Ok something is definitely wrong with my iMac

I've honestly never had this problem, but it sounds serious. The First thing I would do is begin backing up ALL YOUR data and then try to do a fresh-install of the OS (whether its Snow Leopard or Leopard) and see if that fixes the problem.

The second alternative could be to call up Apple ASAP. Explain the problem to them and they will most likely have a solution.

Regardless of what you do-whether re-install a fresh copy of the OS or call Apple, I would still begin back-ing up all your files just in case.

Good Luck!

 

Sounds like a dying hard drive, especially with the folder and question mark. I'd do a backup and first reinstall (you can buy a snow leopard disk for $30), and if that doesn't fix it, you'll need to replace the hard drive.

 

I have the exact same iMac 7,1 and yes, it is a dying hard drive. Definitely back up your stuff OP!!!

Your options for getting a new HDD installed from Apple is to have them put in another 320gb stock drive for about $250 + labor. It is an absolute rip-off that even the Genius I talked to agreed with.

It's time to get yourself a 1-2 Tb HDD replacement and get ready to learn how to take apart your iMac and replace the drive yourself. I can honestly say the idea is more intimidating than the task. It really isn't that hard, but I have a few tips that can really really make the task successful mainly, have a second person on hand to help you!

 

You can easily boot OSX off an external drive, though it will be slower - very noticeably on a USB drive, though firewire 800 might be acceptable. Still, could be good enough to test on - you can even transfer over your existing internal drive with something like SuperDuper.

Windows 7 I'm not even sure if its possible to run off an external drive, much less easy. I had been trying to figure out how to get win7 to run off firewire so I could install on my SSD, and finally gave up, opened the machine, and swapped out the optical drive.

Have you checked the SMART status of the drive? Disk utility should show it, and if you don't see "Verified" at the bottom, it means the drive itself thinks there's a problem. Though you could have drive issues that SMART won't detect or necessarily flag as a problem.

 

Backup to the external HD using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner, this makes the EHD a bootable clone. Then when you restart the computer hold down the Option key, choose the EHD and you will be up and running.

BTW you can get replacement Install DVDs from Apple for a nominal charge.

 

AFAIK, yes. If you install your system on the external you can use it as your primary drive. Either (1) clone your internal to your external, (2) restore your Time Machine backup to your external, (3) install OS X on the external using the Install DVD and transfer your data.

Make sure your external is formatted this way (info can be found in Disk Utility):
Partition Map Scheme : GUID Partition Table
Format : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

The best interface for the external would be Firewire 800, but USB should be usable. Operations like booting and launching apps might be slower, but once up and running you shouldn't see too much slowdowns.

If the internal drive keeps mounting and spinning after you stop using it, you can write an AppleScript to unmount it at login, or if you ask I can send one to you.

Edit: damn, 2 other posters type faster than me.

Edit 2: if your hard drive is failing, you should see repetitive, possibly cryptic messages in Applications/Utilities/Console. Google them to see what they mean.

 

Good advice from posters above about booting off an external drive, checking SMART status, and checking Console. After booting off the external drive, at least you can see if the problem goes away, and it may run perfectly well enough to be a solution until you gather the funds for a repair, get your courage up to do it yourself, or decide to just live with it that way.

I've got a similar iMac, and if it happens to me, I'd try booting off an external drive, and if that fixed it I'd replace the internal drive myself. Though I've never opened my iMac and I hope I won't have to!

 

Yeah, originally when this started happening to me I did a Target Boot from my iBook to run diagnostic on the internal HDD. Can't remember if any specific errors came up, but the constant beachballing on my iMac internal was enough of a confirmation for to consider the drive "close to death". Oh, and when I tried reinstalling OS X it would get about 80% in and then the install would fail, this confirmed without a doubt to replace the drive.

Definitely do a backup and I'll explain my story with opening up iMac and replacing the drive (I'll try to keep it brief):

My drive started beach balling on my constantly so i backed up and decided to install a new internal in my iMac. I bought a 1 TB drive and some hex screws and went to town. Took off the iMac screen with my shower loofa (sp?) which was easy and followed the tear-down instructions from here.

So I took apart the iMac and made the decision to take off the LCD, later this move cost me as when I put the iMac back together I did not properly reconnect the LCD power cable (because it is incredibly difficult) and ended up frying my power supply (had to have Apple replace it for $90 ). To avoid this, have a friend available when you take apart the iMac when you get to the LCD part, uncscrew the LCD and instead of unplugging the LCD to gain access to the HDD mount just have your friend tilt up the LCD so you can replace the HDD.

The tear-down the first time might take you about 15 minutes, but after you do it once you could probably repeat the process in under 5 minutes.

These two threads cover my struggles:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=935028&highlight=
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=941281&highlight=

 

Do a test install to an external hard drive and make sure it runs okay. If so, its definitely the internal drive. You won't want to use this permanently, but it should at least verify the problem.

No advice on which drive - the newer models are 'picky' about what drive you put in (needs special firmware for thermal readouts), but don't know if thats true or not for yours. Might be worth seeing what a mac repair shop will charge you to do it, since they'll get the drive right and save the hassle of dealing with the surgery. I opened mine up once, and am scared to do it again....

 

Wait, what? You walk around with what? The iMac or the HDD? I don't understand.

Well, one way to really tell once and for all it's your HDD is to boot off an external and see if your problems go away. Or if you try reinstalling OS X and it fails on you.