Apple Restricts Hard Drive Replacements on New iMacs

[iSee]

Booooooo

Weird, weird, weird.
What is Apple thinking?!?

Non-standard drives??? Non-standard connectors???

If I was in the market for an iMac (I'm not since I have the late 2009 27" iMac) this alone would be enough to stop me from buying one.

Apple, there is just no reason for this.

 

[redvettez06]

Was gonna buy an iMac...just decided it isn't worth it anymore. I can custom build a Win7 computer for much cheaper and why wouldn't I at this point if I have to put up with the same amount of BS that I have to with a Mac now. I still like my Hackintosh Dell though

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Would Apple accept a setup in its data centers that allowed for difficult swapping of hard drives? No. Why don't these companies put themselves in our shoes before making these decisions.

Well perhaps this is not true anyway. Not sure i believe it.

 

[ed724]

95% of iMac buyers never would consider swapping the HD themselves.
4% might try it if it is simple but now won't consider it
.5% would do it but will still buy an iMac and bitch about it
.5% will choose not to buy an iMac now

(Edit - These numbers are pure speculation by me and may be completely inaccurate...)

Apple has never worried about angering the individual who likes modifying the hardware themselves. Apple likes a closed system that requires Apple to be the one stop shop for everything and this change is further proof of that. Every change similar to this that Apple has done over the past 3-5 years has started with a thunderous cry of BS but has amounted to little or no lost profits.

I imagine this will be the same.

True to some degree, however user replacement parts are cheaper and easier to obtain than ever before. I think the percentage of users wanting to replace an internal failed HD is much higher than you might think. However the iMac isn't the easiest machine to get into, and those with OOW machines might opt on a third party repair service. Doesn't this knock the none Apple approved repair centers out of the ball park (to some degree) ?

 

[m1na]

Not that hard

Gotta say i bought an iMac about a week ago. I had an Intel 320 SSD readied for a swap, took a look at iFixit and replaced the drive.

Took me about an hour to notice something was wrong, so I went here, found SMCfancontrol thread, followed guides and my HDD fan is quiet from now on (and lightning fast for that matter).

What i wanted to say, those who really want to have SSD, will upgrade, rest will when some kind on detailed howto and oneclick tool becomes avaliable.

First post btw...

 

[zweigand]

As long as you can boot over Thunderbolt I won't care. Congrats on reversing the roles of the internal and external drives Apple.

 

[melb00m]

Damn, I was looking for some aftermarked SSDs on my new iMac... but I planned on letting an AASP configure it, anyways.

Maybe that's the reason why the BTO versions with integrated SSDs need that long. They probably don't have those drive with right pins yet?! But that's just speculation on my end.

 

[econgeek]

HOLD YOUR HORSES EVERYBODY!

This is likely not a proprietary connector at all, but a new standard we're not familiar with.

Apple doesn't make hard drives. Therefore, someone must be making hard drives to fit in these machines. Apple doesn't want to rely on a single source, so that means multiple businesses are making these drives.

These people can sell these drives in the aftermarket to mac users.

Further, they aren't going to tool up and design a custom hard drive for Apple.

Apple has learned this lesson already. Apple does not forget lessons- especially painful ones!

This is going to turn out to be a standardized connector and part of the SATA Standard. It might not be the common, popular, backwards with SATA-1 connector... but nobody up and down the supply chain likes one off, specific designs.

The forces for standardization are VERY powerful.

And having read Apple news for the past 3 decades, I know a lot of BS gets out there, and people jump to conclusions only to later be proven wrong, but when it happens, everyone forgets that they were all up in arms about it (But the general "apple wants to screw you over" mantra persists.)

I've never been screwed over by Apple and I've never had to pay too much for any Apple part, device, accessory or product.

Apple is not going to make a one off hardware standard in order to get an extra $30 from the few people who open their iMacs to upgrade the drives.

Let's get real.

 

[Doctor Q]

Apple makes more money by taking a feature away

Outgrown your iMac disk? Throw it in the recycling bin and buy a new Mac.

Planning a desktop Mac purchase and worried about outgrowing your iMac disk? By a Mac Pro instead.

 

[mrwonkers]

Douche move Apple!

 

[KPOM]

This boil-the-frog approach to making the Mac an entirely closed platform is worrying, particularly because of the planned obsolescence implications. It's already difficult enough to swap out a hard drive on an iMac. Why put in even further restrictions?

 

[freeman727]

This + the recent EFI hack makes me glad I'm sticking with my 2009 Mac Pro!

 

[FSUSem1noles]

Interesting move by Apple.. That's one less repair service I'll be able to offer to potential iMac customers now.. Thanks Apple!

 

[mayhone1]

Can someone please clarify:
The report says that replacing the hard drive will make the fans spin at full speed, and it will make the Apple Hardware Test suite fail.

Then it goes on to say that replacing the hard drive turns the Mac into a paperweight. That implies that the Mac is rendered completely unusable -- that it cannot even boot.

Note that for retail copies of OS X, the AHT utilities are located on a separate disc, and they are not installed by default. So AHT does not customarily run during power-up, in order to impose a restriction on booting.

So, is there some other side-effect, implied but not actually stated in this article, which actually does have the effect of preventing the Mac from being able to boot up after the hard drive is replaced?

If so, then come out and say it. If not, then what we're really dealing with here is an inconvenience foir sure -- ridiculously loud fans and false negative results in AHT -- but not a paperweight.

They are pretty much saying fans will kick on all the way, the system will pretty much overheat and shut down...

 

[samcraig]

HOLD YOUR HORSES EVERYBODY!

This is likely not a proprietary connector at all, but a new standard we're not familiar with.

Apple doesn't make hard drives. Therefore, someone must be making hard drives to fit in these machines. Apple doesn't want to rely on a single source, so that means multiple businesses are making these drives.

These people can sell these drives in the aftermarket to mac users.

Further, they aren't going to tool up and design a custom hard drive for Apple.

I don't think anyone is over-reacting about the hard drive itself. It's the proprietary firmware that needs is being used in conjunction with the hardware.

That, Apple can make and doesn't need 3rd party "interference"

 

[milbournosphere]

It's very hard to be a power user on Mac.

sudo su-

Bam, root access, do what you will with your terminal. Now the hardware limitation is inexcusable. I will no longer recommend an iMac as an all-in-one, simply due to the fact that Apple will still have to replace that drive if the box is out of warranty. Second drive bay be darned; this is wrong.

 

[ECH]

I don't know why all the Buzz:

I successfully replaced the hard drive that came with the new 27" Imac with a solid state drive from a local store. Installed HDD Fan Control for Imac that bypasses the Apple sensor and monitors the hard drive temp. Fan works - hard drive works - I'm happy and can boot from pressing the power button to desktop in less than 17 secs.

Even if the drive fails or needs a replacement, in a few days someone will start to sell "adapters" or any other similar thing... STILL the best approach is buy AppleCare and got protection not just for the drive, but for THE WHOLE machine.

I think it's a smart move (for them)... selling an "AIO" that is supposed to keep externals out also selling "Pro" if you need/want to get your hands dirty... OTOH, everything that Apple sells is overpriced somehow... I believe we all want different prices, but I believe it's the company strategy: "Elite products for Elite people"... look out for the parody of "If you don't have an iPhone" on youtube.

Well at least that's my two cents.

 

[Hexley]

Please provide links to this new standard so we can all relax. and go to sleep.

HOLD YOUR HORSES EVERYBODY!

This is likely not a proprietary connector at all, but a new standard we're not familiar with.

Apple doesn't make hard drives. Therefore, someone must be making hard drives to fit in these machines. Apple doesn't want to rely on a single source, so that means multiple businesses are making these drives.

These people can sell these drives in the aftermarket to mac users.

Further, they aren't going to tool up and design a custom hard drive for Apple.

Apple has learned this lesson already. Apple does not forget lessons- especially painful ones!

This is going to turn out to be a standardized connector and part of the SATA Standard. It might not be the common, popular, backwards with SATA-1 connector... but nobody up and down the supply chain likes one off, specific designs.

The forces for standardization are VERY powerful.

And having read Apple news for the past 3 decades, I know a lot of BS gets out there, and people jump to conclusions only to later be proven wrong, but when it happens, everyone forgets that they were all up in arms about it (But the general "apple wants to screw you over" mantra persists.)

I've never been screwed over by Apple and I've never had to pay too much for any Apple part, device, accessory or product.

Apple is not going to make a one off hardware standard in order to get an extra $30 from the few people who open their iMacs to upgrade the drives.

Let's get real.

 

[mayhone1]

This is starting to make me feel as if apple is becoming the next IBM,
Ironic considering this well known commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

 

[Eduardo1971]

This is really lame Apple!!

I'm ordering the i7 and was going to be happy with the 1TB drive because I thought 'how difficult could it be to simply swap out the HDD and replace it with a larger drive'?

Now I know.


Thanks Apple.

 

[econgeek]

I don't think anyone is over-reacting about the hard drive itself. It's the proprietary firmware that needs is being used in conjunction with the hardware.

That, Apple can make and doesn't need 3rd party "interference"

The firmware on the hard drive is written by the hard drive manufacturer. It is likely proprietary to the manufacturer, not Apple.

It needs to be written to comply with the specific circuitry in the hard drive, and is probably quite trivial-- just giving detailed heat information using a standard protocol.

Apple's OS is open source and at the low levels like this, I doubt the code reading this temp information will remain proprietary.

Also, this report comes from OWC. I've seen OWC spread FUD in the past- about competing SSDS, and I've, personally, been screwed over by OWC, so they are a less than credible source as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Nightarchaon]

For me it's not about being able to upgrade the drive later , but BEng able to replace a failed component that is traditionally user replaceable because it is a part that is not just likely to fail, but is GOING to fail at some point , I have had every hdd in every PC , both desktop and laptop , until it has failed and needed replacing , my last desktop was bought in 2000 , and I'm now looking at replacing it , I can't afford a three year upgrade cycle ,

Apple will either have to extend apple care indefinitely for iMacs HDDs or there is going to be a huge lawsuit

Anyone emailed Steve jobs about it yet ?

 

[econgeek]

Please provide links to this new standard so we can all relax. and go to sleep.

Nowhere near enough information is given in this rumor to start researching it.

Realize this is merely a *claim* and you're asking me to provide proof to refute it. You take the claim on face value?

 

[sunspot42]

Who Cares?

At first I was a bit ticked about this - though I'm sure it makes some sense from a thermal management standpoint - but let's face it, the iMac isn't exactly the ideal computer for power users seeking expansion options. It's designed to be a computing appliance. You aren't supposed to be mucking around inside. It's not like it has an easily accessible drive bay (which is what the iMac really needs).

If you plan on the hard drive dying before you unload the machine for a newer model, buy the Applecare. Not much more expensive than the cost of a new drive, and it covers the whole computer, not just the drive.

If you need more drive space - and who doesn't - just add it externally.
These things now come with Thunderbolt.

 

[macUser2007]

I can see this in a laptop. I can not see this in a Mac Pro.

Why would you "see this in a laptop?"

I have changed drives on my Mac Books for years -- the capacity for laptop drives expands rapidly and prices drop.

If Apple took that ability away, I'll seriously consider switching my whole business to Windows 7 (8 is coming up, too, and it looks good).

I am glad I did not jump on the new iMac - I'll wait to see how this shakes out.

Greedy bastards