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Model A1311 / Late 2009 / 3.06 or 3.33 GHz Core 2 Duo processor

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No Power- is best option to extract HD?

I read dozens of these posts attempting to figure why my iMac wasn’t powering on. It was asleep one minute and completely dead the next. I made the cardinal mistake of not backing things up properly. So I’m trying to understand what my options are.

The computer itself is old & is in poor shape (is missing the glass screen, has loads of dust/dirt on the inside + and some webpages don’t load properly). I removed all the screws, and located what I believed to the the area of the LED lights. But NO lights, not even the first one. So perhaps it’s a power issue. So here’s my dilemma - keeping in mind the computer is 16yrs old- do I:

A) replace and repair the power unit and hope that’s the issue. Or,

B) remove the HD, purchase a Wavlink (of similar) docking station to transfer all the data to our other iMac (also an old computer), but allows me to access the data and ultimately back it up.

Plan B seems like the way to go but I’d love your input. Perhaps there’s another option I haven’t considered? And if there’s a data cloning or transfer device you’d recommend- I’m listening! :)

Thanks!!

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Could go either way, but Plan B is definitely more to the point. Once you get the data you can explore repair if you want, but if that’s what‘s important, then go for that first.

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Just want to be sure I’m not in over my head. Is removing a hard drive something a noobie can do? I can watch helpful videos and read instructions - but if I make a mistake is there a chance I can render the the HD unusable? Or are they pretty durable?

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@krocky There is any inherent risk of damage with any repair, but I don’t think you’re at huge risk of doing anything irreparable to the hard drive if you are careful and follow directions.

On these models, it is definitely something I would say a newbie can do. The hard drive itself you’ll want to be as gentle as possible with because the mechanisms inside are quite fragile, but the other bits you can definitely be rougher with. The hard drive is susceptible to sudden jolts, or drops, so just be careful when you take it out.

But otherwise, this shouldn’t be too difficult. Have a look at the Guide for Hard drive replacement if you haven’t already. It will give you an idea of what you’re looking at.

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