New Acquisition: Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 20" (Mid 2007) - W87317LBX85

New Acquisition: Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 20" (Mid 2007)

Make	Model	Serial Number
Apple Computer	iMac Core 2 Duo 20" (Mid 2007) A1224 (EMC 2133)	W87317LBX85

Overview

• Manufacturer: Apple Computer.
• Production Years: August 2007 – April 2008.
• Historical Significance: This was the first iMac to feature an aluminum and glass enclosure, replacing the white polycarbonate design. It marked a turning point in Apple’s industrial design language and introduced the ultra-thin aluminum keyboard.
• Architecture: Based on Intel’s Santa Rosa platform, this iMac featured a Core 2 Duo processor, faster frontside bus, and improved graphics performance over its predecessors.

Specification

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 @ 2.4 GHz with 4MB L2 cache and 800 MHz frontside bus.
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (667 MHz PC2-5300), expandable to 6GB unofficially (4GB officially supported).
• Storage: 320GB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive.
• Optical Drive: Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW).
• Display: 20-inch glossy TFT LCD with native resolution of 1680×1050.
• Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 VRAM.
• Audio: Built-in stereo speakers, internal microphone, headphone and audio line-in jacks.
• Connectivity:
  • 3× USB 2.0 ports.
  • 1× FireWire 400 and 1× FireWire 800 port.
  • Mini-DVI output (supports extended desktop).
  • Gigabit Ethernet, AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR.
• Operating System: Originally shipped with Mac OS X 10.4.10; supports up to OS X 10.11 El Capitan (with patching).
• Common Faults:
  • Hard drive failure due to age or heat.
  • LCD backlight dimming or flickering.
  • Fan noise or dust buildup inside the enclosure.
  • PRAM battery degradation over time.

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How Did I Acquire It?

Where Did I Get It From?

I picked this up along with a slightly newer version (See here for details) of the same model from a women down in Bournemouth via facebook.

How Was It Described to Me?

They were both described as non working.

It was said that this one would boot up to a grey screen with a folder logo but then hang.

Stock Photo

Stock Photo

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Now That I Have It in My Hands

Initial Observations

It is a nice clean tidy machine with the keyboard and mouse in good condition it is indead showing the folder error which normally suggest a disk or OS error.

Trying to factory reset allowed me to wipe and low level format the hard disk ready for OS reinstall, however it looks like a BIOS firmware password has been set in the past which speaking to the previous owner they were not aware of so with the current disk leaves this machine currently as a glorified paperweight.

Error Screens we don't like

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Next Steps

Repair and Restoration Plan

I have two potential plans in mind the exact route will depend on what we see when we investigate the other machine in more detail it currently has no video output.

Route 1

It's my understanding that the BIOS password is only displayed when the machine can not boot into a disk.
If I replace the HDD with one builton another machine it may work.

If that works we can then look to clone the disk onto a SDD drive to give the machine a bit of a performance boost

Route 2

We use this as parts machine to get the 2008 model working.