iMac 24 inch 2008 Advice Needed...

[BurntWaffle88]

Hi Guys,

I need your advice on my iMac. But first I'll give you the info so you know what you're dealing with.

24 inch iMac MB325 2008, 2.8 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 800 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM.

I'm running Leopard 10.5.8.

I haven't done anything to the iMac technically since I bought it brand new.

I'm unable to run Google Chrome because it keeps crashing, Firefox is the same and now Safari is starting to crash every once in a while.
I love using Chrome it's just annoying that I can't now. I even downloaded an old version but it still crashes.

I just want ideas on what to do. I'd like to keep it, so buying a new one isn't really on the cards - unless you guys think buying a new one would actually be cheaper than updating this one - which, I doubt it.

I'd love to run the next OS X release or Mountain Lion or at the very least Lion. So in order to do that, what would I need to do?

I also thought about buying more RAM, the max I can have in my iMac is 4GB so that might be wise. Try and speed things up a bit.

Is there anything else I can do / buy to get the most out of it?

I'd love to just send it to an Apple Genius's or someone and say "Make it awesome again". I love my iMac and since I bought it, I haven't looked back since, worth the money, it's awesome. But it just needs revamping.

I do run some big programs like Final Cut and Photoshop, maybe not as much as I'd like to! But recently I just use it for surfing the web rather than working on projects etc.

So any suggestions or feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Hi Guys,

I need your advice on my iMac. But first I'll give you the info so you know what you're dealing with.

24 inch iMac MB325 2008, 2.8 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 800 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM.

I'm running Leopard 10.5.8.

I haven't done anything to the iMac technically since I bought it brand new.

I'm unable to run Google Chrome because it keeps crashing, Firefox is the same and now Safari is starting to crash every once in a while.
I love using Chrome it's just annoying that I can't now. I even downloaded an old version but it still crashes.

I just want ideas on what to do. I'd like to keep it, so buying a new one isn't really on the cards - unless you guys think buying a new one would actually be cheaper than updating this one - which, I doubt it.

I'd love to run the next OS X release or Mountain Lion or at the very least Lion. So in order to do that, what would I need to do?

I also thought about buying more RAM, the max I can have in my iMac is 4GB so that might be wise. Try and speed things up a bit.

Is there anything else I can do / buy to get the most out of it?

I'd love to just send it to an Apple Genius's or someone and say "Make it awesome again". I love my iMac and since I bought it, I haven't looked back since, worth the money, it's awesome. But it just needs revamping.

I do run some big programs like Final Cut and Photoshop, maybe not as much as I'd like to! But recently I just use it for surfing the web rather than working on projects etc.

So any suggestions or feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

I have the same iMac. I run Mountain Lion, and use iMovie and Aperture extensively. I have upgraded the RAM to 6GB (Apple only states 4GB but you can put in a 4GB and 2GB stick), have installed a 240GB SSD for the internal drive, and now run the 240GB SSD and an external 2TB FW800 HDD in a home-made FusionDrive array. I have no crashing problems whatsoever, and neither should you. Have you tried repairing permissions lately?

There are some issues with the graphics card drivers post-10.6.2 if you have an ATI card. I have the ATI HD2600. See this thread for more on that issue and a fix:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1262891/

 

[fhall1]

Run the Disk Utility and verify/repair the HDD....if that finds nothing do a repair install of the OS (install it over itself so you don't lose your data and settings).

 

[skinny*k]

I can't give you a definite answer, but I had the same problem on my 24".

Try disconnecting all of your USB devices, except the Apple keyboard and mouse. I finally traced my problem to a brand-name USB hub. Its better to go through the troubleshooting steps before you start spending money.

 

[ser968]

I have the same iMac. I run Mountain Lion, and use iMovie and Aperture extensively. I have upgraded the RAM to 6GB (Apple only states 4GB but you can put in a 4GB and 2GB stick), have installed a 240GB SSD for the internal drive, and now run the 240GB SSD and an external 2TB FW800 HDD in a home-made FusionDrive array. I have no crashing problems whatsoever, and neither should you. Have you tried repairing permissions lately?

There are some issues with the graphics card drivers post-10.6.2 if you have an ATI card. I have the ATI HD2600. See this thread for more on that issue and a fix:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1262891/

I have virtually the same configuration, except mine is a 3.06 with an upgraded graphics card. However, I can attest to having ZERO issues with using this computer and I am having an extremely hard time justifying upgrading to another iMac. This is the main family computer and acts primarily as our media hub (and use it a lot to rip movies and music). For being almost 5 years old, it has been a wonderful computer. No screen degradation as far as I can tell.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

However, I can attest to having ZERO issues with using this computer and I am having an extremely hard time justifying upgrading to another iMac.

Sucks, doesn't it? ;-) I have a hard time putting a perfectly good computer into mothballs just to buy the latest/greatest. What REALLY rubs salt into the wound is that my wife's 4 year old Toshiba laptop died last year, so we purchased a 2012 MBA mainly for her (and for my photography when we travel). And my oldest son will be going to college in August, so he'll get either a new MBA or MBP - while dad still plugs along on his '08 iMac!

 

[Transmaro]

I have been reading threads for more than a year, this is the first thread I have seen which motivated me to respond.

I have the same exact iMac as you, 2008 with the 2.8GHz chip and 2MB of memory. Also running 10.5.8. Safari crashes almost daily. Facebook no longer works. No way to download a new browser as none of the latest versions work with 10.5.8. Many features on browsers are no longer working properly.

I have the money for a new one, but I live in Italy and not about to spend 550 USD more than in the US. Plus then wait 4-6 weeks for delivery.

So increase the RAM and upgrade to Mountain Lion? Is it worth to invest in a 5 year old computer with a yellowing screen? Can I even upgrade to Mountain Lion?

 

[Yamcha]

Hi Guys,

I need your advice on my iMac. But first I'll give you the info so you know what you're dealing with.

24 inch iMac MB325 2008, 2.8 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 800 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM.

I'm running Leopard 10.5.8.

I haven't done anything to the iMac technically since I bought it brand new.

I'm unable to run Google Chrome because it keeps crashing, Firefox is the same and now Safari is starting to crash every once in a while.
I love using Chrome it's just annoying that I can't now. I even downloaded an old version but it still crashes.

I just want ideas on what to do. I'd like to keep it, so buying a new one isn't really on the cards - unless you guys think buying a new one would actually be cheaper than updating this one - which, I doubt it.

I'd love to run the next OS X release or Mountain Lion or at the very least Lion. So in order to do that, what would I need to do?

I also thought about buying more RAM, the max I can have in my iMac is 4GB so that might be wise. Try and speed things up a bit.

Is there anything else I can do / buy to get the most out of it?

I'd love to just send it to an Apple Genius's or someone and say "Make it awesome again". I love my iMac and since I bought it, I haven't looked back since, worth the money, it's awesome. But it just needs revamping.

I do run some big programs like Final Cut and Photoshop, maybe not as much as I'd like to! But recently I just use it for surfing the web rather than working on projects etc.

So any suggestions or feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Could possibly be a Memory issue, in my experience if the memory is faulty/dying you'll experience crashing of applications & games frequently..

If I were you I'd do a fresh install of OSX either by creating a partition or backing up your old files. That will at the very least tell you If it's hardware related or just an OS issue..

You can also run Apple Hardware Test. With that test you can find If it's a hardware issue or not..

Hope that helps!

 

[Mike in Kansas]

I have been reading threads for more than a year, this is the first thread I have seen which motivated me to respond.

I have the same exact iMac as you, 2008 with the 2.8GHz chip and 2MB of memory. Also running 10.5.8. Safari crashes almost daily. Facebook no longer works. No way to download a new browser as none of the latest versions work with 10.5.8. Many features on browsers are no longer working properly.

I have the money for a new one, but I live in Italy and not about to spend 550 USD more than in the US. Plus then wait 4-6 weeks for delivery.

So increase the RAM and upgrade to Mountain Lion? Is it worth to invest in a 5 year old computer with a yellowing screen? Can I even upgrade to Mountain Lion?

You can definitely run Mountain Lion, as I am running 10.8.2 on mine. But with 2GB RAM it will be a very poor experience. I'd be concerned with the yellowing display; if mine was starting to degrade I would be hesitant to put too much more money into it.

 

[BurntWaffle88]

Well that escalated quickly!

Thankfully my screen - as far as I can tell - isn't yellowing.

I've tried my best to look after my iMac since I bought it. It was a lot of money so, I figured, I had to look after it!

I actually hadn't repaired permissions in months, it only took 20 minutes to complete but I'm now successfully running Firefox which hasn't crashed once yet So that's a win #1

Would I love a new iMac? Of course I would, who wouldn't, but they're so expensive and think about how many new iMacs have been released since the '08 one. There's been a few.

But it's still - more or less - the same model and design. Until there's a new design, I doubt I'll buy a new one.

The next thing I'd like to do is upgrade RAM and run Mountain Lion.

But still with all the issues I've ever had with my iMac - perhaps 5 tops over the last 5 years! I still wouldn't ever go back to a PC. To me that'd be like human de-evolution. It's just going backwards.

Anyways like I said the repair permissions seemed to work for me, my iMac is running quicker, less lagging and no crashing. So thank you for all your guys help and suggestions, MacRumors, you guys never fail me

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Well that escalated quickly!

Thankfully my screen - as far as I can tell - isn't yellowing.

I've tried my best to look after my iMac since I bought it. It was a lot of money so, I figured, I had to look after it!

I actually hadn't repaired permissions in months, it only took 20 minutes to complete but I'm now successfully running Firefox which hasn't crashed once yet So that's a win #1

Would I love a new iMac? Of course I would, who wouldn't, but they're so expensive and think about how many new iMacs have been released since the '08 one. There's been a few.

But it's still - more or less - the same model and design. Until there's a new design, I doubt I'll buy a new one.

The next thing I'd like to do is upgrade RAM and run Mountain Lion.

But still with all the issues I've ever had with my iMac - perhaps 5 tops over the last 5 years! I still wouldn't ever go back to a PC. To me that'd be like human de-evolution. It's just going backwards.

Anyways like I said the repair permissions seemed to work for me, my iMac is running quicker, less lagging and no crashing. So thank you for all your guys help and suggestions, MacRumors, you guys never fail me

Before you decide whether to go for the RAM or not, take a look at your Activity Monitor. First, reboot the machine (which will reset everything). Then, open Activity Monitor and click on the System Memory tab. Now, go do the things you normally do - run Firefox, play iTunes, maybe mess around with iPhoto, etc. Whatever you normally do. Now look at the Page Ins and Page Outs in Activity Monitor. You should have accrued quite a few Page Ins by now (this shows that you are reading applications and other files from your HDD, and is normal). If you have started to accumulate a bunch of Page Outs, this means that you are running out of RAM and your Mac is writing to your HDD in order to free up RAM for your applications. It will continue to swap back and forth from your HDD to RAM as you need to free up RAM, which will result in beachballing and general slowing down. THIS will tell you if it makes sense to invest in more RAM.

If you are unsure about your results, post them here and folks on the forums can help you. Good luck!

 

[fhall1]

Before you decide whether to go for the RAM or not, take a look at your Activity Monitor. First, reboot the machine (which will reset everything). Then, open Activity Monitor and click on the System Memory tab. Now, go do the things you normally do - run Firefox, play iTunes, maybe mess around with iPhoto, etc. Whatever you normally do. Now look at the Page Ins and Page Outs in Activity Monitor. You should have accrued quite a few Page Ins by now (this shows that you are reading applications and other files from your HDD, and is normal). If you have started to accumulate a bunch of Page Outs, this means that you are running out of RAM and your Mac is writing to your HDD in order to free up RAM for your applications. It will continue to swap back and forth from your HDD to RAM as you need to free up RAM, which will result in beachballing and general slowing down. THIS will tell you if it makes sense to invest in more RAM.

If you are unsure about your results, post them here and folks on the forums can help you. Good luck!

RAM is so cheap now - especially for that machine which max's out at 4 or maybe 6GB? - just buy it.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

RAM is so cheap now - especially for that machine which max's out at 4 or maybe 6GB? - just buy it.

RAM for older machines is definitely not cheap compared to current machines' RAM. For instance, 4GB (2X2GB) of RAM for the 2008 iMac is ~$65; to take it to 6GB of RAM (2GB & 4GB) will cost you ~$130. It may be smarter to take that $130 and put it towards a Mac Mini...

Conversely, you can add 16GB to the 2012 iMacs for less than $100. Quite a disparity in prices ($21.67/GB vs. $6.25/GB)

 

[mscriv]

Just thought I would revive this thread to say that over the holiday I put a new SSD in my 24" 2008 2.8 iMac and like many in here already stated, I'm having no problems with my machine. Knowing that it will run Mavericks, I think it will definitely last for another couple of years. I think the OP's issue shows that many times when a computer begins to struggle it's often a result of not utilizing the proper maintenance. People tend to "baby" their computers when they're brand new, but after the "newness" wears off the machine gets treated like a junk drawer with various files and media just strewn about all over. Straightening things up a bit, doing proper maintenance, and upgrading a few things here and there can really improve performance and lengthen the lifespan of one's machine.

 

[Quicksilver2001]

This may not mean much but I wanted to contribute my experience

Hi Guys,

I need your advice on my iMac. But first I'll give you the info so you know what you're dealing with.

24 inch iMac MB325 2008, 2.8 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 800 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM.

I'm running Leopard 10.5.8.

I haven't done anything to the iMac technically since I bought it brand new.

I'm unable to run Google Chrome because it keeps crashing, Firefox is the same and now Safari is starting to crash every once in a while.
I love using Chrome it's just annoying that I can't now. I even downloaded an old version but it still crashes.

I just want ideas on what to do. I'd like to keep it, so buying a new one isn't really on the cards - unless you guys think buying a new one would actually be cheaper than updating this one - which, I doubt it.

I'd love to run the next OS X release or Mountain Lion or at the very least Lion. So in order to do that, what would I need to do?

I also thought about buying more RAM, the max I can have in my iMac is 4GB so that might be wise. Try and speed things up a bit.

Is there anything else I can do / buy to get the most out of it?

I'd love to just send it to an Apple Genius's or someone and say "Make it awesome again". I love my iMac and since I bought it, I haven't looked back since, worth the money, it's awesome. But it just needs revamping.

I do run some big programs like Final Cut and Photoshop, maybe not as much as I'd like to! But recently I just use it for surfing the web rather than working on projects etc.

So any suggestions or feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

You pretty much have to replace the hard disk with a SSD and hook up a 2TB external drive via FireWire 800 if you want to keep using it. While Mavericks of 10.9.2 and later revisions run the fans harder than they should, you have to decide whether continuing to extract beefsteak from it is worth saying goodbye to it, because the harder the fans run, and for a greater period of time, means that one day you may wake up to disastrous fan failure.

When faced with this problem on my originally identical iMac, I gave up on trying to have a current and rich both Internet experience and decided to extract milk from it rather than beefsteak, since I like it better than anything they've put out since. This is at variance with the majority of Modern Apple devotees, but I made my own choices based on a budget that was vastly reduced when I could no longer get student loans, because of health problems preventing me from making the grades I would otherwise have been capable of.

But in your case, since you want beefsteak, you will have to upgrade it to 6GB of RAM, make an SSD the boot drive, and store all your documents on a 2TB external as the other excellent posters suggest. Sorry to inform you that using something that was 6 years old involves spending money, but the good news is you'll have still spent less than a new Mac.

Cheers,
Alex Harris