Broken iMac

[neworderdude]

Right, I have spent the last 2 days searching and searching the internet as I didn't really want to ask about this but, here I am

So, About 6 months ago my iMac (White Intel 2.0GHZ with iSight) stopped working.

It is out of warranty but I took it to the apple store anyway to see how much a repair would cost. They told me that it was hard drive failure and that it would cost 200. So then I thought, I'll do it myself.

It was a while before I could afford to sort it but eventually (Yesterday) I bought a Western Digital 320GB Sata drive and put it in.

SUCCESS!! I turned the power on (holding C) and told it to install leopard. I kept an eye on it for about 10 mins, went to the toilet, came back and the screen was black, yet the stand by light at the front was on (solid white, no flashing). I thought it had just gone into Auto-Standby so I tried moving the mouse, mashing the keys to get it back on and still nothing. I waited a while and then I thought I had better unplug it and start again so I did.

Then, when I plugged it back in and pressed the power button I just got a black screen with the stand by light on (solid again). I could hear the disc drive and the hard drive power up (as well as the fans) but I still had a black screen.

Since then, I have tried various solutions to get it to power on but NOTHING has worked. I have tried holding down C again, CMD+S, the command for ressetting the PRAM, almost everything. Nothing has worked.

Has anyone got any ideas as to what this may be? I am going to call apple soon but I don't know whether or not to tell them that I have installed my own HD in it (as I said, it is out of warranty).

Any help would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance

 

[NP3]

If everything in the computer seems to respond correctly when you turn it on, (except the screen), then it might be a failed video card. Did the screen have episodes of staying black prior to when you opened it up to put the hard drive in? If not, maybe check cable connections to see if you bumped something.

I couldn't tell by your post whether the original problem you took it to the Apple store for was the black screen issue.

 

[neworderdude]

If everything in the computer seems to respond correctly when you turn it on, (except the screen), then it might be a failed video card. Did the screen have episodes of staying black prior to when you opened it up to put the hard drive in? If not, maybe check cable connections to see if you bumped something.

I couldn't tell by your post whether the original problem you took it to the Apple store for was the black screen issue.

Sorry if I didnt explain properly

The black thing never happened before

Originally I took it to apple because when I turned it on, I got the apple chime then it went to a blue screen and just turned itself off

I am about to book a genius bar appointment for this afternoon but I am not sure whether or not to mention that I have replaced the hard drive myself

 

[surflordca]

I am about to book a genius bar appointment for this afternoon but I am not sure whether or not to mention that I have replaced the hard drive myself

Might as well tell them. You will be paying for the repair so the shortest time the better. They are not going to replace parts in the computer at there expense even if they said it's just the HDD...

 

[neworderdude]

Might as well tell them. You will be paying for the repair so the shortest time the better. They are not going to replace parts in the computer at there expense even if they said it's just the HDD...

My friend who works at the genius bar has suggested that it could just be loose cables but we will see

Thanks for everyones help. Genius bar in a couple of hours...fingers crossed

 

[eawmp1]

I don't see the problem here.
1) You were previously told it was hard drive failure
2) You replaced the hard drive
3) You have NOTHING to lose by telling them you replaced the hard drive

 

[neworderdude]

I don't see the problem here.
1) You were previously told it was hard drive failure
2) You replaced the hard drive
3) You have NOTHING to lose by telling them you replaced the hard drive

I was just worried that they may refuse to touch it as they may think I have made the mess myself

I used to work in a retail store and a lot of the people working behind the bar were prone to being a little bit miserable to say the least

 

[eawmp1]

Nah - you're out of warranty. They'll gladly take your money for a diagnosis/fix. If still under warranty they might have given you a hassle.

 

[macJC50640]

OP: any news on what happened?