Sorry Mr. Jobs - It doesn't 'just work'

First let me start by stating clearly that this is not a 'PCs are better than Macs, or vice versa' post. This ridiculous argument has been going on for years, and is a completely futile waste of time. You may as well argue that 'Fords are better than Vauxhalls' or 'Mars bars are better than Snickers'. Each have their merits and failings, and everyone is entitled to their opinions (usually unwavering).

After almost 30 years of using computers, both Macs and PCs, I finally purchased my first Mac a few weeks back. Although I have used Macs for work I have always purchased PCs for my freelance work, mainly because there are software packages that I HAVE to use which are unavailable for the Mac. When my XP box became due for replacement the iMac, with it's much vaunted, ability to run both OS's seemed the ideal solution for me.

I duly purchased a 2.4 Ghz 24" iMac (new aluminum model) with 2Gb RAM. The first one was returned immediately with several dead pixels on the screen. The replacement came with Tiger installed . I duly purchased the Leopard upgrade from Apple and a brand new XP Pro disc with SP2 (oem - but not tied to a particular make). When the Leopard upgrade disc arrived my iMac could not find it in the drive. A quick check revealed that it could not find the Tiger discs in the drive either. After a call to Apple support I managed to upgrade to Leopard by holding down the 'c' key during power-up and booting from the Leopard upgrade disc.

I ran boot camp and created a partition for XP, but the installation failed with an error that suggested that the disc was not SP2. I know it definitely is. I tried again with an existing XP Home SP2 disc from my old machine -same again. I then tried an install using VMWare Fusion... same problem. In desperation, I tried using Fusion to install Windows 98SE from an original disc, and even '95 with USB support, anything to get some form of Windows on the iMac so I could start earning money again. These failed because Fusion could not find the boot discs.

I now feel that I have the most impressive looking paperweight in the world. I am sure things will get sorted eventually (fingers crossed), but please Mr. Jobs, don't keep filling my TV screen with patronizing ads telling me Macs 'just work', because they don't, any more than all Fords 'just go' or all Snickers bars just 'taste great'.

You have a dud Mac. That is all I can say at this point as that is not normal behavior at all. I would call Apple and tell them what is up and demand something be done. If it will not even read and mount a Factory Leopard DVD, there is something VERY wrong there. Sorry you had issues with your first Mac. Hope you get it sorted and please let us know what is done to fix your issue.

After that gets sorted out then try to install XP again.

I do feel that all Snickers bars taste good though! Sorry I just could not resist. Duds happen with any product.

Yup you sure do have a dud. Apple support is one of the best i've delt with so if you pop it in to a Store or phone them up they will replace it i'm sure. Sadly you have been sent two dud machines your one of the unlucky small percentage.
At least my first Macbook lasted a few months before dying
But no take it in or phone them up and they will sort it out, let us know how you get on.

Keep in mind that your primary complaint revolves around getting Windows to install on your Mac. Although it's possible, and usually is a fairly smooth process, the Mac experience is not designed around running Windows. It's a perk of the conversion over to Intel processors. I'm not sure using this issue alone to refute the "It just works" claim makes a lot of sense. If you were having issues in OS X, that would be another story. Perhaps this thread should be addressed to Steve Ballmer or Bill Gates?

You need to use a retail or non-branded OEM disc with SP2 integrated. Versions older than XP are not supported, although they may be in Fusion. If you're using a version that has a PC manufacturer logo on it, and not the Microsoft holograms, it's probably not going to work.

On the other hand, seeing as how you can't seem to get Fusion to see the discs properly either, my bet would be that you have a faulty optical drive. Are the discs clean and free of scratches?

iMac - Sorry Mr.Sooty - It's just that you're unlucky enough to get a dud iMac.

Coming back to the topic, I feel there's a high likelihood you got a dud iMac. Ring up the Apple guys and tell them about the problems and it'll "just work" when they offer to replace it for you. Yeap. This problem is highly unusual though.

Sooty57 said:

I duly purchased a 2.4 Ghz 24" iMac (new aluminum model) with 2Gb RAM. The first one was returned immediately with several dead pixels on the screen. The replacement came with Tiger installed . I duly purchased the Leopard upgrade from Apple. . . .

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Why did you have to purchase Leopard? It should have been free, especially if the first machine was loaded with Leopard. Phone Apple about this, and get your money back.

I don't know about Leopard, but Tiger has a choice under Preferences, in the menu bar, to show CDs, DVDs and iPods on the desktop. If that choice exists with Leopard, it might be turned off.

Since you brought it up. Mars bars are better than Snickers.

rman said:

Since you brought it up. Mars bars are better than Snickers.

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Wunderbar.





As Brown Study pointed out, if you bought your iMac after October 1st you were supposed to get Leopard free and if the first iMac had Leopard on it, they replaced it with an older OS installed on it. You are entitled to Leopard free of charge. Give Apple a ring, this is not right.

rman said:

Mars bars are better than Snickers.

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Especially deep fried, I'd bet. You can google the recipe. (I haven't tried it.)

Brown Study said:

Especially deep fried, I'd bet. You can google the recipe. (I haven't tried it.)

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OMG. You can actually do that?

Suicide by cholesterol.

I can pretty much guarantee a fat American came up with that idea.

No a fat Scot did

Well, can we take the credit for deep fried cheese?

Yes please do

Sooty57 said:

When the Leopard upgrade disc arrived my iMac could not find it in the drive. A quick check revealed that it could not find the Tiger discs in the drive either.

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I second (third, fourth .. whatever) what others have said, that iMac has a dodgy superdrive by the sounds of it.

If you are near a store pop it in and get a new one.

My 24inch is perfectly happy running XP and is the best "PC" I've ever bought.

Amen-Moses

rman said:

Since you brought it up. Mars bars are better than Snickers.

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I used to LOVE Hershey bars till they closed their plants, laid off their employes and moved it all to Mexico!

Now it's Almond Roca all the way for me!