hard drive problem with 24" iMac

Joined
Sep 21, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I have a three or four year old 24" iMac running OS X 10.5.8. Last night as I was using it I noticed some odd sounds coming from within the computer. It sounded like small parts moving around. Probably not the optical drive and not something I've ever heard before. I was on skype with someone at the time and he commented on it as well. The noise was intermittent for a few minutes and then stopped. It worried me but I didn't think too much of it. I put the computer to sleep and went to bed about an hour later. The next day I started it up and everything was still working fine. This time I shut it down completely before leaving the house. When I got back and started it up again, everything was lagging very heavily. Start up taking forever, actions delaying, applications not responding, etc. I was finally able to get Onyx open. One of it's initial checks told me that the disc needed some kind of repair and that I should boot with the OS X install disc and try reinstalling the OS. I did that and chose to reinstall while keeping old files. That failed right off because of a problem with the disc. The disc is totally fine, not a scratch on it. After that it wouldn't boot at all. Just gray screen and eventually turning off. I took a break and have it booted now with the same lag problems. Disk Utility is open and I've tried verifying the disc. Here are the errors it gave:

"Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid node structure

The volume needs to be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed."

The "repair disc" button is still grayed out. So right now I'm attempting to repair permissions to see if that does anything. Do any of you have any idea what could be wrong and what my next step should be? Sorry for the long post and I appreciate any advice you might have to offer.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
7,163
Reaction score
275
Points
83
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini i5 (2014 High Sierra), iPhone X, Apple Watch, iPad Pro 12.9, AppleTV (4)
Boot from your OSX disk and run disk utility to repair the disk from there, no need to re-install
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Welcome to the Mac Forums.

First try what member "mrplow" suggested. However, based on experience an "invalid node" structure error usually means the hard drive is failing or has already suffered damage. Sometimes it can be repaired, sometimes not.

You may be faced with having to use data recovery software if you have not been making backups. Let us know.
 
OP
K
Joined
Sep 21, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks for the responses. I just tried booting from the install disc (holding c) and running disc utility from there. Unfortunately repairing the disc failed. It returned the same errors as before, plus "volume check failed". If the drive is in fact failing, do you think it's likely I won't have long before I can access it at all? I'm going to try to move some stuff off of it as I have files I'd like to save. After that I'll try erasing everything and reinstalling. Any other suggestions?
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Messages
314
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
NYC
Your Mac's Specs
Late 2015 27" iMac, 3.3ghz, M395 gpu, 2tb Fusion, 8gb
Any other suggestions?

Buy a new drive. You can't trust a drive once it starts to fail like that. My hard drive was making a clicking sound and would not mount on boot. When I booted from my install DVD I couldn't see the drive. I bought a new disk and before I went to install it I booted again from the install disk and somehow the old hard drive reappeared. I did the verify and it checked out OK.

I still didn't trust it and installed the new drive instead. Replacing a hard drive in an iMac is not such an easy thing, but it did work when it was all done. I didn't just install a hard drive either, I put an SSD inside and that thing just flies. If you are going to open up your iMac, put one of these in. Use an external drive to store your videos/music. Photos will load much faster from an SSD, but you wouldn't want to put too many on it. Video and music all run much slower than hard drive speed in real time so speed isn't important with these unless you are also editing/transcoding them.

I hope you have a backup.
 
OP
K
Joined
Sep 21, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I'm afraid I have no idea how to open up an iMac and do any of that. I would probably have to pay a repair shop to install anything that isn't RAM (does anyone work on Macs besides Apple Stores?) and that could get expensive I'm sure. I may just end up ordering a new 27" iMac. Do you think it would really be worth the trouble to hang onto my old one if the drive is toast? I should also mention that the optical drive has been acting up for some time. It reads fine but sometimes takes a few inserts and ejects to get there. Out of curiosity, did you install OS X on the solid state or the normal drive?

I should have backed up my files ages ago, but I'm transferring important files right now. Live and learn. 65GB of music and photos. It's crawling along and could take a day or two at this rate. Could anyone hazard a guess as to the likelihood of things working again if I reformat and do a fresh install?
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Could anyone hazard a guess as to the likelihood of things working again if I reformat and do a fresh install?

After you complete backing up your data, it won't hurt to give it a try, however, chances are it will do the same thing.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
What state are you in Kyle? I am a computer tech and work on Macs. If you were somehow close, I would say bring it here with a new drive and I will put it in.

There are a couple of Mac Fourms members within 50 miles or me or less. I was shocked.


My close friend bought a used 24" iMac and he did NOT plug the iMac into any kind of surge protector leave alone UPS. A Line Transformer (On the pole out back) blew and caused a surge. After that his mac got the ? screen. The surge took out the controller board on the hard drive! We bought a new WD Black 1TB and I installed it and put on 10.6. You can bet he now owns a UPS after that one! :D
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
The surge took out the controller board on the hard drive! We bought a new WD Black 1TB and I installed it and put on 10.6. You can bet he now owns a UPS after that one!

Lady luck was smiling on him that day if all he lost was the controller board on the HD. Those kinds of surges usually do much more damage.

Had a friend of mine go through the same thing and he lost TV sets, and a couple of major appliances in his home. The sad part was that the electric company would not pay for any of the damage. He had to claim it under his home owner's policy.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Lady luck was smiling on him that day if all he lost was the controller board on the HD. Those kinds of surges usually do much more damage.

Had a friend of mine go through the same thing and he lost TV sets, and a couple of major appliances in his home. The sad part was that the electric company would not pay for any of the damage. He had to claim it under his home owner's policy.

That is very true. I was shocked his who 24" iMac was not toast. His wife blamed the MAC as she called it. :D People.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Messages
314
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
NYC
Your Mac's Specs
Late 2015 27" iMac, 3.3ghz, M395 gpu, 2tb Fusion, 8gb
I'm afraid I have no idea how to open up an iMac and do any of that. I would probably have to pay a repair shop to install anything that isn't RAM (does anyone work on Macs besides Apple Stores?) and that could get expensive I'm sure. I may just end up ordering a new 27" iMac. Do you think it would really be worth the trouble to hang onto my old one if the drive is toast? I should also mention that the optical drive has been acting up for some time. It reads fine but sometimes takes a few inserts and ejects to get there. Out of curiosity, did you install OS X on the solid state or the normal drive?

I should have backed up my files ages ago, but I'm transferring important files right now. Live and learn. 65GB of music and photos. It's crawling along and could take a day or two at this rate. Could anyone hazard a guess as to the likelihood of things working again if I reformat and do a fresh install?

My iMac is 5 years old and I think it was well worth it. For my uses, it didn't make much sense to spend over a grand on a new one, and now my old mac is faster than ever. I installed Snow Leopard on the SSD, which is now my internal drive. Having a shop do it is about $150 + parts, but I did it myself. It amazes me that I had my iMac in pieces on the dining room table, and I had to leave it that way overnight, and then I re-assembled it and it worked first time. Even my kids were amazed.

Yes, lots of people work on Macs other than the Apple store.

I'd guess that it won't work again, but that's what I thought when my HD went bad, and it came back to life.
 
OP
K
Joined
Sep 21, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I came home to find most of my important files safely tranfered. So I restarted and booted with the install disc to go about erasing the drive. This time Disc Utility told me the drive reported a fatal hardware failure. I wasn't too surprised.

That's a really generous offer Travis! I would totally stop in if I was closer but I'm up near Seattle. I did look up a few guides on replacing a drive though and it looks a lot easier than I thought it would be. I imagined something like that needing more technical knowledge and specialized tools. So I'm just going to give it a go. Worst case senario I'm out the hundred or so dollars for a new drive that I can keep as a backup anyway. I just need any 3.5" internal drive, yes? I almost wish it wasn't something I could fix though, ha ha. I started looking at the current line of iMacs as well as Lion and was starting to get excited!

Two more questions. When I first bought the computer I maxed it out at 4GB of RAM. Is there a hardware limitation with my model iMac or a software limitation with my version of OS X that would prevent me from installing more? I figure if I'm upgrading the drive I might as well boost my RAM while I'm at it. Also, would upgrading to Lion or even Snow Leopard improve my machine's preformance at all? If so, would it be worth the cost? I have a 2.4 GHz duo if that matters.
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
Two more questions. When I first bought the computer I maxed it out at 4GB of RAM. Is there a hardware limitation with my model iMac or a software limitation with my version of OS X that would prevent me from installing more? I figure if I'm upgrading the drive I might as well boost my RAM while I'm at it. Also, would upgrading to Lion or even Snow Leopard improve my machine's preformance at all? If so, would it be worth the cost? I have a 2.4 GHz duo if that matters.

Your iMac can be upgraded to 6 gig of ram. Technically...matching pairs of ram are slightly faster (you probably have 2 x 2gig sticks of ram)...but if you need more ram...you probably won't notice the speed difference. To get 6 gig of ram you need a 2 gig + 4 gig sticks of ram.

HTH,

- Nick
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Is yours the White 24" or the Aluminum one? What are the exact specs?

The White 24" is easy to take apart. Mostly the screws on the bottom of the display then the front lifts forward then up and off. There is a catch at the top of the front Bezel. Once inside, you have to take off the LCD. Just be careful and first remove the LCD's plug from the main board. There are two very small Torx screws. You will need a couple of sizes of Torx drivers. When you lift the LCD be careful of the Inverter wires and unplug them before lifting it out. The rest is easy but do get the Heat Sensor off the old hard drive and on the new one.

Let me know your exact model and specs.

If yours is the new alunimium one, more of a pain. You need suction cups to get that front glass panel off and be CAREFUL! :D
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
That machine has the glass on front. They say to get pro suction cups but I was broke and my 320GB drive died and I needed the machine. So I used the little suction cup on two refrigerator thermometers and the glass lifted right up! Just be VERY careful and do one side first. There are magnets all around the glass panel. Once you get that off, same directions at White 24". Torx screws around LCD, Cable plugs into Logicboard and be careful of the LCD's inverter wires. I think the Torx are 7 or 8 for the LCD screws but 5 for that small video connector on the LCD's cable.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Messages
314
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
NYC
Your Mac's Specs
Late 2015 27" iMac, 3.3ghz, M395 gpu, 2tb Fusion, 8gb
Just be slow and methodical. The biggest issue I had was with the clips at the top. I don't know if your model is the same or similar. The other issue is the RF shielding. It is difficult to remove without ripping it. Again, your model may be different.

And if you are doing this, do yourself a favor and get an SSD instead. It was well worth the $140 additional to me. But that's your call.

Good luck.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
The Aluminum models did away with all that RFI Shielding. That made me very happy! Also on the last White 24", they did away with those latches up top! I was again very happy at that move. Such a pain on my 20" iMac G5 iSight which is built the same as your 20" Core Duo.
 
OP
K
Joined
Sep 21, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Just finished switching out the drive. Things went as smoothly as I could have hoped. I ended up getting a 1TB (ended up with 928GB usable before installing the OS) Western Digital Caviar Black. Just a larger version of the one I pulled out I believe. I decided against a solid state because of the cost and lack of size available right now. I wanted to make sure storage won't ever be an issue and don't like the idea of having to access an external drive on a regular basis.

I freaked out a bit when I booted from the install disc and the new drive didn't show up. But then I realized that I probably had to make a partition in Disc Utility first. Whew! Leopard is installing at the moment and seems to be going smoothly.

On a side note, I went to the Apple Store to pick up a copy of Snow Leopard because I like having a boxed copy and physical install discs. They don't sell boxed copies anymore! Really lame. Everything is digital now apparently. But I'm sure that's old news to all you forum regulars. Maybe I'll upgrade anyway once everything is installed and updated.
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
On a side note, I went to the Apple Store to pick up a copy of Snow Leopard because I like having a boxed copy and physical install discs. They don't sell boxed copies anymore! Really lame. Everything is digital now apparently. But I'm sure that's old news to all you forum regulars.

Yes...old news regarding the Apple Stores no longer selling Snow Leopard.;)

Order Snow Leopard from Apple.com. It ships in 3-5 days. If you're not in a hurry to get it...when the 3-5 days (+ shipping time) is over...you'll be surprised when it arrives!:)

You could try e-Bay as well.

- Nick
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top