Best place to have a Mac serviced

Jun 27th, 2022 6:30 am

#1

MartinaC32 [OP]: Sr. Member; Sep 16, 2007; 637 posts; 142 upvotes; Ancaster

Jun 27th, 2022 6:30 am

Hello

My IMac is in need of some tlc. Its slow and sluggish and extremely annoying. The spinning wait cursor shows more often than not.

Is the best place the Apple Store or is there somewhere else reputable I can go?

Oh maybe there's a program online to help diagnose? I have an idea it has something to do with Chrome but I'm definitely not computer savvy enough to self diagnose.

I'm in the Ancaster/Hamilton area.

Thanks!

She/Her

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Jun 27th, 2022 6:42 am

#2

cristianosham: Deal Addict; Sep 6, 2017; 4389 posts; 2910 upvotes

Jun 27th, 2022 6:42 am

Fresh OS install.

+2

Jun 27th, 2022 7:22 am

#3

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 20676 posts; 6869 upvotes; Toronto

Jun 27th, 2022 7:22 am

MartinaC32 wrote: ↑ My IMac is in need of some tlc. Its slow and sluggish and extremely annoying. The spinning wait cursor shows more often than not.

Is the best place the Apple Store or is there somewhere else reputable I can go?

Oh maybe there's a program online to help diagnose? I have an idea it has something to do with Chrome but I'm definitely not computer savvy enough to self diagnose.

Which iMac, what specs, and what version of macOS? Are you running a hard drive or SSD?

About This Mac will give the details. You can find that by clicking the Apple logo in the top left corner.

Jun 27th, 2022 2:18 pm

#4

kramer1: Deal Addict; Apr 29, 2018; 1899 posts; 1373 upvotes; Vancouver

Jun 27th, 2022 2:18 pm

The easiest option is to make a New User account. That should help a ton

Apart from that, I would say reinstall the OS and get a SSD, if it is still using a traditional Hard Disk

Can't Stop. Won't Stop. Game Stop

+1

Jun 27th, 2022 3:58 pm

#5

sexyj: Deal Guru; Feb 10, 2007; 13023 posts; 4343 upvotes

Jun 27th, 2022 3:58 pm

Does your mac have a harddrive and not a SSD, then most likely the hdd is dying

Just find someone who can replace the drive.

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Jun 27th, 2022 4:47 pm

#6

MartinaC32 [OP]: Sr. Member; Sep 16, 2007; 637 posts; 142 upvotes; Ancaster

Jun 27th, 2022 4:47 pm

EugW wrote: ↑ Which iMac, what specs, and what version of macOS? Are you running a hard drive or SSD?

About This Mac will give the details. You can find that by clicking the Apple logo in the top left corner.

It has a 1.2 TB Fusion Drive

Images

She/Her

Jun 27th, 2022 5:00 pm

#7

sexyj: Deal Guru; Feb 10, 2007; 13023 posts; 4343 upvotes

Jun 27th, 2022 5:00 pm

fusion drive is just a mech drive

just swap your drive to a full ssd

MartinaC32 wrote: ↑ It has a 1.2 TB Fusion Drive

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Jun 27th, 2022 8:59 pm

#8

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 20676 posts; 6869 upvotes; Toronto

Jun 27th, 2022 8:59 pm

MartinaC32 wrote: ↑ It has a 1.2 TB Fusion Drive

That's likely your main problem. Those things are slow. A clean re-install of macOS would speed things up, but it would slow down again over time.

sexyj wrote: ↑ fusion drive is just a mech drive

just swap your drive to a full ssd

Technically it's two drives, one mechanical spinning drive and one SSD. Unfortunately, for the 1 TB Fusion drive in that model year, the SSD is only 24 GB.

The 2 TB Fusion drives have a 128 GB SSD.

However, the SSD swap is fairly difficult. To get an SSD replacement done professionally, it would cost $$$. That would be the best solution, but a budget solution to consider might be to get a USB 3 SSD. @MartinaC32's iMac does have Thunderbolt, but it's Thunderbolt 2 not Thunderbolt 3, so not quite an ideal situation.

Jun 28th, 2022 6:32 am

#9

MartinaC32 [OP]: Sr. Member; Sep 16, 2007; 637 posts; 142 upvotes; Ancaster

Jun 28th, 2022 6:32 am

EugW wrote: ↑ That's likely your main problem. Those things are slow. A clean re-install of macOS would speed things up, but it would slow down again over time.

Technically it's two drives, one mechanical spinning drive and one SSD. Unfortunately, for the 1 TB Fusion drive in that model year, the SSD is only 24 GB. The 2 TB Fusion drives have a 128 GB SSD.

However, the SSD swap is fairly difficult. To get an SSD replacement done professionally, it would cost $$$. That would be the best solution, but a budget solution to consider might be to get a USB 3 SSD. @MartinaC32's iMac does have Thunderbolt, but it's Thunderbolt 2 not Thunderbolt 3, so not quite an ideal situation.

Thank you. Maybe it's time to get a new upgraded model. This has served it's purpose well over the years.

She/Her

Jun 28th, 2022 8:40 am

#10

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 20676 posts; 6869 upvotes; Toronto

Jun 28th, 2022 8:40 am

MartinaC32 wrote: ↑ Thank you. Maybe it's time to get a new upgraded model. This has served it's purpose well over the years.

Depends on your needs and budget, and how much storage you need, but an SSD upgrade done at a legit service centre would be a few hundred bucks.

The current Apple Silicon iMacs are very nice, but unfortunately they only sell a 24" model now. The 27" iMac has been discontinued (although they still do have refurbished ones for sale). Instead, they now sell the Mac mini or Mac Studio ($$$$), plus a 27" Studio Display.

Jun 28th, 2022 1:02 pm

#11

sexyj: Deal Guru; Feb 10, 2007; 13023 posts; 4343 upvotes

Jun 28th, 2022 1:02 pm

Any reputable place should be able to upgrade your imac.

No need to upgrade the whole computer

Code: Select all

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_27in5k_14late_hdd/iMac17-1/

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Jun 28th, 2022 2:42 pm

#12

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 20676 posts; 6869 upvotes; Toronto

Jun 28th, 2022 2:42 pm

I forgot to mention another potential reason to upgrade: The 2015 iMac is stuck on Monterey forever. macOS 13 Ventura does not support it.