I've postponed dealing with the display issues for several years by using SMCfancontrol, but am now in the same boat as previous posters. 2.16Ghz white imac A1207, shards of graphic doom fill the screen, over heating happens swiftly, and it just won't run anymore. I've done one take apart and clean out, hoping it would help, but no joy. Trying to locate replacement parts in advance of a deeper look inside, but having trouble finding what I need, although powerbookmedic.com has quite a nice inventory. Wondering if it's the inverter, rather than the GPU. The guide I'm using is here - http://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel_...

Small variances in build from those steps, but nothing too tough as long as you take your time. Reassembly is tricky though, really do stop and get all the freaking tape out of the way, it'll spare you some misery.

- Macgeek

⟐ Commented May 15, 2013 at 10:01 am -0700

LED 1 for 3 seconds

LED 1&2 Flash

off

Any ideas? I have looked for LED codes for this model, but not finding anything.

Thanks

Luke

⟐ Commented May 14, 2013 at 7:45 pm -0700

Looking at previous threads, I've taken it apart to blow out the fans, but didn't remove the logic board yet. It's currently sitting reassembled but with front bezel off, which shows me only the first 2 LEDs light up when the power button is pressed. With the bezel back on, it tries to boot but can't display properly. Without the bezel, I get a flashing power light, two LEDs and nothing onscreen. The only docs I could find for what the LEDs should tell me shows 4 LEDs; there are only 3 on this board.

⟐ Edited May 7, 2013 at 7:48 am -0700

The iMac is booting/starting - I can start it in firewire mode and backup my files - no problem.

⟐ Edited May 6, 2013 at 7:34 am -0700

⟐ Edited April 26, 2013 at 1:39 pm -0700

⟐ Answered April 22, 2013 at 6:46 am -0700

The computer works fine otherwise on a secondary monitor (I am actually using it now)

The question is whether I need to replace the entire LCD or just the inverter?

How long do these screen last? I have had the computer for 6+ years.

Does nt look like it will be worth replacing it with a new one considering how much they cost. any ideas on where I can get a used replacement (I live in Sweden)

Update

Thanks. The screen is not dim a such, most of it is actually white with horizontal grey bands and the vertical green/red/black lines on the left that start from what looks like a crack mark on the top left as you can see on the attached image.

⟐ Answered April 18, 2013 at 1:44 pm -0700

I've read all the answers and I'm reading it could be anything from a converter cable, logic board, monitor and graphics card.

I've tried resetting the SMC and PRAM...didn't work.

If anyone has been able to correct this problem I would love to know how otherwise I might be looking at a new computer.

Thanks

Peter

⟐ Commented April 17, 2013 at 8:24 pm -0700

⟐ Edited April 2, 2013 at 5:36 pm -0700

⟐ Answered March 30, 2013 at 9:33 pm -0700

Cheers

⟐ Edited March 23, 2013 at 9:34 am -0700

Anyone know if this can be done?

⟐ Answer deleted March 9, 2013 at 12:13 pm -0700

⟐ Answered March 6, 2013 at 12:01 am -0700

⟐ Answer edited February 10, 2013 at 11:00 am -0700

After a power outage my 20" intel imac early 2006 model (EMC 2105) refused to turn back on. Twice previously when this has happened I could do an SMC reset by unplugging the imac, holding down the power button for a few seconds, let go and plug it back in.

That did not work this time. The machine was totally unresponsive. I opened the machine up to find the diagnostic LEDs but this model is an early model without any LEDs. I did a continuity check across the wire going to the power button as a sanity check and it responded fine when pressing it. I removed the display and hard drive to examine the PSU (model 614-0363) and it appeared physically fine.

I unplugged the PSU from the logic board and used my multimeter and measured 12v on the PSU between the black and the grey wires. The brown wire had like 0.8v on it but from my research online the function of the brown wire is to shutdown the PSU in the case of overvoltage and it does not play a role in turning the PSU on. The PSU just always outputs 12v to the motherboard.

At this point I tried to turn the machine back on and it worked surprisingly! It had a solid LED and played the startup chime. This was with the HD and display still disconnected. I connected the HD and was still able to start it up.

However, once I reconnected the display it refused to start up. As far as I know there are two possibilities for this:

1) The PSU, although it shows 12v from grey to black, can't provide enough power to startup the entire machine and is too weak.

2) The voltage inverter which provides AC power to drive the flourescent blacklight of the display is defective.

How can I tell which problem I have?

⟐ Answered February 8, 2013 at 9:50 pm -0700

I want add an 2nd HDD in my Imac 20" mid 2006 thanks to an optibay.

I know that the optibay is connected to the motherboard in PATA.

This link is quick or not ?

An SSD in the optibay will improve the speed or I must save my money and buy a basic HDD ?

Thanks for your answers and sorry for my english.

⟐ Answered February 2, 2013 at 9:30 am -0700

I am no electronics expert, but I am trying to fix a faulty early 2006 20" iMac (that showed no sign of accepting power) and just replaced the PSU.

Now, here is the problem: the iMac will boot ok with the new PSU, as long as the HD is NOT connected. The minute I connect it (power, data and thermal sensor cables), then the iMac won't start at all and appears dead. Could it be that the HD is itself faulty and causing a short-circuit? Any idea?

Your thoughts and advice are most appreciated! Thanks.

Cheers,

Larry

⟐ Commented January 13, 2013 at 6:24 pm -0700

I have been looking to upgrade the processor in my imac since lion came out but im not sure which intel model i need.

My system profiler on my imac shows the following:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac4,1

Processor Name: Intel Core Duo

Processor Speed: 2 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 2 MB

Memory: 2 GB

Bus Speed: 667 MHz

Boot ROM Version: IM41.0055.B08

Which core 2 duo cpu do i need in order to successfully upgrade my imac? Im happy with a 2.16Ghz core 2 duo cpu, i dont know if i can get a higher cpu for my imac?

I have seen some members who have upgraded their imac to a core to duo but i didn't see which c2d cpu was used.

All help is greatly appreciated.

⟐ Answer deleted January 5, 2013 at 11:28 am -0700

⟐ Commented January 3, 2013 at 7:53 am -0700

I would like to upgrade my ram, which is currently at 2GB to 3GB. I know only the 2118 can take 3GB, so im trying to find out which emc is mine.

Is there another way find out without the sticker at the bottom on the stand.

⟐ Answered December 28, 2012 at 10:43 am -0700

Model iMac 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo

Thanks

⟐ Commented December 27, 2012 at 11:09 pm -0700

I have been upgrading all possible components of my early 2006 iMac (HDD and optical drive) with help from iFixit. My next venture is to upgrade the CD CPU to C2D CPU. I know this is possible as it's socketed. I have found a "tutorial" on MacLife to do this but am wondering if anyone here has done it and might have some advice/tips on the best (easiest) way to undertake such a daunting task.

⟐ Answered December 18, 2012 at 4:47 am -0700

Is it possible to install SSD to my iMac 5,1 20" (Late 2006)?

Thank you for your help.

Regards

Jan

⟐ Answered December 16, 2012 at 2:22 pm -0700

Can I replace the Hard Drive by and SSD on an iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118?

I read on a website that someone did it. Unfortunally it does show very few pictures of the process.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/SSD_i...

I don't know if i got it right, but wouldn't be a incompability of SDD connector in a iMac Late 2006 model?

Any ideas?

Regards,

⟐ Answered December 13, 2012 at 11:50 am -0700

I've changed my 512Mb RAM to 1Go RAM because it's what you propose for the model I have (bought very recently on your web site). But it seems now when looking at the shop section that we can install 2Go RAM... is it true ? In that case why isn't it written on the web page (Installing iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118 RAM) ? I would have preferred buying 2Go instead of 1Go.... can I change ?

⟐ Answered November 26, 2012 at 10:33 am -0700

⟐ Answered November 22, 2012 at 6:35 pm -0700

Does anyone have a clue what could be the issue?

My last resort would be to take it apart again and put the old CPU back in to see if it boots and I didn't fry the board at some point.

I was really careful and even cleaned every thing out with a compressor because the thing was disgusting with dust build up.

Any help before I take a 3rd plunge would be appreciated.

⟐ Answered November 22, 2012 at 6:10 am -0700

don't have original installation disk.

⟐ Commented November 18, 2012 at 1:52 pm -0700

Back in 2006 we bought the first gen Core Duo iMac. It is the 20" Model with EMC 2105. We used it for a few years, and it died on us. I finally got the HDD working, but I need a donor computer to boot it in, as I want to access my stuff, plus get a few more years out of it. (No, I do NOT want to use an adapter.) I noticed a high amount of the 17" model on ebay, plus an even higher amount of the Core 2 Duo models. Could I buy any one of these and put the HDD of the different model in and use it with little difficulty? I consider myself tech savvy, and have been in the iMac trying to get it to work before.

Thanks in Advance,

Anniemoose98

⟐ Commented November 13, 2012 at 12:26 pm -0700

-FIXED- when my power supply went out, it did so during boot up, this corrupted the boot portion and somehow damaged one of my ram sticks, after replacing the power supply, i removed the bad stick (causing the no chimes) and put in a new hard drive and re-installed the os, it booted just fine. i was even able to get data off my old hard drive and reformat it to be an external drive.

⟐ Edited September 29, 2012 at 8:13 pm -0700

My 2006 intel core 2 duo iMac is no longer booting. It was working fine up until about a week ago when I last used it. Nothing happens when clicking/holding/tapping/whatever the power button on the back. Screen is black, no power light comes on, no boot up sound.

One thing I notice is a low, ticking sound - sounds almost like the sound from an analog clock, but the ticking comes at irregular intervals. I can hear the sound as soon as put the power cord into the wall outlet, so I can hardly imagine it is coming from the hard drive, since the computer is not even turned on.

What could the problem possibly be?

⟐ Answered September 24, 2012 at 6:25 am -0700

⟐ Answered September 20, 2012 at 4:08 am -0700

I have then tried to upgrade from 10.6.8 to the new Mountain Lion, however I am getting a message that my machine is not compatible with Mountain Lion.

I really need to upgrade as I have to run the latest XCode environment.

The generalities of the Apple site does not explain exactly why the machine is not suitable. I did think it was a Core Duo vs Core 2 Duo thing.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how I can get this machine upgraded.

thanks

⟐ Answered September 18, 2012 at 7:17 pm -0700

⟐ Answered September 8, 2012 at 12:42 pm -0700

⟐ Answered September 2, 2012 at 3:25 pm -0700

I have 20" Intel Imac 2.0GHz Core Duo (early 2006 iMac 4,1) and would love to make it last as long as I can by installing the logic board from a iMac 5,1 core2 duo imac. I know that this is major work, but I was wondering if this is physically possible. Has anybody done this, or are there physical reasons that would prevent me from doing this upgrade? Thoughts are appreciated

⟐ Commented August 27, 2012 at 12:38 pm -0700

⟐ Answered August 23, 2012 at 7:43 am -0700

if I remove the wi-fi network card inside of my iMac, can I use any USB dongle to connect the wi-fi of my home network?

I want to remove wireless card cause I want to use miniPCIexpress slot for other purposes

thanks

⟐ Answer edited August 22, 2012 at 11:42 am -0700

My question is, can I remove the optical drive and install a second hard drive with the opti bay option? I see there is an opti bay drive available but it say for core 2 duo only.

Whats the difference and what would stop it from working?

I am also upgrading the cpu to a 2.16ghz core 2 duo and was wondering if I could bump this one to 2.33ghz and what model processor would work for me?

Thank you for your time.

Oh, one more thing. What is the connection called on the optical drive? I know its not SATA.

⟐ Answered August 16, 2012 at 11:03 am -0700

Over the following two years, my hard drive disappeared (not sure if it failed, disconnected, or just won't mount for some reason), the optical drive attempts to read discs for about a minute and then ejects them, and my ethernet port won't recognize my modem or router (but wireless is still working). Finally my monitor has started to get burn in, not real bad but noticeable when closing windows which leaves a ghost-like effect for a few seconds, and has yellowed.

My debate is if it is worth it to replace the hard drive and burner, along with purchasing a usb to ethernet dongle, to get some more time out of the machine, or if it makes more sense to buy a new machine to replace and retire it. If it is just parts, it makes sense for me to replace them. However if it is the motherboard, I don't want to invest in a computer that is failing, and would rather replace it with a newer model. Thank you.

⟐ Answered August 9, 2012 at 7:33 am -0700

⟐ Answered August 3, 2012 at 10:23 pm -0700

Troubleshooting: I do not have an external display to test it, but a screen shot shows no defects (see below link).  I've checked the contrast setting under Universal Access, zapped the PRAM and the Apple Hardware Test reported "No trouble found." The first three diagnostic LEDs are on and not flickering.  An Apple Genius did their proprietary Hardware Test, and again no trouble found.   When I jokingly handed him my Torx 8, he politely declined. He said Apple no longer fixes these models, and it would be best to sell it off for parts. That's really a shame because it's such a solid machine.

Has anyone heard of this issue before? For example, if I could honestly say it is most likely a bad cable or wire, then perhaps I can get a better price for it from someone who repairs and resells IMacs?

Posterized desktop: http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m258/...

Screen shot: http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m258/...

Thanks!

⟐ Commented August 1, 2012 at 10:22 am -0700

I got a iMac 24" 2.33 model on ebay and a month later i noticed issues with the screen flickering, the more apps i loaded the more freeze ups, since the video card is soldiered on the logic board i was wondering if i can put my iMac 20" late 2006 emc 2111 motherboard inside it and use the larger screen, possible?

⟐ Answered July 17, 2012 at 11:06 am -0700

I am still using the computer via a secondary monitor.

What is wrong with the lcd?

⟐ Answer accepted July 11, 2012 at 2:00 pm -0700

I bought a used 20" Intel iMac that supposedly only needed a hard drive and a new LCD panel in order to work. The hard drive was easily installed. I ordered a replacement panel off eBay and installed it, but I'm seeing a grey screen with lots of tiny black rectangles on it. I figured that maybe there's a problem with the video card, so I scrounged up a Mini-DVI to DVI adapter, and connected an external monitor. However, nothing ever displays on that external monitor. If there is truly a problem with the video card (the logic board?), I'm going to stop buying parts and sell the carcass....

Anyway, how can I tell if the replacement LCD is good? Does the weird pattern I'm seeing on the display indicate a problem with the panel or with the video card? And shouldnt the iMac automatically output to the external display when I connect it via the adapter?

Thanks!

⟐ Answer accepted July 7, 2012 at 7:07 pm -0700

⟐ Edited July 7, 2012 at 12:11 pm -0700

We thought that there was not the right software on it, took the harddisk out and put the right software on it but still we get the ? when I am starting up my iMac.

⟐ Edited July 7, 2012 at 12:11 pm -0700

⟐ Edited July 7, 2012 at 12:08 pm -0700

⟐ Edited July 7, 2012 at 12:06 pm -0700

One morning found computer was turned off and had to power it back on and seemed to work fine but after about five minutes the system turned off as though the power cord was removed. Found how to diagnose the problem but found no LED's were on therefore replaced power supply. Now the power supply was replaced and tested successfully but still no response. Out of ideas please help. My EMC #2118.

⟐ Commented June 20, 2012 at 8:54 pm -0700