IMac Legacy Patcher?

[lostgonzoband]

I have an older 27” 2010 IMac w 1tb drive. It appears the HD is toast. This older machine is also now unsupported by Apple for software updates. Other than these two things the machine and its monitor were great.
I came across the below paragraph in a forum somewhere where it looks like you can give life back to an older IMac with a legacy patcher?
I am not technical so I would like someone to decipher this for me and tell me in general terms what would be involved in doing this and upgrading to a new SSD drive.


“iMac legacy patcher
Yeah Apple does this unfortunately. Sometimes they even ‘disallow’ certain older intel models from booting the operating system at all. Making you believe the features of the new OS will put a strain on the older Mac so as to not be a good experience. I say ‘disallow’ in quotes because while by default an unsupported mac model is prevented from booting the newer OS, Apple does allow the use of a boot flag to disable the kernel compatibility check and may possibly allow the OS to boot on the older hardware.
However, this is rubbish. Forced obsolescence in my opinion. With open core legacy patcher, my 9-year old MacBook Pro that got cut off by Apple after Catalina can totally run Big Sur and now Monterey. It lives on! And that Mac was upgradable. So with an SSD and 16 GB of ddr3 ram, it still runs very well despite its age.
Apple is full of it, when it comes to cutting off support of perfectly capable machines. With Apple silicon I don’t know how long they’ll support their m1 macs. But once they start cutting off support for the m1, I don’t know if there will be a way around it like on the intel side, other than needing to upgrade of course. Which in the end creates more e-waste. And incentivizes you to spend more money”

Thanks!

 

[MBAir2010]

. But once they start cutting off support for the m1, I don’t know if there will be a way around it like on the intel side, other than needing to upgrade of course. Which in the end creates more e-waste. And incentivizes you to spend more money”

Thanks!

as a MacBook user since those powerbooks,
I hope extends the usually 7-8 years for intel support on their M series MacBooks.
even if they dont
there is always that Dosdude or Cortina who has the means, patients and tech to make patches.

even though
I know i'm done with purchasing, upgrading and then lending my computers-
and will just either stream sports via TV and stick to what I have during the last days on earth.

 

[Bigwaff]

I have an older 27” 2010 IMac w 1tb drive. It appears the HD is toast. This older machine is also now unsupported by Apple for software updates. Other than these two things the machine and its monitor were great.
I came across the below paragraph in a forum somewhere where it looks like you can give life back to an older IMac with a legacy patcher?
I am not technical so I would like someone to decipher this for me and tell me in general terms what would be involved in doing this and upgrading to a new SSD drive.

If you are not technical than you are in a tough spot.

First, Replacing the HDD w/ SSD in 27" 2010 iMac is not extremely difficult but it is not easy. You can price out upgrade options here -

OWC SSD Upgrade Kits for 27-Inch iMac 2010

Get everything you need to upgrade your 2010 27-inch iMac SSD for a total system performance and capacity boost. All SSDs backed by a lifetime warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

I would call a local shop that repairs Apple computers and simply ask how much would they charge you to install the SSD if you provided all the parts (i.e. you purchased one of the kits in the link above). Might be a $200 dollars for the install alone.

Second, updating your iMac with Open Core Legacy Patcher (which allows you to install newer versions of macOS on unsupported Mac hardware) can be straight forward if you are familiar w/ installing macOS from scratch... but read the docs very carefully and follow instructions to the letter. Many, many post from people who have ended up in trouble after an OCLP install and can't get their system up and running again w/out lots of technical help. Caveat emptor.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher

Experience macOS just like before

dortania.github.io

 

[Juicy Box]

Other than these two things the machine and its monitor were great.

Don't trash it.

The Mid 2010 27" iMacs can be used as a display for AS Macs, as well as non-Apple devices that can output video by Display Port.

It is not very energy efficient, but the display looks great. Something to consider for if you ever get a new Mac. I recommend a Mac Mini, the value and performance of the AS Mac Mini for the price is amazing.

I am not technical so I would like someone to decipher this for me and tell me in general terms what would be involved in doing this and upgrading to a new SSD drive.

As @Bigwaff mentioned, swapping the failed HDD for a SSD isn't that difficult, but can be intimidating and difficult for people that have never did it before or are not handy.

The video cable connector is a pain, and if it wasn't for that I could probably do the swap in probably 5 minutes. I actually have left it on a few times with opening up similar iMacs, and used very short stubby tools to do the work, and by doing that, I can probably swap the internal drive in about 10 minutes.

That said, the first time, probably took me an hour or more.

I am not technical

If opening the iMac doesn't sound like any fun, maybe consider using an external SSD?

One the Mid 2010 iMac, you have a few options, but nothing anywhere as close as doing an internal SATA SSD.

That said, a SATA SSD over USB2 enclosure or even better, a FW800 enclosure, will "feel" a lot faster for a lot of tasks compared the HDD it would be replacing, even when the HDD was new.

OS responsiveness, opening apps, and just the overall feel of the iMac can be improved just by adding a SSD due to the really fast random speeds.

A SSD over USB2 or FW800 won't have as fast sequential speeds (transferring files, downloading, etc.) as the OEM 3.5" HDD, but the random speeds of a SSD over USB2 and FW800 will be many times faster than the HDD.

You could get a SATA SSD and SATA Enclosure (FW800 would be almost twice as fast for sequential speeds as USB2), run your Mac that way, and if you ever feel adventurous, take that SATA SSD and install it internally.

Even if you plan on installing it internally, I highly recommend setting it up and running the SSD externally first to make sure there are no problems with it.

 

[Fishrrman]

Were the 2010 27" iMacs 5k?
If so, then it might be worth "removing the innards" and installing one of those circuit boards that turns it into "a display" [only].
(this job isn't worth it if it's not 5k)

Other than that, it's now approaching 14 years old, and not really worth putting anything but a [very] few dollars into any more. Even an external boot drive isn't practical, because the USB ports are only USB2.

Time to look for a replacement.

 

[curnalpanic]

Were the 2010 27" iMacs 5k?

Nope.

 

[Andrey84]

I have an older 27” 2010 IMac w 1tb drive. It appears the HD is toast. This older machine is also now unsupported by Apple for software updates. Other than these two things the machine and its monitor were great.
I came across the below paragraph in a forum somewhere where it looks like you can give life back to an older IMac with a legacy patcher?
I am not technical so I would like someone to decipher this for me and tell me in general terms what would be involved in doing this and upgrading to a new SSD drive.


“iMac legacy patcher
Yeah Apple does this unfortunately. Sometimes they even ‘disallow’ certain older intel models from booting the operating system at all. Making you believe the features of the new OS will put a strain on the older Mac so as to not be a good experience. I say ‘disallow’ in quotes because while by default an unsupported mac model is prevented from booting the newer OS, Apple does allow the use of a boot flag to disable the kernel compatibility check and may possibly allow the OS to boot on the older hardware.
However, this is rubbish. Forced obsolescence in my opinion. With open core legacy patcher, my 9-year old MacBook Pro that got cut off by Apple after Catalina can totally run Big Sur and now Monterey. It lives on! And that Mac was upgradable. So with an SSD and 16 GB of ddr3 ram, it still runs very well despite its age.
Apple is full of it, when it comes to cutting off support of perfectly capable machines. With Apple silicon I don’t know how long they’ll support their m1 macs. But once they start cutting off support for the m1, I don’t know if there will be a way around it like on the intel side, other than needing to upgrade of course. Which in the end creates more e-waste. And incentivizes you to spend more money”

Thanks!

Hi,

Did you get the answers you were looking for?

Without details or technical jargon, you have two options for HD replacement:
1. Replace the internal drive. You'll need to hire someone to do it.
2. Buy an external drive and use that for everything.

Regarding the OpenCore Legacy Patcher.

Yes, your iMac can actually run the latest Mac OS. I recommend going for Ventura, which is second latest, instead of the latest Sonoma, for performance reasons.
Installing the OS will require a 16GB USB stick. You'll need to run through a series of steps. It takes about 2 hours in total. There are many step-by-step videos available on YouTube, for example this one. I'm also happy to help.

Hope this answers it. Please let us know if you have any questions remaining.

 

[MacMore]

If you are not technical than you are in a tough spot.

First, Replacing the HDD w/ SSD in 27" 2010 iMac is not extremely difficult but it is not easy. You can price out upgrade options here -

OWC SSD Upgrade Kits for 27-Inch iMac 2010

Get everything you need to upgrade your 2010 27-inch iMac SSD for a total system performance and capacity boost. All SSDs backed by a lifetime warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

I would call a local shop that repairs Apple computers and simply ask how much would they charge you to install the SSD if you provided all the parts (i.e. you purchased one of the kits in the link above). Might be a $200 dollars for the install alone.

Second, updating your iMac with Open Core Legacy Patcher (which allows you to install newer versions of macOS on unsupported Mac hardware) can be straight forward if you are familiar w/ installing macOS from scratch... but read the docs very carefully and follow instructions to the letter. Many, many post from people who have ended up in trouble after an OCLP install and can't get their system up and running again w/out lots of technical help. Caveat emptor.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher

Experience macOS just like before

dortania.github.io

I installed Open Core Legacy following the inbuilt instructions on a 2013 iMac albeit this is the last version that fully supports metal (and it has to be patched back in on Ventura and Sonoma). The install can be a little different.

First of all you have to setup a boot partition, which would not normally be needed, it uses a Windows style boot loader to deal with the EFI related issues. I also had to restart the installer 3 times to get it to boot to the desktop with Ventura.

Installing Mac OS on non-Metal based Macs can be a little more challenging and you will no longer get GPU based performance enhancements which can make the experience sluggish. I really wouldn't recommend doing this install on an iMac prior to 2013, in terms of gaining the best performance.

Unless there is a specific piece of software you need to run I would recommend staying with the last supported version of Mac OS for your iMac.