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    iMac refurb

    I have an early iMac 24" (early 2009) and upgraded the original 2GB RAM to 4GB, which was the max this model would take. Purchased from Crucial, using their software to advise what I needed.

    This worked well for some years, but late in 2016 I notice that it was a bit slow at times. Now in my days of using a PC, I would do a clean install every six months or so and that kept everything up to speed, so the obvious solution was to try the same for the iMac. It took half a day or so and there was an improvement, but not as much as I had hoped. It still took nearly three minutes to load the operating system and around the same time to load photoshop. Time to consider the latest iMac, but for various reasons, I would prefer to wait for 12 months, so would a new hard drive keep me going?

    On to the Crucial website and using their software I could go for a replacement Hard drive, or one of the new Solid State Drives. Bit of research later and the SSD could deliver some significant improvements if the drive was indeed the problem. This was a bit of a gamble and not cheap at £300 for a 1TB SSD and an adapter for the iMac drive slot.

    More research found some u tube videos showing how to change the hard drive to an SSD and I decided to bite the bullet. After all, if it failed the SSD could be used as an external drive, so it wouldn't be wasted. I won't bore you with the scary bits of removing the front glass and the screen and disconnecting lots of cables to get at the drive slot and I needed to change my underwear a couple of times before it was all back together, so now the moment of truth ................. do I still have a working iMac or not?

    Set up a stopwatch and pressed the on switch: 37 seconds to initiate operating system.
    Same stopwatch and clicked on Photoshop: 7 seconds to fully open. Even better, where I had a photo with a number of layers open, new operations in Photoshop would have the timer chugging away to complete the operation and now it is instant .......... no timer.

    I'm not sure whether this was down to solid research, luck, or a fair sprinkling of both, but I now have an iMac that is working better than new and I don't have any worries about waiting until next year to get the latest iMac.
    Colin

    #2
    Re: iMac refurb

    Well done Colin. And welcome back. It's been a while and you have been missed. With your upgraded iMac, hope to see more of your excellent work.

    Tom

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      #3
      Re: iMac refurb

      Hello Colin; another warm welcome back from another who's only recently returned to the forum... hope to see some of your work again, and enjoy your commentary & critique...

      As for your technical abilities; I bow to you I used to have a fair idea of what I was doing, but, to be honest, I no longer have the inclination to do so. Fortunately we have a very good local Mr. Fixit who is prompt, fair value, and (provided I'm backed-up properly) stress free... Happy days...
      Cheers;
      Lee
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
      All fair comment & critique will always be welcomed !
      5D3, 80D, 40D (IR), G3X
      17-40 f/4, 24-105 f/4, 70-200 f/2.8, 100-400 f/4.5-5.6, 100 f/2.8 Macro, Sigma 150-600 Sport

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        #4
        Re: iMac refurb

        very brave man to take the front glass off the Mac something many engineers won't touch just in case it cracks !! glad your working again now
        :- Ian

        5D Mk III, 24-105 / 70-200 f2.8 L / 100-400 Mk II / 100 macro / 16-35 L / 11-24 L / 1.4 & 2x converters and a bad back carrying it all ;o)

        :- https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotosespana/

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          #5
          Re: iMac refurb

          Well done Colin ,braver than me .and welcome back

          Comment


            #6
            Re: iMac refurb

            Many thanks for all of your very kind welcome comments and to those of you that sent a PM. I had hoped to slip in quietly through the back door with hardly a ripple, but you are far too observant for that.

            Regarding the iMac screen, that is so easy. The screen is held in place my magnets. Using a couple suction cups at the top of the screen, you just exert a little pressure to break the magnetism and it gently comes away. You see it demo'd on uTube and it seems so easy and in practice it is.
            Colin

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              #7
              Re: iMac refurb

              Congratulations on resurrecting both your Mac and your good self on this forum Colin.
              Peter

              Feel free to browse my
              Website : www.peterstockton-photography.co.uk
              Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_original_st/

              Comment


                #8
                Re: iMac refurb

                Good to see name reappearing after a long absence.

                Welcome back from another Dorset tog

                Alan
                Sometimes I drink water. I like to give my liver an occasional surprise!

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                  #9
                  Re: iMac refurb

                  We can't be too far away Alan, I am just outside of Blandford.
                  Colin

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: iMac refurb

                    Great upgrade story, Colin. But can I please also say 'welcome back'. We've missed your knowledgeable and pertinent contributions, your wry humour and above all your beautiful images. Long may you hang around this time!
                    Canon EOS 7D
                    EF-S 10-22mm 1:3.5-4.5 USM, EF 24-105mm 1:4 L IS USM, EF 50mm 1:1.8, EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM
                    Luminar 4, Aurora HDR Pro, Silver Efex
                    flickr: http://flic.kr/ps/LXWuy

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                      #11
                      Re: iMac refurb

                      Colin !!!!!!
                      Bugger the iMac refurb...... great to see you back and about time too!!!!!
                      David

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                        #12
                        Re: iMac refurb

                        I am very humbled by all this attention, thank you all so much.
                        Colin

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: iMac refurb

                          I was sitting in my hotel in Abu Dhabi and I thought I was having some kind of Ramadan, pre-Iftar, heatstroke episode when I saw your name crop up! Delighted to see you around again. I pop in to the forum every now and again, so it was really nice to see a blast from the past!!!

                          Richard
                          Richard Anderson Photography at www.raphoto.me

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