iMac 24 intel overheating :(

[Nek.Graph]

Hello there. I don't rly know if problem like that was already mentioned here, i couldn't find it If yes then sorry for littering the forum >_<. Anyway, lets talk business: I have this intel aluminum iMac 24 for two years now and a while ago i noticed some drops in performance. I tried to get rid of unnecessary apps, files, run cleaning programs etc. but then i took a peek on the iStat and i was like: HOLY COW!

Those are in fahrenheit ofc. Heat spikes like this start after an hour if no programs are running the power supply stays at 167 F but if i just turn on fire fox and run it for a while then its like on the image. Same for photoshop and illustrator, but its never worser then this. I might not be an expert but i bet its not good for the screen since everything is packed together :S

Repair history: 2008 January 4 days after i bought it had to take him back to iSpot to change the power supply. The problem was: it suddenly turned off on its own and wouldn't start anymore. After the replace it was all fine.

Almost exactly one year later in January 2009 my screen started to "blink" making short, random shutdowns. Sometimes for a longer like 4-8 sec, sometimes just for a blink of an eye, sometimes when it took a little longer for it to recover i tapped lightly the backs upper right corer and it went back to normal. The whole screen had to be replaced. I really don't want this to happen again especially because my warranty is over Pleas help me, what might it be or maybe i'm doing something wrong Thank you for your time guys also sorry for my English, im not a native English speaker

[Jinto]

My guess would be that something is wrong with the heat-sink and/or fan.

[OrcishIncubus]

It's ironic as an American, I'm used to Fahrenheit for everything but computer heat settings, otherwise I'm used to Celsius.  Go figure.

On topic:  Maybe I'm just used to my PC and it's wonky heating and terrible cooling (on my shoddy computer building skills, I'm a software techy, not hardware), but I'm used to around 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) at as a constant level.  Hell, I've seen my video card spike to 80-90 Celsius(176-194 degrees Fahrenheit), but that was while playing WoW and before I bought a box fan; I've yet to test the temperature after adding the box fan to my cooling arsenal.  Overheating to me is over 70 degrees Celsius.

On another note, power issues can also be a problem.  I've been having TERRIBLE artifact issues with my video card, and I originally thought it was cooling, but since adding the box fan, I still get the problem.  I know my PSU is probably near the end of its life, being the only thing I haven't upgrade since my first box, and it hardly provides a high amount of wattage (in comparison to current PSUs available on the market).  To clarify my issue:  periodically while playing WoW, my graphics horribly mutate.  Colors go neon green, objects pixelate, and random pixels appear on the screen.  It's like a bad acid trip.  The only (temporary) solution I've found is restarting.

[Cheetah]

Hello (specs of machine in question will follow below). I saw someone with a similar problem's post in the archives, but there was no resolution listed so I'm hoping for some direction/help from the community.

A few weeks ago I was playing a video game when my Imac froze. The sound continued to play, but I could not force-quit the application and there was no response from the machine or software for 15 minutes. At that time I powered down the Imac (using the power button) and the machine came up with the ? folder flashing. I attempted many times to reboot and the ? folder kept appearing. I loaded up the install disk to try to reinstall the OS, but the system manager showed that there was "an error scanning SATA devices". (I don't remember the exact name, but the machine didn't recognize a hard drive being present!).

[haunted_i]

My 21.5" iMac's PSU was typically the hottest component, averaging around 140-155*F. It finally died last month, roughly a year after purchase. Still under AppleCare, thankfully.

I powered down the Imac (using the power button) and the machine came up with the ? folder flashing. I attempted many times to reboot and the ? folder kept appearing. I loaded up the install disk to try to reinstall the OS, but the system manager showed that there was "an error scanning SATA devices". (I don't remember the exact name, but the machine didn't recognize a hard drive being present!).

I would normally suggest a more robust recovery tool, like DiskWarrior, but an undetected drive is a more serious issue than simple hard-shutdown data corruption.

[Rob]

Does sound like a hardware issue but always worth running DiskWarrior and seeing whether you can at least salvage your data if not the drive itself.