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Power outage, now iMac dead?

D

Darl Bundren

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 25, 2009
24
0
Hey, all. I put my i5 to sleep around midday, came home from work @ 4, and my iMac would not respond to keyboard, mouse, or power button mashing. My wife noted the power had gone out upon seeing the microwave clock.

Any idea what's up?

I checked the outlet (her Macbook was plugged into the other receptacle), and there's still power going to my machine.

Ugh.
 
First thing to try is... unplug all peripherals like hard drives etc. Unplug the iMac at the wall outlet. Then press and hold the power button for ten seconds, then release. Then plug in the power socket and then switch on the Mac.

That's what Apple told me after my machine blacked out after a power cut and wouldn't restart. And it worked.

I must say, the iMacs do seem exceptionally sensitive to power fluctuations. I've been through this procedure three times in a few weeks, but never with any other Mac.
 
Sir Cecil said:
First thing to try is... unplug all peripherals like hard drives etc. Unplug the iMac at the wall outlet. Then press and hold the power button for ten seconds, then release. Then plug in the power socket and then switch on the Mac.

That's what Apple told me after my machine blacked out after a power cut and wouldn't estart. And it worked.

I must say, the iMacs do seem exceptionally sensitive to power fluctuations. I've been through this procedure three times in a few weeks, but never with any other Mac.
Click to expand...

I just tried it a couple of times. No dice. :(

The computer did make a very faint noise or two when I would depress the power button, but no life as far as I can tell.

If I have Apple Care, am I okay on this? Will they repair my machine in a situation like this that was more than likely caused by power?
 
Man...

Sorry to hear your bad news. Your systems appears to be affected by the power outage. Not that it'll help you now, but you should ALWAYS invest in surge protection, especially for high end equipment. I'm betting that Applecare or the basic warranty won't cover such issues...if they don't, I'd be surprised. It should be listed somewhere in the warranty clause.
 
Well, all I'd tell them is that the machine was unresponsive when you returned home. I wouldn't tell them you suspect a power surge because a) that might be incorrect and b) it allows them to deflect blame.
You just want it operating. If it's within the return period and they can't provide a simple solution, you should be given a replacement. If it's a few months old, they're obliged to fix it.
 
Sir Cecil said:
Well, all I'd tell them is that the machine was unresponsive when you returned home. I wouldn't tell them you suspect a power surge because a) that might be incorrect and b) it allows them to deflect blame.
You just want it operating. If it's within the return period and they can't provide a simple solution, you should be given a replacement. If it's a few months old, they're obliged to fix it.
Click to expand...

How in the world are they obliged to fix something like that? They aren't responsible for power damage and to instruct someone to tell a 'white' lie is kinda bad, IMO. Why would they be obliged? I'm curious, really. Why would they be obliged to fix it yet you tell the OP to lie?
 
unixfool said:
Man...

Sorry to hear your bad news. Your systems appears to be affected by the power outage. Not that it'll help you now, but you should ALWAYS invest in surge protection, especially for high end equipment. I'm betting that Applecare or the basic warranty won't cover such issues...if they don't, I'd be surprised. It should be listed somewhere in the warranty clause.
Click to expand...

Sir Cecil said:
Well, all I'd tell them is that the machine was unresponsive when you returned home. I wouldn't tell them you suspect a power surge because a) that might be incorrect and b) it allows them to deflect blame.
You just want it operating. If it's within the return period and they can't provide a simple solution, you should be given a replacement. If it's a few months old, they're obliged to fix it.
Click to expand...

I do not think it was a power surge; I think the power was interrupted at some point. I will get a surge protector; oddly enough, that outlet was the only one in the house with stereo/tv/computer stuff plugged in that was not protected.

I will take it down to the local Mac folks and tell them it was unresponsive. I'm hoping it is an easy fix.
 
Ha! It's back!

I did the unplug/power off replug/power on, but after I pushed the power button it made a faint noise, so I held the power button down again until I heard it shut down (I was holding my ear very close to the screen expecting to get electrocuted at any moment!) and then powered it back on, and it started up.

Sir Cecil, thank you for your assistance--you are indeed royalty in my book.

And unixfool, thanks for reminding me to take care of surge protection.
 
unixfool said:
How in the world are they obliged to fix something like that? They aren't responsible for power damage and to instruct someone to tell a 'white' lie is kinda bad, IMO. Why would they be obliged? I'm curious, really. Why would they be obliged to fix it yet you tell the OP to lie?
Click to expand...


I don't see it even as a white lie. All he knows for sure is that he came home and his iMac isn't working. It's not as if there are scorch marks on the plug or anything like that. So he is guessing there might have been an outage of some kind. He should let the experts decide what's wrong with it and have them investigate the cause under warranty.
I would say that if it's within the return period, they would simply exchange it without even checking it.
If not, their diagnostics will reveal if there was a power interruption or not, so there's no need for the victim to present guesses.

Darl Bundren said:
Ha! It's back!
Click to expand...


Good. Glad all has ended happily.
 
And, as I was shutting down my PC, I noted that there were windows updates, so I guess it'll be shutting down for the next twenty minutes.
 
Sir Cecil said:
First thing to try is... unplug all peripherals like hard drives etc. Unplug the iMac at the wall outlet. Then press and hold the power button for ten seconds, then release. Then plug in the power socket and then switch on the Mac.

That's what Apple told me after my machine blacked out after a power cut and wouldn't restart. And it worked.

I must say, the iMacs do seem exceptionally sensitive to power fluctuations. I've been through this procedure three times in a few weeks, but never with any other Mac.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't know if they are sensitive or not, I've always run mine through a UPS. Good policy no matter what the computer, right?
 
Darl Bundren said:
Ha! It's back!

I did the unplug/power off replug/power on, but after I pushed the power button it made a faint noise, so I held the power button down again until I heard it shut down (I was holding my ear very close to the screen expecting to get electrocuted at any moment!) and then powered it back on, and it started up.

Sir Cecil, thank you for your assistance--you are indeed royalty in my book.

And unixfool, thanks for reminding me to take care of surge protection.
Click to expand...

No prob! Glad it wasn't toast, though!
 
iMac 27 'shut down'

Hi all
I have been a pc user for years but bought an iMac 7 a couple of months ago. I've had the same problem. Went to start it up this morning and nothing happened. :mad:Faint 'scratching' sound from the computer then nothing. Black screen. Checked power; all OK. We have surge protection and all other equipment is working fine. Contacted supplier and they went through the suggestions here. No joy. So, back to supplier and back to my old laptop pc!:(
I am disappointed that this has happened. Otherwise, its a great machine and I didn't find the learning curve too steep.
I have to say that I do miss (NOT!) the Windows updates!:)
Eric in Adelaide
 
This is an old thread but it was the only one i found that helped! The step that most of the checklists missed and what finally worked was AFTER unplugging and detaching power cord to THEN hold the power key down for 10 seconds. Then plug everything back in and hit the power button. It started right up! I thought this would be a waste of time as I didn't see how a dead computer unplugged could do anything, but holding down the power button for 10 seconds must have triggered a reset that didn't happen while it was off but still plugged in. Hope it works for you!
 
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