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Apple Restricts Hard Drive Replacements on New iMacs

The spec lists a 7 pin data cable and a 15 pin (7 sections) power connecter. Maybe apple is finally using the Sata spec to it's fullest.
 
from a cost perspective

This really stinks. Not that I know how to swap out a hard drive (I wish I was that mechanically inclined), but from a cost perspective really limits some folks.

This might seem silly, but I wonder what this means in regards to repairs? I hope we won't be limited to only Apple.

I hope this trend does not spread to the rest of Apple's computers. :(
 
I have a 3.4Ghz Core i7 new iMac. I replaced the hard drive with my own SSD. Here is how to kill the fan:

1. Install smcFanControl from here: http://www.conscius.de/smcfancontrol_2_2_2.zip

2. Open the Terminal and type: <path to smcFanControl.app>/Contents/Resources/smc -k F1Mx -w 2ee0

3. Make an AppleScript application that runs this in the Terminal automatically. Search Google on how to do this.

4. In your System Preferences, set it to run the application on boot of the OS. Make it hidden.

DONE. Problem solved.


Here are the list of max fan speeds to choose from:

<path to smcFanControl.app>/Contents/Resources/smc -k <key value> -w <fan speed>

<key value>
F1Mx = iMac 27" HDD Fan (Google for other model's fans key values)
<fan speed>
6200 - 60e0
5600 - 5780
5000 - 4e20
4800 - 4b00
4000 - 3e80
3600 - 3840
3000 - 2ee0
2500 - 2710

Ethan
 
OllyW said:
I'm sure Apple will be happy to supply you with a replacement proprietary hard drive when it fails.

Of course it will come at a suitably inflated price.
Click to expand...

Didn't you know all the components are timed, so they just fail right after AppleCare ends?

Instead of jumping to conclusions without info, I 'd prefer to know the real reason for this step. What if there is a valid reason?

If it's only because Apple doesn't want anybody to get inside (magnets and all with dust possibilities etc. it's a bad decision. But, we don't know for sure!

If I want to ruin my iMac I should be able to do so.

We all prefer freedom of choice and one usually gets more for the money via OWC compared to Apple.

So, for the few people this actually effects wait for the hacks. That thing was just launched.

Rest assured OWC is already on it:)
 
Wow this is really disgusting on apples part.
I like to get a new mac about every 4 years. I usually put the older one in the guest room, garage or let the kids have it. The point is that they still get used. Now If my hard drive fails out side of the extended warranty. What do we do if no third party fix is available. Do you think apple is going to sell you a new hard drive for a 4 year old mac:mad:
 
TheUndertow said:
You wonder how many iMacs are being repaired or replaced due to "operator error" with hard drive replacements.

That's the only thing that makes sense....

Though I will say, the prospects of cracking into an "All in One" for user customization seems a little odd....that's what towers are for.
Click to expand...

It seems to me though that Apple could place the location of the hard drive where an owner could open up a cover and remove it. It is the polite thing to do. LOL

Apple would get a lot of praise if they did this I think. They would still have to allow third parties to sell drives with the modified SATA connector and firmware though.
 
From the sound of it, this is just a fan speed issue with an easy workaround.

The same problem was in the 2009 iMacs.

Why is everyone bitching and whining about the same thing again? When they start using a proprietary SATA connector, THEN start whining. But this seems like sameold-sameold.
 
Mattie Num Nums said:
Those iMacs were terrible. Those Non-ALS power supplies and Logic board failure rates were off the wall. 661-3350, 661-3351, 611-3599. Even after 4 years those parts numbers are engrained in my brain.
Click to expand...

I know some people were having troubles but mine was flawless until i sold it.
 
Last edited:
For shame...

Well, well, well - Apple have once again covered themselves in glory. Another far from subtle attempt to prise hard earned $ or £ from unsuspecting Mac folks. Can't wait to see if the same embuggeration has been applied to the upcoming Mini update. That will be the final nail in my Apple coffin.

Sad days, folks. On top of that, I've just cracked a Hoegaarden, and they've not only changed the label, but also the beer has changed flavour :(

Boo and hiss to the 12th of May, 2012.
 
rpaloalto said:
Wow this is really disgusting on apples part.
I like to get a new mac about every 4 years. I usually put the older one in the guest room, garage or let the kids have it. The point is that they still get used. Now If my hard drive fails out side of the extended warranty. What do we do if no third party fix is available. Do you think apple is going to sell you a new hard drive for a 4 year old mac:mad:
Click to expand...

You have a choice of USB, Firewire, and in four years time Thunderbolt to connect an external drive. Thunderbolt is exactly as good as an internal drive; I hope in four years time they will have cheap drives with Thunderbolt connector. The internal hard drive was never a user servicable part, so that is what many people would have done anyway.
 
iamkarlp said:
Gosh, you people are silly.

1. It's an AIO. What goes on inside shouldn't concern you much (although how reliable it is as a whole should).

2. If you don't agree with #1 buy a MP, a linux, or win7 box. The iMac will not be for you.

3. Steve Job's (or an SVP, etc) did not sit around some table musing about ways to screw people out of money and come up with fitting a custom HDD. Thats just silly.

4. What actually happened is engineers made a call that a more accurate HDD temp sensor system made a measurable impact in service life. (thus making the entire unit, which is what we are concerned about, more reliable)

5. This is not about money to such a degree that they are actually spending more money to do this. (It isn't bog standard which means it costs more. Guaranteed.)

6. Someone somewhere along the way brought up the point that this would stop, or at least seriously hamper, customers from being able to pop the case and change the drive. - To that end they would have looked at overall statistics and realized that 90%+ of all users used External HDD's when it was time to upgrade, and also talked to applecare who said opening the machine voided the warranty. (whether they look the other way on a regular basis or not is a different matter).

7. Another reason I wouldn't get too hung up about it; Chances are very good that the rest of the line (With the exception of the MP, where this sort of thing actually matters to an appreciable percent of their customer base) is going this way as well. I anticipate a not-to-distant future where every part of the system is soldered down and compacted as much as is physically (as in, the laws of physics) possible. An upgrade will be changing the entire logic board.

7b (Edit). And you would be remiss if you don't think the general computer marketplace isn't looking at what Apple is doing here. Good bad or indifferent the sales figures and stock numbers are telling a story, and that is that people are willing to spend good money on highly integrated, non serviceable products. (assuming the support is there for when things go wrong). This is the biggest case for Thunderbolt in my mind. It gives us a good, fast, low level external I/O capable of real work. Allowing it to fail may doom us to a period of highly integrated, low or zero expansion systems with no high quality low level external I/O options.

8. Even if you don't agree with anything I said, within 16 months someone will have an elegant hack for it.


Calm down people, it's not that big of a deal.

Karl P
Click to expand...


From 1 to 8 (specially 7b), AMEN!

After all:

1) Apple is not charity, is a company who try to get as much money as possible (who doesn't?)

2) Apple's OS never has been and never will be Linux nor Windows... doesn't fall in the category "one fits for all"

Besides... "if good things were easy" you know... everyone have them, I don't see the "Big Brother" (a.k.a. Satan, Antichrist, Hitler reBorn or commonly named Steve Jobs) sayin' "Let's screw the people that makes me richer everytime they buy something from my company"
 
RalfTheDog said:
Both iMacs and laptops are small devices with little air flow. This can cause heat issues. Most people who purchase either device don't upgrade them. Having the HD temprature sensor control the fans and perhaps throttle the system will probably prolong the system life and may increase the run time on battery.

A Mac Pro is a big device with lots of airflow that does not have heat issues and is designed to be upgraded. People who buy a Mac Pro tend to be the ones that add all the after market hardware they can cram into the box.

It is all about cost/benefit for each option. (Not price, performance over product life.)
Click to expand...


Considering that Apple royally screwed up in monitoring their assembly processes and left me with an unstable iMac due to heat and hard drive problems just past the warranty period, I took it upon myself to replace thermal paste and a new hard drive.

If Apple thinks they are protecting the consumer from damaging their own equipment, they need to think again. 95% of Mac users aren't even going to think about opening up their Mac...it is all of us technical Mac junkies that they're giving the bone.
 
zorinlynx said:
From the sound of it, this is just a fan speed issue with an easy workaround.

The same problem was in the 2009 iMacs.

Why is everyone bitching and whining about the same thing again? When they start using a proprietary SATA connector, THEN start whining. But this seems like sameold-sameold.
Click to expand...

From the original post:

"For the main 3.5" SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration."
 
This pisses me off.

The only component I have ever had fail on a Mac (that wasn't my own fault for messing with,) was the hard drive. I have replaced the hard drive on my eMac, iMac, multiple Power Macs, PowerBooks, MacBook, and MacBook Pro. All because either the existing drive failed (eMac, PowerBook, Power Mac,) or to get more capacity than was available - for any price - at release time (Power Mac, iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook.)

What if, three years from now, I want to upgrade to a (doesn't exist yet, but likely will in 3 years) 6 TB hard drive? That drive would likely be only $150 from Best Buy, but if Apple even offers it directly, would be noticeably more from Apple. (And I *REALLY* doubt they'd offer it. The only 'after-purchase upgrade' other than RAM they have EVER offered for ANY recent Mac has been a Mac Pro video card upgrade. (Not counting the 'server' oriented upgrades for Xserve or Mac Pro 'server', since even Apple hasn't considered the server-oriented products a "Mac".)

Right now, they sell a 1 TB hard drive for the Mac Pro. It is a standard 1 TB SATA hard drive. $299.
 
Apple is so full of themselves it's just stupid. They are acting like a cult camp run by a dictator, who is now more out of control than ever. It's painful to watch when you are a very ardent Apple fan. Lately, it seems like everyday there is news from Apple that is negative and self centered to the extreme.

I hate to say this, but it's like they are purposely building an Evil Empire :eek:



(I can hear the retorts now from iFans as they bash Google and MS, as though that will show how smart they are)
 
Not that anyone will read this

From Gizmodo:

DreamTheEndless Thu 12 May 2011 1:20 PM
1. there is a second hard drive bay that you can put anything you want in. Also, you can boot off that second drive if you want.
2. if the primary drive fails, you can have it replaced for free
3. if the primary drive isn't large enough or fast enough, you can put something better in the second bay
4. this is a consumer, not a pro, machine; it's unreasonable to expect 12 tb of storage or some huge RAID.

Non issue?
 
ten-oak-druid said:
It seems to me though that Apple could place the location of the hard drive where an owner could open up a cover and remove it. It is the polite thing to do. LOL

Apple would get a lot of praise if they did this I think. They would still have to allow third parties to sell drives with the modified SATA connector and firmware though.
Click to expand...

This would indeed make iMacs more desirable. Would be good for the consumers, good for Apple inasmuch as swapping drives under warranty would be a breeze as well as having the option to upgrade when selling them at their stores. They could recover this by licensing the connectors to the disk and SSD vendors who could have Apple versions of their drives.
 
nbuubu said:
From the original post:

"For the main 3.5" SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration."
Click to expand...

Umm, SATA drives haven't used 4 pin cables in a long time. The standard SATA power is a 15 pin connector. Not 7, and not 4.

SOMEONE doesn't know what they're talking about. I still think OWC is just trying to spread FUD.
 
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