Late 2012 27 inch iMac as a government computer

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

So, I work as a sysadmin for a US federal data center, a place you don't really see macOS used in for obvious reasons. Well I got something special for y'all, a blast from the past.

You see, recently we've been doing cleaning of our inventory and my boss saw we had a lot of all in one desktops and he wants to put them back into service. One of the all in ones he saved for me, a computer that I think y'all know very well

This is a late 2012 27 inch iMac. This was requisitioned a long time ago as a special order, but the user who requested it never used it so it was sitting never opened collecting dust. So my boss gave me a special assignment to get this thing into operational capacity

So obviously it's in good condition since it was never opened, but there's still some work I'll need to do to it:

1. First things first, the OS. As you can see it's preloaded with macOS Mountain Lion, which is far too old to use in any modern capacity, especially on US government networks. So I'm gonna need to reimage it to at least High Sierra.
2. I don't trust the Fusion Drive in this thing so we're sticking an SSD into it and making that the new boot drive
3. Windows 10 will need to get dualbooted onto it as a just in case scenario
4. If we got any spare DDR3 RAM (which I doubt since that's old as hell and the majority of our PCs use DDR4) I'll bump the RAM in this from 16 gb to 32 for MAXIMUM EDGE TABBING

After all that's done, this is gonna become my new workstation. And if it all goes well, we could potentially see a return of macOS at our data center for our end users, maybe even getting some Apple Silicon Macs.

Funny story about getting this box opened. You probably noticed in the second image there's an asset tag on the chin. But as I said it's never been opened before. Well here's the story behind that: You see our center doesn't order equipment, a central parent facility orders it and then ships it down to us. So this iMac, they opened the box with care and precision, carefully removed the plastic film also with care and precision so it doesn't get damaged, placed the asset tag, and then USED A GLUE STICK TO GLUE THE PLASTIC FILM BACK ON! Because of this, the plastic film was a pain in the ass to get off, the glue made the iMac super filthy, and it smelled really really bad. So thanks for that parent facility...

You guys got any memories of the late 2012 27 inch iMac, or any recommendations with it?

 

[tranceking26]

This is cool, keep us updated! It'll be good to see the ol' girl get some use after all this time.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

This is cool, keep us updated! It'll be good to see the ol' girl get some use after all this time.

Well hey if macOS doesn't work out, I'll still have a kickass 4K workstation. I'll be the talk of the office as our monitors are 24 inch 1080p Dell monitors as standard.

 

[redheeler]

You guys got any memories of the late 2012 27 inch iMac, or any recommendations with it?

Yes, it came out when I was in high school They don't run a supported MacOS anymore sadly, OpenCore is a possibility but not sure if that's allowed in your sensitive organizational environment.

 

[MBAir2010]

that mountain lion start up icon is incredible!
I have many jokes about any laptops and US officials sons owning them
but this  system looks clean.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Yes, it came out when I was in high school They don't run a supported MacOS anymore sadly, OpenCore is a possibility but not sure if that's allowed in your sensitive organizational environment.

OpenCore is out of the question. It is not approved software.

 

[redheeler]

OpenCore is out of the question. It is not approved software.

Yeah that’s what I thought…still a nice blast from the past to see one of these on Mountain Lion. That was the version of MacOS I first used regularly and I can’t believe it’s been a whole decade! If you ever acquire one of these as a personal computer they’re pretty capable with OpenCore, I’ve had a late 2013 21.5” going on Monterey as a secondary kitchen computer.

I’m surprised your org didn’t surplus this TBH. Catalina is out of support with security updates. (Surplus isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I’ve given a second life to a few surplus Macs, that late 2013 21.5” being one of them!)

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Yeah that’s what I thought…still a nice blast from the past to see one of these on Mountain Lion. That was the version of MacOS I first used regularly and I can’t believe it’s been a whole decade! If you ever acquire one of these as a personal computer they’re pretty capable with OpenCore, I’ve had a late 2013 21.5” going on Monterey as a secondary kitchen computer.

I’m surprised your org didn’t surplus this TBH. Catalina is out of support with security updates. (Surplus isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I’ve given a second life to a few surplus Macs, that late 2013 21.5” being one of them!)

We excessed all the non-Apple Silicon Macbooks already. One of them was a 2014 13 inch Macbook Pro, and the others were all butterfly keyboards Macbooks which no one wants for obvious reasons.

We kept the iMac since its upgradable and also an all in one. If we can stick an SSD in it and install Windows 10, it’s usable for us.

In terms of macOS, we still have High Sierra and Mojave as approved software which is how I can get away with having macOS on this thing. The question will be if my admin software will talk on macOS

 

[redheeler]

We excessed all the non-Apple Silicon Macbooks already. One of them was a 2014 13 inch Macbook Pro, and the others were all butterfly keyboards Macbooks which no one wants for obvious reasons.

We kept the iMac since its upgradable and also an all in one. If we can stick an SSD in it and install Windows 10, it’s usable for us.

In terms of macOS, we still have High Sierra and Mojave as approved software which is how I can get away with having macOS on this thing. The question will be if my admin software will talk on macOS

I’m curious, how does your org retire MacBooks with sensitive data and the SSD is integrated / non-removable? There might be a different policy for SSD compared to mechanical drives, I really hope they don’t get destroyed…

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I’m curious, how does your org retire MacBooks with sensitive data and the SSD is integrated / non-removable? There might be a different policy for SSD compared to mechanical drives, I really hope they don’t get destroyed…

The SSDs gotta get shredded no matter what. I'm sorry I know you'd hate the idea of a perfectly good Mac getting destroyed, I do too. However protocol states no chances of any fragments of data can be recovered. We have a lot of personal user information stored on our servers, including health information from VA hospitals, so the SSDs gotta be destroyed to comply with data privacy laws.

Our data center's security score is only a few points shy of the White House. This is one of the reasons why. At least this old 27 inch iMac will be spared from the same fate.

Well hey don't cry over spilled milk. They're butterfly keyboard Macbooks. They're better off destroyed. Pieces of ****

 

[KaliYoni]

Our data center's security score is only a few points shy of the White House.

So that means my aunt's VA medical record is going to show up at a golf resort or a think tank?
;-)

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

So that means my aunt's VA medical record is going to show up at a golf resort or a think tank?
;-)

Hey give us more credit than that. It's the programmers that are the greater risk of leaking data lmao

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I am curious how a 10-year-old machine will fare in the modern world. The oldest machine I currently have is the last Intel iMac. I think I once owned the lampshade iMac around 10 years after it was originally purchased, but that was just for home use (browsing and streaming).

The majority of the office workstations are Dell Optiplexes so in terms of performance this iMac will pretty much be the same or better lmao. Except for that Fusion Drive. That's not gonna fly in modern day. Fortunately there's a PCIe slot which is why we didn't excess it since we can just put an SSD in to make that the new boot drive.

Interesting that you guy’s literally shred hard drives. I thought a 7 times runs of zeros was government approved. I guess not.

Shredders guarantee destruction. Gotta leave no fragment left that could be recovered.

 

[thefourthpope]

The computer I got with my first faculty position . . . Absolutely blazing fast and the best monitor I’d ever had. Wish I could have kept it as a second monitor when I got a new iMac.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

The computer I got with my first faculty position . . . Absolutely blazing fast and the best monitor I’d ever had. Wish I could have kept it as a second monitor when I got a new iMac.

It baffles me that Apple doesn't just take an iMac chassis, take the computer out, and sell that as a 4K monitor. I'd buy it in a heartbeat even though I got a 1440p120hz, just because it looks really nice.

Though they'd probably find a way to screw it up just like with the StudiNo Display.

 

[throAU]

Any OS that machine supports has a significant number of known security vulnerabilities so you may have issues getting it onto a government network if IT actually know about it, or more likely find it.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Fortunately there's a PCIe slot which is why we didn't excess it since we can just put an SSD in to make that the new boot drive.

I don't have personal experience of fusion drive iMacs but I have seen a few threads where people have had a fusion drive failure, and never seen the option to plug a new SSD into a spare PCIe slot mentioned....are you sure about this?

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Any OS that machine supports has a significant number of known security vulnerabilities so you may have issues getting it onto a government network if IT actually know about it, or more likely find it.

Our executives use macOS and we have an entire programming team in Washington DC that all use Macbooks. We have special images of macOS and Windows 10 so don't worry about the iMac on our network.

I don't have personal experience of fusion drive iMacs but I have seen a few threads where people have had a fusion drive failure, and never seen the option to plug a new SSD into a spare PCIe slot mentioned....are you sure about this?

Oh crap you're right I misread the tech sheet then.

Looks like we're going external for the SSD then. Thanks for the heads up. That actually makes putting it into service capacity a lot easier then since I won't have to open it up to slot the SSD in. I can just plug it in then reimage.

 

[redheeler]

It baffles me that Apple doesn't just take an iMac chassis, take the computer out, and sell that as a 4K monitor. I'd buy it in a heartbeat even though I got a 1440p120hz, just because it looks really nice.

Though they'd probably find a way to screw it up just like with the StudiNo Display.

If Apple sold kits to do this with older iMacs like my late 2015 5K, I'd buy one of those and a new M2 Mac mini.

 

[zarmanto]

I have a 2012 27" iMac sitting in my basement which has been in nearly continuous operation for the past decade; it's no longer my primary computer, but it's still chugging along just fine, and the kids use it for some gaming by way of Windows 10. I did of course upgrade the RAM to 40GB within days of buying it, and I finally got around to replacing the internal HDD with an SSD just a couple of years ago. (I intentionally did not configure it with Fusion, because I've never really trusted that concept.)

I'd say you've got yourself a pretty decent workstation, there. Good find!

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

UPDATE:

We're working with our parent facility to reimage the OS. Due to the nature of getting an SSD in, it'll need to be taken to the parent facility to have the screen opened up and have the drive replaced with an SSD. Plus they have spare DDR3 RAM so we'll have the RAM upgraded from 16 gb to 32.

I'll keep you posted when we ship it out and when we get it back.

(See this is why I keep telling them we should've gotten Mac Minis instead but noooooooooo they wanted the fancy all in one)

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

MAJOR UPDATE

I got off the phone with our org's National Mac Team, and they're doing a nationwide refresh of all our government furnished Macs, so we might not need to use this old 27 inch after all as they can send us some brand new Macs already preloaded with Monterey.

 

[redheeler]

Great, I would scoop this up from surplus

 

[ignatius345]

I don't trust the Fusion Drive in this thing so we're sticking an SSD into it and making that the new boot drive

Smart move. I had a 2014 5K iMac with a Fusion Drive and it eventually died when the little 128GB SSD part of it got too worn out. The Fusion Drive was a very clever idea back when SSDs were nosebleed expensive, but they've outlived their utility at this point.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Smart move. I had a 2014 5K iMac with a Fusion Drive and it eventually died when the little 128GB SSD part of it got too worn out. The Fusion Drive was a clever hack back when SSDs were nosebleed expensive, but they've outlived their utility at this point.

The fusion drive was a clever idea on paper (I would've made it up) but in practice it just caused confusion, especially when the majority of the cheap 21.5 inch iMacs had spinning hard drives.

Still can't believe they thought it was a good idea to keep selling them even after the Apple Silicon transition.