How much did I just kill my mac?

[DominusNovus]

I have an August '07 iMac (27inch). Today, it started acting up very badly, and wouldn't load up properly at all. Things just kept getting worse and worse, so I finally threw in the towel. Deciding that I didn't have anything on it I wouldn't miss or couldn't just re-install, I figured I'd reformat it and start fresh.

Well, that seems not to have worked. I attempted to erase the existing hard drive through the disk utility, but it informed me that it couldn't. However, upon restarting the computer, the hard drive no longer appears in the disk utility. I also cannot install Mac OS X 10.7 onto the computer as it can't find any disk to install it on.

Everything I try seems to make things worse. Have I managed to be one of the few individuals who knows just enough to actually screw up a Mac? I just want to be able to use my computer.

On a mildly related note, is it possible to just install Windows 7 on an iMac without OS X working? I'm not sure, but given my bad luck so far, I don't want to push my luck.

 

[iBookG4user]

It sounds like your hard drive just died. Is your Mac still under warranty? If so, take it to the Genius bar and see what they have to say.

 

[Skybar]

If you have an iMac released in 2007, it is not 27" but rather 24". And of course you can't install OS X 10.7, since that is due for release summer 2011. Maybe that is why it isn't working?

Continuing on, you could try and reset your PRAM as well as do a safe boot. I don't know if that would work, but it is worth a try.

 

[DominusNovus]

Well, I, of course, meant a 24" screen and 10.6

Took it to the genius bar, and they tell me I need a new hard drive. Gonna just get a new computer; not worth it to spend $365 on a hard drive for a computer thats worth maybe $600. I've been looking forward to getting a new computer in about a year anyway.

 

[S.B.G]

Well, I, of course, meant a 24" screen and 10.6

Took it to the genius bar, and they tell me I need a new hard drive. Gonna just get a new computer; not worth it to spend $365 on a hard drive for a computer thats worth maybe $600. I've been looking forward to getting a new computer in about a year anyway.

Ummm... How exactly is your 24" iMac worth only $600?

I paid in the neighborhood of $3,200 for my 24" iMac (late 2008 model - 8,1). Mac's hold value very well and shouldn't depreciate nothing at all to $600 unless there is major damage all over it.

 

[Tempto]

Ummm... How exactly is your 24" iMac worth only $600?

I paid in the neighborhood of $3,200 for my 24" iMac (late 2008 model). Mac's hold value very well and shouldn't depreciate nothing at all to $600 unless there is major damage all over it.

This. Your iMac is probably worth $1.2-1.4k. Anyway, a hard drive does not cost $365 at all! You can get a 1TB 7.2k RPM one for less than $100. Maybe you'd like to check this out (thanks SandboxGeneral! ): http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/imac/

 

[Chozo]

Well, I, of course, meant a 24" screen and 10.6

Took it to the genius bar, and they tell me I need a new hard drive. Gonna just get a new computer; not worth it to spend $365 on a hard drive for a computer thats worth maybe $600. I've been looking forward to getting a new computer in about a year anyway.

Are you kidding me?

 

[denrock]

I have an iMac 8,1 from spring 2008 and my hard drive died on me in June. I was feeling adventurous so I bought a 2TB drive on amazon.com for like a hundred dollars, watched a couple of videos on how to replace the hard drive on youtube and went and changed it myself. It probably took me about an hour once I started on it since I was being pretty careful since I had never taken an iMac apart before. It's not the easiest thing to do since everything is so crammed in there, but it wasn't that bad.

And you really have a better understanding of the machine you use everyday if you decide to do it yourself. So I would definitely recommend giving it a shot yourself. You really don't have much to lose as far as worrying about breaking something else in the iMac if you're gonna just buy a new one anyway.

 

[MacHamster68]

ok the price for the harddrive is quiet high , but thats apple , you can grab a 1 tb harddrive everywhere for far less then $300 and fit it yourself

but it seems some here have some misunderstanding about value of a iMac
$600 is low ,but a realistic price for a 24 inch model from 2007 thats out of apple care already would still be below $1000 ,
otherwise nobody ever would buy a used iMac , as a refurbished 21.5 " i3 form apple just costs $20 dollars over the $1000
so no matter how good the specs are a low spec refurbished iMac with full warranty has to be worth more then a over 3 year old one even if the screen is 2.5 inches bigger

 

[fhall1]

Well, I, of course, meant a 24" screen and 10.6

Took it to the genius bar, and they tell me I need a new hard drive. Gonna just get a new computer; not worth it to spend $365 on a hard drive for a computer thats worth maybe $600. I've been looking forward to getting a new computer in about a year anyway.

I'll give you $400 for it...