Apple imac 17 inch late 2006 cd User Manual

							
iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 141
Fan Sound
Fans running at full speed after the computer turns on
The customer may have entered a diagnostic mode that causes the fans to run at full speed.* 
Restarting the system will not restore normal fan operation. To solve the problem, the user or 
technician should do the following:
Shut down the system.
Disconnect the power cord and wait 15 seconds.
Reconnect the power cord and wait 5 seconds.
Power on the system.
*Note:  Customers reporting this symptom should be told to press the power button AFTER the 
power cord has been fully inserted.  Inserting the power cord while pressing the power button 
will cause the fans to run at full speed.
Loud fan noise coming from inside the computer
The iMac has a trio of fans that circulate air throughout the system. It also includes temperature 
sensors, and advanced thermal software that spins the fans fast or slow as needed. As the system 
usage increases, the fans will adjust their speed using advanced thermal software to meet the 
cooling needs of the system.
Under normal conditions, rotating fans will make a slight hum that varies in relationship with 
their rotational speed and the amount of air that they are moving. In addition, the normal 
functioning of the hard drive and optical drive will generate additional whirring and scratching 
sounds that may be audible. All of these sounds are normal and do not indicate a failure with 
your computer.
To begin troubleshooting a possible fan issue, we need to qualify the sound that you’re 
experiencing.
Does the sound occur only under specific light/heavy usage conditions? 
 
Yes: CPU intensive applications such as iTunes, Garage Band, DVD Player, etc., or two or more 
applications open at once will cause the fans to run at an increased rate making them more 
noticeable. If the sound only occurs when one or more of these applications is running, this 
is normal. 
 
No: If the sound isn’t affected by CPU intensive application it may be due to other factors. Go 
on to the next step. 
Is the sound always present, or does the sound vary? 
 
The sound is always present: The normal functioning of the hard drive and optical drive will 
generate additional whirring and scratching noises that may be audible. Check whether this 
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 142
sound is related to one of the components. Go to step 4. 
 
The sound varies: Under normal conditions rotating blowers will make a slight hum that 
varies in relationship with their rotational speed and the amount of air that they are moving. 
Let’s see if this is indeed the case. Go to Next Step. 
Are the fans making a normal humming sound that increases/decreases in relation to 
processor usage? As the fans increase their speed to cool the system the sound level will 
increase. 
 
Launch the Activity Monitor application included with Mac OS X in the Utilities folder to 
determine whether the noise corresponds with heavy usage of the CPU. Does fan activity 
increase / decrease with the CPU Usage graph in Activity Monitor? Check by running CPU 
intensive applications such as iTunes. 
 
Yes: This is normal operation and none of the fans require replacement. 
No: If the fan activity does not coincide with CPU usage, the sound you’re hearing may not 
be fan activity. Go to the Next Step.
The normal functioning of the hard drive and optical drive will generate additional whirring 
and scratching noises that may be audible. We can isolate these noises by booting the 
computer to the iMac Install Mac OS X Install Disc 1. 
 
- Place the disc in the drive, and restart your machine while holding down the “C” key as the 
machine starts up. 
 
- Once at the Installer window, choose Open Disk Utility from the Installer Menu. 
 
- Once Disk Utility is open, select the system’s hard drive and on the toolbar choose 
Unmount. Note: if the drive has multiple partitions, unmount each of these partitions. 
This will spin down the hard drive. The optical drive will also be busy at this time; wait a 
moment for the optical drive to spin down also and then listen to the machine. 
 
Is the sound still present? 
 
Yes: With the hard drive and optical drive inactive, all you should be hearing are the fans 
in the machine. While booted to the CD, these fans should be running at a lower level 
since CPU activity is low with both drives inactive. Fan sound that includes objectionable 
ticking, whistling, or squealing may require further investigation and/or replacement of the 
particular fan. Go on to the next step. 
 
No: The normal functioning of the hard drive and optical drive will generate additional 
whirring and scratching sounds that may be audible. All of these sounds are normal and do 
not indicate a failure with the machine. If you wish to check the health of the hard drive, see 
Knowledge Base article 152349, “Replacing a disk before it fails.”
Shut down the computer, remove the power cord and any other connected cables, and 
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 143
remove the access door, front bezel, and EMI shield.  
Stand up the computer, plug it in, and start it up by pressing the external power button. 
 
As the machine starts up, listen carefully to each of the three fans, and see if you can locate 
the fan from which the objectionable ticking, whistling, or squealing sound is coming. The 
CPU fan is the left-most fan, the hard drive fan is in the center, and the optical drive fan is on 
the right. 
 
Can you pinpoint the fan making the sound? 
 
Yes: Replace the noisy fan.  
 
No: If you can hear an objectionable ticking, whistling, or squealing sound, but you cannot 
identify the source of the sound, contact Apple Technical Support.
Fans are running at a constant high speed
If the fans on the system are running at a constant high speed, or ramp very quickly to high 
speed and do not vary once this speed is reached, the fans are most likely receiving incorrect 
thermal input. Follow these steps:
Reset the SMC and then test to see if the fans still exhibit the issue.
Boot to the EF1 tests of the latest version of Apple Service Diagnostic for iMac. This will 
test the fans and thermal input of the sensors. If the tests fail, replace the component (s) 
indicated by the test.
Replace the optical drive temperature sensor.
Replace the hard drive.
Replace the logic board.
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 144
AirPort
Not able to connect wirelessly with AirPort
1. From the Apple menu, choose About this Mac. 
2- Click on More Info. System Profiler should open. 
3- In System Profiler, in the column on the left, look under Network for a line called “AirPort Card”. 
Select that line. 
4- Does the section to the right say “No Information Found”? 
Yes: The computer doesn’t realize it has an AirPort card installed. Go to step. 5 
No: The iMac recognizes that it has an AirPort card installed. Go to step 6. 
5- Remove the front bezel, lower EMI shield, and two card mounting screws and reseat the 
AirPort card. Re-install the two card mounting screws and check System Profiler again to see if 
the computer sees the AirPort card. Does it recognize the card now? 
Yes: Problem solved. Replace the lower EMI shield and front bezel and re-test the system to 
verify that the original symptom is resolved. 
No: Replace the AirPort card. Refer to the Take Apart section for AirPort Card.  If the issue 
persists after replacing the AirPort card, replace the logic board. 
6- Now that we know the iMac recognizes the AirPort card, check the antenna. If the antenna is 
not plugged in all the way, you may have very short AirPort range. 
7- Remove the access door, front bezel, lower EMI shield,  and the two AirPort card mounting 
screws . Disconnect the card, turn it over and reconnect the antenna cable connector to the card. 
Make sure the antenna lead is firmly seated. Replace the card and other components and retest. 
8- If the antenna lead is plugged in properly and the AirPort card is recognized but the problem 
persists, there are a number of other things that could cause issues with wireless networking. 
Refer to Knowledge Base document 10 for more networking information. 
9- Replace the AirPort card. Refer to Take Apart/Airport Card. 
10- Replace the AirPort antenna. Refer to Take Apart/AirPort Antenna. 
11- Replace the logic board. Refer to Take Apart/Logic Board.  
						

							
iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 14
IR Remote
Remote won’t communicate with system applications such as iTunes or iPhoto, or with the 
optical drive.
Make sure of the following when using the Apple Remote: 
You are within 30 feet of the front of the computer.
You have an unobstructed line-of-sight to the front of the computer.
You are pointing the lens end of the Apple Remote directly at the front of the computer.
The computer is powered on and awake.
The “Disable remote control infrared receiver” checkbox in the Security pane of System 
Preferences is NOT checked.
Make sure the active application works with Apple Remote. Apple Remote uses Front Row, 
and from Front Row it can access DVD Player, iPhoto, iTunes, and QuickTime Player.
Make sure the remote is paired with the computer. Access the System Preferences/Security 
pane and check “Unpair” if available. Close the Security pane, and re-pair the Apple Remote 
with the computer. See Knowledge Base article 3024.
Use a digital camera to test your Apple Remote.  
If you have a digital camera or DV camera with an LCD display, you can use it to see if your 
Apple Remote is emitting a signal. Infrared beams are invisible to the human eye, but most 
digital cameras and video cameras use Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) chips or image 
sensors that are sensitive to infrared light. 
 
To use a camera to test your Apple Remote, follow these steps: 
• Turn on your digital camera or DV camera and remove any lens cover. 
• Point your Apple Remote toward the camera lens. 
• Press and hold the Menu button on the remote while looking at your camera’s LCD display. 
• If you see a faint blinking light coming from the Apple Remote in the camera’s LCD, then 
the remote is working properly. 
• If you don’t see any blinking light in the camera’s LCD, replace the battery in your Apple 
Remote and then test it again with your computer (see “iMac G5 (iSight): How to replace the 
Apple Remote battery” for instructions). (KBase article 30243)
Does the IR remote now communicate with an active application that works with Apple 
Remote? 
Yes: IR remote is functioning correctly. 
No: Replace Apple Remote.
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 14
IR Sensor/Receiver
Supported applications do not respond to input from the remote control.
Perform the checks above under “IR Remote” to verify that the Apple Remote is functioning 
correctly, and retest. Do supported applications now respond to input from the IR remote? 
Yes: Problem resolved. 
No: Go to the next step.
Verify that the IR Sensor can be seen in the Apple System Profiler. Open the Apple System 
Profiler and click on the “USB” section. You should see the following listed: 
 
Do you see the IR Receiver listed under the USB section of the Apple System Profiler? 
Yes: Go on to the next step. 
No: Replace the IR cable and retest. Refer to the “IR Board” take apart procedure 
Do supported applications now respond to input from the IR remote? 
 Yes: Problem resolved. 
 No: Replace the IR sensor board and retest. Refer to the “IR Board” take apart procedure. 
If the issue persists after replacing these parts, replace the logic board.
Access System Preferences and click Security. In the Security pane check the following: 
• Make sure “Disable remote control infrared receiver” checkbox is not checked.  
• If “Unpair” is available in the Security pane of System Preferences, another Apple Remote 
may be paired to the computer (pairing allows only one Apple Remote to control the 
computer). To delete a pairing between the remote and the iMac,  click Unpair. (You may 
have to enter your Administrator password to make changes in the Security pane.) 
After making sure these features are disabled, does the Apple Remote control the machine 
now? 
Yes: Problem resolved. 
No: Replace the IR sensor board and retest. Refer to the “IR Board” take apart procedure.
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 14
Built-in iSight Camera
The built-in camera is not recognized.
Boot the iMac to the desktop and launch iChat AV. Note: You do not need to be connected 
to a network to use iChat AV to troubleshoot. Verify that the correct versions of Mac OS X 
and iChat AV are installed. Reinstall or update software as needed. 
Open the iChat AV preferences and click on the ‘Video’ icon. Verify whether the camera is 
recognized by the iChat AV software. Is the camera recognized? 
 
Yes: the camera is recognized and video preview is normal: This indicates the camera is 
functioning. Pull down the ‘Video’ options from the menu bar and verify that the camera is 
enabled. The camera must be enabled to function. 
 
No: the camera is not recognized and no video preview is visible. This indicates the camera 
may not be functioning properly.  Open the iMac and inspect the camera board (inside the 
front bezel) and the attached cable. Reseat the cable on the camera board and check the 
other end of the camera cable connections to the logic board. The camera cable connectors 
are on the right side of the logic board, below the optical drive and to the right of the fan. 
Go on to the next step if this didn’t solve your problem.
Replace the camera board located inside the front bezel.
Replace the camera cable.
If the iSight camera still doesn’t appear in System Profiler on the USB bus after replacing the 
camera board or camera cable, replace the logic board.
Camera recognized but no video.
Verify that the lens assembly for the iSight camera located in the top middle of the front 
bezel is not obstructed by anything including Post-It notes or other objects. 
Replace the camera board in the front bezel and retest.
Camera image quality poor.
The built-in camera is recognized by iChat AV and other supported video applications however 
the image quality is poor.
Verify that the lens assembly for the iSight camera is clean. Fingerprints and other 
contaminants can affect image quality. Clean the lens using a lint free lens cleaning cloth 
being while being careful not to scratch the lens.
Verify that there is sufficient lighting to produce a good quality image. Lighting which is 
comparable to that found in a well lit office will product a good quality image. If possible, 
avoid having a brightly lit background. Diffused lighting is preferred over direct lighting.
Launch iChat AV and open the iChat AV preferences. Click on the ‘Video’ tab. Is the video 
quality acceptable? 
 Yes: The camera is functioning normally. The image quality problems may be caused by 
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 14
bandwidth limitations when using iChat over the internet. Instruct the customer to use the 
iChat AV connection doctor feature to verify that there is sufficient bandwidth to have a 
video iChat session without a significant degradation of image quality. 
 
No:  The camera may not be functioning normally. Replace the camera board in the front 
bezel and retest.
Camera recognized but no audio
Open the System Preferences window and click on Sound. 
Verify that the built in iSight camera has been selected as the device for sound input. 
Verify that the volume settings (on the slider bar) are appropriate. 
Launch iChat AV and open the iChat AV preferences. Click on the ‘Video’ icon. Speak into 
the microphone while monitoring the microphone level indicator. Does the line level meter 
respond while you are speaking? 
 
Yes: The microphone circuit is functioning correctly. Check the preference settings of any 
supported AV applications the customer is experiencing problems with to make sure that 
the microphone feature is enabled and that the internal iSight microphone has been 
selected as the input device. 
 
No: Inspect the microphone / camera cable attached to the camera board inside the front 
bezel. If the cable is damaged, replace the cable and retest. If the issue continues, replace the 
front bezel. The front bezel contains the microphone.
Audio Quality Poor
The camera is recognized but the built-in microphone’s audio quality is poor.
Open the System Preferences window and click on Sound.  
- Verify that the built-in camera has been selected as the sound input port. 
- Verify that the input volume settings are appropriate. Use the volume level meter to verify 
settings.
Open iMovie and create a new project. Click on the Audio button and record a sound 
sample. Is the sound quality acceptable? 
 
Yes: The microphone is functioning normally.  The audio quality problems may be caused by 
bandwidth limitations when using iChat over the internet. Instruct the customer to use the 
iChat AV connection doctor feature to verify that there is sufficient bandwidth to have an 
audio iChat session without a significant degradation of audio quality.  
 
iChat AV allows the user to limit the allocated bandwidth which could impact audio quality. 
Check the settings and increase the bandwidth if needed. 
 
No: The microphone may be faulty. Replace the front bezel which houses the microphone. 
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 14
Speakers
Can’t hear sound from the speakers.
Disconnect any external microphones, speakers, or headphones. 
Access System Preferences and select Sound. In the Sound pane, select Output and make 
sure the Internal speakers are selected as the device for sound output, the Output volume is 
adequate, and Mute is not selected.  Do you have sound now? 
Yes: Problem resolved. 
No: Go to the next step.  
Reset parameter RAM. Press Command-Option-P-R during startup but before “Welcome to 
Macintosh” appears. Do you have sound now?  
Yes: Problem resolved. 
No: Go to the next step. 
Plug headphones or external speakers into the Line out /headphone port. Do you have 
sound through these devices when plugged in? 
Yes: Verify that the speaker cable connector is securely attached to the logic board. If the 
issue persists, replace the speakers. 
No: Replace the logic board
Verify that the speaker cable connector is securely attached to the logic board. Do you have 
sound now? 
Yes: Problem resolved. 
No: Replace the speakers.
I hear sound out of only one speaker.
Are there any external microphones, speakers or headphones plugged into the iMac?  
 
Yes: Disconnect any external microphones, speakers, or headphones. Do you hear audio from 
both of the built in speakers on your iMac? 
   
Yes: Good. It looks like the built-in speakers are working properly. This may be an issue 
with the microphone, speakers or headphones that were plugged into your iMac. Please 
work with the manufacturer to troubleshoot this issue. 
 No: Go to step 2. 
No: Check your speaker balance. If your balance setting was set to the left or right speaker, 
you would only hear sound from one speaker. Go to step 2.
Open System Preferences. (System Preferences can be found under the Apple menu.)
Click once on the sound icon.
Click once on the Output tab.
Make sure your balance setting is in the middle. After adjusting the audio balance, do you 
have audio from both speakers now? 
Yes: It looks like the issue was the balance was not set properly. 
No: Replace the speakers.
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iMac (17-inch (Mid 2006/Late 2006 CD) Troubleshooting — Symptom Charts 10
If the speakers did not solve the problem, replace the logic board.
Mouse
My mouse doesn’t work at all.
Turn over the mouse and check the if the red LED on the underside of the mouse. Is the LED 
lit? 
 
Yes: The mouse has power. Try using the mouse on another surface. Non-reflective, opaque 
surfaces without repetitive patterns work best. The surface should be clean, but not shiny. 
Optical mice won’t work on glass, mirrored surfaces, glossy materials or mouse pads with 
pictures. 
 
No: There is no power to the mouse. Try plugging the mouse into one of the USB ports 
on the machine. If the mouse won’t power on from any USB port, try it on a known good 
machine. If the mouse fails to power on with known good machine, replace the mouse. If the 
mouse will power on with a known good machine, replace the main logic board.
If the underside LED is lit and the surface is good, and the mouse still does not track, try 
plugging the mouse into another USB port on the machine. Does the mouse track now? 
 
Yes: Issue resolved. Try the other USB ports on the system to make sure you don’t have a bad 
port. 
No: Try using a known good mouse. If a known good mouse resolves the issue, replace the 
mouse. If a known good mouse does not resolve the issue, replace the main logic board.
My mouse works intermittently (the cursor freezes randomly) or is slow to 
respond.
Try using the mouse on another surface. Non-reflective, opaque surfaces without repetitive 
patterns work best. The surface should be clean, but not shiny. Optical mice won’t work on 
glass, mirrored surfaces, glossy materials or mouse pads with pictures. Does the mouse track 
correctly on a proper surface? 
Yes: Issue resolved. 
No: Check the Mouse Tracking setting in the Mouse control panel. 
Boot to another volume (like the System Install Disc). Does the mouse track properly now? 
Yes: Reinstall System Software 
No: Try a using a known good mouse. If a known good mouse resolves the issue, replace the 
mouse. If the issue persists with a known good mouse, replace the main logic board.
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