my mid-2008 imac just crapped out!

Seaborn111

Ok so lately my imac has had issues starting up, sometimes requiring a start/shutdown about 4 times before it fully boots.

Today, i go to turn it on and get nothing but the gray screen.

throw in my snow leopard disc and try disc utility, the only thing that shows up is the disc drive. No harddrive to speak of.

So i've booked an appointment at the local genius bar for later today, but wanted to know if everyone thought this was the best bet. I am no longer under warranty. I am eligible to purchase apple care, but don't currently own it.



anything i should be doing other than showing up at the genius bar?

Wezoin

Just a question, how are you eligible to purchase apple care if you are out of warranty? I was under the impression you were only allowed to buy applecare in the first year of ownership (and therefore within the factory warranty)

Seaborn111

i may be wrong, i thought it was 2 years. my bad

proXimity

Yeah, you need to get applecare within the first year of owning your computer

DHS Odium

Sounds like it's just the harddrive, take it apart and put a new one in there. You can do that for much less than Apple will charge.

Count Funkula

The procedure might be a little intimidating if you aren't used to repairing computers, but you should be fine if you take things slow.

http://www.amfiteatar.org/content/view/155/57/lang,en/