Imac Problems - Your Thoughts Please

[ThaiLife]

I am using an iMac , and for the past 5 years ive had no problems , this is the iMacs specification ---




I have two issues with my iMac



1.

Recently ive noticed that the HDD fan is starting to make a low whining sound , its just becoming noticeable but not currently annoying . The room where the iMac is used, is susceptible to dust from near by fields , so after 5 years I have a feeling that all the fans must be contaminated with airborne dust .

2. The internal HDD when under load , I can hear a faint rumbling noise .

As the machine is now getting a bit long in the tooth , I really don't want to spend too much by taking it to an Apple reseller and getting them to replace the HDD fan , and the internal HDD ( its a right pain travailing to the nearest Apple reseller )

So I was wondering if its possible for me to carry out the HDD fan replacement and install a new larger internal HDD at the same time , all so carry out some sort of fan cleaning / maintenance on the other two non noisy internal fans .

My other thought is this , would it be better just to let the noisy fan possibly get louder over time and let the internal HDD just carry on until it stops , and may be get more use out of the machine in the mean time , then take some sort of action when forced to / needed ( I have made a full backup ) .

Any thoughts / comments or advice on the above - Thanks

[VerbalKint]

In my experience the average lifespan of a computer is about 3 years, although I have a 6 yr. old mac mini still working fine, and even a 1997 powerbook.

I'd say don't spend money on fixing it but buy an external usb harddrive and let Timemachine back up onto it.

That way, when you buy a new machine, you just connect the HD to the new one and restore from that so you won't lose any data.

[samuijimmy]

My old Imac is about 8 years old now... even though I don't own it anymore it's still working! (could not increase Ram, so became too slow! )

Google MacFixit, comes up with a few sites for detailed instructions and photos, on how to fix and do things, inside the Mac !!! ! ....

[natas]

A faint rumbling from the HD is nothing to worry about (no more than any sounds from a HD) Rarely do you get much o a warning before HD's fail. it will fail, but you never know when, 1 month old or 10 years old..

Fans make a little more noise when they are full of dust. but more likely it is blockage in the path to and from the fan that is causing the most part of your problem. You can try a quick fix by blowing backwards and forwards (from the bottom up and from the top down) use compressed air and/or a strong vacuum cleaner and suck / blow it out both ways.

The benefits do not motivate disassembling that model as it is quite difficult.

hope this helps