Should I fix this iMac or buy a new one?

[DallasJayhawk]

I've got a iMac late 2012 iMac
3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
3TB Fusion Drive
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM-2X4GB
NVIDIAGeFrc GTX 680MX 2G GDDR5

Last week I couldn't get it to boot up. I took it into the Apple Store and they told me I needed a new HDD and Flash storage (which I'm assuming is the solid state Fusion portion of the hard drive) and quoted me $542 to fix it with original Apple parts.

They also told me that since the iMac is now considered vintage/obsolete that they didn't really recommend that I fix it due to lack of parts availability if anything else goes wrong with it and the lack of support via security updates.

This is my daughters computer. She uses it for various things including drawing with a Corel drawing pad and creating youtube videos.

What are my options?

1. Repair it with original equipment. I don't like this idea because the HDD is so unreliable.
2. Repair it with a new SDD. How much is that gonna cost? Is OWC the only option? I was using 1TB of the 3TB I had installed.
3. Is a bootable external SDD an option or do I need to have an internally bootable computer to pull that off? What would be the advantages of it if I could do it?
4. What is the downside to running a computer that can't get security updates?
5. Should I just give up on the iMac?
6. If I give up on it is it worth anything to anybody else in it's current condition (excellent shape but needs new HDD and Flash storage)?
7. Any other options that I am too ignorant to know about yet?

Thanks is advance. I'd appreciate any advice at all.

 

[ferrarr]

Just as an FYI, an Apple Fusion drive is actually two drives, an SSD and an HDD. Apple uses software to see the drives as one unit. In a 3TD fusion drive, the SSD portion is 128GB, and the HDD is 3TB.

Since the iMac is 2012, you can upgrade the OS version up to macOS Mojave 10.14, and it will continue to receive security updates for at least 2 more years. Just saying.

 

[chscag]

Are you handy with fixing things yourself? The 2012 iMac is a bit difficult to get inside and do any swapping out of a hard drive but it can be done. You might want to consider doing the work yourself and just replacing the Fusion drive combo with a pure SSD instead.

You can check the procedure for doing the work yourself at iFixit: The Free Repair Manual. They have detailed step by step instructions. You can also order a temperature sensing bypass kit from OWC (you will need that otherwise the fans will run full speed).

I believe you can save a considerable amount of money by doing the work yourself and like Bob stated above, your 2012 will still receive security updates for several years. And you can upgrade it to Mojave.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

+1 for replacing the Fusion drive with a single SSD. As Bob said, the 2012 iMac can uprade to Mojave and that will cover you for a little while. When the machine reaches about 10 years, you can look into upgrading to a newer machine.

 

[dtravis7]

Agreed completely with Bob and Charlie. I own a 21.5" late 2012 iMac and I can assure everyone that the new Mac OS Catalina that is coming out the end of this year runs great on the late 2012 iMac so that will give you even more years of upgrades.

Also agree with Charlie about iFixit.

Apple flat out lied to you about no software updates. That is a lie. I have been beta testing for Apple now for years and am on the i5 version of that same machine running the yet to be released new Mac OS.

To answer your OWC question, it's not the only place but for a Mac it's the best place to get parts as anything they sell has been tested and is guaranteed to work on your Mac and if you have issues they will stand behind what they sell.

Also if you do get that kit to take it apart from ifixit, I would also while in there to up the RAM to 16 GB. I on my late 2012 also have 8GB and I find with the new OS Catalina that 8 is sometimes lacking.

 

[krs]

I have never owned an iMac myself, but from what I read, this model is a 27-inch one where the RAM upgrade is relatively easy.
That is something the OP could do himself for sure.

To get things up and running right away, one could just get an external drive and install the OS on it and run the iMac that way at least for the time being.
And in the meantime shop around for an internal drive replacement and a reliable 3rd party local place to do the repair if the OP is not comfortable doing it himself.

I also agree with everyone, certainly a great machine worthfixing if all that is wrong is the internal drive.

 

[MacInWin]

Two thoughts: 1. You could upgrade to a smaller internal SSD (256, 512 GB) and then get a large external drive to store the projects your daughter creates.
2. Before you take the plunge and upgrade the version of the OS, you might want to check that the Corel product and all of the software she uses is supported in newer versions. But once upgraded, you should get years of use from that machine.

 

[pm-r]

1. You could upgrade to a smaller internal SSD...

And avoid using any Apple Fusion drive!!!

I'm sure that harryb will conrm that suggestion as well.



- Patrick
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[badshoehabit]

They also told me that since the iMac is now considered vintage/obsolete that they didn't really recommend that I fix it.


They would say that, wouldn't they...

 

[JeffL]

I too have a 21.5" Late 2012 iMac and my question is, should I stick with Mojave as I am currently not having any problems (the good folks on here helped sort my problems a while back) or should I install Catalina? I note that Dennis mentions above that the 8GB Ram is sometimes lacking, but maybe he uses his for more sophisticated things than I do? I just use mine for email, various website searches, banking etc, play YouTube videos, create documents, store photos and use Calendar. No game playing etc. I don't have any 32bit applications, so that's not a problem. I think I'm correct in saying that Catalina offers additional security features? Looking forward to your thoughts. Thank you

 

[chscag]

Upgrading to Catalina should be okay for you although staying with Mojave is likewise okay. Upping the memory in your iMac is a major undertaking requiring disassembly of the machine to gain access to the memory slots. As long as you're not into doing intense graphic work or movie production editing, the 8GB you have should suffice.

 

[Rod]

No, Catalina does not offer more security features as far as online presence goes but there is more internal security. The noticeable aspect of that being that the operating system has been separated from user data. If you view the Macintosh HD in Disk Utility it now appears as two separate volumes in one. Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD-Data. So in brief the implication is less chance of the user corrupting the System by downloading or installing malicious software.
Personally I would stick with Mojave, at least for now. Obviously it works, its current, still compatible with 32bit apps, still syncs iOS devices through the Music app, it's very stable unlike Catalina which still may have a few bugs and won't put your existing HD under the stress of being rewritten again for the upgrade.


Sent from my iPhone using Mac-Forums

 

[JeffL]

Upgrading to Catalina should be okay for you although staying with Mojave is likewise okay. Upping the memory in your iMac is a major undertaking requiring disassembly of the machine to gain access to the memory slots. As long as you're not into doing intense graphic work or movie production editing, the 8GB you have should suffice.

Thank you. I'll stay with Mojave!

 

[JeffL]

No, Catalina does not offer more security features as far as online presence goes but there is more internal security. The noticeable aspect of that being that the operating system has been separated from user data. If you view the Macintosh HD in Disk Utility it now appears as two separate volumes in one. Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD-Data. So in brief the implication is less chance of the user corrupting the System by downloading or installing malicious software.
Personally I would stick with Mojave, at least for now. Obviously it works, its current, still compatible with 32bit apps, still syncs iOS devices through the Music app, it's very stable unlike Catalina which still may have a few bugs and won't put your existing HD under the stress of being rewritten again for the upgrade.


Sent from my iPhone using Mac-Forums

Thank you. I'll stay with Mojave!

 

[JeffL]

As I'm staying with Mojave could you please advise if it is possible (and how to do it) to remove the annoying daily reminder on my screen to do the upgrade? Thank you.

 

[IWT]

@JeffL

I can supply links to articles which describe how to achieve this.

NB - All use Terminal and this is not a utility you should use if you are unaccustomed to writing code. Moreover, I am Terminal-shy and have not tried this.

The responsibility is yours.

Here are the articles, all saying much the same:

How To Turn Off Catalina Update Notifications (Prompts & Badges) - macReports
How to stop getting a reminder to update to Catalina in macOS | Macworld
How to Stop Catalina Software Update Notification on Mac? - iPhone Topics

Ian

 

[JeffL]

@JeffL

I can supply links to articles which describe how to achieve this.

NB - All use Terminal and this is not a utility you should use if you are unaccustomed to writing code. Moreover, I am Terminal-shy and have not tried this.

The responsibility is yours.

Here are the articles, all saying much the same:

How To Turn Off Catalina Update Notifications (Prompts & Badges) - macReports
How to stop getting a reminder to update to Catalina in macOS | Macworld
How to Stop Catalina Software Update Notification on Mac? - iPhone Topics

Ian

Thanks for the links but as you say probably not a good idea for the inexperienced to use Terminal.

 

[chscag]

Thanks for the links but as you say probably not a good idea for the inexperienced to use Terminal.

Actually, it's very easy. You can not mess anything up as long as you copy what I show you below and enter it into the terminal.

Select: Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal.app

When the terminal opens, type (copy and paste) in the following after the prompt:

sudo softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina"

Then press return.

If you're asked for your Admin password, type that in. It will not appear as you type.

Press return.

Type in exit. Then shut the terminal.

You're finished, Catalina won't bother you again. If you decide later you want Catalina, come back and we'll show you how to turn the nags back on.

 

[JeffL]

Actually, it's very easy. You can not mess anything up as long as you copy what I show you below and enter it into the terminal.

Select: Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal.app

When the terminal opens, type (copy and paste) in the following after the prompt:

sudo softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina"

Then press return.

If you're asked for your Admin password, type that in. It will not appear as you type.

Press return.

Type in exit. Then shut the terminal.

You're finished, Catalina won't bother you again. If you decide later you want Catalina, come back and we'll show you how to turn the nags back on.

Thank you

 

[pm-r]

Thank you. I'll stay with Mojave!

Good choice and decision and good suggestions I'd say and agree - stay with Mojave:

Upgrading to Catalina should be okay for you although staying with Mojave is likewise okay.

No, Catalina does not offer more security features as far as online presence goes but there is more internal security.

- Patrick
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