Recently I purchased a new iMac in order to upgrade to Leopard and have the benefits of a DVD drive. Having done my research before purchase, I must say I am very happy with it, although a few issues have been a little unsettling and confusing/unknown to me.
These are the specs:
iMac desktop 20" monitor 1680x1050 32 bit color 320GB hard drive (285gb)
Processor: 2.4ghz intel core 2 duo
memory 3GB 667mhz DDR2 SD RAM
4mb L2 cache, 800mhz bus speed ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro
VRAM 256mb
System software running: Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.1
Other (peripherals,etc): *using with both new iMac and older eMac
GTech wireless mouse/keyboard 1.5mb/sec*
Bus Power (Ma) 500
Western Digital USB external hard drive 120GB *
Cicero 4 port USB hub/ w HP Printer/Epson Scanner*
New iMac Questions:
1/ First off, unlike my eMac, I've found the iMac Intel Core Duo 2 to run very hot, even at idle. I looked into this and heard a few horror stories online about others with a similar problem (computer quits, back cover warps from heat,etc). How true I don't know, I know all computers run hot to a degree, but the iMac runs very hot.
To remedy this, I took the advice of one mac user and installed *SMC Fan Control*.
I altered the fan RPM from 1000 to 1500, and this has made a significant difference
Test Results: Before SMC : ambient room temp: 26 degrees C (73 deg F)
iMac temp: 40 degrees C at idle (104 deg F)
(very hot back cover on iMac)
With SMC: ambient room temp: 26 degrees C (73 deg F)
iMac temp: 31-33 deg C at idle (87-89 deg F)
(warm-very warm back cover on iMac)
My question however is this, tho SMC has helped control the heat, I have altered the fan speed by an additional 500 RPM up to 1500RPM from the factory standard 1000RPM
Is this going to wear out my hardware and cooling fan by doing this and damage my new iMac? Or is this 500RPM increase actually helping to cool it better and preventing damage in the long run??
Question 2:
Since I've bought the iMac, all systems run well minus iMovie, which refuses to start up. Every time I try clicking on the icon in the dock or in the apps folder it comes up *The application quit unexpectedly*
Is this a preference file glitch or a poor install?
Question 3:
When I purchased the iMac, the personnel at the store informed me since the new iMacs were sent back to Apple to be repackaged with Leopard, they would need to set it up for me and check for any hardware problems before I took it home, which was ok by me, made sense.
When I got it home and tried it out, I found they had entered my full name into the OS leopard system on my iMac, possibly to register it with Apple, which was fine by me, however now when I open System Profiler, Front End,etc I have my full name staring back at me, and have tried like the devil to change it to no avail.(System Profiler for example: Joe Smith's Computer). I personally find this discomforting. It was easy enough changing my password from the temporary one they set me up with, but this is another predicament altogether.
Others have commented similar on it saying this is a compromise of security and anonomity, that they wouldnt want their full name staring back at them from their Mac or PC either. I have no idea how to change this without reinstalling Leopard.
perhaps I'm a tad paranoid but personal info is personal info. Who knows what goes where, how and when on the net nowadays.
How can I remove my full name and change this to a more private nickname/mode on my new iMac?
Question 4:
Applecare Protection: Is this worth getting for my new iMac?
I never bought it for my eMac and never needed it
I know things do happen, but I know salespeople are
paid to promote after-sales add ons like this.
Whats your take on it??
Where did you buy the computer? I find the entering of personal information equally discomfiting, and obtrusive. It also takes away from the experience of setting up your computer yourself, for the first time. It also makes me wonder how new the computer was.
There are sources for AppleCare that will save you funds. Search in this subforum.
1) I wouldn't worry too much about those temperatures, they actually seem really low compared to my MBP, which idles at about 50ish. I'm not sure what kind of effect SMC Fan Control would have on your iMac as I've never tried using it.
2)Not sure what would cause iMovie to not start on a brand new machine. I would perhaps try reinstalling it, which you can do from your restore discs.
3)You can change your computer name in Sharing in System Preferences.
I won't mention the place where I did buy it, I will say this however, Ive dealt with them for many years and have had no problems or issues with them before. When I bought my eMac from them years ago, yes it was the case, I took it home and installed the OS myself and was able to configure it properly in the context of personal privacy. It just struck me as rather odd that professionals would overlook a vital and obvious security issue.
Well, I did a clean reinstall of OS X Leopard on the iMac. This erased everything including all the iLife apps. The iLife 2008 apps are not on the Leopard install DVD, but rather on the Tiger install DVD in a bundle apps package. So reinstalled those as well from the Tiger DVD, all ran well minus iMovie 7.0.....so I installed the iMovie 7.1 update and bam! there it was iMovie working fine as it should...no more crashing.
Reinstalled SMC Fan Control, set it again at 1500RPMs and under a moderate load over the course of a few hours use, the iMac is running a steady 38-39 degree celcius temp.
All the issues of personal info are resolved, the new iMac runs great, and I appreciate all the help from everyone who posted.
Best part is I got to install and configure it myself and learned some new things along the way.
It just struck me as rather odd that professionals would overlook a vital and obvious security issue.
Having your computer's name set as your full name isn't a "vital and obvious" security issue. In fact, it isn't a security issue at all. We just live in the age of overblown paranoia.
__________________ ACMT Mac mini (Mid 2011) 2.7 GHz i7, 8GB RAM, Crucial M4 256GB SSD + 500GB + 1TB FW800 OWC Mercury Elite Pro mini iPhone 4S • iPod nano 8GB • Sound System Audio Engine A2 • Display UltraSharp U2412M 24"
I agree...the age of overblown paranoia indeed.....the need to be secure but not knowing for sure what is secure.....the age of information (overload) and the lack of information thereof in itself. Tools of communication breaking down communication, talk about a paradox!
Well, I did a clean reinstall of OS X Leopard on the iMac. This erased everything including all the iLife apps. The iLife 2008 apps are not on the Leopard install DVD, but rather on the Tiger install DVD in a bundle apps package. So reinstalled those as well from the Tiger DVD, all ran well minus iMovie 7.0.....so I installed the iMovie 7.1 update and bam! there it was iMovie working fine as it should...no more crashing.
I think what I'm understanding here is that the iMac you bought was not really new, it had been sitting on the shelf for a while, so it came with Tiger (and iLife 08) and had a leopard "upgrade" install disc. If so, then sounds like you got everything going great.
Just a side note or two:
1. SMC fan control is completely unneeded for the iMac. The iMac uses a "natural airflow" cooling model, so it is NORMAL and NATURAL for the top part of the back to feel hot. Feel the BOTTOM part of the back case and it will likely feel VERY cool to the touch. Cool air is drawn in from the bottom and warmed air escapes from the top (ie, heat rises). This is INGENIOUS engineering and you have to wonder why EVERY deskop manufacturer doesn't incorporate this instead of noisy fans. If you want to keep running your fans excessively, that's your business, but the NORMAL temp range for an imac should be in the high 50s to mid 60s Celsius.
2. Lars is correct, your full name was input by the staff for registration purposes and Mac OS X uses this to create the long user (and short user) account name. It is in NO WAY a security issue OF ANY KIND. You can change the "network name" others on your LOCAL network see of your computer by changing the name in sharing as Lars mentioned.
DO NOT under ANY circumstances attempt to change the SHORT NAME (home folder name) of your computer!! Doing so will result in DISASTER and DATA LOSS, so PLEASE do not do this. There is a complicated UNIX-y way of changing the short user name, let the folks at the place you bought it do that FOR you if it bothers you.
Applecare Protection: Is this worth getting for my new iMac?
I never bought it for my eMac and never needed it
I know things do happen, but I know salespeople are
paid to promote after-sales add ons like this.
Whats your take on it??
First off, Apple salespeople (at least when I worked for Apple and later in a AASP) are *not* paid extra to promote AppleCare. Apple encourages such sales among indie resellers, and the store gets brownie points towards renewing their license from Apple for doing so, but there's no direct "bribe" to staff for selling AppleCare (or any other product) at least in my experience.
Secondly, I generally think AppleCare is a good idea, particularly for laptops (which are prone to a lot more abuse than desktops). If you have no kids, idiot relatives or pets that are likely to help destroy your machine, and you're religious about backups, then perhaps AppleCare is not high on your list. You have, however, a year to decide (well 364 days to be exact from the day you bought it/registered it)*. I don't think of it as a warranty, I think of it as a (for an iMac) very inexpensive insurance policy. The peace of mind is generally worth the (under $200 I think) you'll spend on it, and it significantly increases the resale value if you think you may replace the machine prior to its third birthday.
*if you don't register it, apple assumes the date of manufacture as the start date, which shortens your warranty CONSIDERABLY. Yours of course is already registered, this is just FYI for others reading this thread.
1. SMC fan control is completely unneeded for the iMac. The iMac uses a "natural airflow" cooling model, so it is NORMAL and NATURAL for the top part of the back to feel hot. Feel the BOTTOM part of the back case and it will likely feel VERY cool to the touch. Cool air is drawn in from the bottom and warmed air escapes from the top (ie, heat rises). This is INGENIOUS engineering and you have to wonder why EVERY deskop manufacturer doesn't incorporate this instead of noisy fans. If you want to keep running your fans excessively, that's your business, but the NORMAL temp range for an imac should be in the high 50s to mid 60s Celsius.
Good point. On that note, SMC Fan Control isn't required for any Mac. Ever since utilities like temperature readers and SMC Fan Control were invested, it has pushed paranoid Mac users into thinking their Macs temperature level is too high, too low, too this, too that. Just leave it alone.
__________________ ACMT Mac mini (Mid 2011) 2.7 GHz i7, 8GB RAM, Crucial M4 256GB SSD + 500GB + 1TB FW800 OWC Mercury Elite Pro mini iPhone 4S • iPod nano 8GB • Sound System Audio Engine A2 • Display UltraSharp U2412M 24"
For sale:
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