Desperate iMac help

I have a early 2008 intel 24 inch snow leapord iMac..a few weeks ago the screen started to flicker really badly so I turned it off and let it sit for awhile..a few hours later I turned it on and got the image below and at this point it wouldn't even get past the white screen..so I unplugged it and let it sit for a day or so..when I turned it back on it started up like normal and everything seemed like it was 100%...after a hour or so the screen started to flicker again and the whole thing froze..so now I know it's more or less shot all I want to do is get it to the desktop once more so I can do a time machine backup before I take it in..i let it sit unplugged for about a week and a half and just yesterday I turned it on and after a few tries it went straight to the desktop w.o any issues..but that lasted for 10 mins only cause now all I get is the screen below and it's running really hot..ugh please tell me there is a way I can get one last backup in...target disk mode was suggested to me but all I have access to is a iPad and a windows pc w. USB only

I know you said you don't have access to another Mac but perhaps a friend has one that you can borrow to make the backup?

BTW, it looks like your iMac may have a bad graphics processor or it's possible the CPU fan has failed causing the problem. If the CPU fan fails or any of the three fans fail, you'll get overheating.

Perhaps a solution is to download and install this fan control

Download smcFanControl for Mac - Control Intel Mac fans to make them run cooler. MacUpdate.com

It will allow you to increase the default fan controls and keep the GPU cooler. I have our fans set to about 2500 rpm and it allows this white iMac to survive another day.

I figured it has to be something with the fans it was running really hot when it did work for those 10 mins...If I can get it back on I will Definatley try that app thanks...this might be a really stupid question but would a USB to FireWire cable or adapter work for target disk mode...something like this Amazon.com: HDE 4 ft/ 1.2m USB 2.0 to 4-Pin FireWire IEEE 1394 Cable: Electronics ????

Ugh I just read the customer reviews on that link..I knew it was stupid/ to good to be true...I think what I might do is just buy a fire wire card and install it on my parents pc then use target disk mode to do a backup..and install the fan app..then I can take it into the apple store..I'm all ears if anyone has any other suggestions..thank you to those who did reply

You can't use Target Mode from a PC to a Mac or vice versa. You need two Macs, so save your money.

Why not open up the iMac and see if perhaps you can either remove the hard drive or maybe even fix the fan(s) yourself?

See the instructions for doing so at iFixit: The free repair manual. You'll need two glass pullers (suckers) and a torx set of drivers.

I have apple care until November..wouldn't that void it?...Someone told me on another forum that I can use target mode on a pc as long as I install Mac drive

Shameinyou said:

I have apple care until November..wouldn't that void it?...Someone told me on another forum that I can use target mode on a pc as long as I install Mac drive

Click to expand...

Do you have a TM backup of any recent vintage?
If so, I would use a USB stick to grab any photos or other files that have changed since your last backup and then send it in as is and not worry about it. Unlikely to lose any data unless they replace the HD or do a clean install, neither of which seems likely to me from your symptoms.

Ten minutes is way to short to do a TM backup as you know, but if you are manually transferring only a few high value files, 10 minutes is a lot of time.

Really good question about TDM and MacDrive... if the PC has a FireWire port, then theoretically, since TDM turns the Mac into a dumb hard drive, it should mount on a PC with MacDrive or similar HFS+ translator. If someone has access to a Firewire enabled PC and wants to try this out, that would be cool.

Shameinyou said:

I have apple care until November..wouldn't that void it?...Someone told me on another forum that I can use target mode on a pc as long as I install Mac drive

Click to expand...

You didn't mention at first that you had Apple care. Different ball game.

Make an appointment with your local Apple store and take it on in to the genius bar. Let the tech know that you need to backup the drive. Make sure you take along a spare external hard drive to backup to. Sometimes if they're not busy, they'll do it for you as a favor. Plenty of Macs around the Apple store to do a Target Mode backup. Let us know.