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mraub

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 9, 2017
2
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The HD in my 2011 27" started making clicking noises and showed other signs of imminent death. I decided to replace it with a solid state drive. I found an online video showing how to disassemble the iMac to access the HD bay. Unfortunately the power supply cable on my iMac was much shorter than shown in the video and I accidently broke the socket on the logic board where it plugs in. This can be fixed, but it won't be cheap. Apple is supposedly geared up to release a new iMac later this year and I am somewhat loath to investing a lot of money in a computer this old.

My thought is this. My cheapest option would be to buy another 27" monitor and just basically forget about the iMac internal display (it is pre-Retina). The iMac has 2 Thunderbolt jacks, which I think are compatible with Display Port. Will this work? Trying to avoid throwing good money after bad, I don't want to buy the new monitor and cable and find out you can't get it to work if the primary display is inoperative.

Any help much appreciated.
 
The HD in my 2011 27" started making clicking noises and showed other signs of imminent death. I decided to replace it with a solid state drive. I found an online video showing how to disassemble the iMac to access the HD bay. Unfortunately the power supply cable on my iMac was much shorter than shown in the video and I accidently broke the socket on the logic board where it plugs in. This can be fixed, but it won't be cheap. Apple is supposedly geared up to release a new iMac later this year and I am somewhat loath to investing a lot of money in a computer this old.

My thought is this. My cheapest option would be to buy another 27" monitor and just basically forget about the iMac internal display (it is pre-Retina). The iMac has 2 Thunderbolt jacks, which I think are compatible with Display Port. Will this work? Trying to avoid throwing good money after bad, I don't want to buy the new monitor and cable and find out you can't get it to work if the primary display is inoperative.

Any help much appreciated.

Is should work as far as I know. You could always get a mini-display (thunderbolt) to HDMI adapter and plug it into a tv to see if it works before spending money on a monitor.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Mini-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Adapter/dp/B00NH13K8S
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. After making this post I did a little more internet searching and found a company called DT&T in Fremont, CA that can make a board level repair of the broken socket for about $150, though I will have to pay shipping costs. Since a decent 27" monitor and cable is going to cost me that, I'm going to try that route. Apparently I am far from the first idiot to pull this stunt.
 
I did a similar thing to my 2009 iMac. Stripped the flat display connector right off the socket. Luckily it came off cleanly enough I was able to solder it back down. Not a fun experience. My college job soldering electronics paid off...
 
Wow, you all are making me glad that I bought an external enclosure for my SSD upgrade. I'm sorry to hear of what happened to your iMacs. With my luck, there's a good chance I would have suffered a similar fate.
 
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