Any Apple experts

[rmcin626]

I’m thinking of upgrading my current MacBook Pro laptop, which is an early 2015 13 inch, 2.7 intel core i5 , 8gb. 121gb hd

I also have connected currently , External HD 2TB which has about 150GB free
Transcend jet pack card 130 GB about 50 GB free

I bought the 2TB external because the onboard HD was so small
The Transcend has my ITunes library on it.

Should I buy one of the new M1 MacBooks or go for one of the new M1 IMacs. Ideally looking to tidy things up a bit, and maybe sort out some of the streaming issues to my Arcam.

Any suggestions welcome must be Apple, I also have IPhone 12 and IPad Pro.

Many thanks
Robin

[struth]

rob, filterlab is one of your men for this robin.. he works with apple macs

[rmcin626]

rob, filterlab is one of your men for this robin.. he works with apple macs

Cheers Grant, couldn’t remember who was the expert

[Filterlab]

Hi Robin.

There's nothing negative about the M1 iMac (aside from its bland looks and daft colours), but it really is only a MacBook Air in a desktop case, nothing more. There is a 27" replacement due with proper levels of power and a decent display, so that will be worth waiting for.

You could go for the 13" MacBook Pro M1 but that really offers nothing more than the MacBook Air except for the TouchBar. The Pro can get specced higher than the Air, but not much more.

Don't discount the 16" MacBook Pro and the 27" iMac. Intel they may be, but both are paragons of power and very fast indeed - plus the 27" iMac has proper connectivity. Whatever you buy, you will get approximately 12 years' of daily use before obsolescence hits.

[rmcin626]

Hi Robin.

There's nothing negative about the M1 iMac (aside from its bland looks and daft colours), but it really is only a MacBook Air in a desktop case, nothing more. There is a 27" replacement due with proper levels of power and a decent display, so that will be worth waiting for.

You could go for the 13" MacBook Pro M1 but that really offers nothing more than the MacBook Air except for the TouchBar. The Pro can get specced higher than the Air, but not much more.

Don't discount the 16" MacBook Pro and the 27" iMac. Intel they may be, but both are paragons of power and very fast indeed - plus the 27" iMac has proper connectivity. Whatever you buy, you will get approximately 12 years' of daily use before obsolescence hits.

Thanks for that Rob, the idea of an IMac was maybe more to do with the much larger screen, but I will look at your suggestions. I am also thinking of moving my music from my MacBook Pro to something along the lines of a Bluesound Vault.

[Filterlab]

You can always go for a MacBook Pro and add an external 4K monitor for desktop duties.

[rmcin626]

You can always go for a MacBook Pro and add an external 4K monitor for desktop duties.

Cheers will have a look at that option.

[rmcin626]

Giving this model some consideration

https://www.johnlewis.com/2020-apple-imac-27-all-in-one-intel-core-i5-8gb-ram-512gb-ssd-radeon-pro-5300-27-5k-silver/p5105727

[Filterlab]

An excellent Mac that will do you for years. RAM can be upgraded via a little door on the rear up to 128GB. The 5300 GPU is 4GB so ample for most uses.

[rmcin626]

An excellent Mac that will do you for years. RAM can be upgraded via a little door on the rear up to 128GB. The 5300 GPU is 4GB so ample for most uses.

Not going to be used for video editing or gaming so should be enough for me.

[Filterlab]

Easily. And actually it'll do video editing and gaming with ease anyway.

[rmcin626]

An excellent Mac that will do you for years. RAM can be upgraded via a little door on the rear up to 128GB. The 5300 GPU is 4GB so ample for most uses.

Now ordered and arriving tomorrow, thanks for the advice much appreciated

[dave2010]

Pity I didn't see this earlier. Patrick - the Garageband Guide has done reviews of all of the M1 models now - starting with the Mac Mini - which seems like a brilliant buy - but not in the very basic configuration - should have at least the 512 Gbyte version.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BU35UO9FdM

Pete Johns has also done some reviews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhjKmEBT86Y

The M1 processor appears to beat the heck out of any of the other chips which have been used in Apple kit. In fairness, we bought a 27 inch iMac last year, with an i5 processor. For most purposes it is brilliant - having the large screen is great.
I might still go for a Mac Mini later - and couple it with a large screen.

Really depends what one wants a computer for - to decide which model to get.

Did Robin go for the 27 inch JL offer?

[rmcin626]

Pity I didn't see this earlier. Patrick - the Garageband Guide has done reviews of all of the M1 models now - starting with the Mac Mini - which seems like a brilliant buy - but not in the very basic configuration - should have at least the 512 Gbyte version.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BU35UO9FdM

Pete Johns has also done some reviews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhjKmEBT86Y

The M1 processor appears to beat the heck out of any of the other chips which have been used in Apple kit. In fairness, we bought a 27 inch iMac last year, with an i5 processor. For most purposes it is brilliant - having the large screen is great.
I might still go for a Mac Mini later - and couple it with a large screen.

Really depends what one wants a computer for - to decide which model to get.

Did Robin go for the 27 inch JL offer?

Yes Dave, i went for the 27 inch JL offer

[struth]

Now ordered and arriving tomorrow, thanks for the advice much appreciated

looks like a good machine robin.. good youve got it sorted. i make do with fast secondhand laptops.. fit my budget:D

[rmcin626]

looks like a good machine robin.. good youve got it sorted. i make do with fast secondhand laptops.. fit my budget:D

Thanks Grant, I have some spare cash just now, needed a new machine and 18 month interest free always helps

[struth]

Thanks Grant, I have some spare cash just now, needed a new machine and 18 month interest free always helps

good.. sure it'll do well.. ive always used windows so its all i know really although have an ipad:lol:

hows the audi going? was considering a q3

[rmcin626]

good.. sure it'll do well.. ive always used windows so its all i know really although have an ipad:lol:

hows the audi going? was considering a q3

i always used windows at work but for personal use have preferred Apple.

Very happy with my Q5, but its an Audi so everything is an add on, the Q3 is a great car which I might have gone for but I’m big guy these days and the Q5 ticks all the boxes, but it is a premium brand, so depending on want you are looking can be expensive.

[Filterlab]

Yes Dave, i went for the 27 inch JL offer

Good move Robin. Now buy two of these and pop them in the RAM slots round the back (remove the power lead and press the little button above the socket with a screwdriver to release the door), and hey presto, you immediately have 40GB of RAM - more than enough for almost everything.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0846JXS5N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_V9XYR6QSVQ8D9RD9XE4V

[struth]

i always used windows at work but for personal use have preferred Apple.

Very happy with my Q5, but its an Audi so everything is an add on, the Q3 is a great car which I might have gone for but I’m big guy these days and the Q5 ticks all the boxes, but it is a premium brand, so depending on want you are looking can be expensive.

yeah i see audi and bmw etc are into this add-on for a price... its all fitted in factory but needs to be enabled... been looking at an electric peugeot too.. im going up to see one soon actually.. need to see if i can get in it:lolsign:

looking like im not getting my jab as no matter who i contact nothing happens so i might as well just let it happen if thats how its to be.:rolleyes:

[struth]

Good move Robin. Now buy two of these and pop them in the RAM slots round the back (remove the power lead and press the little button above the socket with a screwdriver to release the door), and hey presto, you immediately have 40GB of RAM - more than enough for almost everything.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0846JXS5N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_V9XYR6QSVQ8D9RD9XE4V

sure it would.. ive 16gb and its got enough for me

[Filterlab]

16GB is generally enough for all. My MacBook Pro and two Mac mini's are 16GB and they're plenty quick enough. My iMac was 64GB but I swapped two sticks out as a client needed them and now it's only 48GB - but in dropping down by 16GB there was absolutely no performance difference at all.

Essentially the entire OS and all the opened applications run purely in RAM.

[rmcin626]

yeah i see audi and bmw etc are into this add-on for a price... its all fitted in factory but needs to be enabled... been looking at an electric peugeot too.. im going up to see one soon actually.. need to see if i can get in it:lolsign:

looking like im not getting my jab as no matter who i contact nothing happens so i might as well just let it happen if thats how its to be.:rolleyes:

Ive now had both vaccines, strange you are still waiting.

[dave2010]

16GB is generally enough for all. My MacBook Pro and two Mac mini's are 16GB and they're plenty quick enough. My iMac was 64GB but I swapped two sticks out as a client needed them and now it's only 48GB - but in dropping down by 16GB there was absolutely no performance difference at all.

Essentially the entire OS and all the opened applications run purely in RAM.There comes a point when putting more memory in doesn't really make much difference - except perhaps to how maybe applications can be kept completely in RAM without any need for swapping. I put the max memory into the earlier ranges of iMacs and really it didn't make much difference once half the max was reached.

The JL offer seems a good one - with 512 Gbytes of SSD. Our machine, bought on an offer last year has 1 Tbyte in a Fusion drive configuration - but I have been slightly disappointed with the increase in background noise. Ideally I'ld like a machine like that with 2 Tbyte of SSD, but the cost would be prohibitive.

[rmcin626]

There comes a point when putting more memory in doesn't really make much difference - except perhaps to how maybe applications can be kept completely in RAM without any need for swapping. I put the max memory into the earlier ranges of iMacs and really it didn't make much difference once half the max was reached.

The JL offer seems a good one - with 512 Gbytes of SSD. Our machine, bought on an offer last year has 1 Tbyte in a Fusion drive configuration - but I have been slightly disappointed with the increase in background noise. Ideally I'ld like a machine like that with 2 Tbyte of SSD, but the cost would be prohibitive.

Happy with my decision, spoke to to someone at Apple who suggested the new M1 for course, but think this route would be better was its upgradable. THe 27 inch screen is also good.

[Filterlab]

There comes a point when putting more memory in doesn't really make much difference - except perhaps to how maybe applications can be kept completely in RAM without any need for swapping. I put the max memory into the earlier ranges of iMacs and really it didn't make much difference once half the max was reached.

The JL offer seems a good one - with 512 Gbytes of SSD. Our machine, bought on an offer last year has 1 Tbyte in a Fusion drive configuration - but I have been slightly disappointed with the increase in background noise. Ideally I'ld like a machine like that with 2 Tbyte of SSD, but the cost would be prohibitive.

The performance of a Mac is its whole rather than certain spec; an SSD plus powerful processor plus powerful GPU plus plenty of RAM will perform better than a base model simply max'd out on RAM. The important thing is the internal drive, and that should be factory SSD - which on many models is three times faster than a third party SATA SSD, and those are fast anyway!

It's all about 'the big numbers' a lot of the time. I've seen people running Macs powerful enough to pull the moon from its orbit, and all they do is "emails, photos and internet". One doesn't really need 512GB of RAM and an 8TB SSD and a 16GB GPU for "emails, photos and internet", but it's 'cool' to have it. :D

[Filterlab]

Happy with my decision, spoke to to someone at Apple who suggested the new M1 for course, but think this route would be better was its upgradable. THe 27 inch screen is also good.


I bet they did! I'm sure they'll be an M1 replacement for the 27" iMac soon - and hopefully with decent spec, in the meantime it's still the best all round Mac (IMO), and that screen is incredible - I absolutely love mine.

[rmcin626]

I bet they did! I'm sure they'll be an M1 replacement for the 27" iMac soon - and hopefully with decent spec, in the meantime it's still the best all round Mac (IMO), and that screen is incredible - I absolutely love mine.

Will arrive sometime today.

[Filterlab]

Lovely! :D

[dave2010]

Has it come yet? Hope it's working well.

I found this about memory - https://medium.com/macoclock/how-much-ram-do-you-need-in-2020-59b12deaf0eb which suggests that if you do certain types of work - photo editing for example - then maxing out the memory can be worthwhile.
OTOH for everyday use probably the memory it comes with, or maybe a bump to twice that, might be worthwhile.

If you bought from JL - as we did - I'm not sure how putting extra memory in affects their guarantee. Probably I'll put the extra memory in this one when the 2 or 3 year guarantee runs out.

[rmcin626]

Has it come yet? Hope it's working well.

I found this about memory - https://medium.com/macoclock/how-much-ram-do-you-need-in-2020-59b12deaf0eb which suggests that if you do certain types of work - photo editing for example - then maxing out the memory can be worthwhile.
OTOH for everyday use probably the memory it comes with, or maybe a bump to twice that, might be worthwhile.

If you bought from JL - as we did - I'm not sure how putting extra memory in affects their guarantee. Probably I'll put the extra memory in this one when the 2 or 3 year guarantee runs out.

Yes, it has arrived and is currently transferring everything over from my MacBook, good point about the extra memory and the JL warranty, will need to check that out.

[Filterlab]

Yes, it has arrived and is currently transferring everything over from my MacBook, good point about the extra memory and the JL warranty, will need to check that out.

See my previous post...


Good move Robin. Now buy two of these and pop them in the RAM slots round the back (remove the power lead and press the little button above the socket with a screwdriver to release the door), and hey presto, you immediately have 40GB of RAM - more than enough for almost everything.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0846JXS5N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_V9XYR6QSVQ8D9RD9XE4V

40GB will be ample.

[rmcin626]

See my previous post...



40GB will be ample.

Cheers Rob, will check that out once everything is up and running

[Filterlab]

My first computer had 40GB. An Acer laptop with Windows XP in 2004, cost £899, was a good bit of kit.

It's a good wedge of RAM that. The most I've come across was in a new Mac Pro at a client's place (film studio).

Their Mac Pro is running 1.5TB of RAM. Blindingly fast in everything, it was encoding 4K film of around 1.5 hours in length in less than 20 seconds. Amazing Mac, but almost £60,000 to buy!


Cheers Rob, will check that out once everything is up and running

:)

[dave2010]

See my previous post...



40GB will be ample.Probably best to check with the Crucial compatiblity checker before buying new memory. https://uk.crucial.com/products?cm_mmc=google-_-uk-_-DRAM-_-null&gclid=CjwKCAjwkN6EBhBNEiwADVfya88BxoCXaY9TDLbIy-qGY_jaUm0moJor3Gd_oA867enee8clVXc7FhoCxowQAvD_BwE&ef_id=CjwKCAjwkN6EBhBNEiwADVfya88BxoCXaY9TDLbIy-qGY_jaUm0moJor3Gd_oA867enee8clVXc7FhoCxowQAvD_BwE% 3AG%3As

Sometimes memory modules need to be matched to other boards - but it does depend on the machine, and what's already installed. Chances are that there will be 2 spare slots (at least). Officially I think there is a limit of 64 Gbytes for the iMacs, though perhaps some people have pushed the limit to 128 Gbytes. My guess is that even 32 Gbytes would be enough for most people.

However, I would rather fancy the £60k machine which has 1.5Tbytes of memory - but I can't really justify that.

[Filterlab]

It's compatible. I've been running Mac Doctor Norwich for ten years and been using Macs for over 31 years. I know compatible memory. I wouldn't recommend memory that wouldn't work. And Crucial will sell you only Crucial memory, Integral and Hynix is better memory from my years of experience.

This iMac (2020) will officially run 128GB, the previous year's model (2019) would officially run 64GB but actually run 128GB.

[rmcin626]

It's compatible. I've been running Mac Doctor Norwich for ten years and been using Macs for over 31 years. I know compatible memory. I wouldn't recommend memory that wouldn't work. And Crucial will sell you only Crucial memory, Integral and Hynix is better memory from my years of experience.

This iMac (2020) will officially run 128GB, the previous year's model (2019) would officially run 64GB but actually run 128GB.

Happy to take your advice Rob


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LittleTone]

Hi Guys

Thanks for a very interesting thread. As someone who bought a 2020 iMac 27" last October; would Filterlab be kind enough to point me at 2X16mb memory modules. I've also read somewhere that the original 8mb should be removed. It that necessary ?

[dave2010]

Even if you don't want to buy Crucial memory (and I have had several modules from them over the years - and had no problems ...) you can still run the Crucial memory check which will tell you the kind of configuration you need. It should tell you whether you' need to take out the original 8Mbyte, or whether you can leave it in. Sometimes that's possible - and sometimes not - depends on the Apple model and the memory. You can also check whether a single 32 Mbyte module might be available and would work - it all depends ....

Chances are that you probably don't want to replace memory too often so you may find it not worth your while to install and test different configurations. Depends on how happy you are to undo panels on your computer, and extract and reinsert new modules. Sometimes old ones can be very hard to take out, and sometimes considerable force is needed to push the new ones in. You might only want to do that once.

I'm still trying to figure whether I should be adding memory to our newest machine - and whether it would invalidate the guarantee. I have succeeded in crashing the machine recently - almost certainly due to insufficient memory - while trying to do photo and video editing.

[Filterlab]

GB not MB, MB RAM has been gone for donkey's years.

[AJSki2fly]

Hi Guys

Thanks for a very interesting thread. As someone who bought a 2020 iMac 27" last October; would Filterlab be kind enough to point me at 2X16mb memory modules. I've also read somewhere that the original 8mb should be removed. It that necessary ?

I used to work in Tech. support for Apple, your machine irrespective of its speed comes as standard with 8GB (two 4GB) of 2666MHz DDR4 memory; it has four SO-DIMM slots, user accessible
Configurable to 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB. As stated it has 4 SO-DIMM slots which can take four RAM sticks, you should always add these in matched pairs.

So if you went to 16BG you would need to add 2 * 4GB RAMs in the unused bays (SO-DIMM slots). If you wanted to go to 32GB then you can buy 2 * 16GB RAMs and replace the exiting 4GB RAMs. You could in the future then go to 64GB with 2 more of the same in the unused slots.

I would advise you not to be tempted into leaving the 2 * 4GB RAM sticks in and just adding two bigger RAM sticks in the unused slots. The CPU(processor) and OS(operating system) does not necessarily see the RAM in the machine as contiguous and this can cause issues and actually made it run slower. In fact I know for certain that some iMACs if you put the wrong RAM sticks in or do not use initially RAM bays 1 and 2 first they will not boot up. So as I said earlier its add RAM sticks in matched pairs, by the way this applies to PC's as well, mixing RAM sticks of varying size is not good.

[rmcin626]

I used to work in Tech. support for Apple, your machine irrespective of its speed comes as standard with 8GB (two 4GB) of 2666MHz DDR4 memory; it has four SO-DIMM slots, user accessible
Configurable to 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB. As stated it has 4 SO-DIMM slots which can take four RAM sticks, you should always add these in matched pairs.

So if you went to 16BG you would need to add 2 * 4GB RAMs in the unused bays (SO-DIMM slots). If you wanted to go to 32GB then you can buy 2 * 16GB RAMs and replace the exiting 4GB RAMs. You could in the future then go to 64GB with 2 more of the same in the unused slots.

I would advise you not to be tempted into leaving the 2 * 4GB RAM sticks in and just adding two bigger RAM sticks in the unused slots. The CPU(processor) and OS(operating system) does not necessarily see the RAM in the machine as contiguous and this can cause issues and actually made it run slower. In fact I know for certain that some iMACs if you put the wrong RAM sticks in or do not use initially RAM bays 1 and 2 first they will not boot up. So as I said earlier its add RAM sticks in matched pairs, by the way this applies to PC's as well, mixing RAM sticks of varying size is not good.


I have a couple of 16gb RAM arriving today, as per the previous discussion with Rob, who stated that they could just be slotted in addition to the current 2x4gb in the machine, making 40GB of RAM in total.

[struth]

im not apple aquainted but on windows i would usually keep modules same size.. going for 32gb, and take out the 2 4's. but Rob will keep you right Robin.

[Filterlab]

Keep the 2x 4GB in 1 & 3, add the 16GB in 2 & 4.

The bridges are separate - 8GB on one and 32GB on the other - so will be seen as one contiguous block (non-contiguous addressing was solved over 20 years ago with the introduction of OS X; it was an issue up to macOS 8 with some issues in macOS 9).

You'll get 40GB fully addressable immediately. You can swap out the 4GB sticks whenever you like (if you need to).

My 2015 runs 2x 8GB on the north bridge and 2x16GB on the south giving me 48GB. I did have 4x 16GB but I needed a pair for a client. The drop from 64 to 48 made no difference at all.

[struth]

der ya go.. nice one rob

[Filterlab]

:D

[rmcin626]

Keep the 2x 4GB in 1 & 3, add the 16GB in 2 & 4.

The bridges are separate - 8GB on one and 32GB on the other - so will be seen as one contiguous block (non-contiguous addressing was solved over 20 years ago with the introduction of OS X).

You'll get 40GB fully addressable immediately. You can swap out the 4GB sticks whenever you like (if you need to).

My 2015 runs 2x 8GB on the north bridge and 2x16GB on the south giving me 48GB. I did have 4x 16GB but I needed a pair for a client. The drop from 64 to 48 made no difference at all.

Will do Rob, many thanks

[Filterlab]

I've actually seen a number of old Macs that have failed on one bridge only, removing a stick from that bridge has seen them run perfectly well for years. They are tough boots the Macs.

[AJSki2fly]

Keep the 2x 4GB in 1 & 3, add the 16GB in 2 & 4.

The bridges are separate - 8GB on one and 32GB on the other - so will be seen as one contiguous block (non-contiguous addressing was solved over 20 years ago with the introduction of OS X; it was an issue up to macOS 8 with some issues in macOS 9).

You'll get 40GB fully addressable immediately. You can swap out the 4GB sticks whenever you like (if you need to).

My 2015 runs 2x 8GB on the north bridge and 2x16GB on the south giving me 48GB. I did have 4x 16GB but I needed a pair for a client. The drop from 64 to 48 made no difference at all.

Interesting!

[AJSki2fly]

I've actually seen a number of old Macs that have failed on one bridge only, removing a stick from that bridge has seen them run perfectly well for years. They are tough boots the Macs.

Yes often on MacBooks we would see a none booting one, and doing as you say would get the customer up and running again, often saving them the expense of a new MLB(logic board), usually they had no back up so this would then become more important to them in case the unit failed completely in the future.

[Filterlab]

Yes often on MacBooks we would see a none booting one, and doing as you say would get the customer up and running again, often saving them the expense of a new MLB(logic board), usually they had no back up so this would then become more important to them in case the unit failed completely in the future.

Indeed, keeps the computer going for a while. Mind you, data recovery is easy as mostly a failed logic board leaves the HDD or SSD intact - unless it's one of the infuriating new models (12" Retinas, 2018 Mac mini's and TouchBar MacBook Pro's - I'm looking at you) where the storage is soldered to the logic board as an inherent component. Grrrr!

I've trained my clients to back up; some have hugely extravagant back up systems, others use a single external. Any back up though is good - saves a lot of heartache and/or a lot of work for me to deep scan failing drives. :lol:

The SSDs are pretty resilient these days, although if they fail then mostly the data is gone forever too.

[AJSki2fly]

Indeed, keeps the computer going for a while. Mind you, data recovery is easy as mostly a failed logic board leaves the HDD or SSD intact - unless it's one of the infuriating new models (12" Retinas, 2018 Mac mini's and TouchBar MacBook Pro's - I'm looking at you) where the storage is soldered to the logic board as an inherent component. Grrrr!

I've trained my clients to back up; some have hugely extravagant back up systems, others use a single external. Any back up though is good - saves a lot of heartache and/or a lot of work for me to deep scan failing drives. :lol:

The SSDs are pretty resilient these days, although if they fail then mostly the data is gone forever too.

There is a way to get the data of a failed Apple MLB with soldered RAM, as long as the RAM has not been toasted when the MLB went tits-up, I saved several customers bacons doing this, although it is a last resort. I have resisted moving from my Late 2013 MacBook Pro which is a great machine, I am probably going to have to source a genuine replacement battery soon and do the tricky removal and replacement having stripped it apart. Also one or two of my the key are loosing their letters now. My experience with SSDs is much the same as with spinny disk drives, generally good for 4-5 years as long as a spinny one is not subject to sudden impacts.

SSDs can be a bit odd, there are several in MACs that are known to fail and have issues, some are OK for years and others just fail in a few weeks, Apple have had a few replacement programs fo some. I have seen units where we suspected the SSD was the cause of regular crashing and erratic running, even though invasive diagnostics said all was OK, replace the SSD and do a clean install and put the customers data back and all was fine, by the way that was after doing the same with the customer SSD and it making no difference.

Something I have also come across on several machines that will not boot at all, just black screens and then hangs, now a lot of techies will be lead down the path of assuming it is the MLB failed as no posting, even after PRAM reset etc. So they go ahead and put in a new MLB and still the same, so then they go, 'oh it must be the hard drive is corrupted and needs replacing', so in goes a new drive, they manage to get the OS to it and then same failure. so what can it be, put the customers hard drive and MLB back, remove the Wifi card and see if it boots, hey presto as if by magic it works, so we pop in a new Wifi card and fully test and it then passes diags with flying colours. The issue is that the Wifi card chip has a fault and on boot up the BootROM is getting screwed and hence no post, you would think that this would not happen as the wifi card is not part of the MLB, but I can assure you it does.

Some years ago I did set up a Hackintosh machine, Intel PC laptop running Apple OS, it was quite interesting playing around with the EFI to load up the right ones for the hardware to interface to the hardware and run OS. It did work but the laptop mouse/track pad could be erratic, software compatibility issues.

[rmcin626]

New iMac now updated with the additional 32gb of RAM, all good so far , thanks to Rob for his advice

[Filterlab]

Showing the full 40GB?

[rmcin626]

Showing the full 40GB?


Yes

[Filterlab]

Ace.

[dave2010]

Is it clearly better with the extra memory?

If so, I might bring my plans to put the extra memory into ours forward.

[rmcin626]

Is it clearly better with the extra memory?

If so, I might bring my plans to put the extra memory into ours forward.

Only been running with the additional RAM for a day, and went into a new machine.