Bought my mom an iMac (used)

[somemacuser]

Just bought my parents an iMac (early 2009 C2D 2.66, etc.). I wiped out the hard drive and did a fresh install of mountain lion. then upgraded ram to 8gb. everything is super, however, I had the grand idea of loading "smart utilities" to check the HD a bit. It reports 19 bad sectors. Disk utility says everything is peachy. Two questions:

1 - Do I replace the hard drive now because its slowly dying (although showing no noticeable signs of doing so outside of what SMART utilities says) Or take my chances? If the drive fails, I'll have to replace it on a holiday during a visit from them someday.

2 - If YES, should I install a SSD or hybrid? (i have have the larger 24" version of this computer and after the SSD it is flipping fantastic). But I doubt my parents care about responsiveness the way I do. I dont really want to shell out $100 bucks for a SSD, but if I open this thing up, I want to do it once. They might actually start using itunes properly and put some CDs into it, so space *might* matter.

I can get a 1TB spinning drive for about $60. 125 gb SSD for $100.

I value your input and opinion.

Thanks

 

[bradl]

Just bought my parents an iMac (early 2009 C2D 2.66, etc.). I wiped out the hard drive and did a fresh install of mountain lion. then upgraded ram to 8gb. everything is super, however, I had the grand idea of loading "smart utilities" to check the HD a bit. It reports 19 bad sectors. Disk utility says everything is peachy. Two questions:

1 - Do I replace the hard drive now because its slowly dying (although showing no noticeable signs of doing so outside of what SMART utilities says) Or take my chances? If the drive fails, I'll have to replace it on a holiday during a visit from them someday.

2 - If YES, should I install a SSD or hybrid? (i have have the larger 24" version of this computer and after the SSD it is flipping fantastic). But I doubt my parents care about responsiveness the way I do. I dont really want to shell out $100 bucks for a SSD, but if I open this thing up, I want to do it once. They might actually start using itunes properly and put some CDs into it, so space *might* matter.

I can get a 1TB spinning drive for about $60. 125 gb SSD for $100.

I value your input and opinion.

Thanks

Depends on what your parents are going to do. You mentioned that speed really isn't a problem for them, so it sounds like it comes down to normal end-user tasks. Are they going to keep a large iTunes library? Music, Movies, etc.? Pictures?

If speed isn't the issue, you may want to save the money and get the 1TB drive. you'll net them 700% more space for $40 cheaper. That may be the more economical way to go, backups notwithstanding.

BL.

 

[somemacuser]

Thanks.. So definitely open 'er up and replace?

 

[macthefork]

I'd get a second opinion with Apple Hardware Test. Maybe even a third check using another Utility such as Tech Tools Pro.

Also, Is the HDD a Seagate? If so, Apple had a replacement program earlier where they replaced the HDD in certain 2009 to 2011 iMac models for free. You can put your S/N in Apples website here, to see if yours is affected. This program has ended. However, there are still reports of Apple doing the replacement for free under certain situations. If yours was covered, you could try giving Apple Care (NOT the the Genius bar) a call and see what they say... Can't hurt...

If you do end up replacing it, i'd go with the 1 TB HDD... and software Fan Control...