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eetu

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2007
70
0
Tampere, Finland
First time Mac user. I picked up my iMac 24-inch, 2.8 2gb Ram, 750gb. First impression, it really catches the attention. A guy congratulate for my buying while walking home with the box.

Leopard drop-in. I installed and it was ready after 30-40 minutes. It was smooth and easy. No problems.

My first thoughts are that this is a very powerful machine: silent, fast. The display is great. I don't notice the gradient problem. It might be there, but I just don't see. It is true, though, that it looks a bit yellowish, but I don't think it's a big deal and it might be fixed with screen calibration.

Big and only problem: freezing. I suffered 5 freezers in less than 24 hours (with 1.0 software and 1.3). First time, 5 minutes after starting Leopard. It froze while browsing photos in cover flow. Then it froze again after 18 hours. Again while using cover flow. The it froze when I was copying some files from my external hard drive. I rebooted and within one minute I did the same operation and it froze again. It has worked fine since then (other 18 hours).

I think all my freezers had to do with my external hard drive. Every time it froze, I was reading from the hard drive. I really don't feel like taking the computer back to the store since it does not seem that there's a fix that works for sure. I'll test the computer more until I decide what to do.

About OS X, I really like it. It's easy to use and everything seems to work without headaches. I easily connected to my Windows laptop and copied my files. I'm still used to Windows habits, but I'm finding my way quickly. Finder and Mail are the only app that look a bit weak to me (compared to Windows Explorer and Outlook), although I feel that I need more practice to enjoy all the potential of the OS.

I'm surprised with Safari (very fast) and I love Front Row. Still need to use more iWork and other applications.

To sum up, I'm very pleased with my iMac. I just hope the freezing issue will be fixed. Otherwise, it's great. I don't get all the whining. Glad I switched.
 
Welcome! Glad to hear that you're enjoying your new iMac!

So glad to hear that you are switching!!
 
Your patience is admirable. I'd be frustrated and annoyed by with a new machine freezing, which is why I'm resisting the urge to buy the machine I really want (2.8 iMac) and buy a Mac Mini instead.
 
well, it's not only about patience. after reading so many posts and forums about that issue, I knew what I was buying. I knew I was buying a computer that has this potential problem. So, it wasn't a surprise. It is not nice either, but after buying computers for 15 year, I think it's pretty hard to buy a flawless computer. One way or another, there will be something that I don't like. Still, the iMac is that computer that suits better my needs and my budget. I wouldn't be happy with the mini and I cannot afford MBP and display or Mac Pro.

In any case, I won't say that I'm satisfy and if the computer keeps on freezing so often, I'll take it back to the store. But I'm still confidence that a solution will come up.

My advice is that you think what you need. If you have enough with the mini, go for it. But if you want the iMac and you cannot wait for a revision, buy the iMac.
 
Hey there fellow Finn (and even from the same town as me!)

But really, you have to take it back. Software updates won't help as it's been noted many times how it might be a problem with the graphics cards. Where did you buy it? I bought mine from Macpeople store and I'm taking it to be fixed today to Varimport.
 
well, not exactly Finn, just a Spaniard lost here in the woods. but nice to find a neighbor here :)

i also bought it at the macpeople store. i guess that eventually i will send it to fix, but i just want to test it a little bit longer. would you mind sending me an email or a PM telling how your fix went?
 
Yes I will after I get it back. They said it might take a week or so if they need to order spare parts. The lady at the counter told me they haven't heard anything about iMac freezing issues... :rolleyes:
 
Yes I will after I get it back. They said it might take a week or so if they need to order spare parts. The lady at the counter told me they haven't heard anything about iMac freezing issues... :rolleyes:

odd thing, but its amazing how well everyone in europe uses english, makes me feel like a stupid american, which i dont think im stupid exactly as our education system is very lacking anyway, congrats on the new imac, they are amazing machines....and mine never freezes......with leopard and 1.3 even when playing games, so i dunno...
 
Thanks for your compliment :D But of course it depends on the person.

Eetu, I strongly advice you to return your freezer because there's only two weeks time for you to return it, after that they'll only fix it until your guarantee runs out. I told Macpeople about my problem after a week, and the clerk told me he'd send a report to Apple about the iMac being DOA (Dead on arrival), and promised me a replacement iMac after they get more in stock.

After about 4 weeks I went there again to ask what was going on, and they said they hadn't sent anything to Apple and were very sorry, but I could no longer return it and get a new one instead. Nice customer service eh? Well so after that I decided to go ask about repairing the iMac at Varimport where they have the official Apple repair center or something. They told me to come back later as it would take a week or so because of long queues.

After that I decided to wait for that promised software update coming in October, which never did solve anything, and so I finally took my iMac to Varimport for repairing. There they once again told me to bring it back in 1 week because their hands are full. Now I'm finally iMacless but I don't have any high hopes of them getting it repaired as they told me how they had never heard of any freezing issues and mine was the first one...

Well anyway, after talking with my law teacher she said that if I don't get it fixed I can contact the Consumer Agency (Kuluttajavirasto) and try to get a new iMac or my money back from Macpeople store for screwing up with sending that DOA report to Apple in time. There's a nice foreign fellow named Joe at Macpeople, ask him about getting a replacement for your iMac.
 
Thanks for all the information! Yeah, Joe is the guy who sold me the computer.

I've been working for two days without any troubles. Since it's not sure that a replacement machine will fix the problem (I might get a faulty one again), I will test the iMac this week to see how it works. Next week I will pass by the store and ask them. I bet I will get the official answer: "This is the first time we hear about this problem".
 
First off congrats for not bashing the iMac. It's the machine most people love to hate. They are really great computers and definitely some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

As for switching, I did 3 years ago and it's been great. I have gone back to Windows machines in that time since it's my main platform but Leopard is a great operating system that even blows Tiger out of the water (and Tiger was much better than Panther that came before it). It took me about 3 days before I was really used to Panther that originally came with my eMac, but once you get the hang of it you really don't want to ever use a Windows computer again. Good luck with your new iMac and have fun! :)
 
my 2.8 iMac...

Your patience is admirable. I'd be frustrated and annoyed by with a new machine freezing, which is why I'm resisting the urge to buy the machine I really want (2.8 iMac) and buy a Mac Mini instead.

Arrived last Thursday. Have been doing the migration thing, loading all sorts of software and upgrades. No freezes, No yellow screen, no graduated screen, no dead pixels, no nothing! Even upgraded to Leopard and installed the update for Leopard.

I would not buy a mini because of all the bad posts about the alum iMac....not everyone is having issues.
 
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