iMac computer

jayship

A friend has been given an old iMac computer which has data on it and he would like to clear/wipeout everything except the programmes. He was told that he would require a cd that came with the computer which is no longer available. It is probably a 2006 model and he has given me the following info. I am not sure if it makes sense but am optimistic that forum members may be able to throw a lifeline to get it going.

iMac 24"/2 16gb/250gb/sp/bt/ap.
contains FCC id006-baom 1024.
He is unable to find the model no written on the mac

He was able to use it initially although it was very slow. He recently inserted a film cd which worked for a while and now keeps on reading but nothing happens. The cd is stuck and he is unable to eject it.
Your thoughts and any advice will be appreciated.

southantrim3

Go to mac forums and they will be able to help you out

WilliamO

Click on the APPLE icon in the top-left of the desktop screen and then click on ABOUT THIS MAC. It will tell you what version of the OS X operating system it is running.

The slowness is going to be, in part, due to the age of the hard drive (i.e. general wear and tear).

You can get the OS X cd from ebay, cex, cash converters, etc.

Depending where you live, you could get the cd drive looked at and/or replaced.

almillar

The slowness is going to be, in part, due to the age of the hard drive (i.e. general wear and tear).

Rubbish. Unless there are bad sectors on the drive it'll be the same speed as the day it came out of the factory.
DO find 'About this Mac' as in the above post. We're missing the processor information, but it doesn't really matter I guess. That's a very nice computer to be given!
Problem is, there's a person's account on the computer and it'll be very difficult to get into all the little corners and remove all trace of them. The best way to do this, as you've been advised, it to reinstall OSX. This will mean being back to square 1. What programmes (Applications if we're talking Mac) don't you want to lose? Loads of stuff comes free with OSX anyway.
Might be a good idea to wait a while BTW as the new version of OSX - Mavericks, is due to be announced any time soon (Autumn). They've been selling OSs by download for a few years now, you can then put it onto a USB stick and install from there, far faster than from a DVD.
Ah yes, get rid of that CD - turn on the computer with the left mouse button held down...

Nada666

I somewhat doubt Mavericks will install on a 2006 iMac

almillar

Mavericks has the same requirements as Mountain Lion AFAIK - what might trip the iMac up is that there may not be a 64 bit graphics driver available for it.

macman

If it's a 2006 build after 10/1 then it should have an Intel processor and be running OS 10.4 (Tiger). You should be fine installing anything up to 10.6 or 10.7.
If you post the serial number from System Profiler then someone can look it up for you. Or paste it in here and it will tell you:
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
Worst case: even if the drive is dying, it's well worth changing and reinstalling a new OS if everything else is OK.

jayship

Thanks to everyone who has given their thoughts. Will try them out. However any more info will be appreciated as neither of us are tech savvy.

jayship

Thanks MACMAN
Further info if this helps. He did manage to get the CD out although the computer continued loading.

i mac serial no W8644 1EJVGN ethernet ID 0017fzc27d6b EMC no 2111
IC4324A-BRCM 1022 IMAC 24"/2 16GBZ/250GB/SD/BT/AP
contains FCC ID 006 -BAOM 1024

I hope it makes sense and you may be able to advise

Thanks

macman

jayship wrote: »

Thanks MACMAN
Further info if this helps. He did manage to get the CD out although the computer continued loading.

i mac serial no W8644 1EJVGN ethernet ID 0017fzc27d6b EMC no 2111
IC4324A-BRCM 1022 IMAC 24"/2 16GBZ/250GB/SD/BT/AP
contains FCC ID 006 -BAOM 1024

I hope it makes sense and you may be able to advise

Thanks

Paste the s/n into the link I gave you and all the info will come up (remove the space first).
But in summary, it's a 24' iMac built 10/06. 250GB HD, 1GB Ram (you need to upgrade that to 2 or 3GB). Intel Core 2 Duo processor, OS 10.4 (Tiger). You can upgrade as far as 10.7 if you wish.
With the RAM upgrade that'll be an excellent desktop machine for general use.