iMac Startup ?

C

cjp3226

Registered
Obviously I'm not too well versed in all things Mac. However, I am addicted to them and have received great help and advise from everyone here. So thanks again!

Now my question:

I bought a used iMac, (2008 model), that was running Leopard 10.5, (came with original disks too). I got it very cheap as the internal hard drive had crashed and it seems that it may be difficult to replace on my own.

In order to get it running at a reasonable price, should I, (not sure what is possible):

1) Buy a new drive and have it installed professionally.
2) Buy a new drive and try to do it myself.
3) Buy a cheap external drive and set this up as the start-up/main drive, (can this be done?)
4) Consider the iMac a large, pricey paperweight?
5) Other suggestion???

Regards,
Cam.
 
Sorry, I just realized this may have been more appropriately posted in the Hardware/Peripheral section.
 
1 - yes, you could do that
2 - and you could do that, too. The aluminum iMacs are not terribly difficult to replace the hard drive.
3 - sure, that can work, but a really bad internal hard drive might cause a failure of any other device to boot reliably.
4 - Hey - it's already a "large, pricey paperweight" now, isn't it?

So, another choice is to make sure that the hard drive is really bad. You said that you have the installer DVD, so boot to that, and run Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Go to the Erase tab, and erase the hard drive, after choosing to write zeroes to all blocks (1-pass). That's an option available after clicking the Security Options button. That option will take some time, probably at least 30 minutes to a couple of hours.
If that completes, then you can try simply reinstalling OS X.
If the hard drive IS bad, then that erase won't complete - or you won't even see that hard drive available.
That will be easier than replacing the hard drive (if the erase actually works.)
Or - you can search on the net for instructions on how to replace the hard drive in an aluminum iMac. Here's an example: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/...C-2133-and-2210-Hard-Drive-Replacement/1008/1
You can look through that, and then decide if you feel that's within your capability.
 
Thanks DeltaMac, appreciate your help! I'll run through the disk utility scenario and see how that pans out, then progress to the installation of a new internal drive if needed.

Cheers,
Cam.
 
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