Farewell, my trusty 2008 iMac?

[Benjamin Frost]

My 2008 baby's hard drive failed today!

That's the first time I've experienced hard drive failure. My first iMac from 2001 is still going strong, though I haven't used it for years. I replaced it with the 3.06 top of the range from early 2008 (24"). It's been a great machine. Today, pretty well out of the blue, rapid loud clicking at about 200 bpm. Flashing question mark. Apple R, shift, zapping PRAM all failed. The hard drive has obviously failed. A couple of days ago, I thought I heard a quiet clicking, but wasn't sure. Happily, I backed up a couple of days ago, plus iCloud has all critical files and iCloud Photo Library.

Now I have a dilemma. I could splash out on a new 27" iMac, or get my brother to fit an SSD drive to my existing. Thing is, I could do with more storage, though he says I should use external for DVDs etc. But I'd like a Retina display, too. I like organising everything in iTunes, and the problem with using external storage is that it is dicey in terms of observing play counts and metadata.

Any thoughts and advice much appreciated before I take the plunge.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

My 2008 baby's hard drive failed today!

That's the first time I've experienced hard drive failure. My first iMac from 2001 is still going strong, though I haven't used it for years. I replaced it with the 3.06 top of the range from early 2008 (24"). It's been a great machine. Today, pretty well out of the blue, rapid loud clicking at about 200 bpm. Flashing question mark. Apple R, shift, zapping PRAM all failed. The hard drive has obviously failed. A couple of days ago, I thought I heard a quiet clicking, but wasn't sure. Happily, I backed up a couple of days ago, plus iCloud has all critical files and iCloud Library.

Now I have a dilemma. I could splash out on a new 27" iMac, or get my brother to fit an SSD drive to my existing. Thing is, I could do with more storage, though he says I should use external for DVDs etc. But I'd like a Retina display, too. I like organising everything in iTunes, and the problem with using external storage is that it is dicey in terms of observing play counts and metadata.

Any thoughts and advice much appreciated before I take the plunge.

You can do both...
http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100196132 600003489 600457692 600457686

I have both a 2008 24in model and a 2014 Retina iMac (as of today, sporting two external monitors, one 4K and the other at 1920x1080), so I'd replace the drive on the 2008 for about $150 (ever since 1783, I can't figure out the whole Pounds thing...) Then, get a Retina iMac. It is truly glorious.

I saw in one of your other posts that you don't like Music, but that's what I use for my iTunes stuff. I thought that they merged iTunes Match (or whatever the "store your songs in the cloud" version was named) with Music. Maybe, for the transition, you get a subscription, and when you have the computer back up and running (about 1 hour to replace the HD, but I've built/modified computers since 1984, so the teardown don't bother me, and 2-8 hours for restoring your backup.), and then cancel it afterwards.

I'm on my 4th hard drive on the 2008 iMac. The first one was due to 320GB being too small, then the 1.5TB one starting giving SMART failures after a year, so I had Seagate send a warranty replacement out. Last year, I got the exclamation point icon, and put a 3TB HD in it, and so far, it's going great!

As for what I do with that computer, I kick the kids off of my Mac (the Retina), and then they use that one.

So, for £2,329.00 + £39-420, you have two computers!
[doublepost=1459984012][/doublepost]Oh yeah.. the teardown video (and that's not me... I can't grow facial hair; after 3 days, it stops growing.)

[doublepost=1459984222][/doublepost]Oh yeah, one last warning... My CD/DVD drive has never worked properly after opening it up. I have a SuperDrive now, but I want to be sure you're warned.

I replaced the HD on my wife's iMac as well, and her DVD drive didn't work after that, either. I don't get it... It works disassembled, but when I put the screws back in, it clicks. However, I view that as a small loss, since I really don't use it that much.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

You can do both...
http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100196132 600003489 600457692 600457686

I have both a 2008 24in model and a 2014 Retina iMac (as of today, sporting two external monitors, one 4K and the other at 1920x1080), so I'd replace the drive on the 2008 for about $150 (ever since 1783, I can't figure out the whole Pounds thing...) Then, get a Retina iMac. It is truly glorious.

I saw in one of your other posts that you don't like Music, but that's what I use for my iTunes stuff. I thought that they merged iTunes Match (or whatever the "store your songs in the cloud" version was named) with Music. Maybe, for the tradition, you get a subscription, and when you have the computer back up and running (about 1 hour to replace the HD, but I've built/modified computers since 1984, so the teardown don't bother me), and 2-8 hours for restoring your backup.

I'm on my 4th hard drive on the 2008 iMac. The first one was due to 320GB being too small, then the 1TB one starting giving SMART failures after a year, so I had Seagate send a warranty replacement out. Last year, I got the exclamation point icon, and put a 3TB HD in it, and so far, it's going great!

As for what I do with that computer, I kick the kids off of my Mac (the Retina), and then they use that one.

So, for £2,329.00 + £39-420, you have two computers!
[doublepost=1459984012][/doublepost]Oh yeah.. the teardown video (and that's not me... I can't grow facial hair; after 3 days, it stops growing.)

[doublepost=1459984222][/doublepost]Oh yeah, one last warning... My CD/DVD drive has never worked properly after opening it up. I have a SuperDrive now, but I want to be sure you're warned.

I replaced the HD on my wife's iMac as well, and her DVD drive didn't work after that, either. I don't get it... It works disassembled, but when I put the screws back in, it clicks. However, I view that as a small loss, since I really don't use it that much.

Thanks for the feedback.

My drive has 900GB of data, and restoring with FireWire 800 is going to take many hours, I fear. My next backup drive will be Thunderbolt 2, which should be much quicker.

Judging from your experience, I should be grateful that my drive has lasted for eight years!

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Thanks for the feedback.

My drive has 900GB of data, and restoring with FireWire 800 is going to take many hours, I fear. My next backup drive will be Thunderbolt 2, which should be much quicker.

Judging from your experience, I should be grateful that my drive has lasted for eight years!

You're welcome! It's nice to help out! It should be noted that the ones that failed were aftermarket ones. The original is in my Windows 2008SE Server RAID array, and has been for the last 5 years.

I used USB2 drives for the backup/restore. For the restore, I'd start it, and check it for the first few minutes for errors or things of that nature, then go do something else. One of those restorations was started at 5AM, I went to work, and it just got done when I returned at 6PM. I should correct my original post... it was a 1.5TB drive that went bad, not a 1TB one. There was a lot of useless video on there, as I was using it with an elgato TV tuner that had a 2 hour backup, and it was DVRing a bunch of shows I never watched...

 

[Woodstockie]

Sorry to hear about your hard drive and glad you have a backup. I still use a 2008 24" iMac with great pleasure. Replaced myself the 320GB HD and SuperDrive for a SSD and bigger HD. Use the FireWire ports for external disks, don't mind it is a bit slower compared to TB. If I use it for a backup or copying, it doesn't bother me. Replacing the drives using the iFixit guide worked really well for me. If you have steady hands, it will be fine and with the current SSD prices, it is a very cheap upgrade for your great '08 iMac.

Sometimes I think about upgrading to a newer one, but since the 24" still serves me well it will not be until something really fails.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"My drive has 900GB of data, and restoring with FireWire 800 is going to take many hours, I fear. My next backup drive will be Thunderbolt 2, which should be much quicker."

Save yourself some money and use USB3 for your backup drive instead.
Exactly the same speeds, more cash in your pocket.

You could buy -2- USB3 backup drives for the price of one thunderbolt.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

I bit.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

OP wrote:
"My drive has 900GB of data, and restoring with FireWire 800 is going to take many hours, I fear. My next backup drive will be Thunderbolt 2, which should be much quicker."

Save yourself some money and use USB3 for your backup drive instead.
Exactly the same speeds, more cash in your pocket.

You could buy -2- USB3 backup drives for the price of one thunderbolt.

That would work for his new 4K Retina iMac, but neither would work for his 2008 24in iMac. I guess I'm having a disconnect in what he said there... I'm thinking that he was going to use the TB2 one on the old one, but ...that's probably me.

Anyway, for my 4K Retina, I use the USB3 external drive for backups of that iMac, and an older USB2 one for the network backup. The USB2 one isn't the bottleneck; the LAN is, even at 1GB.
[doublepost=1460124340][/doublepost]

I bit.

View attachment 625669

You won't regret it...

(haven't looked back since I got my 2014 one at the end of 2014.)

 

[Benjamin Frost]

That would work for his new 4K Retina iMac, but neither would work for his 2008 24in iMac. I guess I'm having a disconnect in what he said there... I'm thinking that he was going to use the TB2 one on the old one, but ...that's probably me.

Anyway, for my 4K Retina, I use the USB3 external drive for backups of that iMac, and an older USB2 one for the network backup. The USB2 one isn't the bottleneck; the LAN is, even at 1GB.
[doublepost=1460124340][/doublepost]
You won't regret it...

(haven't looked back since I got my 2014 one at the end of 2014.)

My old backup drive is FireWire 800, so I've bought a Thunderbolt/FireWire cable to restore from it to my new iMac.

My new backup drive is a LaCie 6TB Thunderbolt 2, which should be reasonably quick. Thunderbolt 2 is four times quicker than USB3.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

My old backup drive is FireWire 800, so I've bought a Thunderbolt/Firweire cable to restore from it to my new iMac.

My new backup drive is a LaCie 6TB Thunderbolt 2, which should be reasonably quick. Thunderbolt 2 is four times quicker than USB3.

Ahhh... that makes sense now.

Did you get the HD for the 2008 one as well?

 

[spyguy10709]

My old backup drive is FireWire 800, so I've bought a Thunderbolt/Firweire cable to restore from it to my new iMac.

My new backup drive is a LaCie 6TB Thunderbolt 2, which should be reasonably quick. Thunderbolt 2 is four times quicker than USB3.

But that doesn't mean a thunderbolt 2 drive is 4 times quicker than USB 3 drive, most of the time the hard drive itself is the bottleneck.

 

[dyt1983]

edit: to remove possibly personally identifying information no longer relevant to the thread.

 

[dogslobber]

My 2008 baby's hard drive failed today!

That's the first time I've experienced hard drive failure. My first iMac from 2001 is still going strong, though I haven't used it for years. I replaced it with the 3.06 top of the range from early 2008 (24"). It's been a great machine. Today, pretty well out of the blue, rapid loud clicking at about 200 bpm. Flashing question mark. Apple R, shift, zapping PRAM all failed. The hard drive has obviously failed. A couple of days ago, I thought I heard a quiet clicking, but wasn't sure. Happily, I backed up a couple of days ago, plus iCloud has all critical files and iCloud Photo Library.

Now I have a dilemma. I could splash out on a new 27" iMac, or get my brother to fit an SSD drive to my existing. Thing is, I could do with more storage, though he says I should use external for DVDs etc. But I'd like a Retina display, too. I like organising everything in iTunes, and the problem with using external storage is that it is dicey in terms of observing play counts and metadata.

Any thoughts and advice much appreciated before I take the plunge.

I'd go for the replacement hard disk but get an SSD instead. It's not too bad to replace the drive in the aluminium iMacs, in my experience. I'd try that route before splurging on a more expensive replacement.

 

[OW22]

I'd go for the replacement hard disk but get an SSD instead. It's not too bad to replace the drive in the aluminium iMacs, in my experience. I'd try that route before splurging on a more expensive replacement.

Dude, he just said he's taken the plunge and ordered a new one.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Ahhh... that makes sense now.

Did you get the HD for the 2008 one as well?

I think I will replace the HD in my 2008 one, yes. It would be good to have my 2008 as an extra computer; I can use it for more storage or even another backup. Can you recommend a 2TB drive? Just 7200 rpm.

The Retina display was a big incentive for a new iMac. Yes, I could have used external storage and carried on with my current, but the improved screen is worth it. In seven or eight years, I suspect I may well elect to replace the HD if needed, as it's hard to imagine that the screen will improve much more. My brother said he's seen 8k screens, which look amazing, but they're huge. Overkill for a computer, I think.
[doublepost=1460157832][/doublepost]

But that doesn't mean a thunderbolt 2 drive is 4 times quicker than USB 3 drive, most of the time the hard drive itself is the bottleneck.

Sure. I hope the 128GB of SSD in the fusion drive will help somewhat with the backup speeds.
[doublepost=1460157974][/doublepost]

I'd go for the replacement hard disk but get an SSD instead. It's not too bad to replace the drive in the aluminium iMacs, in my experience. I'd try that route before splurging on a more expensive replacement.

If one could buy an affordable 3TB SSD, I might, but even a 2TB one is very expensive. So I've gone for the 3TB fusion in the late 2015 iMac.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"Thunderbolt 2 is four times quicker than USB3."

I sense that once you have this up-and-running, you are going to be somewhat disappointed...

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I think I will replace the HD in my 2008 one, yes. It would be good to have my 2008 as an extra computer; I can use it for more storage or even another backup. Can you recommend a 2TB drive? Just 7200 rpm.

I'm a Western Digital guy, but those Seagate Hybrid Drives do look interesting....
http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Pro...448&cm_re=hybrid_drive-_-22-178-448-_-Product

It has an 8GB "SSD" built into it, and with the 5 year warranty, that will keep you going until at least 2021. It's like the Fusion Drive. That 8GB is the same, whether you get the 2TB or the 4TB version.

Here is a review on it:
http://www.storagereview.com/seagate_desktop_sshd_review

 

[matreya]

I think I will replace the HD in my 2008 one, yes. It would be good to have my 2008 as an extra computer; I can use it for more storage or even another backup. Can you recommend a 2TB drive? Just 7200 rpm.

I would recommend a Toshiba hard drive over ANYTHING consumer-grade made by Seagate.

http://www.newegg.com/global/au/Pro...9407&cm_re=toshiba_2tb-_-22-149-407-_-Product