Michael Emrys Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 To one and all...I've been offline again for a month or so but seem to be back now. My health was okay this time, but my computer died. I was able to just barely scrape up enough dough to purchase another refurbished iMac locally and have been spending the last couple of days trying to reconfigure it into some kind of usable shape, a task made more laborious by the condition critical software was in. Perhaps more or that later. But I finally was able to get in into some semblance of running condition today and so am a happier man than I was 24 hours ago. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Good to hear you are doing well. And that you are going to be victorious once again over technology. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Was the defunct mac the ol' water-cooled G5 or had you gotten an Intel based Mac replacement for that beast? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 4 hours ago, Wicky said: Was the defunct mac the ol' water-cooled G5 or had you gotten an Intel based Mac replacement for that beast? Actually, it was the refurbished iMac that you suggested that I purchase six years ago. Although it had its share of quirks, it gave pretty good service those six years until it gave up the ghost, coincidentally while I was in the middle of a CM game. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Michael Emrys said: Actually, it was the refurbished iMac that you suggested that I purchase six years ago. Although it had its share of quirks, it gave pretty good service those six years until it gave up the ghost, coincidentally while I was in the middle of a CM game. Michael 6 years is pretty good going for something pretty much sealed for life - what imac have you now got and were the problems with software needing to get it updated? Anything I can help with? I'm muddling on with a refurbished early 09' MacPro bought a couple of years ago but firmware hacked to 5,1 run latest Sierra OS :-) Edited October 1, 2016 by Wicky 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 6 hours ago, Wicky said: 6 years is pretty good going for something pretty much sealed for life - what imac have you now got...? System Information calls it an iMac 13,1; I don't know what the nickname for that is. I thought six years was about as much as I could expect and my original plan was to buy a brand new one last fall, but unplanned medical expenses ate up all the funds I had hoped to save for that project. 6 hours ago, Wicky said: ...were the problems with software needing to get it updated? Anything I can help with? That would be grand. The problem is that Migration Assistant can't seem to find the external HD on which I had kept updated copies of my internal HD. I need that information to get a large quantity of data onto my new machine, including my library of games, my address book, my e-mails, and sundry other items. Any ideas on why it should do that or what I could do about it? Even the items—like games—I can load from other sources will be crushingly tedious. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Sounds like iMac 21.5" Early 2013 2 core 3.3Ghz which should be good for CM :-) - Though HD is a bit slow (5400-rpm SATA) compared to usual 7200 unless it was originally configured with a Fusion frive. Whatever it's got your stuck with it as it's non-upgradeable. :-( So does the old Back Up drive mount on your desktop when connected? What kind is the external? Is it connected to your mac via firewire or USB? Is the cable okay and is the external drive plugged in and powered up? What version of OSX is the new imac and what version was the old imac running? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 (edited) 17 hours ago, Wicky said: Sounds like iMac 21.5" Early 2013 2 core 3.3Ghz which should be good for CM :-) 2.7GHz actually, so a little slow. And it shows "late 2012" in About This Mac. It also shows the processor as Intel Core i5 with 4 cores. 17 hours ago, Wicky said: So does the old Back Up drive mount on your desktop when connected? Nope. Thanks for that graphic, BTW. I was puzzled by why the HD didn't show on the desktop; got it back now. But no backup. 17 hours ago, Wicky said: Is it connected to your mac via firewire or USB? Is the cable okay and is the external drive plugged in and powered up? USB and the cable appears to be alright. It draws power from the computer. 17 hours ago, Wicky said: What version of OSX is the new imac and what version was the old imac running? This one is 10.9.5 and the old one was—I thought—10.9.6. Is that out or am I misremembering? When I check Software Update it doesn't mention a later update. Michael Edited October 3, 2016 by Michael Emrys 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 (edited) So basically the external HD is connected via USB but will not mount. Try a different cable and Does the external HD also have the option of having its own power supply? It might be worth getting the External's Backup HD out (presuming its a SATA drive) and plugging it into a HD dock and seeing if that works https://www.amazon.com/SISUN-Docking-Station-Reader-Black/dp/B009F7TXMK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1475478083&sr=8-3&keywords=HDD+Docking+Station Edited October 3, 2016 by Wicky 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 4, 2016 Author Share Posted October 4, 2016 (edited) 23 hours ago, Wicky said: Try a different cable and Does the external HD also have the option of having its own power supply? Can't use a different cable as this has a peculiar socket that only this cable will fit (Actually the USB cable in the ad looks similar.). Plus no option for an alternative power supply. But you've made me wonder about something. Earlier I had asked the people at the store to remove and save the HD in the old machine for me. Now I am wondering if I could put it in a dock like the one in the ad and download that way. Michael Edited October 4, 2016 by Michael Emrys 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 4, 2016 Author Share Posted October 4, 2016 BTW and just in passing, I notice that this machine has two Thunderbolt ports. I gather that Thunderbolt is replacing Firewire as the high-speed protocol, but I'm wondering if there are Firewire-->Thunderbolt adapters. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 So the external is a portable HD purely drawing power via the USB cable. What make & kind is it? When I said try a different cable I meant another USB cable just in case the one you're using is fubar - but if there's another connection type capable of linking between the two you can try that. Firewire (?) > http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MD464ZM/A/thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter And yes if you've got the old iMac's Hard drive the Dock would do the job - it would be slow but it should work. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Hey man glad youre ok 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 10 hours ago, Michael Emrys said: BTW and just in passing, I notice that this machine has two Thunderbolt ports. I gather that Thunderbolt is replacing Firewire as the high-speed protocol, but I'm wondering if there are Firewire-->Thunderbolt adapters. Yes, for hooking up a firewire drive to a Thunderbolt port: http://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/MD464LL/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter?afid=p238|syzDP6mS6-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_142913545083_&cid=---cth-slid--product-MD464LL/A-CA Also for temporarily connecting bare drives to a computer I have something similar to this at home and they are cheap: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U2NV2SPATA/ With something like that you can connect any drive up to get data off it. If your mac as a USB port it will probably work for you too. These kinds of things are helpful when you have lost the power cable for a case or have a case with a connector that you cannot use - just open the case pull the bare drive out and power it with the universal power connector and connect the usb cable to whatever native connector the drive wants. Tada! Of course @Wicky's links are good for permanent external drives. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 18 hours ago, Wicky said: So the external is a portable HD purely drawing power via the USB cable. What make & kind is it? STORITE portable. This model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E8OWYOY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 18 hours ago, Wicky said: And yes if you've got the old iMac's Hard drive the Dock would do the job - it would be slow but it should work. Slow is okay as long as it works. I only expect to do this once. I called the store today to make sure that they would remove the HD before they recycle the machine and hang onto it for me until I can get by. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 "STORITE portable. This model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E8OWYOY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1" If that's gone wonky and won't mount and can't be fixed then time for new back up solution - I recommend a Lacie https://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Thunderbolt-2-Desktop-Drive-9000492U/dp/B00O1Q94RE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1475667365&sr=8-5&keywords=Lacie+thunderbolt Hope your original drive can be used as a back up to the back up! What went worng to scrap the iMac? Coincedently Apple just released this: If you can‘t back up or restore your Mac using Time Machine 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Hi Mike! #waves 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) 12 hours ago, Wicky said: What went worng to scrap the iMac? I was in the middle of a Black Sea scenario (actually the first scenario of the American campaign) and this sound came on "fip...fip...fip...fip". The screen went blank and the computer never ran again. I took it to an authorized Mac store and the guy said that fixing it would cost at least >$500. *sigh* Michael Edited October 5, 2016 by Michael Emrys 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 2 minutes ago, JonS said: Hi Mike! #waves Hi, Jon! How they hanging? Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 10 hours ago, Michael Emrys said: I was in the middle of a Black Sea scenario (actually the first scenario of the American campaign) and this sound came on "fip...fip...fip...fip". The screen went blank and the computer never ran again. I took it to an authorized Mac store and the guy said that fixing it would cost at least >$500. *sigh* Michael The Electronic Warfare setting for that scenario sounds like it was dialled up a notch too high ;-) Hopefully it was the screen or motherboard rather than the internal HD that went kaput. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 6, 2016 Author Share Posted October 6, 2016 11 hours ago, Wicky said: The Electronic Warfare setting for that scenario sounds like it was dialled up a notch too high ;-) 11 hours ago, Wicky said: Hopefully it was the screen or motherboard rather than the internal HD that went kaput. That was what the guy at the store thought it would be. Probably the motherboard but maybe also the graphics chip. Possibly the screen. I had another vagrant thought the other day. This computer came with an anti-virus program called Avast. Now, while I can imagine that it might block the transfer of some data from my backup, I don't see it as likely that it would or even could prevent the drive itself from showing up on my desktop. Any thoughts on that? I do not normally run any anti-virus software aside from Apple's own Security Updates, so I wouldn't hesitate to ditch Avast if it were known to be giving me trouble. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Michael Emrys, Computer dying is much better than having you do the same! Computer is replaceable, whereas you are not. Glad you were able to somehow replace it. I see the technical stuff is in the hands of those way better qualified. I do think that it would be wise to temporarily disable Avast, which I had for a time on my rig, in order to eliminate any possible barrier to transferring software. I recall having some issues with it (ultimately scrapped it altogether after using it for a bit) when I migrated from my beloved 17" iMac Snowball to the now cyber fossil (~131 y.o. in human years) late 2009 21.5" iMac Arlington (3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB SDRAM, 256 MB VRAM, 1 TB Super Drive). Good luck with your file transfers! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 Thanks for the advice, John. I'm thinking I will disable Avast and will probably end up tossing it. As for cyber fossils, I bought my old one in 2010 and since it was a refurbished model, it was probably the same vintage as yours, if not a little older. I did upgrade the RAM to 16GB and would have liked more. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Michael Emrys, Happy to help! My vague recollection was that at some point we had the same model iMac. G4 days, perhaps? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 6 hours ago, John Kettler said: My vague recollection was that at some point we had the same model iMac. G4 days, perhaps? More recently. My late lamented computer was the same as the model you currently possess, unless I am hopelessly confused on the subject. Before that era I cannot say. My last G4 was destroyed in a fire ten years ago. Then I used a G5 for three years before obtaining the iMac. That G5 was a piece of work. It had three fans in it, and when all three were going it sounded like a 747 taking off. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.