LOVE YOUR MAC

When I received MacFormat issue 302, I was delighted to read about rehabilitating an old iMac. I have a 2.4GHz, mid-2007 iMac with a 20-inch display, a 1TB hard drive (which is less than half full) and 4GB memory, and running OS X 10.6.8. For some time now it has been overheating, and when asked to do anything it freezes up with the spinning beach ball.

It can take several minutes to open apps, and frequently the grey screen appears saying to power down. I have repaired permissions and the drive using Disk Utility with no noticeable improvement. None of the permissions are what they should be. Over the last few years I’ve been a regular customer at different Apple repairers. Results are only temporary, slight improvements, and the problems are just getting worse.

Like me, the machine is old and tired. But do I need to pension it off, or can it be given a reprieve? I didn’t really want to go for a new Mac as I like the amount of ports available on this one.

by PETER WHICKMAN

ALAN SAYS…

First, check your drive’s SMART status in Disk Utiilty; something other than ‘Verified’ means the drive’s on its way out. SMART only senses some types of trouble, though. The recurring grey screen could be due to a memory fault. Run Apple Hardware Test (refer to apple.co/2b3FhpK). Overheating may be due to clogged-up fans, or even a faulty power supply unit; part of the front of my old 2008 iMac got exceptionally hot due to that. If you go for service again, ask whether the PSU is explicitly tested.