Check out my series :) 12 Faulty Macs | Repair | Diagnostics | Testing | Can i Make a Profit? | Part 1 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wpLYmpm5L2Y.html
The fact that he gave them all away was surprisingly uplifting. Like at the end of this 20 minute video, there was some actual human connection that benefited people.
Hey Luke, just wanted to let you know that I love your videos. I actually started to do some of my own repairs and fixes. Lately I have been given a few older 21.5 iMacs and also a mid2012 MacBook Pro i7. I have managed to put 2 iMacs out of 3 together, upgraded the ram and just gave one to a 12 year old student who really needed one. Another laptop went to a very deserving lady and lastly I kept the MacBook Pro. It didn’t work at first but all it took was a new hard drive. I chose a Samsung 500 G SSD and while I had it open, I also upgraded the RAM from 8 to 16 G. I should tell you, I’m a woman in my sixties and never had any kind of computer tech training. Your videos have taught me lots and have given me the confidence to at least try to fix something. Thanks for doing a great job!
Just read your post Monika and I’m in awe.... you’re fantastic. Hope your well, and ok with the for once non computer virus running amok. Take care, and keep repairing stuff!
I purchased a 2015 i5 Imac on ebay. It arrived in a box that was way too big with a corner of the machine poking through the box with the display panel chipped. It was also EFI locked. I paid close to $800 for this machine and the quotes for repairing the display were close to $450 and I would still have an EFI locked Mac. I was about to return it but I had an idea. What if I could just repair the machine myself? I contacted the seller and he was willing to cover the $450 display repair cost so I took that money and bought the tools and parts I would need to repair the display, remove the EFI chip, re-write the EFI chip and upgrade the hard drive to a larger drive that was SSD. I found a laptop motherboard at a thrift store and started practicing removing and re-installing chips using my new re-flow station. It was fun and now if I ever run across a smoking deal on a decent Mac that has this issue, I have all the tools and the experience to handle it.
“Scary fan(s)”. I’m glad you diagnosed so quickly as a fan problem. I would have been concerned it was about to blow up. So glad that these Macs found new use in a second life to teach young people about building and repairing computers. The return on investment was higher than the bottom line $$. Congratulations on a successful exercise.
@Luke Miani You can remove the EFI lock by removing a chip on the logic board, reprogramming it with the TL866II Plus EEPROM Programmer, and soldering it back on. There are instructional videos on YT explaining the procedure.
Luke, if you would have sold them I would have thought what a cool business move. But you gave em away??? That's just straight classy Luke. You have more of my respect now.
I'm a PC guy that started working for a school district. I have little to no experience with Macs. I was tasked with going through the district's stock of iMacs that were sitting unused in a storage building. I have been watching your videos to get some ideas on how to get these refurbished for sale to district employees. They are mostly 27" 2009-2011 iMacs with a few 21.5 inch black back and aluminum back models in the mix. The EFI password lock was a problem until the IT director found his password stash from when he was a tech and I am now able to get into those and load High Sierra on them. A few of the 27" iMacs are newer (2012??) and thinner than the CD/DVD versions, Catalina is installing just fine on those. It has been a great learning experience and I decided to set a couple of the 27" models aside for myself (Core i5 model). I just want to say thanks for all your videos, it has made my job just a little bit easier and I can appreciate going through so many computers trying to get them to a usable state.
good on you Noah and Luke for donating the iMac's you restored to charity. You could of made a profit but instead you gave to others, noble of you two.
Louis Rossmann cant fix connecting a cable ? what kind of joke even is this. Louis Rossman microsoders the tiniest connectors with a microscope, with full diagnosis. if he cant fix it, shit is really fucked. and not just efi locked or with disconnected display cable xD
Take the motherboard out and change the fan. Its not hard to do and its easier if there are 2 of you. Just be aware of the power supply as there is no cover on the front of it. Just ensure that the big capacitors have discharged before you attempt to remove it.
Nice work, Luke! From a guy who used to run a Mac hardware interest group in college (Anyone want to work on a G3, G4 or G5?) I really appreciate what you're doing. Now you just have to meet another RU-vidr like Louis Rossman who actually likes doing Mac hardware repair (he gets more than he'd like it seems) and you got a 3rd leg to this creative team!
for those EFI locked, you could replace the chip, or reprogram them. But maybe that's outsidde your skill range? If you learned that, the yield from this would be much higher. And totally doable as well
Great video! I know you've already given most of the machines away but here's a tip for future purchases: I suggest you getting a BIOS-flashing tool, there are really cheap ones like the CH341 (which costs like $10) that work very well to remove BIOS passwords with. You don't even need to solder off the chip If you also buy either cables that plug into the JTAG connector (only works on Retina MBP/Air/MacBook 12 seeing as older models don't have soldered on JTAG connector) There are also cables that you clip onto the BIOS-chip legs which works for most iMac & older MacBook Pro's) The process of removing the password is extremely simple aswell, all you need is a software to read the BIOS-file (CH341 does ship with the software) and a HEX-editor such as HxD :-)
Buying in lots is the best way to refurbish iMacs. As long as you could get them cheaply. You could salvage parts from several broken iMacs to build a working iMac.
You can "save" a loud/ceasing fan by injecting a drop or two (just fil that MoFo up;-) of oil into bearing, if it has soft/rubber cover and you can reach it with hypodermic needle and injection, just use regular light oil for bicycles/powertools/sewing machines/workshop tool sleeve bearings, or ANY engine oil if else is not available. It will run for another year or two.
HELP! My iMac mid-2011 SSD upgrade took a LEFT turn ... what went WRONG? Background: - I used can air to blow the dust off the inside. The can was new and cause a little frosting on the metal parts. - I did NOT use a grounding strap. I live in Florida with HIGH humidity. I also touched the case many times and should have been at the same electrical potential. - I used a USB/Drive adapter and pre-installed High Sierra (your suggestion) on the SSD and booted off the external drive for operational test - The iMac booted off the internal HDD in 54 seconds I followed OWC's and YOUR videos for removing the HDD and installing the SSD. With the SSD installed the iMac ends with a BLACK screen: 0:02 Audio chime 1:18 WHITE screen 1:54 Apple Logo appears (sometime with the status bar ONLY going to ~50%) 2:05 BLACK screen and nothing else appears on the screen With NO Drive installed the iMac finishes with a question mark (?) inside the icon folder: 0:02 Audio chime 1:48 WHITE screen 2:24 FLASHING folder with (?) question mark Troubleshooting: - Replaced the SSD with the original HDD ... same results :( - Attached HDD via USB/HDD adapter and enabled the boot OPTION screen ... same result even with recovery selected I am NEW to iMac repair. With that said, the following is deduced: - 4 cables/connectors must be connected otherwise the monitor would NOT function - iMac system see the HDD and/or SSD (based on booting from optional source) - The system is SLOWED way down based on boot time data YOUR THOUGHTS are HIGHLY APPRECIATED!
Detailed answers to your questions are available on the Apple website. Here is a brief solution : 1. The new drives must be correctly partitioned and formatted into a format that Apple uses ( Ex. Mac OS Extended Journaled) 2. You need installation media, the installer can help with easily formatting. I would suggest making one, you can Google for instructions on how to do this. 3. Question marks means that a Hard Drive has not been selected. : With Mac's you can resolve most issues in recovery mode. Recovery Mode includes all of the tools that you will need to solve problems such as yours. However, You must own at least one licensed copy of Mac OS to be able to install free OS upgrades. For this you can buy a Installation CD or official USB installer, you will also need to create an Apple iCloud ID, and be sure that you memorize the password, or you could end up with a whole new headache. Finally, everything you need is available on support.apple.com/ Once you learn the basics of Mac OS you will grow to love it. While I love the value of inexpensive hardware with PC's, nothing can compare to the software experience provided by a Mac.
hey luke, i’m very curious to know how exactly a EFI lock happens on a macbook and if it’s preventable? a long while ago i bought a macbook pro from 2012 and it gave me a flashing folder with a question mark on it and i had no idea what to do so i bought another one. however i later learned it had to do with the hdd(i don’t know much about computer hardware just how to properly use one) so i’m curious if you(or someone in the comments) could let me know how you get EFI locked and what to do to prevent it, if you can. thanks in advance.
This used to be my job, you did not buy virgin returns, I used to sell my rubbish on ebay too ... one of the first to break and sell them in parts for more than a new imac :)
Firmware lock is easy to bypass, just takes hours, a camera, and a teensy, the default password is only 4 digits so it's takes only 10+ hours max to unlock all of those and that's if doing it one at a time, you just time it with the camera to figure out the password(roughly, should narrow it down to a hundred or so) from when it enters it correctly
with the net boot one take all ram out plug it in power it on let it beep a shit ton then pull the cord pluig ion 1 stick of ram and an official apple keyboard and hold pram
No one: Luke: *buys 14 imacs* Me: mom I’m buying broken MacBooks from eBay My mom: what the hell, why Me: because the stranger on the internet taught me how
Luke, I love your channel and your videos. I got into Mac’s because of my job. I love what you do with these. How do you begin? How do you even come across the great deals you find?
EFI locks can't be removed without soldering and such. Working ones of that age aren't worth $200, and nonworking ones definitely aren't worth $100 - I've sold fully Catalina supported fully working 2012 slim models on eBay and they barely broke $100
A working 2009 imac is worth about $120, a working 2011 is worth maybe $200, and a working 2010 maybe $160. You could have bought the six machines you got working for $920 instead of paying $1k and having to fix them yourself.
I have a late 2012 iMac that's in amazing condition and fully specced out. I was debating selling it and use the funds to put towards a new computer in the works. How much do you think I could sell it for? A lot of those websites quote me as $400-550 for them to buy it, however, I know they just plan to resell it after they inspect it, despite it already being in a like new condition (literally, no scratches, cracks,no performance issues, nothing whatsoever negatively impacting it). Was planning to use the funds for either a new mac, or for a custom built PC. Kind want it for some gaming now, so leaning towards the custom built PC.
