I’m not certain what has caused this, but recently my father’s 2012 iMac boots up to this screen and this is as far as it goes. I tried hooking an external monitor up but it displays as a solid black screen and that’s it. What could be causing this issue? My guess is maybe the graphics card or bad ram, but not really sure as I’ve never seen this before. He bought a new iMac so doesn’t need this one but I’d love to fix it if possible (I’ve taken one apart and put an SSD inside before) but not sure where to start.
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2012 iMac Strange Issue
- Thread starter vtyler98
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I tried, but the screen won’t display anything else. I also took the screen off and put in a bootable HD copy I made from one of my computers and the exact same issue still occurs. Would a bad ram chip cause this kind of issue?
It might be the graphics card that went bad.
I have had hundreds of 2012 iMacs under my control where I work and none have died this strange.
Well you should look at the new iMac - it's affordable and runs circles around the Intel iMacs.
I'm getting a blue base 24" iMac to replace my super slow 2019 iMac...
I have had hundreds of 2012 iMacs under my control where I work and none have died this strange.
Well you should look at the new iMac - it's affordable and runs circles around the Intel iMacs.
I'm getting a blue base 24" iMac to replace my super slow 2019 iMac...
Looks like a graphics failure.
Probably not worth putting $$$ into at 9 years old.
As mentioned above, might be time to consider one of the new m-series iMacs.
Or an Apple-refurbished 2020 iMac.
But... check with your father to see what SOFTWARE he's using before you take the plunge.
Probably not worth putting $$$ into at 9 years old.
As mentioned above, might be time to consider one of the new m-series iMacs.
Or an Apple-refurbished 2020 iMac.
But... check with your father to see what SOFTWARE he's using before you take the plunge.
I would also go with a failed graphics card. I'd think a RAM issue would manifest in a different form. Are there more than one stick of RAM in the iMac? If so you might try removing some or moving them around to see if you get any different results. Have you also tried resetting the NVRAM and unplugging the iMac for a few minutes to reset the SMC? Those are usually the first two things that techs diagnosing the computer do just to get the easy to check stuff out of the way first.
I think graphics card is the issue too, which isn’t worth me dealing with on a computer this old. Was hoping the HD was the issue but swapping out a new one didn’t change a thing. I did try resetting the NVRAM and other trouble shooting, no response. I get 1 chime when it boots up as well but never see an Apple logo or anything else, just the streaks like you see in the picture. Looks like a new iMac is the way to go for my father at this point!
I have a green 24” iMac on the way to replace my aging 2011 iMac, mine still works but I know it’s only a matter of time before it has issues and the 4.5k screen will be nice for working from home.
I have a green 24” iMac on the way to replace my aging 2011 iMac, mine still works but I know it’s only a matter of time before it has issues and the 4.5k screen will be nice for working from home.