Old iMac not booting properly hard drive suspected

[garaborn]

I work at a college. A month ago I bought a used iMac from a group they were clearing out. These were computer lab units--still working, but old (I'm guessing 5-6 years old).

I’m suspicious that the HD has decided to quit, which wouldn’t surprise me, given the age and use. Just in the last two days, it started acting funky when booting up, and now it won’t complete the boot-up process (the bar gets halfway across the screen and then the screen goes black, and it turns off).

I’ve tried all the standard stuff I could find on the web to try. For example,

—when I start it in Recovery mode (Cmd-R), I get to the screen with options such as Disk Utilities, but when I try to run First Aid, it says that it cannot complete the Disk Verify process.

—likewise, when I tried choosing the re-install option, it would not let me select the HD as the location for the re-install (it said the disk was locked).

So I’m kinda at the end of what I can do. I researched buying a new SSD and installing it myself, but I think I may have someone else do it, and maybe upgrade the RAM while I’m at it. But, from what I’ve described, does it sound like a fried HD, or is there something else I might try first?

Fortunately, no real data on the HD that I have to worry about recovering—I just want to get it working again. Also, how do I get the exact age of the unit?

 

[honestone]

First, what exact iMac model do you have? For some "older" iMacs, installing an SSD is not too difficult.

Secondly, it does sound like the hard drive is "bad", especially when you could not do anything after booting to the Recovery Partition.

Third, this link shows where you can find the Model Number, Serial Number, and EMC on an iMac:

http://www.everymac.com/mac-identif...apple-emc-numbers-for-mac-identification.html

That will not give you an exact date as to how old the machine is, but it will get you "in the ball park".

Fourth, how are you making posts here, ie, what device/machine are you using?

 

[garaborn]

Thanks, I will look. I am using my Macbook (different machine, obviously) to make this post.

 

[honestone]

You're welcome. Also, what exact Macbook machine do you have? One reason I ask is that there is a possibility you'll be able to connect the iMac to the Macbook, and boot the iMac in "Target Disk Mode". The "top" of this link describes Target Disk Mode:

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...0i13k1j0i7i30k1j0i8i7i30k1j0i30k1.rACoMggAqjs

 

[garaborn]

OK, here is the iMac I have:

 

[garaborn]

It is running El Capitan, btw.

 

[garaborn]

And this is my Macbook, which is running Sierra:

 

[honestone]

OK, the iMac has at least one Firewire 800 port, and the MacBook Pro has a Thunderbolt 2 port. It is thus possible to connect your iMac to the MacBook Pro (need a couple of items for that), and boot it in "Target Disk Mode". What will eventually happen, assuming the hard drive inside the iMac is not completely dead, is that it will appear on the MacBook Pro's desktop, and you can use Disk Utility (and any other disk tools) to analyze the drive.

The two things you'll need for this are 1) a firewire 800 cable, and 2) aThunderbolt 2 to Firewire 800 adapter. You can purchase that adapter either at an Apple store, or on Amazon. Cost is $29.95 (plus tax and/or shipping, if applicable).

 

[garaborn]

Thank you for all of your help. I will need to get an adapter and cable but will try this and let you know how it goes.