Is My Desk Top Mac Toast?

Wadcutter · #1 02-01-2019, 03:30 PM

Was wondering if any of my techie buds here could tell me if my 12 year old desktop Mac is shot or not. Problem is I unplugged it when the power company came by to tell us they were turning power off to our neighborhood for a few hours and to advise us to unplug stuff like computers, flatscreens, cable boxes, etc in case of a surge when the power came back on. So I did and after the power was turned back on a couple of hours later I plugged everything back in and everything booted right back up and works fine....except my desktop Mac. It’s deader than a doornail. I plugged in and unplugged it, did the on/off drill with the power button, tried different power outlets that I know work for sure, still nothing, no fan noise inside or anything.
So what do you think? It’s an old Mac at 12 years, but it was working just fine before I unplugged it. First time I have unplugged it in over 3 three years. Am I now in the market for a new desktop Mac?

BrunoBlack · #2 02-01-2019, 03:35 PM

Did you try plugging it in, then pressing and holding the “on” button for an extended period of time, like 10+ seconds?

Wadcutter · #3 02-01-2019, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haasome

Did you try plugging it in, then pressing and holding the “on” button for an extended period of time, like 10+ seconds?

I did Paul, no luck there either. I realize this is basically a situation where you plug it in and hit the on button and if it doesn’t work come on, well, other than trying another power outlet that you know that works OK, what the heck else can you really do other than take it in or have a computer guy come over and charge you an arm and a leg for a service call on top of going into the guts of it and doing whatever has to be done to get it up and running again. And the fact that Im dealing with a 12 year old dinasour here, I just wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze in this case. Maybe I’ll just let the old girl rest over night and go through the whole start up drill again in the morning and see what happens....but I’m not hopeful.

GuitarsFromMars · #4 02-01-2019, 04:17 PM

It might well be.

The power supply may have quit. On CL you can find a 2014 Mac mini in the $300-400 range.

Buy a battery backup w/surge protection.

Gitfiddlemann · #5 02-01-2019, 05:01 PM

Sounds very coincidental. For the heck of it:
Did you check to see if the receptacle/outlet it’s plugged into has power?
If not, maybe the panel breaker was tripped open when the power was restored.
Just a wild guess, but worth checking. Sometimes it’s the obvious that gets overlooked.

Wadcutter · #6 02-01-2019, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndreF

Sounds very coincidental. For the heck of it:
Did you check to see if the receptacle/outlet it’s plugged into has power?
If not, maybe the panel breaker was tripped open when the power was restored.
Just a wild guess, but worth checking. Sometimes it’s the obvious that gets overlooked.

It does have power yes. Thanks Andre, appreciate it.

Jbird97 · #7 02-01-2019, 05:29 PM

Make sure the power cable is seated firmly in the computer, maybe it came loose.

Wadcutter · #8 02-01-2019, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jbird97

Make sure the power cable is seated firmly in the computer, maybe it came loose.

Thanks Jbird, just checked as you suggested, seems to be firmly seated.

Wadcutter · #9 02-01-2019, 06:05 PM

Does anybody happen to know if I do end up taking it into an Apple Store to have it repaired, do they have a flat service fee right up front or do they just do the repair and charge parts & labor. Being 12 years old, this bad boy is WAY past warranty.

chistrummer · #10 02-01-2019, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wadcutter

Does anybody happen to know if I do end up taking it into an Apple Store to have it repaired, do they have a flat service fee right up front or do they just do the repair and charge parts & labor. Being 12 years old, this bad boy is WAY past warranty.

Best thing to do is to take it in to the Apple store for that answer as they can vary.

BrunoBlack · #11 02-01-2019, 06:17 PM

It’s hard for me to imagine this gets back to you without spending over $100. You can get refurbished iMacs n Amazon (and other places) with a 1year warranty for $400 - $500 with 8 GB of RAM(which you need these days). Might be worth thinking about.

Wadcutter · #12 02-01-2019, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haasome

It’s hard for me to imagine this gets back to you without spending over $100. You can get refurbished iMacs n Amazon (and other places) with a 1year warranty for $400 - $500 with 8 GB of RAM(which you need these days). Might be worth thinking about.

Thanks for that tip Haas, I didn’t know that. Might be an option for me. Appreciate it.

Gitfiddlemann · #13 02-01-2019, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wadcutter

Does anybody happen to know if I do end up taking it into an Apple Store to have it repaired, do they have a flat service fee right up front or do they just do the repair and charge parts & labor. Being 12 years old, this bad boy is WAY past warranty.

I agree with Haasome. My concern would be the OS in a 12 year old machine. The latest OS versions are likely not compatible.
The same thing happened to me a few years ago with my old iMac from 2004. Even fixed it would have had compatibility issues and thus a limited lifespan. Not worth the money. Seek out a later refurbished version if you’re still interested in a desktop. It would be a better investment.

imwjl · #14 02-01-2019, 07:13 PM

The used Mini and iMac suggestions sound good. Mac Tracker might be a good resource if only to know what purchases would run the latest software.

http://mactracker.ca

Wadcutter · #15 02-01-2019, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndreF

I agree with Haasome. My concern would be the OS in a 12 year old machine. The latest OS versions are likely not compatible.
The same thing happened to me a few years ago with my old iMac from 2004. Even fixed it would have had compatibility issues and thus a limited lifespan. Not worth the money. Seek out a later refurbished version if you’re still interested in a desktop. It would be a better investment.

Yeah, the OS on this thing is so old, even after I upgraded it a few years ago to Leapord I think it was, many websites like Google and Yahoo Mail won’t even feed it upgrades anymore. I glad you guys have informed me of the refurbished iMacs available out there. This may be the way I go instead of sinking money into a 12 year old desktop. Just a quick look on Amazon as Haas suggested showed lots of great deals WAY below what a new one would run. And shoot at 69 years old, I’ll probably give out way before a brand new desktop will. Ha!