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[1/18] Question: What do you do with a broken iMac that's over a decade old?
The conventional answer is obvious: "throw it away and buy a new one"
But I had other ideas...
An iMac '09 in 2020, a thread:
The conventional answer is obvious: "throw it away and buy a new one"
But I had other ideas...
An iMac '09 in 2020, a thread:
[2/18] Ooh, pink stripes! Pretty, but unhelpful. Especially since the computer won't even finish booting in this state. Fortunately it *can* reach Target Disk Mode and you can recover any data.
![[2/18] Ooh, pink stripes! Pretty, but unhelpful. Especially since the computer won't even finish booting in this state. Fortunately it *can* reach Target Disk Mode and you can recover any data.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFtxv6XkAIt31B.jpg "[2/18] Ooh, pink stripes! Pretty, but unhelpful. Especially since the computer won't even finish booting in this state. Fortunately it *can* reach Target Disk Mode and you can recover any data.")
[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.
![[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFt45rWsAAsZdc.jpg "[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.")
![[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFt46aXsAE3QCC.jpg "[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.")
![[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFt_jHXsAEF4Sy.jpg "[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.")
![[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFt_jQXoAEJpNq.jpg "[3/18] OK, so let's go inside. First we use some clamps to remove the glass, then we unscrew and remove the LCD, carefully detaching no fewer than four connectors to the logic board. The iMac power cord makes a useful prop to keep the screen lifted up.")
[4/18] Now we're inside, let's get the GPU assembly out. That fan header looks like it's going to be hard to remove, and even harder to put back again!
![[4/18] Now we're inside, let's get the GPU assembly out. That fan header looks like it's going to be hard to remove, and even harder to put back again!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuI4RWkAEWJNv.jpg "[4/18] Now we're inside, let's get the GPU assembly out. That fan header looks like it's going to be hard to remove, and even harder to put back again!")
![[4/18] Now we're inside, let's get the GPU assembly out. That fan header looks like it's going to be hard to remove, and even harder to put back again!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuKNpWkAApP9G.jpg "[4/18] Now we're inside, let's get the GPU assembly out. That fan header looks like it's going to be hard to remove, and even harder to put back again!")
![[4/18] Now we're inside, let's get the GPU assembly out. That fan header looks like it's going to be hard to remove, and even harder to put back again!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuOOKWAAAeIZ_.jpg "[4/18] Now we're inside, let's get the GPU assembly out. That fan header looks like it's going to be hard to remove, and even harder to put back again!")
[5/18] Next we dismantle the GPU assembly and extract the graphics card. Then all the metalwork gets cleaned up
![[5/18] Next we dismantle the GPU assembly and extract the graphics card. Then all the metalwork gets cleaned up](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuXloXYAAi-lA.jpg "[5/18] Next we dismantle the GPU assembly and extract the graphics card. Then all the metalwork gets cleaned up")
![[5/18] Next we dismantle the GPU assembly and extract the graphics card. Then all the metalwork gets cleaned up](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuXlwXoAAXWdA.jpg "[5/18] Next we dismantle the GPU assembly and extract the graphics card. Then all the metalwork gets cleaned up")
![[5/18] Next we dismantle the GPU assembly and extract the graphics card. Then all the metalwork gets cleaned up](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuXlwXYAAgE1o.jpg "[5/18] Next we dismantle the GPU assembly and extract the graphics card. Then all the metalwork gets cleaned up")
[6/18] Here's the troublesome component, the graphics card. It'll also need all the heatsink compound cleaned up.
![[6/18] Here's the troublesome component, the graphics card. It'll also need all the heatsink compound cleaned up.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuimCXkAA5QhO.jpg "[6/18] Here's the troublesome component, the graphics card. It'll also need all the heatsink compound cleaned up.")
![[6/18] Here's the troublesome component, the graphics card. It'll also need all the heatsink compound cleaned up.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFuimKXgAA1JxK.jpg "[6/18] Here's the troublesome component, the graphics card. It'll also need all the heatsink compound cleaned up.")
[7/18] One bare graphics board. All the thermal paste has gone, as well as the foam padding and the stickers.
![[7/18] One bare graphics board. All the thermal paste has gone, as well as the foam padding and the stickers.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFusfeWkAAp8pY.jpg "[7/18] One bare graphics board. All the thermal paste has gone, as well as the foam padding and the stickers.")
![[7/18] One bare graphics board. All the thermal paste has gone, as well as the foam padding and the stickers.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFusffXgAUiAOb.jpg "[7/18] One bare graphics board. All the thermal paste has gone, as well as the foam padding and the stickers.")
[8/18] Now for the crazy part. The graphics card is placed on three tinfoil standoffs and placed in a baking tray. We then put it into a pre-heated oven at 200°C for eight minutes.
![[8/18] Now for the crazy part. The graphics card is placed on three tinfoil standoffs and placed in a baking tray. We then put it into a pre-heated oven at 200°C for eight minutes.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFu22oXoAAxjjD.jpg "[8/18] Now for the crazy part. The graphics card is placed on three tinfoil standoffs and placed in a baking tray. We then put it into a pre-heated oven at 200°C for eight minutes.")
![[8/18] Now for the crazy part. The graphics card is placed on three tinfoil standoffs and placed in a baking tray. We then put it into a pre-heated oven at 200°C for eight minutes.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFu22jWkAAYvUC.jpg "[8/18] Now for the crazy part. The graphics card is placed on three tinfoil standoffs and placed in a baking tray. We then put it into a pre-heated oven at 200°C for eight minutes.")
[9/18] The card is left to cool for half an hour, then removed from the baking tray. Re-apply the sticky bits and it looks about the same as it did before it went in. All being well, we've re-flowed the solder joints on the GPU. Still, there's only one way to find out.
![[9/18] The card is left to cool for half an hour, then removed from the baking tray. Re-apply the sticky bits and it looks about the same as it did before it went in. All being well, we've re-flowed the solder joints on the GPU. Still, there's only one way to find out.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFvH4hWkAExBE9.jpg "[9/18] The card is left to cool for half an hour, then removed from the baking tray. Re-apply the sticky bits and it looks about the same as it did before it went in. All being well, we've re-flowed the solder joints on the GPU. Still, there's only one way to find out.")
![[9/18] The card is left to cool for half an hour, then removed from the baking tray. Re-apply the sticky bits and it looks about the same as it did before it went in. All being well, we've re-flowed the solder joints on the GPU. Still, there's only one way to find out.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFvH4bWsAAiCJR.jpg "[9/18] The card is left to cool for half an hour, then removed from the baking tray. Re-apply the sticky bits and it looks about the same as it did before it went in. All being well, we've re-flowed the solder joints on the GPU. Still, there's only one way to find out.")
[10/18] We apply some fresh thermal compound. The syringe contains K4-PRO, a low-viscosity compound for the GPU. The tub contains K5-PRO, which we use to replace the thermal pads on the other ICs, then the card is re-fitted into the heatsink assembly.
![[10/18] We apply some fresh thermal compound. The syringe contains K4-PRO, a low-viscosity compound for the GPU. The tub contains K5-PRO, which we use to replace the thermal pads on the other ICs, then the card is re-fitted into the heatsink assembly.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFvl6rXkAADpgl.jpg "[10/18] We apply some fresh thermal compound. The syringe contains K4-PRO, a low-viscosity compound for the GPU. The tub contains K5-PRO, which we use to replace the thermal pads on the other ICs, then the card is re-fitted into the heatsink assembly.")
![[10/18] We apply some fresh thermal compound. The syringe contains K4-PRO, a low-viscosity compound for the GPU. The tub contains K5-PRO, which we use to replace the thermal pads on the other ICs, then the card is re-fitted into the heatsink assembly.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFvl6sXYAAZHRO.jpg "[10/18] We apply some fresh thermal compound. The syringe contains K4-PRO, a low-viscosity compound for the GPU. The tub contains K5-PRO, which we use to replace the thermal pads on the other ICs, then the card is re-fitted into the heatsink assembly.")
![[10/18] We apply some fresh thermal compound. The syringe contains K4-PRO, a low-viscosity compound for the GPU. The tub contains K5-PRO, which we use to replace the thermal pads on the other ICs, then the card is re-fitted into the heatsink assembly.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFvl6kXgAEQirY.jpg "[10/18] We apply some fresh thermal compound. The syringe contains K4-PRO, a low-viscosity compound for the GPU. The tub contains K5-PRO, which we use to replace the thermal pads on the other ICs, then the card is re-fitted into the heatsink assembly.")
[11/18] The iMac is reassembled (that thermal connector *was* an absolute pain to re-seat) although we leave the glass off the front, and only two of the eight screws have been fitted to hold the LCD in place. Power it up and... RESULT! No more pink lines!
![[11/18] The iMac is reassembled (that thermal connector *was* an absolute pain to re-seat) although we leave the glass off the front, and only two of the eight screws have been fitted to hold the LCD in place. Power it up and... RESULT! No more pink lines!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFvyrcXkAUyY-U.jpg "[11/18] The iMac is reassembled (that thermal connector *was* an absolute pain to re-seat) although we leave the glass off the front, and only two of the eight screws have been fitted to hold the LCD in place. Power it up and... RESULT! No more pink lines!")
[12/18] "Your computer was restarted because of a problem" -- No kidding. OK, so far so good. Let's leave the machine running Memtest for about 24 hours, see how it behaves (and also confirm that the RAM is good)
![[12/18] "Your computer was restarted because of a problem" -- No kidding. OK, so far so good. Let's leave the machine running Memtest for about 24 hours, see how it behaves (and also confirm that the RAM is good)](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFv7PWX0AMfEgX.jpg "[12/18] \"Your computer was restarted because of a problem\" -- No kidding. OK, so far so good. Let's leave the machine running Memtest for about 24 hours, see how it behaves (and also confirm that the RAM is good)")
![[12/18] "Your computer was restarted because of a problem" -- No kidding. OK, so far so good. Let's leave the machine running Memtest for about 24 hours, see how it behaves (and also confirm that the RAM is good)](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFv7PdXgAAA7ZN.jpg "[12/18] \"Your computer was restarted because of a problem\" -- No kidding. OK, so far so good. Let's leave the machine running Memtest for about 24 hours, see how it behaves (and also confirm that the RAM is good)")
[13/18] Memtest looks good. No reoccurence of the pink bars, so let's upgrade the OS. These Macs support up to High Sierra (macOS 10.13) which includes a firmware patch to add APFS boot support.
![[13/18] Memtest looks good. No reoccurence of the pink bars, so let's upgrade the OS. These Macs support up to High Sierra (macOS 10.13) which includes a firmware patch to add APFS boot support.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwEi1WkAEnX_K.jpg "[13/18] Memtest looks good. No reoccurence of the pink bars, so let's upgrade the OS. These Macs support up to High Sierra (macOS 10.13) which includes a firmware patch to add APFS boot support.")
![[13/18] Memtest looks good. No reoccurence of the pink bars, so let's upgrade the OS. These Macs support up to High Sierra (macOS 10.13) which includes a firmware patch to add APFS boot support.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwEi2XoAAlHAs.jpg "[13/18] Memtest looks good. No reoccurence of the pink bars, so let's upgrade the OS. These Macs support up to High Sierra (macOS 10.13) which includes a firmware patch to add APFS boot support.")
[14/18] But why stop there? Using @dosdude1's Catalina Patcher, we can install and patch the latest macOS to run on this hardware. Rather than do it on the internal disk, I've hooked up an SSD to the USB port.
![[14/18] But why stop there? Using @dosdude1's Catalina Patcher, we can install and patch the latest macOS to run on this hardware. Rather than do it on the internal disk, I've hooked up an SSD to the USB port.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwSwyXoAA7_Wm.jpg "[14/18] But why stop there? Using @dosdude1's Catalina Patcher, we can install and patch the latest macOS to run on this hardware. Rather than do it on the internal disk, I've hooked up an SSD to the USB port.")
![[14/18] But why stop there? Using @dosdude1's Catalina Patcher, we can install and patch the latest macOS to run on this hardware. Rather than do it on the internal disk, I've hooked up an SSD to the USB port.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwSyIXsAAcb4p.jpg "[14/18] But why stop there? Using @dosdude1's Catalina Patcher, we can install and patch the latest macOS to run on this hardware. Rather than do it on the internal disk, I've hooked up an SSD to the USB port.")
![[14/18] But why stop there? Using @dosdude1's Catalina Patcher, we can install and patch the latest macOS to run on this hardware. Rather than do it on the internal disk, I've hooked up an SSD to the USB port.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwSyEXsAMU5Tg.jpg "[14/18] But why stop there? Using @dosdude1's Catalina Patcher, we can install and patch the latest macOS to run on this hardware. Rather than do it on the internal disk, I've hooked up an SSD to the USB port.")
[15/18] OK, great! All looks good. So, let's take the screen off one more time, remove the hard drive, and mount this SSD internally. Those fiddly cables are a lot less fiddly the second time.
![[15/18] OK, great! All looks good. So, let's take the screen off one more time, remove the hard drive, and mount this SSD internally. Those fiddly cables are a lot less fiddly the second time.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwjFYWoAAwbFQ.jpg "[15/18] OK, great! All looks good. So, let's take the screen off one more time, remove the hard drive, and mount this SSD internally. Those fiddly cables are a lot less fiddly the second time.")
![[15/18] OK, great! All looks good. So, let's take the screen off one more time, remove the hard drive, and mount this SSD internally. Those fiddly cables are a lot less fiddly the second time.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwjFYXoAUejWf.jpg "[15/18] OK, great! All looks good. So, let's take the screen off one more time, remove the hard drive, and mount this SSD internally. Those fiddly cables are a lot less fiddly the second time.")
[16/18] The SSD massively improves the boot time and overall usability of the system, but because we took out the original hard disk, the temperature sensor no longer works. Fortunately, we can override the fans with software.
![[16/18] The SSD massively improves the boot time and overall usability of the system, but because we took out the original hard disk, the temperature sensor no longer works. Fortunately, we can override the fans with software.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFwunxXsAE-qhS.jpg "[16/18] The SSD massively improves the boot time and overall usability of the system, but because we took out the original hard disk, the temperature sensor no longer works. Fortunately, we can override the fans with software.")
[17/18] Finally, now we're happy it's all working, the LCD is screwed back in properly, and then it and the glass front are polished thoroughly before the machine is finally reassembled.
![[17/18] Finally, now we're happy it's all working, the LCD is screwed back in properly, and then it and the glass front are polished thoroughly before the machine is finally reassembled.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFw5fiXsAA8RQf.jpg "[17/18] Finally, now we're happy it's all working, the LCD is screwed back in properly, and then it and the glass front are polished thoroughly before the machine is finally reassembled.")
![[17/18] Finally, now we're happy it's all working, the LCD is screwed back in properly, and then it and the glass front are polished thoroughly before the machine is finally reassembled.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgFw5fyWkAEa1J_.jpg "[17/18] Finally, now we're happy it's all working, the LCD is screwed back in properly, and then it and the glass front are polished thoroughly before the machine is finally reassembled.")
[18/18] Thanks for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed my little adventure inside an iMac. Now repaired, upgraded and patched to run Catalina, the machine is plenty good enough even in 2020.
I've also used the GPU-in-the-oven trick technique on a Nvidia 8800GS to fix '08 iMac.
I've also used the GPU-in-the-oven trick technique on a Nvidia 8800GS to fix '08 iMac.
