iMac cant start up suddenly

[derrickgoh]

Never had this problem before. Last night it was still ok. Didnt install any new software or change any settings. Suddenly now when it boots up the screen is white with all sorts of blotches. Trackpad cursor is visible & moves but other than that nothing. Anyone know what happened?

 

[derrickgoh]

Btw i held shift & entered safe mode. Went to First Aid and verified disk. It says seems to be ok. Verified disk permissions. There were a few issues so I repaired disk permissions. But when reboot its the same.

Very odd, I can't even upload pics to Tinypic so I can't do a screen shot of the white screen I got. I got to the screen with the Apple logo and the "round circle" started moving. Usually after a while I'll be at the log in screen except this time I get a mostly white background with lots of blotches, as though its some graphics issue.

 

[PetPet]

Sounds like a hardware issue.
Tiny pic doesn't work?
Try imgur!

 

[derrickgoh]

Sounds like a hardware issue.
Tiny pic doesn't work?
Try imgur!

Doesn't work too. I suspect its because I'm running in Safe mode so Flash or something else is disabled. Ok, postimage.com worked. Here's what it looks like:



Some times its like this, other times its a bit different. But yeah white background with blotches like graphics cork up.

I even removed ALL the boot up items like Net Barrier, Dropbox and Twitter. I even thought maybe my Time Machine external HDD cork up so I unplugged it. All no use. But if its hardware issue, how come in Safe mode its ok leh?

Talking about hardware issue, a few days prior I noticed when I was scrolling up and down Firefox, suddenly there would be some graphics distortion. Looks like some of the images have frozen while others are moving. Then when I minimised Firefox, again looks like some parts of the screen were frozen but not the rest.

Sh*t lah I think its something to do with the graphics card. As luck would have it my Apple Care expired in 2013. Anyone else have any other suggestions? Because if its really hardware problem, I am wondering if its worth it to bring it down to an Apple repair centre when APP is expired?

Do they provide this service where they will troubleshoot and tell you what is wrong. If you decide NOT to proceed with the repair/replacement they will just charge for the troubleshooting but if you proceed then they just charge for the repair/replacement?

 

[B772ER]

Doesn't work too. I suspect its because I'm running in Safe mode so Flash or something else is disabled. Ok, postimage.com worked. Here's what it looks like:



Some times its like this, other times its a bit different. But yeah white background with blotches like graphics cork up.

I even removed ALL the boot up items like Net Barrier, Dropbox and Twitter. I even thought maybe my Time Machine external HDD cork up so I unplugged it. All no use. But if its hardware issue, how come in Safe mode its ok leh?

Talking about hardware issue, a few days prior I noticed when I was scrolling up and down Firefox, suddenly there would be some graphics distortion. Looks like some of the images have frozen while others are moving. Then when I minimised Firefox, again looks like some parts of the screen were frozen but not the rest.

Sh*t lah I think its something to do with the graphics card. As luck would have it my Apple Care expired in 2013. Anyone else have any other suggestions? Because if its really hardware problem, I am wondering if its worth it to bring it down to an Apple repair centre when APP is expired?

Do they provide this service where they will troubleshoot and tell you what is wrong. If you decide NOT to proceed with the repair/replacement they will just charge for the troubleshooting but if you proceed then they just charge for the repair/replacement?

Try reset SMC and PRAM first. Then boot to internet recovery / Recovery HD and see if it reoccurs in there. If yes, definitely hardware.

You can bring down to QCD or A.Lab, they can definitely diagnose the machine and then you can choose to proceed with repair thereafter. Diagnostic is about $100-$120 from memory..

 

[derrickgoh]

Ok tried reset SMC & PRAM. Didnt help. In fact i read the apple knowledge base & they said must shut down mac & then turn on while pressing the 4 keys. Ironically my mac couldnt even shut down. It just FROZE. I had to do a hard shut down by holding the power button. Damn looks like what they said about macs dying once warranty expires is true!

 

[derrickgoh]

Anyone got other advice?

 

[derrickgoh]

Just went to A.Lab. They said consultation is $100 so should the repair be too ex i have to pay that $100. Crap sia should i go ahead? Just worried if its hardware the replacement part will be damn ex. And my imac is 5 years old so God knows if some other part will uplorry or not.

 

[IronMac]

Sounds like a hardware issue, likely logic board and that is crazy expensive when it comes to a five year old iMac in SG.

If I were you, get all of your data off of it and buy a new iMac.

 

[Winston7222]

Might still be able to savage after taking apart to clean dust and re-apply thermal paste, that's if you are confident to do it...

Had did it to my 2007 iMac before and it's not that difficult but requires lots of patience and time with guides from ifixit.com.

As advise by others, back up everything if possible..

 

[Coless]

Got exactly the same problem with my mbp15 2011....i got the problem last year nov...can't believe lasted me 2yrs + for the price I paid...my previously much cheaper acer lasted me least 4yrs +.

 

[derrickgoh]

Think i'll try a erase & reinstall. Nothing to lose. But if hardware issue how come its ok in safe mode?

 

[derrickgoh]

Sh*t!!! Tried doing an erase & uninstall. As it was reinstalling mavericks it said it had to reboot. After reboot it got stuck at the white screen with apple logo. It cant even reinstall mavericks after an erase!

No choice but to force reboot & boot up in safe mode. It then asked for country, language, etc and proceeded with setup. After that i reset & found it again froze with white screen during boot up.

Sigh! Looks like its really hardware issue. Worse part is if i do a trade in i will probably get very little since its considered "faulty". Istudio gave me an estimated $100-$200 only.

That being the case i figure im better off NOT trading in. Just buy mac mini & connect it to imac thus using imac as monitor. Then when the imac totally conks one day, just junk it & buy a monitor. U guys figure that is a good plan?

Or should i just trade the imac in anyway & get a new imac? Istudio offering applecare & keyboard protector for $178 if i buy an imac.

I am not a power user so mac mini should suffice but should my old imac conk out 1 day & i need to get the 27" apple display, total cost of the display & mac mini is only about $300 less than if i had bought a new imac from the start. Sigh! What a dilema!

 

[Winston7222]

Sh*t!!! Tried doing an erase & uninstall. As it was reinstalling mavericks it said it had to reboot. After reboot it got stuck at the white screen with apple logo. It cant even reinstall mavericks after an erase!

No choice but to force reboot & boot up in safe mode. It then asked for country, language, etc and proceeded with setup. After that i reset & found it again froze with white screen during boot up.

Sigh! Looks like its really hardware issue. Worse part is if i do a trade in i will probably get very little since its considered "faulty". Istudio gave me an estimated $100-$200 only.

That being the case i figure im better off NOT trading in. Just buy mac mini & connect it to imac thus using imac as monitor. Then when the imac totally conks one day, just junk it & buy a monitor. U guys figure that is a good plan?

Hmm.. from the above, possibilities zoom down to :-

1) Graphic Card faulty
2) Fan(s) faulty
3) Thermal paste harden

Since display only started to go crazy after a period of time after boot up, seems likely (2) or (3) cos heat unable to dissipate properly.

Would advise taking apart to have a look, you will be able to determine (2) & (3) and rectify them at the same time..

The above are just my guess and diagnostic..

 

[derrickgoh]

Hmm.. from the above, possibilities zoom down to :-

1) Graphic Card faulty
2) Fan(s) faulty
3) Thermal paste harden

Since display only started to go crazy after a period of time after boot up, seems likely (2) or (3) cos heat unable to dissipate properly.

Would advise taking apart to have a look, you will be able to determine (2) & (3) and rectify them at the same time..

The above are just my guess and diagnostic..

No leh its not after period of time. Cant even boot up. Boot up only hang liao.

 

[Winston7222]

No leh its not after period of time. Cant even boot up. Boot up only hang liao.

But the strange thing is that the display is ok during the installation process until after it reboot, right??

 

[derrickgoh]

But the strange thing is that the display is ok during the installation process until after it reboot, right??

Yes. The screen freezes. Usually white some times like distorted.

 

[Winston7222]

Yes. The screen freezes. Usually white some times like distorted.

That's where I draw my conclusion that it might be thermal paste harden thus unable to dissipate heat out well or fan not working well, resulting in the error.

I remember when I 1st took apart my iMac after it's 3rd year, the thermal paste/pad on both CPU and Graphic card had already "cake" and I've spend quite a lot of time and effort to clean it out slowly with alcohol solution and also clean the dust from the fans.

Thus, my advise to take this step 1st, that's if only you wanna try isolating the issue to find the cause..

 

[derrickgoh]

Thanks but I've never dissected a Mac before. At least it can boot up now. Last thing I want to do is screw it up further and make it worth less than its already worth during trade in.