UPDATE + QUERIES/CONCERNS
I still haven't heard back from the (Apple-authorized service) shop about my iMac's ills. It's a bad time of year to hit tech services in a university setting.
In the interim a number of concerns occur to me regarding which I'd like some guidance. It's a mid-2011 iMac, Model Z0H6, 2.5GHz Intel Core i5, with 21.5" screen.
(1) Assuming my hard drive is well and truly hosed and requires replacement, I'm planning to have its 500GB Western Digital hard drive replaced with same — I don't need or want greater capacity — unless there's a good reason for me to select something different.
• Would a solid-state drive be advisable (to ward off mechanical failures) or are there significant downsides to such (if indeed it exists for my iMac)?
(2) Assuming that the hard drive is replaced:
• Would not the replacement be a tabula rasa or would it be properly formatted?
• In order to restore my previous set-up via Time Machine, how would that be accomplished if Recovery HD is part of the software on the hard drive (which now has no software)?
• Assuming that somehow Recovery HD is accessible, which does one select to restore everything: the hard drive mechanism (ie, the superordinate drive with ID spec) or the subordinate hard drive with the Mac HD icon (which is user-nameable)?
Pogue's Missing Manual for Lion is ambiguous in that regard, noting under First Aid ~ Repair one thing in one place and another thing in another place.
(3) Is there anything I should be aware/wary of upon return of my iMac? For example:
• If it was opened up in the shop, should I inquire if it was put back together according to original specs (eg, taping), even though it's been looked after by an Apple-certified technician?
• If the drive was replaced, should I obtain written confirmation that the data on the original drive was irrecoverably erased?
