My iMac Desktop has "died"

[dannyboy22]

When reading an article of my desktop (12 years old) I heard a loud noise and my screen went blank, upon checking I found all sockets on that circuit were not working and found the switch in the main fuse board had tripped. Once this was reset all items connected to other sockets were working except for the Mac, I checked the fuse in the plug and found that it no longer worked so replaced this but the Mac would still not switch on (I rechecked the fuse I had put in and that that showed to be OK on my meter).
Having researched past queries on Mac Forums and Google, suggestions were made in pressing various keys in sequence for the System Management Controller and the Parameter Random Access Memory, I tried both of these without success.
Clearly the Mac at 12 years old was near the end of its life so does anyone have any suggestions i.e. is it worth sending for repair or would this not be viable given its age, I also have information on the hard drive that I would like to recover, some will be on the Cloud and other should be on my external hard disk backed up by Time Machine, so in any event I would need to get a repairer to remove the internal hard drive as a further back up.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

There must have been a surge and the logicboard likely got fried if the fuse tripped. It's always good to plug electronics into surge protectors to avoid that problem.

It is definitely not worth sending off to repair since that'll be the bulk of the price of a new iMac.

 

[Slydude]

It is definitely not worth sending off to repair since that'll be the bulk of the price of a new iMac.

I would have to agree there.

@dannyboy22 FWIW This was my course of action in a similar situation (replaced and aging but functioning 2015 iMac):
1. Purchase whatever new Mac is in budget that meets your needs. Even a used M-series Mac (assuming it in good working order) is going to smoke your iMac,

Many of the M-series Macs are not likely to have the same amount of drive storage as your iMac. I solved that issue by purchasing an external SSD and boot my Mac Mini from there.

2. Start reloading your information from backups/cloud storage.

3. I wouldn't even consider sending it out to salvage the drive unless you discover that important files are on there that are not found in your backups. Only you Weill be able to decide whether removing the old drive is worth the expense.

EDIT: Edited for clarification

 

[Slydude]

There are a couple of things I just thought of that might be important factors in your decision about what to do with the iMac drive/

Scenario One: Your Mac has a standard hard drive that is still intact. You might be able to get the drive removed relatively cheaply or even do it yourself. The drive could then be placed in an external case and used as is or at least salvage the data.

Scenario Two: Standard drive but there has been directory structure damage. Once the drive is removed, Disk First Aid (included with the new Mac) might be able to solve this if you're really lucky. There is some third-party recovery software such as Disk Drill but these programs are not cheap, may/may not work, and are a time-consuming PITA IMHO. That is not a knock on any company/software. It's a function of the fact that this is not an easy thing to do.

Scenario Three: The Fusion Drive. Some iMacs have drives that combine a chip which stores some data for speed/easy access and the rest of the data is on a traditional drive. I think recovering this drive is a professional job at best. The OS had control over what data was placed where so it's a real toss up.

 

[Rod]

I agree with all of the above posts. Not worth repair. Once you get a replacement you may be surprised at how much of your data is restored from iCloud assuming you had all the boxes ticked. The rest of your docs and data can be restored at the setup stage of your new device where it asks "do you want to restore data from another source." Say yes and tick all boxes. This will include 3rd party apps and their data as well as your Documents, downloads, photos ect.
Personally, if you can afford it I'd suggest a refurbished 14" or 16" Mac Book rather than a desktop because of thier portability and availability. Of course that's up to you.

 

[dannyboy22]

There must have been a surge and the logicboard likely got fried if the fuse tripped. It's always good to plug electronics into surge protectors to avoid that problem.

It is definitely not worth sending off to repair since that'll be the bulk of the price of a new iMac.

I agree with all of the above posts. Not worth repair. Once you get a replacement you may be surprised at how much of your data is restored from iCloud assuming you had all the boxes ticked. The rest of your docs and data can be restored at the setup stage of your new device where it asks "do you want to restore data from another source." Say yes and tick all boxes. This will include 3rd party apps and their data as well as your Documents, downloads, photos ect.
Personally, if you can afford it I'd suggest a refurbished 14" or 16" Mac Book rather than a desktop because of thier portability and availability. Of course that's up to you.

 

[dannyboy22]

Thanks everyone for the valuable advice and guidelines.
Comment for Ashwin - the plug from the desktop was connected via a surge protector to the main power - maybe that failed in this instance?
It appears the consensus is that a repair is not an economical route to go and I think I was already arriving at that conclusion but had't yet checked the price for repair.
Rod's view for a 14/16" Mac Book is interesting so I'll check that out.
RazOrEdge's suggestion on M series Macs is interesting too, I don't about these so will need to research.
Thanks once again for everyone's comments and your valuable insight.
Ken

 

[Slydude]

I used a MacBook Pro as my primary computer for about 7 years and really liked it. I only stopped when I got the iMac. If you choose that route here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. If it's Bluetooth your iMac keyboard and mouse should work with the new Mac. Even wired keyboards should work although an adapter may be needed.

2. For ergonomic reasons I found it more comfortable to use an external keyboard and mouse when at my desk.

3. I picked up a monitor to use as a second screen. The extra screen real estate was nice. I usually had one app open on the computer screen (e.g email) and my main app being used on the larger external monitor. Macs handle this well.

4. Depending upon the number of peripherals that you need to attach a good hub may be needed.

The good news is that a Mac laptop can be used as a functional desk machine without absolutely adding these extras. You can take your time and decide which accessories best suit your workflow/situation.

 

[Rod]

I might add, when I referred to a MacBook I was thinking of the Silicon models. Intel is well dead now, I have a 500GB 14" M1 MBP and I think it's terrific, my wife has am M3 1TB 16" MBA which is even better and the M4 is already out there.

 

[Rod]

So coupled with what ydude said you should be able to pick up a refurbished M1 like mine at a pretty reasonable price.
Then you'll definitely have a few questions for us

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Thanks everyone for the valuable advice and guidelines.
Comment for Ashwin - the plug from the desktop was connected via a surge protector to the main power - maybe that failed in this instance?
It appears the consensus is that a repair is not an economical route to go and I think I was already arriving at that conclusion but had't yet checked the price for repair.
Rod's view for a 14/16" Mac Book is interesting so I'll check that out.
RazOrEdge's suggestion on M series Macs is interesting too, I don't about these so will need to research.
Thanks once again for everyone's comments and your valuable insight.
Ken

The surge protector has it's own fuse so if that didn't trip, then that's confusing that the iMac would be affected.

Either way, you've gotten your money's worth out of that iMac and the M series of Macs are leaps and bounds more performant than the Intel based Macs.

As long as you aren't using a very specific set of applications, the upgrade to Apple Silicon will be completely opaque to you.

 

[MacBiter]

I just want to add that your HDD is probably ok - the logic board or the starter circuit are the most likely fried. If you had valuable data on the drive it's worth trying to retrieve it, first by connecting to another Mac and seeing if it's 'seen'.

 

[dannyboy22]

I just want to add that your HDD is probably ok - the logic board or the starter circuit are the most likely fried. If you had valuable data on the drive it's worth trying to retrieve it, first by connecting to another Mac and seeing if it's 'seen'.

Thanks for your comments, I assume you mean removing the hard drive and connecting to a second Mac device to check if readable? I've arranged with our local Mac repairer to remove the screen next week and check if there is an obvious fault which can be fixed at a reasonable cost (unlikely) and if not to remove the hard drive for me. Then I need to make a decision. on the replacement and will review all the advice given to me via the previous posts from everyone.

 

[Slydude]

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Thanks for your comments, I assume you mean removing the hard drive and connecting to a second Mac device to check if readable? I've arranged with our local Mac repairer to remove the screen next week and check if there is an obvious fault which can be fixed at a reasonable cost (unlikely) and if not to remove the hard drive for me. Then I need to make a decision. on the replacement and will review all the advice given to me via the previous posts from everyone.

Yes. I believe that's what he meant. I have an external drive reader I keep around for just such tasks.

 

[MacBiter]

¡⁄⁄⁄¡⁄⁄

Yes. I believe that's what he meant. I have an external drive reader I keep around for just such tasks.

Sorry for delay - yes, that's what I meant .

 

[dannyboy22]

Thanks once again to all who provided advice & recommendation on the sudden "death" of my iMac.
A quick update I took it for a check at our local "Mac specialist" repair shop who after a couple of weeks testing was unable to find the fault and as requested returned the iMac with the hard drive removed for me to see what was salvageable.
The good news was that I could see and open all my Document files, previous saved folders of photographs from an earlier computer, my Downloads, my Music and Applications.
However what I haven't yet been able to locate are: Bookmarks/Reading List from Safari and my Emails (other than previously saved email folders),
I can locate a series of folders for the Calendar in the Library but these have a .plist extension for the file which when clicked shows "no application to open" (I haven't had time to check the App Store to see what is available).
If I click on Contacts or Photos in Applications it seems to default to those current files on the Mac. computer I'm using to read the external iMac hard drive on rather than the drive itself.
Any further explanation on why I can't find some of the files mentioned above would be much appreciated.

 

[pm-r]

Any further explanation on why I can't find some of the files mentioned above would be much appreciated.

I cannot explain why apples finder is not able to locate your missing files but I find it is not an unusual experience at least with my use.

In such cases, I turn to using Find Any File.app:

Find Any File

findanyfile.app

Then, try using some of its various options for the file type you are looking for.

PS: don't forget to try searching for invisible or hidden files.



- Patrick
=======

 

[MacBiter]

Your ‘missing’ files should be in ~/Library/Safari and ~/Library/Mail - can you see those folders?.

 

[Slydude]

I cannot explain why apples finder is not able to locate your missing files but I find it is not an unusual experience at least with my use.

In such cases, I turn to using Find Any File.app:

Find Any File

findanyfile.app

Then, try using some of its various options for the file type you are looking for.

PS: don't forget to try searching for invisible or hidden files.



- Patrick
=======

Your ‘missing’ files should be in ~/Library/Safari and ~/Library/Mail - can you see those folders?.

@Patrick, I think @MacBiter has pointed to why the Finder cannot search those files. For the last few years Apple has pretty much walled off those user files to reduce the number of issues. Very helpful if you're trying to prevent problems but not so good if someone needs to access the files and doesn't know how to do so.

Since you have access to the original drive I think it would be possible to access it from Migration Assistant but I won't be able to check till later today.

If that does not work we should still be able to make sure those files are checked. I won't be able to confirm this till later today.

 

[dannyboy22]

I cannot explain why apples finder is not able to locate your missing files but I find it is not an unusual experience at least with my use.

In such cases, I turn to using Find Any File.app:

Find Any File

findanyfile.app

Then, try using some of its various options for the file type you are looking for.

PS: don't forget to try searching for invisible or hidden files.



- Patrick
=======

Thanks Patrick - I've been checking through other folders/files on the old HD including invisible/missing file search but so far no joy.
I still to check further with your suggestion of Find Any File App and will follow up soon.