Imac 24 Mid 2007 dies Blame ATi 2600? Please help

[mid2007]

Hi and thanks for all reading this post and willing to help

I ve got a mid 2007 Imac 24, 2.8GHZ, 4Gram and 500 Hd, with the ATI 2600 card.

After installing some software, got to reboot the mac and basically no light on the screen anymore, no start up sound , nothing.

Symptoms are
1) Black screen
2) I can hear the hd power up
3) I can hear the DVD1 starting but remains blocked
4) Keyboard is NOT recognized but works perfectly
5) Mighty mouse is well alive

-> so in cannot restart using keyboard, cannot do reset of pram, nvram , etc

I believe it's the ATI card that's faulty. Have you had those problems before that you're aware of , have you had your imac repaired under warranty with the same symptoms (no apple care but how can a machine 25 months old , top of the range die after only that time frame!!!!!)

The more I read on the web the more I tend to believe that there is a hidden fault with that machine. (produced october 2007 in Europe-)

How can I buy another ATI card or 8800 card (apparently it works with that one too)

The lowest cost is preferred... I can install that myself if necessary

Thanks for your help

 

[Hellhammer]

Take a look at my guide here. I haven't heard ATI 2600 failing but of course there might be few that are. Try calling Apple and asking if the could help

 

[mid2007]

there is nothing I can do as the computer does not recognize the keyboard at all (green light is not on, but same kboard is fine with other computer)

http://forums.macgeneration.com/mac-os-x/imac-24-ecran-noir-234164.html

the issue I have is the same as the one the url above , but unfortunately there is no end at the story ..... so no solution

how can Apple sell logic bard at over 1K euros....

Thanks for the tips

 

[Hellhammer]

there is nothing I can do as the computer does not recognize the keyboard at all (green light is not on, but same kboard is fine with other computer)

http://forums.macgeneration.com/mac-os-x/imac-24-ecran-noir-234164.html

the issue I have is the same as the one the url above , but unfortunately there is no end at the story ..... so no solution

how can Apple sell logic bard at over 1K euros....

Thanks for the tips

Because logic boards are expensive and Apple usually tells you that "oh, you should have bought AppleCare". If you want to replace the card yourself, you can order a replacement GPU from here

 

[mid2007]

Yep that would be the last resort solution. Unlesss I can find a 8800 card (that mid 2008 card is working in the mid 2007 machine, and offers twice the original speed but costs will be higher off course)

Fact is that we contacted Apple in October and they said the machine was out of warranty and consequently we needed to send some papers back to Cork in Ierland in order to have them decide if or if not they could do something despite the fact it was over 1year since the machine was bought


http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/library/press/press31_fr.html (in French)

Now all I hope is that they will do something based on the extended warranty there seems to be in Europe (2 Years and not 1)

We contacted apple service assistance in october , so just 1 month before the machine was 2 years old.... fingers crossed.

THe failure of this machine is most certainly because there was a hidden fault somewhere on the components (the ATI card) and consequently they have to do something to repair it. ( Vice caché or latent defect?)
(as I m not the only one that has been affected with this issue)

By the way, I'm amazed to read how many had their imac video fail on previous white Imac Intel and G5 ..... it's a SHAME (mine is rev1 Alu)

IF CAR MAKERS WOULD MAKE CARS THE WAY APPLE MAKES LAPTOP OR DESKTOPS WE WOULD PROBABLY BE FACING THOUSANDS OF DEATH ON THE ROADS..... funny enough that was what we said agains microsoft in the old times......

I would be happy to set up a web page to list all machines that failed within and without warranty

Any other people having faced the black screen of death , with unresponsive keyboard and mouse, just post a reply on this message

 

[Hellhammer]

By reading forums like this, you mostly see people having problems with their Macs but isn't that the reason why people come here for asking help? It would make no sense to come here and say "My G5 iMac's GPU is still working!" because nobody would really care about it. If 100 000 iMacs were bought and 100 of them would be defective, maybe 3 people would come here and tell about their problems.

Anyway, iMacs don't fail more than other consumer level computers do. Failure rates of 0.5% to 2% are average.

The warranty is only 1 year unless you bought it from education store (doesn't add extra in all countries) or if you paid with credit card, I've heard it's 2 years but that you have to ask from your credit card company as they handle it then (return the money or you get a new one)

By the way, is the keyboard wired or wireless? If it's wireless, try with wired one

 

[mid2007]

I have over 10 years dealing with mac

paying 2000 euros for a machine that fails within 1 year or 2 it's a shame

I can list all issues over the years

There is a decline in quality , there is a decline in customer happiness

Probably you will hear complaints louder but all customers should be treated fairly and honnestly

Mate I have had my 4000 usd Pbk G3 500 replaced 3 times and after taht I got a pink screen on the tft
Got my titanium loose its paint
Got the G3 900 14.1 got the main board replaced under recall thanks god
Got the 1.42 14.1 ibook with kernel panic because of airport, fixed that myself , I re fixed the card basicaly (and there are hundreds of mahcine that failed because of that)
No issue on my G4 powerbook 1.5ghz
No issue yet on my macbook pro alu (fingers crossed)
And now the IMAC gone dead....

There is a premium when buying APPLe products, because they own the OS ..... if they sell cheap machines, sell cheap cmponents in their machines, ..... but they should probably rethink their business and sell the OS only if they cannot take a positive approach when suddenly hundred of people start complaining on the same issue....

all intel right now so ......

In my case if there was a lot of ATI cards of poor quality they must probably be aware of it and ask ATI to take part of the costs for the repair

a logc board in the pc world will never cost the price of a brand new imac
the graphic card will never cost 4 times the cost of the same nvidia or ati card in the pc world, but because the rom on the card is differnt, then all costs explode!

 

[mid2007]

and yes all wired

 

[Hellhammer]

a logc board in the pc world will never cost the price of a brand new imac
the graphic card will never cost 4 times the cost of the same nvidia or ati card in the pc world, but because the rom on the card is differnt, then all costs explode!

In PC world, the logic board doesn't have to be replaced because components are removable (at least in desktops). Those GPUs are extremely expensive because they shouldn't even be available so be happy that you can buy one and change it yourself. Apple doesn't sell them and nor do ATI or nVidia, they are only for Apple.

I'm sorry for all the problems you've had but remember that Apple DOES NOT manufacture the components they use so you shouldn't blame Apple for defects

 

[mid2007]

same for parts in cars in fact, not all the car is made by BMW or Mercedes, it's all parts from 3rd party (and sometimes even built by 3rd party Magna and sold by Opel), only the chassis / engine (and even that can be bought from another car maker , like psa engines in jaguar.., or merc engines in kia cars)


so in short they have to make sure all parts will be top quality , because , ultimately it's not the component maker that fails but APPLE that fails


so Blame ATI ? ? YES
so Blame APPLE ?? Yes probably in the same bag