$#!+ iMac powered off in mid-download! How to determine if damaged?

[Let's Sekuhara!]

I was plugging in the power supply for a backup drive I just got (you can see the irony here) and while I was rearranging the plugs on the surge protector strip the power switch on the strip got bumped and my iMac turned off. Of course I instantly re-flipped the switch but it was too late. The iMac was off.

My iMac was in the middle of downloading files and I'm just wondering what is the probability that I have hard drive damage or data corruption now as a result of this? And how would I even test for that?

Is there some sort of protection built in (like a backup battery) in the iMac to protect it in situations like this? If there isn't there damn well should be.

 

[MacHamster68]

no i dont think it caused any harm , as powercuts are a feature of electric companies , and happen once in a while everywhere , and what you did was nothing else ,and as most people have their plugs not marked, it happens quiet often that people pull the wrong plug too .
just dont do it too often ,
modern harddrive are designed to avoid headcrashes in the event of a power failure , so under normal circumstances you only lost data that was in the ram at that point

if you look in the
"system preferences" under "energy saver " -->"options "
you will find a box to tick "restart automatically after power failure" ,
tick this box and next time the iMac doesn't stay turned off, it restarts automatically then

 

[Erasmus]

My iMac was in the middle of downloading files and I'm just wondering what is the probability that I have hard drive damage or data corruption now as a result of this?

Simple answer? Zero.

Longer answer: Once you dare to turn it back on, go to Disk Utility (in Utilities/Applications) and run a disk check, can't remember what it's called. When that turns up negative, throw in your OSX install dvd, restart while holding down "c", and then go to the "Utilities" menu (up the top). Run a hardware check. When that comes back all good, you can go to sleep knowing that your computer is fine.

 

[Let's Sekuhara!]

Simple answer? Zero.

Longer answer: Once you dare to turn it back on, go to Disk Utility (in Utilities/Applications) and run a disk check, can't remember what it's called. When that turns up negative, throw in your OSX install dvd, restart while holding down "c", and then go to the "Utilities" menu (up the top). Run a hardware check. When that comes back all good, you can go to sleep knowing that your computer is fine.

Thank you! That's all I needed to know.

 

[Erasmus]

Thank you! That's all I needed to know.

Lolz, but really, it's not worth the effort. Your computer's fine. You are just wasting 30 mins or so in running such tests. And if you do find something it is almost certainly unrelated to the power cut.

 

[dukebound85]

unless those files were like a 10.6.x update or some other "system" update, you are good

 

[Erasmus]

unless those files were like a 10.6.x update or some other "system" update, you are good

Nope. Downloading is not equivalent to actually upgrading system software. And I know from personal experience that even if a system update is interrupted in mid-update, the system still works fine. You just need to run the update again, else obviously, you won't be running the latest system!

 

[dukebound85]

Nope. Downloading is not equivalent to actually upgrading system software. And I know from personal experience that even if a system update is interrupted in mid-update, the system still works fine. You just need to run the update again, else obviously, you won't be running the latest system!

ah your right! if its installing with the power loss, then theres a problem

 

[MacHamster68]

but you should not make a habit out of it and choosing to shutdown your mac like that all the time because its faster

 

[Let's Sekuhara!]

No, I wasn't doing a system update or anything. Just syncing Dropbox files.

I'm going to trust that everything is fine because I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary since then.

 

[pfjellman]

you're good to go. this happens to all of us from time to time. it's EXTREMELY unlikely you did any damage to the drive, and if you did, you'd most likely know right away (via the dreaded grey screen apple logo spinner mac won't boot situation)

 

[Raima]

Is there some sort of protection built in (like a backup battery) in the iMac to protect it in situations like this? If there isn't there damn well should be.

It's called a Uninteruptable Power Supply (UPS). You can find them at most good computer stores. They also filter power, phone lines as well as protect power surges to a certain degree.

 

[Let's Sekuhara!]

It's called a Uninteruptable Power Supply (UPS). You can find them at most good computer stores. They also filter power, phone lines as well as protect power surges to a certain degree.

That sounds like something that would be worth investing in if the price is right.

I was just browsing Amazon and saw models ranging in price from $60.84 to $6836.00! Why the huge price gap?

 

[WilliamG]

That sounds like something that would be worth investing in if the price is right.

I was just browsing Amazon and saw models ranging in price from $60.84 to $6836.00! Why the huge price gap?

Depends on how much power you need to power whatever it is you need to power. With people running huge servers, you need mondo power. For the average Mac user like you and me, get something smaller. I use this and it works perfectly:

http://www.amazon.com/Cyberpower-CP...5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1270013968&sr=8-5

No software needed, it has an LCD readout for all important things like battery life left, how much % of its power is being used etc. It's saved me a few times, and I won't use a desktop computer without one.