14 DAY TRIAL // Replacing the hard drive in one of Apple’s newest iMac computers will cause the system’s fans to begin spinning out of control, OWC has found, making it impossible for end customers to do the swapping on their own.
With the release of the Late 2009 iMac, Apple changed the way the iMac sensed heat coming from the hard drive, the hardware vendor notes.
The drives used in those iMacs featured their own specific thermal sensor cable, making it a pain to find a compatible replacement unit.
But there was a rather small selection of drives that did fit the needs of the 2009 iMac.
Well, that’s not the case with 2011 models, says OWC. According to their preliminary findings, Apple has changed the game again, for good this time.
“For the main 3.5″ SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration,” the hardware shop says.
“Hard drive temperature control is regulated by a combination of this cable and Apple proprietary firmware on the hard drive itself.”
“From our testing, we’ve found that removing this drive from the system, or even from that bay itself, causes the machine’s hard drive fans to spin at maximum speed and replacing the drive with any non-Apple original drive will result in the iMac failing the Apple Hardware Test (AHT).”
In plain English, 2011 iMacs can’t have their hard drives upgraded, unless you take them to an Apple specialist.
But there’s a workaround, according to Cultofmac.com reader Ben Surtees, who suggests using HDDFancontrol, a free app that automatically controls the HDD fan speed using the temperature obtained from the drive’s S.M.A.R.T data.
Of course, Apple will most likely void your warranty if you go inside your iMac for other purposes than to swap the RAM.