Hello everyone,
I have some serious problems with my iMac that I've been experiencing for a long time now, but they're really getting on my nerves now!
I have a 2006 20" iMac (the last revision of the white ones before the aluminum redesign), 2.16 GHz, 2 GB ram, 250 gig hard, 128MB ATI X1600 Mobility.
My main problem, as I understand is I guess the same as in this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/762930/, I am sorry for mentioning this again, but it's not the only problem I have with the iMac.
The graphics problem is the most irritating of all and I really can't stand it anymore! The computer freezes constantly, especially using graphics intensive apps like Nuke, Photoshop and Aperture. There are lines everywhere, the system freezes and I have to force reboot, it's very hard working and also playing games. I have XP installed and when I play Mass Effect and Fallout 3 there are graphics glitches everywhere, textures coming into one another, models are deforming and after some time it freezes and restarts. As I've read in the other thread, the problem is with the ATI X1600 when it overheats which I guess it's constantly with me! And since I am a little unemployed for a couple of months now (hopefully will be employed from tomorrow...), I can't bring the iMac to a service company, because here Mac service costs an arm and a leg, also warranty is expired and I have no AppleCare! So is there a cheaper way to fix this? Get a new videocard for my iMac (maybe upgrade?) and replace it? Or some other solution to this?
Secondly, around two years ago my DVD-drive stopped writing DVDs! Next it stopped reading them, and now it only reads CDs really slow... It's unusable, in Mac OS (Tiger, Leopard) and in Windows XP. Do I have to get a new drive too?
The last problem is with my USB ports. I have an external LaCie 1TB drive connected with USB. The problem is that USB is really slow reading and writing to the LaCie, and not only with it, flash drives, cardreaders, my Canon EOS 40D, everything! And when I am downloading something big and save it to the LaCie, the hard drive freezes! If it's downloading at 3MB/s at most it won't freeze, but if it gets beyond that, it's like my LaCie get banged on the head, loses it's mind and freezes, constantly blinking, and doesn't stop, I've tried leaving it for many hours and it keeps blinking!
Honestly, I feel like my iMac is braking apart. Does anyone have suggestions what should I do? If everything goes well tomorrow and I get the job I suppose I could take it for repairs, even though it'll be quite expensive but if there is another solution?
I have some serious problems with my iMac that I've been experiencing for a long time now, but they're really getting on my nerves now!
I have a 2006 20" iMac (the last revision of the white ones before the aluminum redesign), 2.16 GHz, 2 GB ram, 250 gig hard, 128MB ATI X1600 Mobility.
My main problem, as I understand is I guess the same as in this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/762930/, I am sorry for mentioning this again, but it's not the only problem I have with the iMac.
The graphics problem is the most irritating of all and I really can't stand it anymore! The computer freezes constantly, especially using graphics intensive apps like Nuke, Photoshop and Aperture. There are lines everywhere, the system freezes and I have to force reboot, it's very hard working and also playing games. I have XP installed and when I play Mass Effect and Fallout 3 there are graphics glitches everywhere, textures coming into one another, models are deforming and after some time it freezes and restarts. As I've read in the other thread, the problem is with the ATI X1600 when it overheats which I guess it's constantly with me! And since I am a little unemployed for a couple of months now (hopefully will be employed from tomorrow...), I can't bring the iMac to a service company, because here Mac service costs an arm and a leg, also warranty is expired and I have no AppleCare! So is there a cheaper way to fix this? Get a new videocard for my iMac (maybe upgrade?) and replace it? Or some other solution to this?
Secondly, around two years ago my DVD-drive stopped writing DVDs! Next it stopped reading them, and now it only reads CDs really slow... It's unusable, in Mac OS (Tiger, Leopard) and in Windows XP. Do I have to get a new drive too?
The last problem is with my USB ports. I have an external LaCie 1TB drive connected with USB. The problem is that USB is really slow reading and writing to the LaCie, and not only with it, flash drives, cardreaders, my Canon EOS 40D, everything! And when I am downloading something big and save it to the LaCie, the hard drive freezes! If it's downloading at 3MB/s at most it won't freeze, but if it gets beyond that, it's like my LaCie get banged on the head, loses it's mind and freezes, constantly blinking, and doesn't stop, I've tried leaving it for many hours and it keeps blinking!
Honestly, I feel like my iMac is braking apart. Does anyone have suggestions what should I do? If everything goes well tomorrow and I get the job I suppose I could take it for repairs, even though it'll be quite expensive but if there is another solution?