Trying to find the cause of HDD failure

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iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210

Model A1224 / Mid 2007 and Early 2008 / 2, 2.4, or 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo processor

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jo2hbond @jo2hbond

Rep: 11

Postato: 20 gen 2019

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Trying to find the cause of HDD failure

So I’m attempting to fix my older 20” 2008 base model iMac for my parents to use.

I had it unplugged for a couple years since the hard drive was slowed down to a crawl and we had already replaced the HDD once before after similar problems, and had it resolved by taking the Mac into the local store who ended up just replacing the stock 250GB drive with a newer 1TB one that gave out in less than 2 years.

I also asked them to upgrade my RAM from the 1GB it had to 4GB, and he ended up putting in a single new 2GB stick, and the other is the stock 1GB stick. So I’m running 3GB of RAM and though they are both the same type they aren’t the same pair.

Is this the single reason my Mac has been burning out so quick?

And should I go ahead with the procedure of replacing this faulty 1TB HDD with a 250GB SSD or could it be something else that’s wrong with it besides un-even memory?

As long as I’m buying some iFixit tools and taking it apart, I don’t mind replacing a few other small things that will help it from burning out entirely. I’d really like to keep this Mac alive!

Thanks for reading.

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Your systems specs: iMac 20" 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo (Al)

20 gen 2019 da Dan

Some two cents, most hard disk dislike heats....

Since it is is in all in one configuration, chances some heat will still trap inside.

take caution when replacing and clean the dust away on the fan.

perhaps you all need to change the thermal paste too, as it has been there for some time already.

Well, I suggest you to start with SSD first.

Get good SSD brands, like samsung (pro series), micron.

Backup data is important still.

20 gen 2019 da Augustine

While I agree SSD's are great, I'm hesitant into replacing the drive in this system given its age. When working on older systems you need to think about the cost and the return, you don't want to over do it as you may not get the length of time of usability as you would want given the costs.

20 gen 2019 da Dan

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Dan @danj

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Self employed contract worker

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Postato: 20 gen 2019

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Your system can support a max of 6 GB using one 2 GB and one 4 GB memory module. Using mixed sized modules does work and is not the cause of your issue here.

The first thing I would do is replace the PRAM battery as you left your system unplugged for so long its likely dead iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210 PRAM Battery Replacement. I would also dust out the system as best as you can without any further disassembly. Does the system start up at all?

Review the on board diagnostics LED’s tell us what they show if you can’t get the system to respond.

As far as your current drive, more likely it needs reformatting and a fresh copy of OS installed. If you can get the system to respond I would make full backup using TimeMachine onto an external drive as well as setting up a bootable OS installer. Keep in mind your system can only upgraded to El Capitan OS-X 10.11.x How to make a bootable OS X 10.11 El Capitan installer drive

I do recommend refreshing the thermal paste on both the CPU & GPU on this system. I would recommend you get the system stable before you attempt this. The GPU board will need thermal pads for the VRAM chips thermal pads

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WOW thank you Dan, so quick! Also glad you knew right away which model I had. I had no idea until reading into this model that you could upgrade past 4GB. Or even fitting a SSD into a 3.5 drive.

The PRAM battery replacement sounds like a really good idea. I don't think the technician touched it, and the iMac turned 11 this year so that's gotta be over-due. He may have cleaned out the dust but I'm certain it's caked again. That was years back.

The iMac will turn on but it won't load the OS. Tried every key combination to get it started but only getting the folder with the question mark. If I hold Option though I'll see the cursor and nothing else. It won't show the HDD or any USB stick. I do have a copy of OS 10.6 on disc still thankfully but I'm working with an off brand wireless keyboard with no eject button so I wouldn't want to have the disc stuck in there. Would it be advised to replace the HDD first with a fresh one and use a SATA-USB cable to copy old pictures/vids on my Macbook Air?

20 gen 2019 da jo2hbond

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Some two cents, most hard disk dislike heats....

Since it is is in all in one configuration, chances some heat will still trap inside.

take caution when replacing and clean the dust away on the fan.

perhaps you all need to change the thermal paste too, as it has been there for some time already.

Well, I suggest you to start with SSD first.

Get good SSD brands, like samsung (pro series), micron.

Backup data is important still. — Augustine
While I agree SSD's are great, I'm hesitant into replacing the drive in this system given its age. When working on older systems you need to think about the cost and the return, you don't want to over do it as you may not get the length of time of usability as you would want given the costs. — Dan
WOW thank you Dan, so quick! Also glad you knew right away which model I had. I had no idea until reading into this model that you could upgrade past 4GB. Or even fitting a SSD into a 3.5 drive.

The PRAM battery replacement sounds like a really good idea. I don't think the technician touched it, and the iMac turned 11 this year so that's gotta be over-due. He may have cleaned out the dust but I'm certain it's caked again. That was years back.

The iMac will turn on but it won't load the OS. Tried every key combination to get it started but only getting the folder with the question mark. If I hold Option though I'll see the cursor and nothing else. It won't show the HDD or any USB stick. I do have a copy of OS 10.6 on disc still thankfully but I'm working with an off brand wireless keyboard with no eject button so I wouldn't want to have the disc stuck in there. Would it be advised to replace the HDD first with a fresh one and use a SATA-USB cable to copy old pictures/vids on my Macbook Air? — jo2hbond

iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210

Trying to find the cause of HDD failure

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