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John_S

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 9, 2024
6
0
Hi All,

I have a 2011 iMac that I’ve had since new and it’s my only computer. I’m not a power user and up until yesterday was still using it okay for emailing, website browsing and doing a few spreadsheets etc.

But when I was using it yesterday all of a sudden the screen suddenly turned black but the computer itself seemed to still be on.

I then turned everything off and tried turning it on today but the screen is still blank.

Ironically I had just been looking at changing this year to either an M1 or M3 24 inch iMac, having given up waiting for a new 27 inch iMac, or perhaps a Mini plus monitor. However I needed a few more months saving enough funds to buy a replacement for my current iMac.

I have tried resetting the PRAM / NVRAM by pressing Command, Option, P and R just after hitting the power button but that doesn’t appear to have helped.

I also tried to power on whilst holding command & R to open Disk Utility and the computer made a chime sound but there was still nothing on the screen.

I do have an old Dell monitor and so I tried connecting the Dell monitor to the iMac using a Dell Mini-DisplayPort to VGA adapter which I connected to one of the two Thunderbolt ports on the back of my iMac and then via a cable to the Dell monitor but the monitor just says that there is no input detected.

Is there a way to use the external monitor with the iMac or is that not possible with the iMac screen not turning on?

When I press the power button on the iMac you can hear something start up but the screen is completely blank.

If anyone has any ideas of things that I can try that will be fantastic!

Thank you in advance!

 
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Bigwaff

Contributor
Sep 20, 2013
2,736
1,830
The GPU has failed. The GPU in 2011 iMacs are prone to failure. Black screen is the symptom. I'm actually impressed yours has lasted as long as it did. To replace the GPU costs more than the iMac is worth. If you have data on the drive, I believe you can boot the iMac in Target Disk Mode and connect it to another Mac via the Thunderbolt port. This will allow you to access data on the drive.
 
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Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,238
13,306
Waff has it right. GPU is done.
Time to start shopping for a replacement.
I'd suggest an m2pro Mini...
 

John_S

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 9, 2024
6
0
Hi Bigwaff and Fishrrman,

Thank you for your replies which is much appreciated!

That is sad news about my iMac because I loved my 27 inch iMac! Also it still performed the duties I asked if it perfectly well for my usage & expectations.

I was only considering replacing it due to receiving an increasing number of messages about the OSX being unsupported and so I was no longer able to use certain applications.

Because of being forced to think about replacing it I had just complied a spreadsheet (I know I’m old fashioned) comparing some pros & cons for a new iMac versus a Mini but now annoyingly I can’t read that spreadsheet.

Due to finances I had really needed to save for a few more months before replacing it but now it looks like my hand will be forced.

Now to worry about how to get my existing files, media etc. off the now broken iMac. I will have to try and read up on target disk as mentioned above because I’ve not used that before.

Thanks for the advice above!

John
 
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John_S

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 9, 2024
6
0
Hi Sensamic,

Thanks for your message and yes I did have Time Machine running and my iMac was attached to an external hard disk. I will do some head scratching and come back to this because I’ve never had this happen to me before and so I’m going to have to do some thinking about how I can best retrieve my data from the iMac.

I may well have to ask a different question about this once I’ve tried to think of what the options are but I don’t know whether I’ll have considered all of the options or select the best option to recover my files & data.

Thanks for the advice!
 

ignatius345

macrumors 604
Aug 20, 2015
7,614
13,025
yes I did have Time Machine running and my iMac was attached to an external hard disk. I’ve never had this happen to me before and so I’m going to have to do some thinking about how I can best retrieve my data from the iMac.
There's not much to it at all since you've been maintaining proper backups. When you get your new Mac, pick the option to migrate your data from a Time Machine backup, select what you want to restore, and let it rip. That's literally all there is to it.

When all is said and done you should be looking at exactly all the files and applications you had at the time of your last Time Machine backup, but running on a new Mac. The machine might be a little slow for a bit while it does Spotlight indexing and whatnot, but otherwise you'll be good.

One thing I'd note, though: all your old data will still be on that iMac's hard drive. Did you have FileVault turned on? If so you are probably good just disposing of the machine since nobody will likely be able to get into the hard drive. If not, you might be able to connect to it directly from your new Mac and wipe it? Someone else will have to weigh in on whether that's possible.
 
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Nguyen Duc Hieu

macrumors 68040
Jul 5, 2020
3,016
1,006
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hi Sensamic,

Thanks for your message and yes I did have Time Machine running and my iMac was attached to an external hard disk. I will do some head scratching and come back to this because I’ve never had this happen to me before and so I’m going to have to do some thinking about how I can best retrieve my data from the iMac.

I may well have to ask a different question about this once I’ve tried to think of what the options are but I don’t know whether I’ll have considered all of the options or select the best option to recover my files & data.

Thanks for the advice!

Just leave the iMac collecting dust after you have finished retrieving all your personal data.
Then look around your neighborhood for old laptop detachable graphic cards (MXM graphic cards). Sometimes they give if for free, or charge a small amount.
Once you obtain the graphic card, it can become a fun project for you to revive your iMac by replacing its GPU.
I would suggest you look for a small and consume less energy like nVidia Quadro K1100m or K2100m, only if you can find them with less than 20$ price tag.

Another option is buying a 30$ LCD driverboard, 6$ 12V5A adapter and convert your iMac to a 27" 2k monitor. Also a fun project to play with.
 

T'hain Esh Kelch

macrumors 603
Aug 5, 2001
6,474
7,406
Denmark
If you feel like it, you can do a reflow of the GPU in your oven, that has worked several times for me with that model. It should give you a year or two more out of it, if it works. Otherwise, you can also just take out the harddrive, put it in an external chassis, and keep using it for your new machine - And get your old files out at the same time. No need for target mode.
 
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