Apple Restricts Hard Drive Replacements on New iMacs

[PNWDweller]

Sort of makes me glad then that I have the Mid-2010 system. I might be free to replace the Hard Drive or upgrade when the time comes after warranty. If they don't have the proprietary plug on this one then I should be good to go.

One would think though that with all the screws and stuff you have to remove just to get to the hard drive, people would be more discouraged. I guess not.

[Elliott]

Right and what happens when your warranty runs out and your HDD dies, do you go to your local/favourite store and pick up a cheap hard drive.....no you cant you have to pay Apples prices because they are propietary connectors.

If my internal HDD failed and the machine was out of warranty, I'd just use an external Thunderbolt drive as my boot drive. Take it from a guy who's already cracked one of these iMacs open: it's not fun. It's not hard, but you have to be super careful because the LCD is right there once you take off the glass.

[Vice]

Its too late the machines are already out i dont think they are going to re-engineer the hardware and firmware because of a few disgruntled people on the internet.

It isn't too late at all. They can merely release a firmware update that ignores hard disk temperatures when a disk without their proprietary temperature system is installed. Use your brain.

Why?

I'm sorry but the guys who "open their boxes and replace stuff" are an insignificant minority of the overall computer users - no matter how much noise they make out of it and Apple knows this. They could make all components in all of their machines non-user changeable and no one would give a rats ass except a few few people in online forums.

Sure, people like you and me would suffer from this but we are, after all, a very - VERY small portion of their userbase. Barely a blip on the radar.

Because Apple does not offer iMac upgrades. If you buy an iMac with a Hard Disk what happens if you want to upgrade that 2TB, cant. What about if you want an SSD? cant. Just buy a whole new machine is your suggestion? - This is just ridiculous for them to change.

Hard Disks already report their temperatures to the system using their SMART data there is no reason for them to have done this other than to screw users over with expensive upfront upgrades. Stop bending over and taking this rubbish.

[TheDisneyMagic]

Hey, that sounds exactly like... my car.

'sup Jenson, let's demand that car manufacturers standardize everything?

Not at all, if that happens I can go to any garage and they can carry out a repair.

You cannot possibly carry out an action like this with any intention other than greed and dictatorship.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Hey, that sounds exactly like... my car.

'sup Jenson, let's demand that car manufacturers standardize everything?

Fail analogy. It would be an apt one if your car manufacturer took standardised hardware like oh i dont know.......computers and made it so you have to buy their components from them when there is no good reason to do so. With cars it makes sense that you cant put Ford parts in a VW car, with computers there is a standardised specification thats why you can use Intel with Gigabyte motherboard, Nvidia graphics card, Samsung HDD, LG Writer.

What Apple do is despicable just so they can gouge you on non-standard hardware.

[DukeEsquire]

I suspect this is an issue that people who weren't going to get a Mac get upset about, but they aren't going to buy a Mac anyways and people that were going to buy a Mac aren't going to care.

[TheLegendOfMart]

I suspect this is an issue that people who weren't going to get a Mac get upset about, but they aren't going to buy a Mac anyways and people that were going to buy a Mac aren't going to care.

So if we dont have a mac we arent allowed to discuss it?

[SummerWolf]

I think with this move I'm going to stick with the Mac mini that I have. When it finally dies (which I hope isn't any time soon), I'll just buy a standard desktop PC. I don't agree with this kind of step away from hardware standardisation but Apple are indeed a hardware company. They can do whatever the hell they want with their machines and people will keep buying them.

[saxondale.]

Do you know why this isn't going to do anything to Apple? Because the majority of people that buy iMacs don't care about this.

[SummerWolf]

Also [most of] the people that buy iMacs are clearly well-off in terms of money. I doubt that another few hundred pounds/dollars is going to put them off.

[devHead]

This is why is always good idea to buy an Apple Care Support.

Really? I would have come to the following conclusion:

This is why it's always a good idea to avoid buying from Apple and build your own computer.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Thats a nice way to stereotype a large group of people, you dont have to be rich to buy something. I was saving up for a Mac but if this is the direction they are going for ill just spend it on a PC that lets me interchange parts. Or maybe a hackintosh that destroys the iMac for specs.

[saxondale.]

Also [most of] the people that buy iMacs are clearly well-off in terms of money. I doubt that another few hundred pounds/dollars is going to put them off.

I'd love to see where you got this information from. Generalise much?

[alexalex]

just wait till they glue your case shut and make it unable to replace ANYTHING and treat it like an iPhone / iPod / iPad where nothings replaceable...... then make propitiatory Keyboard and mouse ports and take us back to the 1980's with hardware interoperability again.....

You mean that contrary to Apple's iPhone / iPod / iPad where nothings replaceable, your Android/WP7/Nokia has upgrade/replaceable inner parts which you can upgrade/replace by yourself ?

[ajua]

I don't get it. Why don't they just use S.M.A.R.T. to read HDD temperatures instead of a proprietary connector? Unless there's the intention to make more money on parts sold to users outside warranty, I don't see the need to use a different connector and a custom firmware just to do what any modern BIOS or EFI can do with SMART.

[Exhaale]

They're simply trying to corner the market with having unique sockets and undoubtedly expensive replacements. Nothing other manufacturers haven't done already. :shiftyninja:

[DukeEsquire]

So if we dont have a mac we arent allowed to discuss it?

Why can't you discuss it? I just said it probably doesn't affect the vast majority of people interest in buying a mac.

Thats a nice way to stereotype a large group of people, you dont have to be rich to buy something. I was saving up for a Mac but if this is the direction they are going for ill just spend it on a PC that lets me interchange parts. Or maybe a hackintosh that destroys the iMac for specs.

Well, looks like thats what you'll have to do. Probably save yourself a chuck of change in the process.

Vote with your wallet.

[Flantec]

I like Apple, and I own 4 of them presently, but this is a step in the wrong direction. This proprietary BS is the kind of thing Packard Bell used to do to their desktops in the US in the early to mid 90's. The only justified reason from a consumer's point of view would be if the proprietary connector added something else of benefit that the current standard connector does not. However, I do not see anything like that here.

[nohone]

The irony of this being posted today with all the "This is a good thing" replies from the Apple faithful. Why today? Because it is the end of the DOJ oversight of Microsoft, where for years Apple fans whined that MS had too much control over their products. Now those same actions - most of which MS has stopped, is now a good thing when it is done by Apple.

[Rudy]

This is a non issue really :/ Not many people will actually crack their iMac open to replace the HDD (it's a lot more complicated than it sounds). Just the fact that you have to remove the glass and lcd is enough to stop a lot of people (including me and I've always built my computers before going switching to OSX)

[+Warwagon MVC]

Hey, that sounds exactly like... my car.

'sup Jenson, let's demand that car manufacturers standardize everything?

That analogy is failed because in the real world of computers you can replace your hard drive.

[cooky560 Veteran]

You can also change the parts in your car for after market parts if you really want to risk it :p

[RiverCampher]

This is a non issue really :/ Not many people will actually crack their iMac open to replace the HDD (it's a lot more complicated than it sounds). Just the fact that you have to remove the glass and lcd is enough to stop a lot of people (including me and I've always built my computers before going switching to OSX)

I agree and from what I've heard the reason is partially due to many users busting up the internals of their machine because they mishandle the components and then cry to AppleCare to fix it under warranty.

[Del-Funky Smelly Be.]

Go for MS. Problem Solved. Period.

[DukeEsquire]

The irony of this being posted today with all the "This is a good thing" replies from the Apple faithful. Why today? Because it is the end of the DOJ oversight of Microsoft, where for years Apple fans whined that MS had too much control over their products. Now those same actions - most of which MS has stopped, is now a good thing when it is done by Apple.

The irony is that no one has said "This is a good thing."

The Apple faithful are just saying it doesn't really matter.