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My Mac has gone crazy! Help appreciated.

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Conradish006

macrumors member
Original poster
May 16, 2019
34
1
Catawampus Land
I was using my 2011 27 inch i7 Imac and the screen suddenly went green! And i had to shut it off with the power button. And now it doesn't boot up anymore! It will start up and display pink bars
100_0370.JPG

and start to load but then it will get stuck and then restart. And it will do this until you turn it off. Originally i thought it was a bad GPU. I ran the Apple Hardware test and it threw a 4MOT/4/40000003 HHD-1551 code

100_0375.JPG

which simply says that the hard drive fan has gone bad and that has nothing to do with the symptoms my Mac is experiencing. I read some forums about this issue and there was mixed opinions about the issue. Any help is appreciated.
 
reset the smc, reset nvram (google for instructions). then, if need be, boot into recovery and reinstall the OS; you won't lose anything (but of course, you have a backup).

start with those things, see how it goes...
 
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If running the tests @fisherking suggested do not work, take off the back panel (if you are comfortable doing so) and look around to see if anything does in fact look damaged or out of place.

Good luck
 
NoBoMac said:
Wild guess, GPU died. And unfortunately, the replacement program has expired.

https://9to5mac.com/2013/08/16/appl...-replacement-program-for-some-mid-2011-imacs/
Click to expand...
Yeah "Your Mac is a 2011 and is therefore con
fisherking said:
reset the smc, reset nvram (google for instructions). then, if need be, boot into recovery and reinstall the OS; you won't lose anything (but of course, you have a backup).

start with those things, see how it goes...
Click to expand...
Are you sure it won't wipe my HHD?
 
fisherking said:
am sure that, if you backup your mac, you have a backup. google the process, see what others report (or someone hear can tell you more). but a reinstall from recovery is designed to overwrite the OS, nothing more.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks!
[doublepost=1558102296][/doublepost]
fisherking said:
am sure that, if you backup your mac, you have a backup. google the process, see what others report (or someone hear can tell you more). but a reinstall from recovery is designed to overwrite the OS, nothing more.
Click to expand...
I do have it backed up to 2 places but i wanted to make sure.
 
When a Mac has problems booting, the fastest way to determine if the problem is "drive-related" is to plug in an EXTERNAL boot drive and see if the Mac will boot from that.

If it does -- high probability that "the problem" is the drive.
If it doesn't -- internal drive is probably ok, the problem is elsewhere.

A 2011 iMac really isn't worth spending much money on...
 
theapplehead said:
If running the tests @fisherking suggested do not work, take off the back panel (if you are comfortable doing so) and look around to see if anything does in fact look damaged or out of place.

Good luck
Click to expand...
Back panel? I've taken the LCD off and replaced the DVD drive before.
[doublepost=1558103331][/doublepost]
Fishrrman said:
When a Mac has problems booting, the fastest way to determine if the problem is "drive-related" is to plug in an EXTERNAL boot drive and see if the Mac will boot from that.

If it does -- high probability that "the problem" is the drive.
If it doesn't -- internal drive is probably ok, the problem is elsewhere.

A 2011 iMac really isn't worth spending much money on...
Click to expand...
Yeah i know.
[doublepost=1558103393][/doublepost]
theapplehead said:
If running the tests @fisherking suggested do not work, take off the back panel (if you are comfortable doing so) and look around to see if anything does in fact look damaged or out of place.

Good luck
Click to expand...
While is was inside the computer i vacuumed all the dust out.
[doublepost=1558103534][/doublepost]Ok, y'all i'm going to reinstall the OS and see what it does.
 
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HHD fan bad is the likely cause but that isn't what you're seeing.

The heat from the HDD cooks the components in these. The drive is bad. These go through a lot on their way down while still passing SMART in Disk Utility. This is a typical example.

full.jpg


The only thing I would try is to replace the NV RAM battery. It's behind the screen and the bottom right. With the iMac on its back, remove the screws for the screen, lift the top enough so that the bottom clears the slot, then slide the screen back down. Now lift the bottom of the screen and you'll see the battery. Poke a toothpick through the slot to remove it without breaking the flange. The original is a BR2032. A common CR2032 will be fine.
 
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What will replacing the battery do? Also i tried to reinstall the OS and it had me connect to the Wi-Fi so i did and it restarted and it has gone to a blank screen. What should i do? I don't want to turn it off for fear of ruining somtehing.
[doublepost=1558110411][/doublepost]Also i hear a fan running. I bought a DVD player without the temperature sensor so the fan runs full blast all the time.
 
A bad NVRAM battery can cause all sorts of problems. If you took the battery out, you could eliminate that as a cause but you might as well put a new one in — $3.50 or so at any drug store.

It can cause this problem but, frankly, it’s a Hail Mary.

Ok, i”m confident you have a bad drive, possibly a GPU problem as well.

It’s decision time. If you’re a hobbyist and this machine isn’t important, repair it. Otherwise, replace it. Hopefully, you have a backup. If not, let us know.
 
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Oh it's backed up to 2 places. I'm not worried about that. I have a CR2032 battery that i will replace it with. I will let you guys know if it fixes the issue.
 
Ha! I didn't want to promise and give hope but it usually does. I really didn't want to read all the armchair experts droning on in detail why it wouldn't.

This does not mean you don't have a bad drive. Run Disk Repair in Dusk Utility. If anything shows up red, get that drive replaced ASAP. If the result is green, still get the drive replaced but you have more time.
 
Ok, i tried to post this a couple of days ago but it didn't work. So lets try it again.

When i replace the HHD should i replace it with an SSD or not. If i replace it with a SSD what are some good brands?

I sincerely thank y'all for your help.
[doublepost=1558455896][/doublepost]I'm on disk utility and i can run first aid but i can't find any options for disk repair.
 
If you are booted to the drive that you want to "repair", you can't repair the same drive that you are booted to.
Boot to your recovery system: (Restart, holding Command+r) You will then boot to a screen with a Utilities menu.
Select Disk Utility, then press Return/enter.
Now, select your drive, and you should then be able to run a repair (should be called "First Aid")

Yes, I recommend changing a spinning hard drive, and replacing that old tech with an SSD.
Most users seem to like Samsung, maybe a 860 EVO SATA.
Another would be Crucial MX500
recently, I have started using Western Digital WD Blue SSD - good prices, and never have a problem -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073SBZ8YH
 
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Conradish006 said:
I ran the First Aid test in Disk Utility in Recovery mode and it says that the drive is "OK".
Click to expand...
Not the same as running Repair. That sometimes finds issues that Test misses. It takes a few minutes longer and if everything is still good, that's great.
[doublepost=1558467579][/doublepost]
DeltaMac said:
Yes, I recommend changing a spinning hard drive, and replacing that old tech with an SSD.
Most users seem to like Samsung, maybe a 860 EVO SATA.
Another would be Crucial MX500
recently, I have started using Western Digital WD Blue SSD - good prices, and never have a problem -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073SBZ8YH
Click to expand...

All three are good and have 5 year warranties. The WD Blue 3D is a re-branded drive that is identical to the SanDisk 3D. I would buy on price. Today's winner is that WD Blue 3D (make certain it includes 3D—older ones don't).
 
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Conradish006 said:
When i replace the HHD should i replace it with an SSD or not. If i replace it with a SSD what are some good brands?
Click to expand...
I would strongly recommend it unless you really need a lot of storage, since larger SSDs are more expensive. It's a price–performance tradeoff, really.

I replaced the HDD portion of my 1 TB Fusion Drive earlier this year with a 500 GB SSD in my iMac, and blew dust out for the first time in over 4 years, and the machine’s running good as new if not better. The SSD has definitely been a huge help.
 
I'm not going to get a SanDisk/Western Digital 3D SSD. I will probably get the MX500 or an 860 EVO SATA. Also i read that with the Macs you have to get a temperature sensor.
[doublepost=1558470752][/doublepost]How would i get OS X onto the SSD?
 
Conradish006 said:
I'm not going to get a SanDisk/Western Digital 3D SSD. I will probably get the MX500 or an 860 EVO SATA. Also i read that with the Macs you have to get a temperature sensor.
Click to expand...
Suit yourself. All test about the same. The SD/WD 3D are the same rebranded Fujitsu OEM. With WD's extremely hassle-free warranty service (used it many times over the years with HDDs) and great price at the moment, that will actually be my first choice where appropriate. Both Crucial and WD have warranty offices in California. Samsung's reputation, likewise, is very good and I've never had a problem.

Yes, The OWC Temp sensor for 2011– is not really an option.
https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Digital-...d=1558470708&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1
You can use freeware utilities but with those, a) you must now control the temperature manually and b) the fans roar full on during a reboot until the extension loads. No thanks!

A bracket is nice but optional. There are a few that look like this—brand doesn't matter.
https://www.amazon.com/Fenlink-Internal-Hard-Drive-Converter/dp/B01ELRRKW8/ref=sr_1_13?crid=1EX8RVZOJ2EF8&keywords=3.5+to+2.5+hard+drive+adapter&qid=1558470798&s=gateway&sprefix=3.5+to+2.5,aps,200&sr=8-13

You can use double-stick foam tape to the foil on the back. I like that the bracket allows air to flow around both sides of the SSD.
 
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Sorry, got confused thru the thread. are you sure it's not just the GPU?
I just had the same grey screen/pinkish bars - and did the "bake the GPU" hack to great success.
I'm not clear how you determined this was not your issue?
 
mikehalloran said:
Suit yourself. All test about the same. The SD/WD 3D are the same rebranded Fujitsu OEM. With WD's extremely hassle-free warranty service (used it many times over the years with HDDs) and great price at the moment, that will actually be my first choice where appropriate. Both Crucial and WD have warranty offices in California. Samsung's reputation, likewise, is very good and I've never had a problem.

Yes, The OWC Temp sensor for 2011– is not really an option.
https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Digital-...d=1558470708&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1
You can use freeware utilities but with those, a) you must now control the temperature manually and b) the fans roar full on during a reboot until the extension loads. No thanks!

A bracket is nice but optional. There are a few that look like this—brand doesn't matter.
https://www.amazon.com/Fenlink-Internal-Hard-Drive-Converter/dp/B01ELRRKW8/ref=sr_1_13?crid=1EX8RVZOJ2EF8&keywords=3.5+to+2.5+hard+drive+adapter&qid=1558470798&s=gateway&sprefix=3.5+to+2.5,aps,200&sr=8-13

You can use double-stick foam tape to the foil on the back. I like that the bracket allows air to flow around both sides of the SSD.
Click to expand...
So you are saying that i don't need the temp sensor?
 
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