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21" 2010 iMac. Graphics Failure

MonkeySee....

MonkeySee....

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 24, 2010
3,858
437
UK
Hi Guys,

Can anyone confirm my assumptions that my Graphics card has failed. It happened a few times but a restart sorted it but now its coming on like this and then goes white and does nothing.

If it is the Graphics card can you advise how much its likely to cost to get fix?

My iMac is the 21" 2010 i3 3.06 (I think) The base model at the time.

Thanks for your help.

CZobZOZ.jpg
 
redheeler said:
Yup, looks like the GPU is failing. Chances are it's not worth replacing on such an old and low-end machine.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Really appreciate it. Yeah it is getting on a bit.

Its actually gone away now which is odd. :confused:
 
If anyone is interested or has this issue in the future it was a hard drive failure.

Cheers
 
kazmac said:
Sorry to hear about your issues OP. Will you get a new iMac? If this was me I'd get a new machine given the age of this one.
Click to expand...

I should have done! Hindsight is a wonderful thing though.

One separate thought I have is that maybe its an issue with the El Capitan public beta. It was ok before I installed that. :oops:
 
GameGuru38 said:
Do a fresh install of Yosemite and see if that fixes it ... or just sell it to me for $100.
Click to expand...

haha. Yeah I may need to.

What i'm thinking though as its a pretty old dog is to stick an SSD in it and do a fresh install on that.

What do you think?
 
Just a shot in the dark , but you could try using the SMC fan control software to increase the fan speed, that might keep it cool enough to run a bit more stable...
 
barbu said:
Just a shot in the dark , but you could try using the SMC fan control software to increase the fan speed, that might keep it cool enough to run a bit more stable...
Click to expand...

I'm actually using that. Maybe i need to juice it up a bit. I think its about 49 degrees. is that hot?
 
Having upgraded the gpu in my late 2009 27, I would say find a replacement gpu on eBay and get started. But then i checked the guide for 21.5 on ifixit and Wauv that complicated in comparison! Must be because it is hidden on the back side of the motherboard :-(.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+21.5-Inch+EMC+2389+GPU+Card+Replacement/6272

Nb. It is much easier dealing with the screen, if you leave it standing up instead of lying it down as ifixit shows.
 
MonkeySee.... said:
Hi Guys,

Can anyone confirm my assumptions that my Graphics card has failed. It happened a few times but a restart sorted it but now its coming on like this and then goes white and does nothing.

If it is the Graphics card can you advise how much its likely to cost to get fix?

My iMac is the 21" 2010 i3 3.06 (I think) The base model at the time.

Thanks for your help.

CZobZOZ.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks like a GPU issue, had the same thing happen to me a few months ago. I pulled the GPU and baked it, popped it back in and its been for for a few months.
 
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Mic360 said:
Looks like a GPU issue, had the same thing happen to me a few months ago. I pulled the GPU and baked it, popped it back in and its been for for a few months.
Click to expand...

Yeah, looks to me like a thin thermal problem on the GPU which will probably return more severely. Don't think El Capitan has something to do with it… but that's just Occam's razor… might be wrong…

Baking is your best bet if you don't want to replace it with a new one…. just keep in mind that what Mic360 so eloquently described in 1.5 lines of text might be hours of work with a little bit of risk on top of it… ;-)

And of course, NOW is a bad time to buy a new iMac, as the one year old RiMacs, as well as the 2 year old iMacs might get updated as soon as October…
 
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Baking it, is only a temporary solution. The problem will return sooner or later. In my case it was pretty soon, even after it was baked by a professionel. I say, go for rechip or new card, for a more permanent solution.
 
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So this shop have properly messed up my iMac to the point that the OS doesn't complete its install.

Where do I stand with Apple regarding a fix seeing as some other person has had their grubby mits on it?
 
MonkeySee.... said:
So this shop have properly messed up my iMac to the point that the OS doesn't complete its install.

Where do I stand with Apple regarding a fix seeing as some other person has had their grubby mits on it?
Click to expand...

They'll fix it I expect (unless it's now classed as vintage and they don't keep parts anymore 5 years is about the cusp) but as it's out of warranty it'll cost almost the same amount to fix (Full motherboard replacement) as buying a new one.
 
Take it to an Apple store.

My 2010 iMac failed in 2014 and they replaced the logic board and PSU for free.
Then the hard drive failed earlier this year and they replaced it for free.

If you buy direct from Apple they told me they had to fix it due to the Sales of Goods Act.
 
AlexisV said:
Take it to an Apple store.

My 2010 iMac failed in 2014 and they replaced the logic board and PSU for free.
Then the hard drive failed earlier this year and they replaced it for free.

If you buy direct from Apple they told me they had to fix it due to the Sales of Goods Act.
Click to expand...

Thats interesting. Think I may have to atleast give it a go.
 
I have very similar case. The VGA is replaced. Bring to 3rd parties (unofficial) service centre, total cost is about USD 180 (I lived in Indonesia).
 
So the computer shop that was "fixing" my iMac got burgled at the weekend and my iMac was stolen.

:rolleyes: :(
 
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