The used iMac arrived. The internals were... frustrating. It was missing six screen screws (two found stuck to magnets, the rest still missing), a small bit of damage to the LCD panel (annoying but quite marginal) and, relevant to this thread:
There was no 3rd party thermal sensor on what I was pretty sure was a 3rd-party HDD. This was confirmed when I saw that the HDD fan was disconnected. I reconnected it and now have a very loud iMac.
I searched around for hours to acquire and create a bootable USB stick with Apple hardware Test on it (looks like classic Mac OS), getting a report that (the Internet tells me) is a sensor failure. I've ordered the thermal sensor-adapted cable from OWC.
I wish I had enough cash on hand to replace the 3.5" HDD with a 2.5" SSD to reduce heat, noise, and vibration, but I've spent more than ebough on this "stop gap" computer. I hope it lasts until Apple releases the next Mac Pro.
The heat this thing puts out is surprising (I'm surprised there aren't any liability lawsuits about burns or damage to property). The temps reported are in line with two threads I read on the web where people had similar concerns and were told "those temps are fine, low even". I guess this is what happens when a desktop/laptop hybrid computer is crammed into a tiny space like an iMac. At least it's got more room than the 21". The fact that Apple has since shrunken these even further since the 2011 model... yikes. I'm sure replacing an HDD with a tiny SSD strip helps...
There was no 3rd party thermal sensor on what I was pretty sure was a 3rd-party HDD. This was confirmed when I saw that the HDD fan was disconnected. I reconnected it and now have a very loud iMac.
I searched around for hours to acquire and create a bootable USB stick with Apple hardware Test on it (looks like classic Mac OS), getting a report that (the Internet tells me) is a sensor failure. I've ordered the thermal sensor-adapted cable from OWC.
I wish I had enough cash on hand to replace the 3.5" HDD with a 2.5" SSD to reduce heat, noise, and vibration, but I've spent more than ebough on this "stop gap" computer. I hope it lasts until Apple releases the next Mac Pro.
The heat this thing puts out is surprising (I'm surprised there aren't any liability lawsuits about burns or damage to property). The temps reported are in line with two threads I read on the web where people had similar concerns and were told "those temps are fine, low even". I guess this is what happens when a desktop/laptop hybrid computer is crammed into a tiny space like an iMac. At least it's got more room than the 21". The fact that Apple has since shrunken these even further since the 2011 model... yikes. I'm sure replacing an HDD with a tiny SSD strip helps...
I appreciate your desire to help, though, cheers!