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For veteran iMac users, what do you do when the machine finish it life cycle?
- Thread starter Overg
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If it's still operable, find some kind of use for it, somewhere, even if it's only for a dedicated task or two.
I'm typing this on a 2004 g4 which still runs well enough for day-to-day uses, although it no longer has the horsepower to run some HD videos, etc. ...
I'm typing this on a 2004 g4 which still runs well enough for day-to-day uses, although it no longer has the horsepower to run some HD videos, etc. ...
Can you define 'life cycle' as you see it.
It sounds to me like you mean ' it is no longer operating and out of warranty '?
If I had one like that I would repair it, parts are available.
For me as a professional user 'life cycle' is defined as THREE YEARS. I replace my primary iMac just before the Apple Care expires, hence the three year period.
I will always sell if I cannot put one to use outside of my 'life cycle'. However my routine is like this .....
I buy a new iMac with Apple care and hand my last one down to my kids. In turn I take the oldest iMac here, one I used years ago and sell it.
I've never had a problem selling a functional iMac even an ancient one. Just have to realize what the true value is and accept that when you sell.
It sounds to me like you mean ' it is no longer operating and out of warranty '?
If I had one like that I would repair it, parts are available.
For me as a professional user 'life cycle' is defined as THREE YEARS. I replace my primary iMac just before the Apple Care expires, hence the three year period.
I will always sell if I cannot put one to use outside of my 'life cycle'. However my routine is like this .....
I buy a new iMac with Apple care and hand my last one down to my kids. In turn I take the oldest iMac here, one I used years ago and sell it.
I've never had a problem selling a functional iMac even an ancient one. Just have to realize what the true value is and accept that when you sell.
If you have a six year old iMac, which is about the age where it might become unusable, you are not actually left with a particularly large screen. And LCD displays do actually wear out, the brightness gets reduced, the quality of the display generally goes down, so it's not particularly worthwhile to continue using it.
Put Tiger back on it, and reminisce. 
Or, in my case, put Tiger back on it, and realize that you like it better than Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion.
Then get angry that you can't use it on a newer machine.
Works great in my "workshop" area.
Or, in my case, put Tiger back on it, and realize that you like it better than Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion.
Then get angry that you can't use it on a newer machine.
Works great in my "workshop" area.
I use my old bondi G3 233 iMac (OS 8.6) to run my fav classic games and programs. My old G4 iMac (OS10.4) for the same reason, to run older PPC OSX games and software, like Adobe CS for Photoshop, and I have QuarkXpress as well. They are little time machines, of sorts, sometimes it's nice to go back and use the simple but speedy OS 8.6 and remember what using a computer was like in 1998.
Guess that means I'll have to take the old G5 iMac out of the family room and toss it in the trash! NOT!
I embalm it (remove the HDD) then give it an honorable burial in the backyard, with appropriate somber music, then drink a toast with champagne.
Well after watching some 'build your own pc' videos, and with a bit of research I would think that you could upgrade some of the components to make it bearable and put in an SSD drive. Or you could scavange what you could from it's 'corpse' if you will, and build a new pc and recycle those parts.