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When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
#39803 04/06/16 12:10 AM
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kevs Offline OP
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I have a 27" imac 12/09, and a Macbook air 11" 2012. They have had good runs but are both having issues. The desktop needs more Ram and a new Hardrive (I would get an SSD). The laptop need a new hardrive as well as the 65GB is now too small.

I could keep investing in these two machines, but would like to ask: When does one decide to upgrade desktops and laptops in general-- even though you could just keep replacing stuff?

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #39804 04/06/16 12:31 AM
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I would ask myself the following questions:

1. Does the computer fulfill my needs? If not, will it if I upgrade by adding RAM and/or a higher capacity hard drive?

2. Will the computer run the latest OS? It's hard to judge if it will run future OS's but the chances are that, sometime in the future, it will not. Both of yours will run the latest version.

3. How much am I willing to spend?

4. Is the computer listed as Obsolete or Vintage by Apple? If the former, Apple no longer will repair it nor supply parts. You can check with MacTracker. (For the record, your iMac is listed as Vintage and your MB Air as Supported. Vintage machines will sooner or later, probably sooner, become Obsolete.)

5. Regardless of practicality or price, would I get some pleasure from having the latest and greatest? After all, you only live once.

I was very happy with my early 2008 Mac Pro, but its maximum OS was 10.7. I was running 10.6.8 but that OS was not supported anymore.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #39805 04/06/16 12:34 AM
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There's no "general" answer to your question.

I'd say that the most compelling reasons to upgrade are that your Mac can't run the latest operating system (Both of yours can.) or you need more computing power, that the most compelling reason to stick with what you've got is money, and that there's an awful lot of room for likes, dislike, and idiosyncrasies between the two.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
artie505 #39806 04/06/16 01:47 AM
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Great answer Jon thanks. Actually I was thinking of extending these out as long as possible.. but then it hits you: do I want to be "investing" (hundreds of dollars ) in this old computer....

PS dowloaded Mactracker, thanks, where do you see if marked obsolete or vintage, did not see. Also I Like you can add yours to a my list, but I clicked add buttom and just got some weird dialoge box saying untitled smart category/ did not make sense to me.

Last edited by kevs; 04/06/16 01:53 AM.
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #39807 04/06/16 02:26 AM
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You iMac has achieved vintage status, your MacBook Air is supported.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
joemikeb #39808 04/06/16 02:50 AM
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Thanks Joe, where does one see that on app?

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #39809 04/06/16 10:07 AM
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Originally Posted By: kevs
Thanks Joe, where does one see that on app?
Select the General tab and look for Support Status.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
jchuzi #39810 04/06/16 03:55 PM
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Thanks Jon, now I see it!

It would be nice to have my model in the my model section, but I don't see an intuitive way to get it in there quickly. I think they want you to manually enter everything in?

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #39811 04/06/16 04:25 PM
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I think the assumption is Mactracker will be used to keep records about multiple devices many of which are remotely located and there is no way for the app to get the information on all the devices. For example I have three Mac minis, two iPads, two Apple watches, three Apple TVs, two Time Capsules, and three Airport Express devices. There are apps that can detect and record some information about networked devices but they still require a LOT of manual input.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
joemikeb #39812 04/06/16 04:51 PM
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Thanks Joe, what I meant was it would be nice to just be able to drag their window blurbs into that box called My Products, just as a quick reference of my old computers. I don't see a way to do that. (hope that was clear, may not be still)

You don't own laptops or desktops anymore? Just attach the mc minis to displays?

And what is a Timecapsule!

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #39813 04/06/16 05:18 PM
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Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
jchuzi #40068 04/26/16 07:08 PM
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I decided for the macbook air to buy from OCW, a kit of 128 SSD. The video was real good, and I got a great tech guy on the phone.

But as I was unscrewing the last screw on the plate, it would not come out. This screw did not have the 5 ridges the others had. It was a perfect circle. The computer has never been serviced. So we could not get it out. So he recommended I take it into the Apple store to show them that. Which I may do.

50 min of the workday, on the phone getting the plate almost off, then putting it back, as I lost a couple of the little screws, but found them, and I'm back to where I was.

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #40069 04/26/16 08:26 PM
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Did you take a look at the bad screw with a magnifying glass to see if it shows signs of having been stripped...as in somebody had been working on it and did a lousy job?

There's as little way to screw that perfect circle in as there is to screw it out.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
artie505 #40070 04/26/16 08:38 PM
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ARtie, thanks, I've looked and doubled looked, its a perfect circle, no way for a driver to grip it. Yet the unit has never been serviced once. Baffling.

What did this mean?
There's as little way to screw that perfect circle in as there is to screw it out.

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #40072 04/26/16 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted By: kevs
ARtie, thanks, I've looked and doubled looked, its a perfect circle, no way for a driver to grip it. Yet the unit has never been serviced once. Baffling.

What did this mean?
There's as little way to screw that perfect circle in as there is to screw it out. (Emphasis added)

If there's no way for a driver to grip it, how on Earth did it get screwed in in the first place?

That's why I was thinking that perhaps the pentalobe got stripped out when the screw was screwed in, but if that's the case you ought to be able to see signs of it with a good magnifying glass.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
artie505 #40073 04/26/16 09:01 PM
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With a magnifying glass it appears as the other screws but a perfect circle. I think Apple installed it that way. Maybe the factory only had the circle screw that day, ran out? just guessing.

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #40075 04/26/16 10:15 PM
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But what tool can you imagine that would work with such a screw?

My knowledge is by no means encyclopedic, but I'm at a total loss as to how you'd screw/unscrew a screw that's got nothing to "grab".

(I'd try the Genius Bar before doing anything else, but the only way to get that screw out may be with Crazy Glue.)

Edit: Another insidious Apple way of preventing you from working on your own Mac? (Which begs the question of how does anybody work on it?)

Last edited by artie505; 04/27/16 12:20 AM. Reason: Expand

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
artie505 #40076 04/27/16 02:26 PM
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For whatever reason Apple has a penchant for using different screw head types to hold the same assembly in place. For example the logic board in some Mac mini models is secured by four torx screws and one hex screw. OWC's disassembly instructions carefully warn that although a T8 driver will work on all five there is a definite risk of stripping the hex screw unless you are very careful. I am wondering if that is the case here? A screw head for a small hex driver can be deceiving to the eye.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
joemikeb #40077 04/27/16 02:40 PM
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Thanks Joe, no, these were all same size. The last one would not turn. I'm thinking either I stripped it, though I doubt it, as I never got a grip, or maybe when the apple store when they put in a new batter did years ago? Or Apple install one oddball screw.

IN any case it was highly stressful, I lost a full hour of the day to no good end. I now have a new issue to deal with. I'm much less inclined to DIY in the future.

I did not even get the thing opened!

Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #40078 04/27/16 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted By: kevs
IN any case it was highly stressful, I lost a full hour of the day to no good end. I now have a new issue to deal with. I'm much less inclined to DIY in the future.

I have don't several DIY upgrades in the past, but after watching OWC's DIY videos to upgrade the drive on my Mac mini I decided their Turnkey installation was well worth the time and modest additional cost.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
kevs #40079 04/27/16 08:27 PM
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I've seen some high-security screws that look like perfect circles but are actually veeeeery slightly oblong, so slightly that it's hard to tell. The tool that opens them is also a very slight oblong. The screws in a cable box I once had were this way.

There's a trick to removing them, if you don't mind not getting the screw or the tool back. Find a tool that fits in the circle, like a small pentalobe or hex driver tool. Put a tiny drop of super glue on the end of the tool, being very careful not to let it spill down the side of the tool (you don't want it getting on the threads of the screw). Press it into the screw, hold it for ten seconds, then turn the tool and remove the screw.

If you absolutely must have the screw back, heat it up to melt the Crazy Glue.


Photo gallery, all about me, and more: www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
tacit #40080 04/27/16 08:44 PM
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I suggested Crazy Glue as a possibility a few posts back; thanks for confirming it. (I wasn't sure if the glue could handle the torque force.)

I've found that acetone (nail polish remover) dissolves Crazy Glue if it can get to it.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
artie505 #40081 04/27/16 08:45 PM
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I had no idea acetone would dissolve Crazy Glue. Good to know!


Photo gallery, all about me, and more: www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
tacit #40082 04/27/16 08:57 PM
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I'd better clarify: I use Crazy Glue to glue a necklace I wear together; I glue a Duco Cement coated shoelace into a silver fitting, and the bond holds for years.

When the shoelace finally needs to be replaced I soak the assembly in acetone, and it comes apart.

I don't know how many situations allow the acetone to contact the glue so thoroughly, but in those that it does, possibly many more than I'd think it would, it works.

(Edit: I've always had the impression that all those organic compounds dissolve each other given enough time and effort.)

Last edited by artie505; 04/28/16 12:37 AM.

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: When to replace imacs and Macbooks?
artie505 #40083 04/27/16 08:59 PM
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kevs Offline OP
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I'm taking it in to 3rd party Mac guy, no more DIY for awhile!

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