairs are within your comfort zone.

hmm... A1244 is first aluminum/black 2007 model, but is a core 2 duo processor.
If OP is correct about a Core Duo, then that would be white and an earlier, first gen (A1174) 2006 iMac.
That's much more challenging to open up, with the weird locks inside the cooling vents on the back, and then all the tape to remove to get access to remove the display panel. (Then putting it back in place without cracking up at least some of the 15 year-old plastics. I just worked on one of those a few weeks ago. Spent its life in a sunny office, and the white plastic bezel just crumbled when I started trying to remove it.
But, yes, I agree about deciding if the repair is really worth doing. (an Early 2006 would be limited to Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6.8)

 

[andysa1966]

Ive come back to this iMac, I've managed to get it to startup from a SnowLeopard USB installer, it wouldn't start from a Tiger DVD installer.

It wouldn't install SL because it only had 512mb ram, I was able to open the disc utility and saw no HDD in the list, it must have failed completely.

If I'm going to tackle an HDD replacement I might as well upgrade the CPU to a core duo 2 while I am at it, then I can get to OS Lion.

I have a spare 2TB 3.5 SATAII HDD from my cMP, will this physically fit into the iMac?

update:

I checked on OWC for HHD for cMP 5.1 and iMac 4.1 and they are compatible

I paid £5.00 for two 1GB ram sticks and £5 for a T7200 core duo 2 on ebay

 

[andysa1966]

All done, everything is ok, even swapped in the airport card i removed from my cMP without issue.

Just stuck now with an issue upgrading the firmware to 5.1, following these instructions, just waiting to register the forum to ask for help

iMac4,1 and iMac5,1 Firmware Tool Released

iMac4,1 and iMac5,1 Firmware Tool Released

forum.netkas.org

 

[andysa1966]

Figured the issue, manually entered the script until i found the error, seems i hadn't changed the name of one of the .dmg files correctly, all good reporting an iMac 5.1

 

[andysa1966]

Finally, OS Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain Lion installed on separate partitions. 1 partition reserved for bootcamp if i feel the need

 

[andysa1966]

After getting around to it, replaced the psu as the mac would just switch off without shutting down properly, been switched on a few hours without issue . Using Chromium legacy browser as I type, everything is good. It now resides in my 6 year old daughters room, has remote access to a more modern relatively speaking Mac pr0 5,1 with Mojave running, she's happy as she can play Roblox