24” iMac (Early 2008) has finally died.

[mcrazza]

Well, it’s finally happened. My 24" 2008 iMac has died.

It was purchased in mid 2008 and has been going literally almost every.single.day. for 14 years until last Friday 12/2. That Mac's got a lot of mileage, more than what Apple designed it for, or anticipated.

On Friday morning I flicked the switch, pressed the power button... and then nothing. No bong, no mechanical zit-zit from the optical drive, no diagnostic LEDs shining through the grate on the Mac's underside. Just nothing. It was running fine less than 24 hours before. There was no obvious indication something was wrong or off either.

I suspected right away it might be a power supply issue because none of the green LEDs were lit. If it was any other hardware issue be it LCD, RAM, GPU, HDD, logic board etc, at least one of the four LEDs would be lit, the screen would display a picture (if not a display issue) and maybe an audio cue. At least it would mean the device is receiving power. In my case there was nothing at all. I switched power cords, plugged the Mac into a different power board, different wall outlet, swapped the RAM, took the RAM out, but still the same.

The next day I decided to disassemble the Mac, inspect the interior and see if there were any obvious faults. After carefully taking it apart and giving it a gentle and thorough blowing with compressed air I took out the power supply and inspected it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No burst caps, no other leaks, no funny smell. Three smaller caps were ever so slightly bulging but that's to be expected given its age. Not being an electrician I could not properly diagnose the power supply, so ultimately I cannot definitively rule in or out a failure there. I didn't remove the logic board to inspect the backside (too much faffing about), which houses the CPU and GPU, but I'm sure the problem isn't there. I then re-assembled the Mac, plugged it in and switched it on but still nothing. My last ditch effort was to consult the Service Manual for advice but the troubleshooting guide wasn’t of much assistance.

And for anyone who has the same model as mine, here it is:

https://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/imac/imac_24_early_08.pdf

20” 2008:

https://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/imac/imac_20_early_08.pdf

So that's it. The Mac is dead. Long live the Mac.

I kept it going for years and years through dead HDDs, several failed video cards and dying LCDs. I maxed the RAM to 6GB and installed an SSD. I switched out the logic board to upgrade the CPU from 2.8GHz to 3.06GHz. I even stripped other Macs to keep mine going. Not much of the original iMac is left except for the chassis, speakers, ODD, PSU, front glass and internal cables.

What's next?
1). Buy a replacement PSU. It’d be cheaper to get a secondhand iMac same model and use it for parts, as I’ve done before. But as I said earlier, I can't definitively say if the PSU failed. Might have to keep an eye out for old iMacs for sale on Gumtree and Marketplace.

2). Get a second-hand iMac. I could get something around AUD200-AUD500 but those Macs are 7-10 years old, are a pain to disassemble if I need to replace parts, some components might be soldered down depending on the model, and some models may not run the latest version of macOS. I've been stuck on El Capitan for half my Mac's life. And I’d basically be where I was a few years ago with my Mac when things began to fail.

3). Not interested in getting a Mac Mini. It's the form factor and the additional costs.

4). Buy a new iMac. My personal preference. The AiO form factor is a decent value proposition. I'm a long-term user so I would have to max the RAM to 16GB and bump up the internal storage to 1TB, however the price then becomes AUD3099. Frankly, I just don't have the spare money with the way things are, not even for the bottom end, off-the-shelf model.

So that's where I am. My only option left is... to continue building a PC. I've been building a gaming PC and it's slowly coming together. Only need to get the RAM, SSD, monitor and peripherals, and then I'm done. It’s cheaper than buying a Mac. My ecosystem of choice is Apple, of course, but Windows may have to be my daily driver for the foreseeable future. Hopefully my fortune changes for the better.

Anyway, that's it. I just wanted to share this here because I have no one tech minded to share it with.

RIP iMac 8,1.

 

[Richy85]

The best thing you could do is buy an imac 27" 2017 or 2019. You can improve the processor and add 2 ssd (I did it with a 2017). A more economical option is to do it with a 2011 to 2015

 

[Nygaard]

RIP. I still have my iMac 11,3 and was using it as a secondary display for the longest time (remember Target Display Mode?). It too chewed through a few hard drives and was having occasional display problems, though I never had to replace the logic board. (Unlike my old MBP, like many of my Apple laptops, which was a nightmare). But now it slumbers in its box because it used too much power as a glorified display.

You can (carefully) poke around with a multimeter and see if anything is alive, but it sounds like your prognosis of a bad PSU is plausible. My 27" Thunderbolt Display had a bad PSU, so it's not out of the ordinary. It's still running strong 5 years after a successful operation.

I'm not sure about the repairability of the new iMacs; the old ones were a pain to take apart, but the new ones may be impossible. And the good thing about being stuck in El Capitan is that you are stuck in El Capitan – it can't get any worse. macOS has been steadily going downhill. When they eventually merge macOS and iOS together, I'll have to say goodbye.

 

[davigarma]

I am very sorry about the death of your Early. Mine is still alive working perfectly. In all these years, only the ram has been expanded and the hard drive changed. It works with many osx, but the ones it works best with are Highy Sierra and Mavericks. From time to time I plug in Yosemite or El Capitan to update some things

 

[CooperBox]

Well, it’s finally happened. My 24" 2008 iMac has died.

It was purchased in mid 2008 and has been going literally almost every.single.day. for 14 years until last Friday 12/2. That Mac's got a lot of mileage, more than what Apple designed it for, or anticipated.

On Friday morning I flicked the switch, pressed the power button... and then nothing. No bong, no mechanical zit-zit from the optical drive, no diagnostic LEDs shining through the grate on the Mac's underside. Just nothing. It was running fine less than 24 hours before. There was no obvious indication something was wrong or off either.

I suspected right away it might be a power supply issue because none of the green LEDs were lit. If it was any other hardware issue be it LCD, RAM, GPU, HDD, logic board etc, at least one of the four LEDs would be lit, the screen would display a picture (if not a display issue) and maybe an audio cue. At least it would mean the device is receiving power. In my case there was nothing at all. I switched power cords, plugged the Mac into a different power board, different wall outlet, swapped the RAM, took the RAM out, but still the same.

The next day I decided to disassemble the Mac, inspect the interior and see if there were any obvious faults. After carefully taking it apart and giving it a gentle and thorough blowing with compressed air I took out the power supply and inspected it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No burst caps, no other leaks, no funny smell. Three smaller caps were ever so slightly bulging but that's to be expected given its age. Not being an electrician I could not properly diagnose the power supply, so ultimately I cannot definitively rule in or out a failure there. I didn't remove the logic board to inspect the backside (too much faffing about), which houses the CPU and GPU, but I'm sure the problem isn't there. I then re-assembled the Mac, plugged it in and switched it on but still nothing. My last ditch effort was to consult the Service Manual for advice but the troubleshooting guide wasn’t of much assistance.

And for anyone who has the same model as mine, here it is:

https://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/imac/imac_24_early_08.pdf

20” 2008:

https://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/imac/imac_20_early_08.pdf

So that's it. The Mac is dead. Long live the Mac.

I kept it going for years and years through dead HDDs, several failed video cards and dying LCDs. I maxed the RAM to 6GB and installed an SSD. I switched out the logic board to upgrade the CPU from 2.8GHz to 3.06GHz. I even stripped other Macs to keep mine going. Not much of the original iMac is left except for the chassis, speakers, ODD, PSU, front glass and internal cables.

What's next?
1). Buy a replacement PSU. It’d be cheaper to get a secondhand iMac same model and use it for parts, as I’ve done before. But as I said earlier, I can't definitively say if the PSU failed. Might have to keep an eye out for old iMacs for sale on Gumtree and Marketplace.

2). Get a second-hand iMac. I could get something around $200-$500 but those Macs are 7-10 years old, are a pain to disassemble if I need to replace parts, some components might be soldered down depending on the model, and some models may not run the latest version of macOS. I've been stuck on El Capitan for half my Mac's life. And I’d basically be where I was a few years ago with my Mac when things began to fail.

3). Not interested in getting a Mac Mini. It's the form factor and the additional costs.

4). Buy a new iMac. My personal preference. The AiO form factor is a decent value proposition. I'm a long-term user so I would have to max the RAM to 16GB and bump up the internal storage to 1TB, however the price then becomes AUD3099. Frankly, I just don't have the spare money with the way things are, not even for the bottom end, off-the-shelf model.

So that's where I am. My only option left is... to continue building a PC. I've been building a gaming PC and it's slowly coming together. Only need to get the RAM, SSD, monitor and peripherals, and then I'm done. It’s cheaper than buying a Mac. My ecosystem of choice is Apple, of course, but Windows may have to be my daily driver for the foreseeable future. Hopefully my fortune changes for the better.

Anyway, that's it. I just wanted to share this here because I have no one tech minded to share it with.

RIP iMac 8,1.

I enjoyed reading this!
As a great fan of the iMac models - especially the 27" models, I offer these thoughts:
I agree with you that buying a replacement PSU would be a bit of a gamble and not cost effective, as there could be a motherboard problem. If you are very attached to the 2008 24" you could search for a very cheap and functional similar model to use as a donor.
It sounds as if you are at ease at pulling computers apart , in which case do what I've done several times:
i) purchase a 2010 27" model, either functional or with a defective GPU and refurbish. Don't be put off by so many posts which say that 'baking' the GPU is a waste of time, I can assure you that if done properly - and this is the essential issue - together with a number of other essential changes & tweaks, you will get years of additional use. I have 2 that have been performing faultlessly for 2 years+ with High-Sierra which does everything I need.
ii) If you have the funds available, a better option (albeit more expensive) would be to purchase a 2019 24" or 27" model. Pity about the standard fusion drive though, although that can be changed out for an SSD.
iii) Better still see if you can find a super deal on a slightly used 'last of the Intel' 2020 27", as imho they are very underated. I found one which I much preferred over the new M1 24" especially for the sound and of course amazing immersive viewing experience. When the 24" M1 model was introduced the prices of the 2020 27" dropped considerably on the used market - I've recently seen one priced at 1100euros (US$1160) which is a no-brainer, killer deal. My experience HERE and still loving it!

 

[Gudi]

4). Buy a new iMac. My personal preference.

5). Buy a used M1 iMac for less than $999.

 

[JMStearnsX2]

Gut it and install a Mac mini logic board inside.

 

[CooperBox]

Gut it and install a Mac mini logic board inside.

That's a very bold statement, especially for an early 24" iMac with a non 5K screen!
So assuming you have done what you are proposing, was it a proof of concept 'lash-up' mod, or with a neat, well-routed internal configuration? I have the following questions:
i) Can you please give a breakdown of all required replacement parts.
ii) What was the total cost of the parts?
iii) What was the approx time to complete this modification?

 

[JMStearnsX2]

That's a very bold statement, especially for an early 24" iMac with a non 5K screen!
So assuming you have done what you are proposing, was it a proof of concept 'lash-up' mod, or with a neat, well-routed internal configuration? I have the following questions:
i) Can you please give a breakdown of all required replacement parts.
ii) What was the total cost of the parts?
iii) What was the approx time to complete this modification?

I haven't done it, but I have been considering it. I have a 2006 iMac that I was thinking about trying it, as a concept it should be possible.

LCD panels are available in many sizes so getting one that fits should be feasible. Getting an adapter to go from the wafer-thin internal HDMI connector on the panel to a normal HDMI should take care of the display signal. You would then just need a power inverter to supply power to the panel.

Figuring out the power button on the back of the iMac should just be a matter of wiring it to the proper pads on the logic board on the mini.

Cooling could be interesting, depending on if it's an Intel or M1 Mini, you could use one or more of the iMac's fans to provide airflow.

For ports in the back, routing out the connector holes to make an opening for a USB hub should do the trick. There should be more than enough space behind the display panel for all of this, especially if you are using an M1 mini, the internals on that model are so small.

 

[B S Magnet]

5). Buy a used M1 iMac for less than $999.

You’re preaching to the wrong forum.

Aside from necessity for workplace needs, most of the folks who participate on this forum take interest in running early, mid, and possibly also later Intel Macs, as well as PowerPC Macs.

 

[Gudi]

You’re preaching to the wrong forum.

OPs preference is a new iMac. He just struggles with the price.

Aside from necessity for workplace needs, most of the folks who participate on this forum take interest in running early, mid, and possibly also later Intel Macs, as well as PowerPC Macs.

He ran it till it died and now that it's dead, it's not going to be replaced with an equally old machine, which is about to die soon too. Even the oldtimer fanclub has to adapt to the advent of Apple Silicon.

 

[mectojic]

You can probably get an identical 24" Early 2008 iMac for less than $50. I've seen them many times on local marketplace sites. Good luck! Don't throw out what still works for you!

 

[B S Magnet]

OPs preference is a new iMac. He just struggles with the price.

It is one of four options they laid out, one they ideally might want. There are other viable options, and this is why they chose to post to this forum.

He ran it till it died and now that it's dead, it's not going to be replaced with an equally old machine, which is about to die soon too.

Correct. His beloved iMac has died for whatever reason. The second-hand market locally for comparable or newer Intel Macs (including maybe a few which are still covered under the original owner’s AppleCare plan) will no doubt fairly plentiful, even for a medium-sized city like Hobart. @mcrazza could probably pick up something robust and long-lasting out of those other options and also much of save significant, front-loaded costs of buying showroom-new from Apple.

An added bonus: less up-front consumption for new materials, and better, continued use for extant products already in service. That’s why a lot of us use Macs classified by Apple as “vintage” or “obsolete”.

Even the oldtimer fanclub has to adapt to the advent of Apple Silicon.

I understand you’re probably not on the Early Intel Macs or PowerPC Macs forums very often. Earlier this week, I noted in another thread that for my own long-term and work needs, the next factory-new laptop I am liable to buy will come from Frame.work. In that post, I noted that I plan to run Linux on it and maybe a side-build of Hackintosh — so long as Apple keep releasing major versions of macOS which support Intel x86_64 architecture.

After using Apple products non-stop since 1990 and having purchased Mac products, as new, since 1999, the company’s product strategy direction over these last several years has lost me utterly and completely. The last Mac I am liable to ever own will be a used MacPro7,1.

 

[Gudi]

An added bonus: less up-front consumption for new materials, and better, continued use for extant products already in service.

An added malus: less performance and higher energy consumption and maintenance efforts.

After using Apple products non-stop since 1990 and having purchased Mac products, as new, since 1999, the company’s product strategy direction over these last several years has lost me utterly and completely.

That's a pity, because Macs are more capable and affordable than ever before. I'd go as far and argue that the 24" M1 iMac is the first to live up to the ideal of being just a screen with the magic hidden behind it.

The last Mac I am liable to ever own will be a used MacPro7,1.

Horrible device − big, hot, power-hungry. In a way the opposite of what Apple stands for.

 

[B S Magnet]

An added malus: less performance and higher energy consumption and maintenance efforts.

In reverse order: [citation needed]; relatively speaking (but not by very much); and again, relatively speaking (typically relevant for bleeding-edge gaming or Cinebench testing, but not so much for pretty much everything else folks use on their systems these days). This thread’s original poster was doing fine with a 2008 iMac. There are still several rock-reliable older Intel Macs out there, and they still have years of reliable use to deliver. There are several folks on this forum who still use 2008, 2011, 2013, and even 2015 Macs as their daily drivers and do just fine.

That's a pity, because Macs are more capable and affordable than ever before. I'd go as far and argue that the 24" M1 iMac is the first to live up to the ideal of being just a screen with the magic hidden behind it.

Again, this is the Early Intel Macs forum, not the Silicon Macs forum(s).

Many of us around here are not A) fond of parts which can neither be replaced if faulty nor upgraded when one’s usage needs change and/or grow; and B) are doubly not fond of T2 chip cryptography or the system hobbling itself when a replacement display is detected and doesn’t match a cryptographic signature embedded by Apple. Additionally, many of us are not fond of Apple contractually stipulating vendors to not sell replacement parts to anyone, anywhere, whatsoever, as a term of condition for continued business with that vendor. That may be Apple’s prerogative, but consumers most certainly deserve better than that.

Further, on the former, given how the quantity of M1 and M2 Macs ordered without maximum RAM and/or storage will always outnumber those which are fully kitted, higher turnover rates to waste/recycle stream for older units which cannot be upgraded (and, thus, cannot have new and/or additional life eked from them) is a matter I am not fond of for a mess of economic justice and ecological impact reasons. I do subscribe to the notion that upcycling has lower, long tail impact to waste streams than does recycling.

I also appreciate how neither of these factors may be meaningful to other folks (including maybe even you), but this is why I will not be supporting Apple’s present product strategy of rendering non-handheld hardware as elevated, disposable appliances, especially when there are other highly viable options at the ready today and, hopefully, for many years to come should one wish to buy new.

Horrible device − big, hot, power-hungry.

You’re correct: when pushed to max core loads, the TDP gets up there! But in most uses, average CPU power demands don’t live up there.

It also does the job for motion-picture editing professionals who work within the Apple ecosystem, for research super-computing applications, and for studios in need of processing power which only the Mac Pro, much like the Power Mac to precede it, can deliver. It is also thoroughly modular, much in the spirit of what Apple were when, well, everything just worked.

Folks around here are still using their power-hungry quad-core G5s for building software. Because it just works.

In a way the opposite of what Apple stands for.

Apple are a giant, publicly-held corporation. They have millions of shareholders who expect healthy dividends on the impossibly high-bar demand to keep growing at the pace they did between 2008 and 2018.

Several years ago, as company fortunes skyrocketed with the handheld market, Apple forwent centring principal revenue streams on hardware and OS sales in favour of becoming a service company. To assure and to bake in future hardware sales, during an age of Moore’s Law dying (with older computers being able to do almost everything a brand new system can), Apple didn’t lean forward on their history of modularity, but rather, Apple leaned back on an anti-competitive strategy of fusing component internals which cannot be repaired or replaced as they fail, or upgraded should one. They facilitated a model of premature disposability by obstructing, through conscious design choices, aftermarket upgrades and by doubling down on the Alfred P. Sloan model of planned obsolescence.

🤷‍♀️

But hey, you do you. And please. Stay on topic.

 

[B S Magnet]

You can probably get an identical 24" Early 2008 iMac for less than $50. I've seen them many times on local marketplace sites. Good luck! Don't throw out what still works for you!

I second this path (i.e., @mectojic ’s suggestion or option 2 from your list) — even if doing so is to tide you over as you save for another system with a much higher price tag.

You could, for instance, pick up a one-for-one replacement of your just-departed iMac for less than $100, or maybe spend a bit more for a mid- or high-range iMac from, say, 2013–2017. I say “mid-range” or higher, as many of these models featured a CPU socket on which the CPU can be upgraded, RAM maxed out, and giving you the flexibility of even using NVMe SSDs internally alongside SATA SSDs; several base models, meanwhile, had their CPUs soldered to the logic board.

If you play your cards well, you may be able to find one of these iMacs for a really good price (and in very good shape). Then you could invest in maybe a couple of hundred on an NVMe SSD, more RAM, and/or a CPU upgrade, and still be left with an iMac which will be able to keep with modern standards just fine up for many more years to come.

Good luck!

 

[Amethyst1]

The last Mac I am liable to ever own will be a used MacPro7,1.

Even though it has a T2 chip?

 

[CooperBox]

OPs preference is a new iMac. He just struggles with the price.

He ran it till it died and now that it's dead, it's not going to be replaced with an equally old machine, which is about to die soon too. Even the oldtimer fanclub has to adapt to the advent of Apple Silicon.

I disagree with that last statement about oldtimer fanclub having to adapt to the advent of Apple Silicon. What we 'oldtimer fanclub' realise only too well is that in approx 6yrs time on becoming declared officially 'vintage' by Apple, models such as the 24" M1 iMac when proving problematic will in all probability become unrepairable. Just after release of the M1 iMac, I for one was almost in disbelief at the totally shocking 2/10 iFixit official repair score. There's no altering the internal storage, also the memory being soldered into the M1 package makes upgrading/replacement impractical - certainly not cost effective, even if one could find a technician capable of these repairs, the cost alone would be eye-watering, rendering the iMac and eventually similarly declared 'vintage' M1/M2/M3 models virtually unrepairable.
My very early G4 17 & 20" iMacs (now almost 20years 'young') after SSD fitment, upgraded memory and 2022 Sorbet Leopard OS installed are still marvellous machines for general office tasks and also web browsing; ditto for a G5 iMac, 2010 27" Imac and several G4 PowerBooks and early Intel MacBookPros in my collection.
If ever I was gifted an Apple Silicon model, I'd be sure to sell it before it's AppleCare expires just to be on the safe side. Imho I reckon that most would be a 'ticking throw-away time-bomb' after 8-10years. Not so with the 2012 Intel IMacs onwards, especially once the 'bad idea' fusion drive has been replaced by a good SSD.

 

[Solomani]

Well, it’s finally happened. My 24" 2008 iMac has died.

It was purchased in mid 2008 and has been going literally almost every.single.day. for 14 years until last Friday 12/2. That Mac's got a lot of mileage, more than what Apple designed it for, or anticipated.

On Friday morning I flicked the switch, pressed the power button... and then nothing. No bong, no mechanical zit-zit from the optical drive, no diagnostic LEDs shining through the grate on the Mac's underside. Just nothing. It was running fine less than 24 hours before. There was no obvious indication something was wrong or off either.

I suspected right away it might be a power supply issue because none of the green LEDs were lit. If it was any other hardware issue be it LCD, RAM, GPU, HDD, logic board etc, at least one of the four LEDs would be lit, the screen would display a picture (if not a display issue) and maybe an audio cue. At least it would mean the device is receiving power. In my case there was nothing at all. I switched power cords, plugged the Mac into a different power board, different wall outlet, swapped the RAM, took the RAM out, but still the same.

The next day I decided to disassemble the Mac, inspect the interior and see if there were any obvious faults. After carefully taking it apart and giving it a gentle and thorough blowing with compressed air I took out the power supply and inspected it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No burst caps, no other leaks, no funny smell. Three smaller caps were ever so slightly bulging but that's to be expected given its age. Not being an electrician I could not properly diagnose the power supply, so ultimately I cannot definitively rule in or out a failure there. I didn't remove the logic board to inspect the backside (too much faffing about), which houses the CPU and GPU, but I'm sure the problem isn't there. I then re-assembled the Mac, plugged it in and switched it on but still nothing. My last ditch effort was to consult the Service Manual for advice but the troubleshooting guide wasn’t of much assistance.

And for anyone who has the same model as mine, here it is:

https://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/imac/imac_24_early_08.pdf

20” 2008:

https://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/imac/imac_20_early_08.pdf

So that's it. The Mac is dead. Long live the Mac.

I kept it going for years and years through dead HDDs, several failed video cards and dying LCDs. I maxed the RAM to 6GB and installed an SSD. I switched out the logic board to upgrade the CPU from 2.8GHz to 3.06GHz. I even stripped other Macs to keep mine going. Not much of the original iMac is left except for the chassis, speakers, ODD, PSU, front glass and internal cables.

What's next?
1). Buy a replacement PSU. It’d be cheaper to get a secondhand iMac same model and use it for parts, as I’ve done before. But as I said earlier, I can't definitively say if the PSU failed. Might have to keep an eye out for old iMacs for sale on Gumtree and Marketplace.

2). Get a second-hand iMac. I could get something around AUD200-AUD500 but those Macs are 7-10 years old, are a pain to disassemble if I need to replace parts, some components might be soldered down depending on the model, and some models may not run the latest version of macOS. I've been stuck on El Capitan for half my Mac's life. And I’d basically be where I was a few years ago with my Mac when things began to fail.

3). Not interested in getting a Mac Mini. It's the form factor and the additional costs.

4). Buy a new iMac. My personal preference. The AiO form factor is a decent value proposition. I'm a long-term user so I would have to max the RAM to 16GB and bump up the internal storage to 1TB, however the price then becomes AUD3099. Frankly, I just don't have the spare money with the way things are, not even for the bottom end, off-the-shelf model.

So that's where I am. My only option left is... to continue building a PC. I've been building a gaming PC and it's slowly coming together. Only need to get the RAM, SSD, monitor and peripherals, and then I'm done. It’s cheaper than buying a Mac. My ecosystem of choice is Apple, of course, but Windows may have to be my daily driver for the foreseeable future. Hopefully my fortune changes for the better.

Anyway, that's it. I just wanted to share this here because I have no one tech minded to share it with.

RIP iMac 8,1.

Give it a proper funeral.

When me and my brothers were young boys, we gave our beloved hamsters the best funeral ceremonies. But Mom and Dad got upset that the toilets got clogged.

 

[B S Magnet]

Even though it has a T2 chip?

Oh heck, I forgot they’d done that even to their Mac Pro. 🤦‍♀️

 

[Gudi]

Imho I reckon that most would be a 'ticking throw-away time-bomb' after 8-10years.

Things I've seen dying include power adapters, cables, batteries, hard drives, optical drives, fans, ports, speakers and displays. None of the components soldered on a motherboard or integrated in a SoC has ever failed on me. IMHO I consider Apple Silicon iMacs as less of a ticking time-bomb, because of fewer components which also run much cooler. Ask me in 10 years!

 

[CooperBox]

Things I've seen dying include power adapters, cables, batteries, hard drives, optical drives, fans, ports, speakers and displays. None of the components soldered on a motherboard or integrated in a SoC has ever failed on me. IMHO I consider Apple Silicon iMacs as less of a ticking time-bomb, because of fewer components which also run much cooler. Ask me in 10 years!

Agreed. We'll revisit this forum/thread in 10 years time, and see who's still smiling.😀

 

[mslilyelise]

They really do hang in there forever. I just moved my father from a Late 2007 iMac to a 2020 ish iMac with the Core i5, and I was worried it was gonna give out while I was transferring his data over to a thumb drive for transfer, but nope! Still kicking. It was still running Snow Leopard so automated transfer of his data was complicated and I wasn't sure it would even support it. Photos wouldn't recognize his old iPhoto library so I had to do the manual export/import process too. I had some money come to me this year, otherwise I'd still be running a Unibody MacBook as my daily.

Next time I go to see him I'm going to upgrade it to the latest OS X it supports and see if I can repurpose it somehow.

If you know it's the PSU, swap it out and see how much longer you can run it. It's a lot easier to do than on the aluminum clamshells of 2009+.

 

[mcrazza]

Sorry for not replying to everyone’s suggestions. It’s been one busy holiday season!

My thanks to each and every one of you who put in a suggestion. It’s great to see equally (and even more) passionate people share their considered and expert opinions here. And much considering was done!

So then, an update on the situation.

3). Not interested in getting a Mac Mini. It's the form factor and the additional costs.

Get ready for it…

Decided to get a secondhand Mac Mini and hook it up to my monitor, that way I can Mac and PC when need be. It will tie me over until I can get a new Mac. 2012 would be good for internal upgradability and for its FW800 port so I can finish archiving home videos recorded with a MiniDV camcorder. Unfortunately official support ended at Catalina. Also looking at 2014 or newer for the later OS support but I’m aware of their drawbacks. Budget is AUD400. A cheap M1 would be great, though, if I can stretch.

Keeping an eye out for local listings of 24” 2008 iMacs to gut out and replace the culprit part that failed. Once it’s back to working order I’ll factory reset and either keep it as a backup or sell it. Probably only get AUD100 at best but I’ll take it. Nothing’s popped up yet but I’ll keep looking.

I do wonder if the first gen aluminium iMacs (2007-2009) will ever become collectible in time. I still have the original documentation, DVDs, remote and black cloth for wiping the screen. Original boxes and styrofoam are long gone. Could be worth something to the right person. Time will tell.

As I said before, a brand new M1 24” iMac is the best option but I’ll just have to keep squirrelling away funds and hopefully I’ll get there this year. That’ll be one of my goals for 2023.