MacMedics Frequently Asked Macintosh Service Questions

What is the cost for upgrading an iMac hard drive through an Apple Authorized Service Provider?

In most cases if your current drive is healthy enough for a large data transfer, and your data is backed up, MacMedics can perform this popular service for $150 plus the cost of a hard drive. A new “top-quality” 1 Terabyte hard drive can be provided with a full three-year manufactures warranty for about $130 making the total procedure with a new 7200 RMP hard drive about $280. MacMedics offers a full 1-year “no-hassle” parts and labor warranty on hard drives that are purchased and installed by us.

Also, if your iMac is still covered by AppleCare, installing a new third party hard drive won’t void your warranty (if performed by MacMedics). Your extended warranty will still be in effect, but will NOT cover the new non-Apple hard drive.

Another scenario that comes up quite often at MacMedics is where an iMac that is under warranty and it’s hard drive has failed. We can still replace your hard drive under warranty AND also offer a new larger, faster third party hard drive. We just charge you for the hard drive upgrade, and the replacement hard drive supplied by Apple is given to you to keep.

Your old hard drive will be placed in a static bag and returned to you (if out of warranty). The old hard drive can serve as a rudimentary “snapshot in time” back up that can be given to friends or a family member to serve as an “off-site back up”.

Obviously if your current hard drive is sick, or your data is in jeopardy, labor costs can be higher. For situations where your data is NOT backed up and the health and security of the data is unknown, MacMedics can remove your hard drive without testing the machine, and perform our Tier-1 data recovery where we make a cold clone of your drive (if possible). Data recovery can be tricky and each case is different, so it’s not always possible to spell out all of the details and possibilities in advance. If the $99 data recovery fee is successful we will copy that data without further inspection or review to any computer or external hard drive if you’re NOT having your computer repaired. See our data recovery “Frequently Asked Questions” at this link for more details.

Don’t forget that if your iMac hard drive (or other Mac desktop) is more than three-years old, then MacMedics recommends a proactive hard drive retirement. See our website http://www.HardDrivesDie.com for more info.

Not near a MacMedics office? We do accept mail-in repairs! Just put your iMac in it’s original shipping box, and either send it via the carrier of your choice, or call/e-mail us and we’ll arrange to send you a pre-paid shipping label.

The Apple Store does not perform hard drive upgrades, they also can’t rescue data that may be at risk. Folks from all over the world send us their Macs need repairs. If your local Apple Authorized service options are limited, let us help you out. Just fill out this form, and send your iMac in!

If you’re a longtime MacMedics newsletter reader, then you’ve heard this before. Summer store season is already here, and computers damaged by lightning have already started to come into our lab for repair. A common problem are Macintosh computers hooked directly to Ethernet to a Comcast cable modem. If lightning hit the Comcast cable to your house or your street, it’s got a clear path right to your computer via the Ethernet port.

This week we’ve already seen two iMacs with the exact same problem of a blown logic board via the Ethernet port. If you’re going to be away for summer vacation, don’t forget to unplug your computer from both the wall and Ethernet. If you’re wireless then you’ve got less to worry about.

We’re often asked what we recommend to protect computers from surges. We like an Uninterruptible Power Supply with Line Conditioning, and Surge Protection. You should also have protection for your telephone and Ethernet connections. Also, make sure it has a connected equipment warranty. The unit we recommend has a $100,000 warranty guarantee and an Ethernet pass-thru port.

MacMedics recommends this UPS/Surge Protector for all clients, but we especially recommend it for clients who own PowerMac G5’s with dual processors.

We have a unit that we are happy with and we’ve been supplying it for a number of years that is available to MacMedics clients for $149. If you’re not protected, give MacMedics a call, and we can arrange for one to be installed on your next visit, or drop shipped right to your door.