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From Apple Support: Issue with 2011 BTO iMac

M

mdmoran

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2011
19
0
I've just got off the phone with an AppleCare tech after our replacement 27" 3.4GHz iMac started having issues - on the day it arrived!

They are going to replace the machine again, but while I was on the phone I asked whether this had been a recurring issue, and was told that they were aware of an issue. He said that while there wasn't a full recall on the BTO iMacs, the engineers were trying to 'capture' as many as possible to find a solution - the thinking was that it was more likely to be a software issue than a hardware one.

Apple customer service is always exemplary, but that doesn't stop it being a bit of a pain in the arse to have to keep boxing these computers up and sending them back. I would have thought that these issues should have been caught before the release.

Just thought I'd pass this on... I guess if you're in the market for a BTO iMac, and don't need it right now, it might pay to hold of just a little bit longer!
 
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Sorry - my mistake. I had another post on here about the issues, but should have explained.

Both machines have been hanging, and totally unresponsive quite often. This one has done it twice today already. It also woke us up one night with the loudest beeping I have ever heard coming from a computer!

The guy on the phone didn't elaborate on the problem, except to say that the engineers were very keen to get as many back for diagnostics as possible.
 
So basically they say all 2011 iMac with i7 3.4Ghz screwed? Whoa I wait mine to come and this already a bad news even before my hands on mine.

Or is it possible that Apple tech was lying to you? to make you feel better, to make you feel you´re not alone, it´s a common problem and get their arse saved from your fury?

That´s possible .. right? right? :p

Hope your problem fixed soon, and I really hope they just lied :D
 
He didn't really elaborate on what they'd found, but he did say that they thought it was more likely a software fix than a hardware issue. Out iMac is the 3.4GHz with 2GB vRAM. He didn't say which of these configs was the dodgy one - maybe just the combination of the two.

I don't know if they're lying - I kinda doubt it (unfortunately for you!), but I really can't fault their customer service. Told them that I wasn't keen on having to keep sending them back & be without a computer, so this time they are shipping one out first, and then I can return this one once the replacement arrives.

Hopefully your computer arrives with no issues, and I've just been unlucky!
 
mdmoran said:
Sorry - my mistake. I had another post on here about the issues, but should have explained.

Both machines have been hanging, and totally unresponsive quite often. This one has done it twice today already. It also woke us up one night with the loudest beeping I have ever heard coming from a computer!

The guy on the phone didn't elaborate on the problem, except to say that the engineers were very keen to get as many back for diagnostics as possible.
Click to expand...

It doesn't sound like the CPU at all. To me it sounds like either a bad video card, bad memory or possibly a problem with the motherboard itself. Usually, with this type of problem it has been the Video card, but it also could be memory. What type of Video card did you get, and are they all the same type. Also, did you take the memory out and switch them?
 
Doesn't sound like the CPU to me, either... Have the 2GB video card. Have had different HDDs in each computer (Seagate/Western Digital) but other than that, same hardware each time. Haven't switched memory, but have reseated it.
 
I have a BTO 27" with 3.4i7, with AMD Radeon HD 6970M (With 1Gig of dedicated Ram), and 8Gigs of memory ... no problems here.
 
Fingers crossed I've just been unfortunate then, and it'll be third time lucky! Reluctant to really start using this computer for business if it's going to keep crashing.
 
When looking at problems with computers, always look at the easiest possible problem first. We need to narrow down, then eliminate what it can't be. Did you get a new power cord each time or are you using the same power cord that you got originally. Are there any external components attached to the computer, etc, that could cause the lockup? It could be software or hardware. It might still be the video, but you need to eliminate the easy ones first.
 
dfine1966 said:
When looking at problems with computers, always look at the easiest possible problem first. We need to narrow down, then eliminate what it can't be. Did you get a new power cord each time or are you using the same power cord that you got originally. Are there any external components attached to the computer, etc, that could cause the lockup? It could be software or hardware. It might still be the video, but you need to eliminate the easy ones first.
Click to expand...

They have both been 2GB, yes. Both wired keyboards (not that that would likely be an issue) both new & boxed so new power cables etc. It's not 3rd party software because it's done it on just a bare bones OS X install. It's not a bad install - I've done 4/5 in the last couple of weeks!

Only external hardware I'm using at the moment is a couple of USB drives - but happens without those also.

One interesting point actually, which I forgot to mention to the Apple tech, was that on the first machine, inside the RAM trapdoor, there was a really fine whiteish/silverish dust - almost powder. Seemed an odd thing to find inside a computer, but didn't really think anything of it at the time. Wonder now if it was some byproduct of the aluminium milling.
 
Looking back at your other post, it sounds like you are just unlucky, at least with the first two. The first one sounds like a bad memory port. That could be your problem again. The memory is good but the port might be bad, which could also slow down the computer. You have four memory slots, did you try to move each memory to different slots?
 
Well, guess what... Just got home from being out for a bit, and the iMac was completely unresponsive again. This time the screen was still on, but nothing was refreshing, and no inputs worked. All I can do when it happens is a hard power down. I've just looked at the log files again, and it doesn't seem like there's anything untoward in there - just a big gap between the last entry and then the reboot.

I haven't moved the memory around yet, no. I'm just going to wait for iMac #3 and hope for the best!
 
I had similar issues with my i7 3.4GHz but with 1GB GPU, that might explain why there was zero argument with taking the machine back and getting a refund. Now waiting for machine no.2 to arrive...;)
 
To update - I've had a couple of frustrating calls with Apple Care people, but we've made progress. I was on the phone for almost an hour last night, given a direct line to call today to get the replacement ordered as the sales office was closed last night.

Lo and behold, the direct line was the wrong number, and there was no record of my conversation last night(!) so I spent another hour or so this morning getting it rectified. To their credit, they offered compensation without me even asking, although we had to go through a few products to find something suitable. Opted for an elgato eyeTV.

Pretty happy customer overall - just hoping this one will be error-free!
 
No UPS, but the iMac is on one surge protector strip, and external drives on a separate strip.
 
mdmoran said:
I've just got off the phone with an AppleCare tech after our replacement 27" 3.4GHz iMac started having issues - on the day it arrived!

They are going to replace the machine again, but while I was on the phone I asked whether this had been a recurring issue, and was told that they were aware of an issue. He said that while there wasn't a full recall on the BTO iMacs, the engineers were trying to 'capture' as many as possible to find a solution - the thinking was that it was more likely to be a software issue than a hardware one.

Apple customer service is always exemplary, but that doesn't stop it being a bit of a pain in the arse to have to keep boxing these computers up and sending them back. I would have thought that these issues should have been caught before the release.

Just thought I'd pass this on... I guess if you're in the market for a BTO iMac, and don't need it right now, it might pay to hold of just a little bit longer!
Click to expand...

I was told the same by the rep I spoke with for a yellow tint issue with my BTO iMac 3.4GHz with the 2gb 6970M. The FedEx return label also had "CAPTURE" as the reference.

Since our return reasons are different, not sure what to make of this!
 
mac.rumors said:
I was told the same by the rep I spoke with for a yellow tint issue with my BTO iMac 3.4GHz with the 2gb 6970M. The FedEx return label also had "CAPTURE" as the reference.

Since our return reasons are different, not sure what to make of this!
Click to expand...

As someone who has been waiting for weeks for his 3.4GHz i7 w/2GB 6970M and 2TB+256GB SSD to arrive, this scares the bejeezus out of me...
 
Sounds like faulty memories to me. Had the same problem when i first built my current pc. Random freezes, and would fail to boot sometime with BIOS beeps.
 
Can you access the imac over the network when it crashes from another machine? SSH, file sharing, etc?

I went through the same issue with (now sold) my Mid-2007 iMac - it would 'freeze', but the machine was still alive... I could SSH in and run programs, etc. It ended up getting fixed by an ATI graphics card firmware update, but I had it replaced twice (to no avail) before the firmware update came out.

The reason it impacted only SOME systems was that it was dependent on which manufacturer the memory used on the video card itself came from.
 
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