In short, my iMac has developed a strange issue that's been hard to diagnose. After a restart, the machine performs well for a brief period. However, once I open a few basic apps (Mail, Safari, iPhoto) and start working, within 2-3 hours, the machine becomes painfully slow. Eventually, it will freeze and the beach ball will spin endlessly, which forces me to do a hard restart.

Applecare phone support finally decided it was the hard drive, so I took it to the Apple store and left it with them. I called the store today to check status and they tell me the hard drive is fine. They have simply recommended reinstalling the OS. The machine is 3+ years old and gets a lot of use, so I don't really trust the hard drive any longer. Since it appears Apple will not be replacing it on their dime, I would like to replace it with one of the SSD units.

The machine is a white Intel 24" iMac. Do you think the Apple store would replace the HDD with a SSD for me, at my expense? My warranty expires soon, so that's not an issue. If not, who could I get to do this? I'm not comfortable taking an iMac apart.

 

Honestly, sounds like it's time for a new machine. Laptops just don't last much more than three years and are really like consumable goods.

 

Agreed exceot he's running an Imac which is a desktop. For what it's worth my kids use the same computer and we have the same issue. "SPINING BEACHBALL OF DEATH"

The new Imac quad core is FAST! i love mine.

 

1) It's a Mac; they last forever.
2) It's an iMac; not a laptop.


Seriously, it's a great machine that is still more than capable of doing what I need it to. As long as the machine works when I get it back from Apple, replacing the HDD is simply a want, not a need. But, it would give me peace of mind if I could go ahead and replace it now. And, of course, the performance upgrade of the SSD would certainly be welcome.

 

I would love to have a new Quad Core with a SSD, but the thing is $3K spec'd how I want it.

 

hard drives are consumable goods. only issue with my any of my macs was the HD in my current macbook. $99 later i upgraded to 250Gb at the time.

 

You don't need a new machine, or a SSD. SSDs are quick, and less prone to mechanical failure, though the majority of drive failures are due to electronic issues rather than hardware (excluding craptastic drives like WD).

I would just buy a high quality Seagate drive and have someone slap it in. The Apple Store will do it for you for a fairly reasonable fee, just the labor of swapping them, and if you elect to have them do it, install the OS.

You can also find a local VAR and have them do it, generally for a better rate with a higher degree of quality. (Apple Store people do a good job, but VARs tend to love what they do-- they have to in order to put up with the crap Apple makes them deal with...)

And with all that said, make sure you try everything in my stuff no workey guide first.

 

Simba, can you point me to the correct Seagate drive for my machine?

 

This may be irrelevant, however my GF's Macbook (original, white version) was painfully slow much of the time. I ordered new RAM off Newegg.com ($50), and the thing runs great now.

I'm coming up on three years for my MB Pro, and have noticed a little more beach ball action. I'm considering putting in new RAM as well (and upgrading to Snow Leopard).

 

Any Seagate Barracuda 7,200 rpm SATA drive.

Model number for the 1.5TB Barracuda is ST31500341AS.

There is also a 2TB Barracuda XT, but there's not much point in going that route as the iMac does not support the 6gb/s SATA bus yet.