Mid 2011 iMac suddenly won't turn on...?

Hi,


I wonder if you could help me?


I have a Mid 2011 iMac and that suddenly yesterday wouldn’t turn on.


There is no start up sound, the screen doesn’t light up... nothing... the only thing I can hear when I plug it in even without pressing the button is a very slight click noise... every...I'm not sure... maybe 30 seconds... give or take...


Any ideas what could be happening and what the clicking noise is? Is there anything I am able to try in order to get it going again?


I am also not afraid to take the computer to pieces, I have taken other thing apart before...


Also, if I can't get it to work am I able to extract the data off the hard drive?


Any suggestions?


Thanks in advance! 😁👍

iMac 21.5″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jan 6, 2023 04:05 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 6, 2023 04:08 AM

Please try and follow these steps:


Check power connections

Make sure that your power cable is undamaged and plugged securely into your Mac and a working electrical outlet.

If your Mac has no built-in display, make sure that your external display is connected to power, connected to your Mac, and turned on.

 

Press and hold the power button

Press and hold the power button on your Mac for about 10 seconds. (Every Mac has a power button. On laptop computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.)

Then press and release the power button normally.

 

Unplug accessories

You could have an issue with one or more accessories or their cables. Unplug all accessories from your Mac, including printers, drives, USB hubs, and mobile devices. Then repeat step 2, above.

 

If you see something on your screen

If your screen shows a flashing question mark, circle with a line through it, or anything else, your Mac is turned on but isn't starting up:

If your Mac turns on but doesn't start up all the way

 

If you see nothing on your screen

If your Mac seems to be turned on but the screen remains blank, the issue could be software related:

If your Mac starts up to a blank screen

 

Reset the SMC (Intel-based Mac only)

If you're using an older, Intel-based Mac, resetting the SMC might help:

Reset the SMC

 

Contact us

If your Mac still doesn't turn on, contact Apple Support.


After that: opening up an iMac is not supported, but for the mid 2011 you can try and remove the RAM memory and put only 1 RAM back in to see if that solves the problem.


I had this happening with my 2013 iMac last month and here it was the power supply unfortunately

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 6, 2023 04:08 AM in response to katie365

Please try and follow these steps:


Check power connections

Make sure that your power cable is undamaged and plugged securely into your Mac and a working electrical outlet.

If your Mac has no built-in display, make sure that your external display is connected to power, connected to your Mac, and turned on.

 

Press and hold the power button

Press and hold the power button on your Mac for about 10 seconds. (Every Mac has a power button. On laptop computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.)

Then press and release the power button normally.

 

Unplug accessories

You could have an issue with one or more accessories or their cables. Unplug all accessories from your Mac, including printers, drives, USB hubs, and mobile devices. Then repeat step 2, above.

 

If you see something on your screen

If your screen shows a flashing question mark, circle with a line through it, or anything else, your Mac is turned on but isn't starting up:

If your Mac turns on but doesn't start up all the way

 

If you see nothing on your screen

If your Mac seems to be turned on but the screen remains blank, the issue could be software related:

If your Mac starts up to a blank screen

 

Reset the SMC (Intel-based Mac only)

If you're using an older, Intel-based Mac, resetting the SMC might help:

Reset the SMC

 

Contact us

If your Mac still doesn't turn on, contact Apple Support.


After that: opening up an iMac is not supported, but for the mid 2011 you can try and remove the RAM memory and put only 1 RAM back in to see if that solves the problem.


I had this happening with my 2013 iMac last month and here it was the power supply unfortunately

Jan 6, 2023 09:20 AM in response to katie365

I vote for power supply as well.


Unfortunately, Apple Support probably won't even evaluate a 12-year old computer.


The base HDD is in that model is a regular 3.5-inch 7200RPM SATA 3GB model and is removable, but takes some digging. We are not allowed to post links to takedown sites, but they are easy to find on the web.


Once the drive is out, you can use a bare drive adapter


https://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NV2SPATA/


or a drive dock


SABRENT USB 3.0 to SATA External Hard Drive Lay Flat Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD [Support UASP and 20TB] (EC-DFLT)


to connect the HDD to a working computer and recover data.

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Mid 2011 iMac suddenly won't turn on...?

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