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Model A1225 / Early 2009 / 2.66, 2.93, or 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo processor

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Dropped iMac. HD unmounted. Now what?

My iMac fell on a hardwood floor. Power was on at the time and remained on after falling. I quit all applications and restarted it. A white screen with a flashing question mark on a file folder appeared. I read that I should

*restart with the installation disk while holding down the C key

*quit installation

*open Disk Utility and

*Repair Disk.

I followed those instructions and got this message in red letters. The disk could not be unmounted.

I looked around for answers but am not sure how to proceed. Maybe the fall loosened some connections and I should open up the computer. Someone else asked about a dropped iBook and was advised to replace the reed switch inverter cable. Is that what I should do. Or just try to reinstall OSX. Please let me know what my next steps are. Many thanks.

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4 Answers

Chosen Solution

Sorry to say it sounds like you crashed your HD in the fall.

You could try Apple Hardware Test to see what is tells you just to be sure. If you still have your install DVD disks its on it or you can access it from the internet AHT

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I looked for AHT on the installation disk, which is in the iMac now. I didn't find it and was going to try the Applications disk since the link you provided said some versions were on that disk instead of the installation disk. Unfortunately, I can't get it to eject. Ideas?

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OK, I got the disk to eject. This time I tried the Snow Leopard installation disk. (The disk that came with the computer was Leopard.) I tried Repair Disk on Disk Utility, and this time I got this message:

Disk Utility stopped repairing "Macintosh HD." Disk Utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."

I read that to reformat, one should erase and reinstall OSX. I erased and attempted to reinstall. Got to a screen that says "Select the disk where you want to install Mac OSX," but there is no drive pictured there, just empty space. What should I do now?

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The drive is dead ;-{ You'll need to get a new hard disk installed. Are you up to it? Heres the iFixIt guide for the needed steps iMac Intel 24" EMC 2267 Hard Drive Replacement

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I ended up opening up the iMac to see if anything was visibly wrong. Didn't see anything. Disconnected and reconnected the hard drive after cleaning connections. Still same results. Guess I'll replace the hard drive. Thanks for replying.

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Partion your disk and see if it shows up

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After receiving your answer, I intended to try partitioning through Disk Utility. However, there seems to be no way to do it. The "partition" tab is not showing. There are only 4 tabs: First Aid, Erase, RAID, and Restore.

Is there some other way to partition? If so, how?

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No, no other way to create a partition. I think you've proven the disk has met its fate. Time for a new HD. You could try to see if Apple will replace it under warranty but thats a long shot.

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I'm past the warranty date, so I'm going to order a new HD now. Thanks for the advice.

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