Hardware Test 2010 iMac

[Loyola]

Looks like the cable is damaged. It think it is just time to move on and scrap it.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Looks like the cable is damaged. It think it is just time to move on and scrap it.

Give up just because an 8$ LVDS cable? So lame.

 

[Loyola]

I finally got the screen working.

I have read conflicting information on whether or not a 2010 iMac can use internet Recovery. Some say yes and some say no. I am leaning towards no since I received an error -2006F. Originally I thought I could because I was on 10.13.6. Since I have the original install disk I don't think this will be a problem.

 

[EugW]

Glad you got it working. Were you just having trouble connecting it correctly?

Internet recovery works on the 2010 iMacs only if they've been firmware updated:

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support

Some computers that came with OS X Snow Leopard and earlier installed can use the OS X Internet Recovery feature after applying a firmware update.

support.apple.com

About EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Mac computers - Apple Support (CA)

This article lists firmware updates available as standalone installers for Intel-based Mac computers.

support.apple.com

 

[Loyola]

Glad you got it working. Were you just having trouble connecting it correctly?

Internet recovery works on the 2010 iMacs only if they've been firmware updated:

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support

Some computers that came with OS X Snow Leopard and earlier installed can use the OS X Internet Recovery feature after applying a firmware update.

support.apple.com

About EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Mac computers - Apple Support (CA)

This article lists firmware updates available as standalone installers for Intel-based Mac computers.

support.apple.com

I bought a new one.

I checked before I removed the hard drive and I had the most updated firmware for my computer. Since I have never done this before I may not have understood something.

 

[Loyola]

Ethernet cable did the trick. 10.13.6 is installing now.

 

[JamesMay82]

I think I’m sadly in the same boat. 2010 iMac very takes 10 mins to boot and when it does it’s constantly freezing and basically unusable.

I just wiped the OS and installed it on a SSD which is attached to the USB 2.0 port and it was working ok but still sluggish.

I just restarted it and it’s 12 mins and just stuck on white background with apple logo and loading bar stuck at 3/4.

Does this point to the original iMacs hard drive not failing and it being a different issue? Surely SSD via usb shouldn’t be this slow.

I really wanted to hand this down to my daughter so was hoping to figure it out.

 

[Loyola]

I think I’m sadly in the same boat. 2010 iMac very takes 10 mins to boot and when it does it’s constantly freezing and basically unusable.

I just wiped the OS and installed it on a SSD which is attached to the USB 2.0 port and it was working ok but still sluggish.

I just restarted it and it’s 12 mins and just stuck on white background with apple logo and loading bar stuck at 3/4.

Does this point to the original iMacs hard drive not failing and it being a different issue? Surely SSD via usb shouldn’t be this slow.

I really wanted to hand this down to my daughter so was hoping to figure it out.

Mine was definitely a hard drive issue. Since I replaced the hard drive it works great. I am thinking about using OpenCore to put either Big Sur or Monterey on the computer.

Hopefully someone will have a suggestion.

 

[EugW]

2010 27" iMac Core i7 here. I've done testing of various setups.

Internal SATA SSD = Fast!
External FireWire 800 SSD = Speed is not bad.
External USB 2.0 SSD = Slow
Internal SATA hard drive = Slow

ie. Putting an SSD in a USB 2 enclosure is a waste of time. Sure, random speeds are faster, but the sequential transfer speeds are slow enough to make it pointless.

The other problem with external FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 enclosures is lack of TRIM support for SSD.

I think I’m sadly in the same boat. 2010 iMac very takes 10 mins to boot and when it does it’s constantly freezing and basically unusable.

I just wiped the OS and installed it on a SSD which is attached to the USB 2.0 port and it was working ok but still sluggish.

I just restarted it and it’s 12 mins and just stuck on white background with apple logo and loading bar stuck at 3/4.

Does this point to the original iMacs hard drive not failing and it being a different issue? Surely SSD via usb shouldn’t be this slow.

I really wanted to hand this down to my daughter so was hoping to figure it out.

My setup wasn't THAT slow though. There is something wrong with your setup. Do you have other drives attached?

Also, sometimes DIY bus-powered drives have problems. They seem to work but if the power supplied is marginal, it can cause freezes. I had that problem with my FW800 drive on FireWire power, but on external power it was good.

 

[JamesMay82]

2010 27" iMac Core i7 here. I've done testing of various setups.

Internal SATA SSD = Fast!
External FireWire 800 SSD = Speed is not bad.
External USB 2.0 SSD = Slow
Internal SATA hard drive = Slow

ie. Putting an SSD in a USB 2 enclosure is a waste of time. Sure, random speeds are faster, but the sequential transfer speeds are slow enough to make it pointless.

The other problem with external FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 enclosures is lack of TRIM support for SSD.


My setup wasn't THAT slow though. There is something wrong with your setup. Do you have other drives attached?

Also, sometimes DIY bus-powered drives have problems. They seem to work but if the power supplied is marginal, it can cause freezes. I had that problem with my FW800 drive on FireWire power, but on external power it was good.

Thanks for the reply. I just tried to install Mac OS on the internal drive and it gave me “this disk has smart errors” so sadly it does appear to be the drive.

Re the SSD via usb it got to 20 mins and then just remained stuck for on the white screen.

Would you think it could be something else or maybe it’s just not playing nice with usb external?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks for the reply. I just tried to install Mac OS on the internal drive and it gave me “this disk has smart errors” so sadly it does appear to be the drive.

Re the SSD via usb it got to 20 mins and then just remained stuck for on the white screen.

Would you think it could be something else or maybe it’s just not playing nice with usb external?

My 2009 iMac once had similar issue. The boot process bar stuck at 3/4 forever. (Internal SSD with High Sierra).
The issue disappeared after I replaced the HD4850 with a Quadro M4000m.
So in my case it was a failed graphic card.

 

[JamesMay82]

Good news! Got an SSD installed and it’s like lighting! Can’t believe how quick it is for a 12 year old machine.. I have a 2014 iMac and it doesn’t feel that far behind that one the day to day stuff

I have an old 2008 iMac collecting dust as well. I’m half tempted to stick an SSD in that. Even though I suppose I don’t have any real need for it but I’m curious how that will perform

 

[EugW]

Good news! Got an SSD installed and it’s like lighting! Can’t believe how quick it is for a 12 year old machine.. I have a 2014 iMac and it doesn’t feel that far behind that one the day to day stuff

I have an old 2008 iMac collecting dust as well. I’m half tempted to stick an SSD in that. Even though I suppose I don’t have any real need for it but I’m curious how that will perform

Nice. You installed it internally? My 2010 Core i7 iMac with internal SSD does extremely well, and is still in active use in my house.

Which 2008 iMac do you have? I find the lower end of that class of Core 2 Duos probably too slow for modern surfing even with an SSD installed, but if you had say the 3.06 GHz model, it may be more worthwhile. I have a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo 2009 MacBook Pro with SSD and 8 GB RAM running High Sierra, and it's really slow.

 

[JamesMay82]

Nice. You installed it internally? My 2010 Core i7 iMac with internal SSD does extremely well, and is still in active use in my house.

Which 2008 iMac do you have? I find the lower end of that class of Core 2 Duos probably too slow for modern surfing even with an SSD installed, but if you had say the 3.06 GHz model, it may be more worthwhile. I have a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo 2009 MacBook Pro with SSD and 8 GB RAM running High Sierra, and it's really slow.

Yes I installed it internally. What’s embarrassing is when I mentioned I installed it on an SSD to run externally i accidentally picked up 5200rpm 2.5 inch hard drive from 2009! It was next to my SSD I intended to use. Anyways thats the reason it wasn’t working very when I tried it external! 🤦‍♂️

Interesting about the 2008 iMac, I’ll double check but I’m fairly sure it’s not the 3.06.

 

[wolf1734]

Hello, I would like to know how to repair my iMac 27" from 2009, the screen turns off after a while, but the second screen still works. When I press the on off button several times, the screen turns back on. Can you help me thank you