Novice Mid-2010 21.5 inch iMac refurb advice required!

Hello Hello!

This is my first thread post so please go easy on me!

I own a mid-2010 21.5 inch iMac, 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3, 4GB 1333Mhz, 500GB Serial ATA Drive (EMC 2389).

The situation:

• I bought the iMac new at the end of 2010 and used it consistently for 5 years whilst at uni.
• Then due to personal circumstances, it has mostly sat in its box for the last 3 years.
• Last year I started it up (was quite unresponsive) but I managed to install Yosemite and complete a factory reset, but wasnt having much luck with the responsiveness of the machine and it went back in the box again due to my personal circumstances (moving around etc.)

Now, I have settled and have some time to get it up and running properly again - as I am sure everyone knows, iMacs are expensive and I really want to make the most of this bit of kit, and also want to fix it myself rather than shipping it off to some service.

I have purchased 2 x 4GB RAM as I think this will boost performance anyway, but at the moment I can't even really get the iMac running at all to even have a go at sorting the system out.

I am concerned that I may have carried out my factory reset incorrectly - I genuinely cant remember how I did it.

Currently, when I switch my iMac on, it can take up to half an hour to reach the login screen, then another half an hour to login, and even when you're in, the rainbow wheel is constant and clicking on anything is a waste of time as nothing will load up.

I have tried some combinations of 'clean install's etc. but these never get past any of the initial stages (i.e. when i did it via the internet, i chose my connection, it moved to the next stage and always gets stuck on the loading bar at the very beginning, and the iMac itself gets very hot).

I would really appreciate any and all of the advice available from all you Mac experts out there because now I am settled I would really like to get using my machine properly!

Please feel free to be as patronizing as you please, I am admittedly not very 'tech-savvy' so explaining things would be very useful.

Many thanks in advance for any and all help!

Chris

Do you have the original discs that came with your iMac? Those discs would have Mac OS X Snow Leopard along with iLife and a Hardware Test (on Applications Install Disc 2) for your Mac.

It sounds like there is an issue with your HDD. Maybe leave it on, and see this Apple Support Document to narrow down where the issuing is?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203161

Unfortunately I don't have the original disks that came with the Mac. (face->palm)

Is there any other way I can carry out a hardware test?

Thank you for your advice though! I will try and look at the Apple Support document to narrow down the issue.

If there is an issue with the HDD, is this something that I might be able to replace myself? (although i'm not tech savvy, I am a Mechanical Engineer and I'm not shy about fixing things - I am just savvy when it comes to their operation!) - if so what replacement HDD might you reccomend for this model?

Cheers!

Chris

See here, https://github.com/upekkha/AppleHardwareTest, for Apple Hardware test versions. You may need to try different versions, to get the right one for your Mac.

See here, https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel_21.5"_EMC_2389, for your iMac model and year repair guides. Look through the guide to replace your HDD, to see if it’s something you may want to attempt.