iMac Won’t start up

Question

iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118

Model A1174 with 2 GHz Core Duo or Model A1207 with 2.16 or 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo

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Ciel Udbjørg @cieludbjoerg

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2

crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Maw 29, 2025

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iMac Won’t start up

I had my trusty old flea market find, an iMac A1207 (late 2006)

standing around, powered up, probably asleep, when it started to boot and reboot and reboot, but not the whole deep "BONGG" but a cut-off "Bong...Bong...". It kept repeating until I shut it down with the power button. I managed twice to get it in Target Mode, but it froze up, after a while, both times. I once got it to boot almost all the way (got the desktop picture), then it froze. Another time, I got almost all the way, then Kernel Panic, turn off and on again, and the amputated short "Bong"-cycle again. gave up on it, tried again today, with a PRAM reset (maybe I let go too early?), a Verbose (no response) and a "SHIFT", which gave me a progress bar, that came maybe 1/10 of the way (about 1 centimetre was gray) and then Kernel Panic again.

Just before this, possibly after the Parameter RAM reset, I got a "normal" boot, all the way to desktop, clock and date, and the startup window of Firefox (I had a full Finder window opened before FF laid itself over), and everything was there, and then, the Iron Curtain came down: Another Kernel Panic.

I figure the most sensible thing is to rip it open and yank out the HD and pull off the files I want, then reassemble it and see what can be done.
Is the fact that it lives out the winter, shut off, in a cold, unheated cabin a problem? I never turn it on until it’s liveable there, when it’s no longer freezing outside (Thus it "freezes" from late October to late April). But it has worked flawlessly until now. It has been living like this for maybe five years.
What do you think? Is it toast? Is the HD failing? Mind you, I’m not at all handy with a soldering iron. Not at all.

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How cold does your cabin get in the winter? If it drops below 32° F/0° C your power supply's electrolytic capacitor's could freeze degrading them.

You also may have a system with Capacitor Plague

crwdns2934271:0Maw 29, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

It does freeze, yes. OTOH I have a small TV and two monitors and two small radios that have not had had any issues.

crwdns2934271:0Maw 29, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Ciel Udbjørg crwdne2934271:0

So, how do I get a simple Universal Drive Adapter shipped to a country that apparently don’t exist, even though it does exist on maps and had been around for about a thousand years, also known as "Norway"? Lots of countries on the shipping list, but not Norway.

crwdns2934271:0Mha 5, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Ciel Udbjørg crwdne2934271:0

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Dan @danj

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Self employed contract worker

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Maw 29, 2025

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While other devices haven't suffered from the cold it's still likely an issue here. I would at least check the capacitors, follow this guide to get to the power supply iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118 Power Supply Replacement look for bulging and leakage. Reference the Blue URL link I provided to see examples of failed capacitors. This system was within the years the bad capacitors were flooding the market.

I would also remove the RAM and wipe the contact surfaces with a fresh pencil eraser to clean off and tarnish. As this is an older generation parts and even software are getting hard to get. Do you have the original OS disks? You may need to replace the hard drive and will need the OS disks to rebuild things.

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crwdns2944067:06crwdne2944067:0:

Maybe leaving it to freeze wasn’t so smart… I can certainly open it up and look for suspicious caps and clean memory chips, since I’m going after the HD in the first place.

However, I do not have the original start-up discs, as this was a pure chance find in a flea market, 100% unexpected…

crwdns2934271:0Maw 29, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Ciel Udbjørg crwdne2934271:0

@cieludbjoerg - you'll need to search for a 'real' set for this series that was OS X Lion 10.7.5. It should have a picture of the Lion on the CD and the rim will have Startup disk written in fine print if I remember correctly or it's written just below the hub center of the disk.

crwdns2934271:0Maw 29, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

That won’t be easy…

On an unhappy note, as they say, I got the machine to boot again last night. It came practically all the way as last time, before the Iron Curtain fell again. The HD appears to be OK, I wonder if it’s just some SW issue, In have a MacMini (Mid 2012) that occasionally restarts and then can’t find the startup volume. Howevwe, turning it off and on again solves it.

crwdns2934271:0Maw 30, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Ciel Udbjørg crwdne2934271:0

@cieludbjoerg - Your iMac's hardware is not stable. From experience I have replaced quite a few electrolytic capacitors in these older systems as the lack of clean power messes them up.

As far as your MacMini that sounds more like a failing HDD as the boot block space has gotten worn. This happens when the drives head slowly scrapes off the magnetic coating on the disk platters. So the reading of the data is not complete (startup file - IPL in old geek terms)

crwdns2934271:0Maw 30, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

The Mini has an SSD. It’s just temperamental on occasions. ;) My "main Mac" is my MacBook Pro, 13", Mid 2012. And both "new" Macs are happy with High Sierra (and so am I…). :) The MacBook has become a stationary Mac for all practical purposes.

As for the ailing iMac, recapping it is outside my realm, I’m afraid.

crwdns2934271:0Mha 1, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Ciel Udbjørg crwdne2934271:0

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How cold does your cabin get in the winter? If it drops below 32° F/0° C your power supply's electrolytic capacitor's could freeze degrading them.

You also may have a system with Capacitor Plague — Dan
It does freeze, yes. OTOH I have a small TV and two monitors and two small radios that have not had had any issues. — Ciel Udbjørg
So, how do I get a simple Universal Drive Adapter shipped to a country that apparently don’t exist, even though it does exist on maps and had been around for about a thousand years, also known as "Norway"? Lots of countries on the shipping list, but not Norway. — Ciel Udbjørg
Maybe leaving it to freeze wasn’t so smart… I can certainly open it up and look for suspicious caps and clean memory chips, since I’m going after the HD in the first place.

However, I do not have the original start-up discs, as this was a pure chance find in a flea market, 100% unexpected… — Ciel Udbjørg
@cieludbjoerg - you'll need to search for a 'real' set for this series that was OS X Lion 10.7.5. It should have a picture of the Lion on the CD and the rim will have Startup disk written in fine print if I remember correctly or it's written just below the hub center of the disk. — Dan
That won’t be easy…

On an unhappy note, as they say, I got the machine to boot again last night. It came practically all the way as last time, before the Iron Curtain fell again. The HD appears to be OK, I wonder if it’s just some SW issue, In have a MacMini (Mid 2012) that occasionally restarts and then can’t find the startup volume. Howevwe, turning it off and on again solves it. — Ciel Udbjørg
@cieludbjoerg - Your iMac's hardware is not stable. From experience I have replaced quite a few electrolytic capacitors in these older systems as the lack of clean power messes them up.

As far as your MacMini that sounds more like a failing HDD as the boot block space has gotten worn. This happens when the drives head slowly scrapes off the magnetic coating on the disk platters. So the reading of the data is not complete (startup file - IPL in old geek terms) — Dan
The Mini has an SSD. It’s just temperamental on occasions. ;) My "main Mac" is my MacBook Pro, 13", Mid 2012. And both "new" Macs are happy with High Sierra (and so am I…). :) The MacBook has become a stationary Mac for all practical purposes.

As for the ailing iMac, recapping it is outside my realm, I’m afraid. — Ciel Udbjørg

iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118

iMac Won’t start up

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