iMac 7,1 How to: check if hard disk is damaged, expand RAM, change graphic card, etc.

Hi,

I am working with an Apple iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 24-Inch.

Some weeks ago I started experiencing problems (the system gets stuck or takes long time to wake up again or the application I am using crashes) especially when saving big files (this causes waste of time as sometimes the saving process fails and I loose the work and need to restart again).

Also it became lots slower and slower.

And sometimes the files I save are corrupted (this happened with Illustrator files, PDF files created with Illustrator CS4 or just compressed files).

I would like to know:

* how can I verify if the hard disk is damaged;

* how can I verify if the CPU is damaged;

* if I can replace the graphic card with a better one (possibly an NVidia with at least 1GB RAM, instead of the current one whic is an ATI Radeon with 256MB RAM);


* if I can expand the RAM from the current 4GB to at least 10GB (is this OS and machine able to use 10GB RAM?);


* if I can replace the hard disk with a bigger and mainly faster one (possibly 10k rpm).

Is all that possible?

Thank you for any advice!!

If you want to verify and see if your hard drive is damaged then you can do so in Disk Utility. If it does need to be repaired then you need to boot from the OS X disc by holding down C when restarting with the OS disc and use Disk Utility again but this time the repair button won't be grayed out.

The graphics cards aren't upgradeable I believe but the hard drive can be although it can be hard to do so on the iMacs. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet that shows you how. I don't know much RAM your computer can take but I'm sure you can find the specs on the internet or if someone here knows offhand.

StefTM said:

I would like to know:
* how can I verify if the hard disk is damaged;

Click to expand...

I would recommend booting from install disk 1 and running Disk Utilities > First Aid from that [using DU from the hard drive has limitations]. Verify the hard drive and repair if necessary.
Note: that is not a guarantee that repairs will happen. The hard drive may be failing, and DU will inform you if it cannot effect repairs.

What Next?
If repairs cannot be done, you have the option of Disk Warrior. It can do repairs that DU cannot, but it's expensive @ ~US$100.

* how can I verify if the CPU is damaged;

Click to expand...

Disk Utility may tell you, as may Disk Warrior, but CPU damage is rare. If in fact there is a logic board failure, and that may include the CPU, then you will need to take your Mac to a qualified technician for analysis.

* if I can replace the graphic card with a better one;

Click to expand...

No.

* if I can expand the RAM from the current 4GB to at least 10GB (is this OS and machine able to use 10GB RAM?);

Click to expand...

Maximum RAM for your model of iMac is 4 Gb (2 x 2 Gb) [source: Mactracker].

* if I can replace the hard disk with a bigger and mainly faster one (possibly 10k rpm).

Click to expand...

The Western Digital Raptor is 10 K, but reports I've read suggest that the increase in access speed over a 7.5 K drive is often negligible. You can put a large SATA hard drive in your iMac, as much as 2 Tb, but read the independent reviews of whatever choice you want to make.