Okay, my iMac G4 would occassionally unexpectedly die and the only way to revive it was to unplug it and then pick it up and set it down firmly on the desk. When you plugged it back in, it would work normally. This time when it died, that didn’t work. So I pulled the bottom cover off of it and checked to see if anything was loose, I couldn’t find anything, put it back together, plugged it in, and it booted up. For some reason, it thought that the date was 12/31/1969. I adjusted the date and time, and everything seemed fine for a few moments. I was surfing the net with it, when the browser crashed, I relaunched it and for a few more moments it was fine, then it totally locked up. I had to pull the plug to get it to shut down (machine was totally frozen), now it won’t boot up again. I push the power button and you hear the chime, and power gets to my USB trackball, but the screen never comes on and I could distinctly smell something electrical burning. (No smoke, though and the fan’s still running.) I’ve got it unplugged, but I’m uncertain as to what to do now. Am I right in thinking that it’s a goner? If so, I’d really hate to throw all of it in the trash. Obviously, the harddrive, DVD, keyboard, speakers, and trackball can be saved, and the RAM might be useful, but can I do anything with the monitor? I’ve got a PC that could use a monitor so is there any way I could hook the iMac’s monitor up to the PC? (I realize that I’d have put a connector on the end of the cable and figure out a way to get power to it)
just my opinion, but it is rarely worth it to try to salvage monitors, especially going across platform. And I suspect it isn’t necessary. Your symtoms sound very much like loose connections-specifically the memory module. They are plug-in and over time (or as a result of firm blows…) they can become loose. Open up your machine and reseat the memory, check he connectors, etc. Quick and easy and it sometimes works. Of course if it was a loose wire that has since fried something it is probably a goner, but it rarely happens. Check the insides for loose parts.
It could be your battery. The lithium clock battery lives long, but when it dies, it makes lots of things go wonky.
They aren’t that expensive, so it’s worth a try before ringing the death knell.
Also, if it is the end of days for poor iMac, the Apple Store will take it so you don’t have to take it to a haz-mat site.
I’m not a Mac person, but I often get to troubleshoot PCs. The problems described in the OP sounds like two things to me. The loss of time and date would be from a bad CMOS battery. They are generally replaceable. They look like a large watch battery. I can’t see any way that a dead CMOS battery would cause the other problems that you’re describing. For those, I agree that you should look at reseating the cards, drive and power connectors, and RAM. Another thing you should check for is stopped fans (if you see any fans, try to boot with the cover off and see if they spin). Overheating could be causing the flaky behavior.
The burning smell is probably not good. The best you can hope for there is that it’s just some dust that you dislodged and not the magic smoke getting out of any electronic components.
I also think trying to reuse an integrated iMAC monitor with a PC isn’t the way to go. My advice is to look for an inexpensive LCD. The prices have really dropped on them. They are also an easy recommendation just from the desktop size and power savings.
The fan’s quite obviously spinning, so it’s not overheating.
Well, I’m certainly not turning it back on to do a “smoke check.”
:dubious: The iMac’s got ~20" widescreen monitor, used 15" monitors are going for $100+ on eBay right now, if I can hook the monitor up to a PC using less than $100 worth of parts, I come out way ahead.
Those are ripoffs in that case. A quick scan of today’s front page at Ben’s Bargains showed a 19" widescreen Samsung for $180 and a ViewSonic for $155. Granted, that’s not less than $100, but those are brand new name brand monitors.
As far as the iMac, I have nothing else for advise other than try the Mac message boards or take it to a dealer. Sorry.
“Ripoff” is putting it mildly, since the local Wallyworld sells no name 15" monitors for more than that.
Well, the concensous on the Mac boards I’ve checked with is that it’s either the PRAM battery (same thing as the PC’s CMOS battery) or it’s pretty much a goner (repair costs being more than what it’s worth).
well you have a point. if it saves $, then it is worth it. The basic problem is figuring out the connections to the monitor. The parts may not cost much, but the time it takes to locate the needed information might be substantial. YMMV of course.
I noticed the comment about the smell, but sometimes when I open a machine or get very close to one, I smell a “normal” electronics smell just from normal heat. Since you have already opened the machine and reseated everything you have almost exhausted my knowledge.
One suggestion. I just last night installed a new memory module in an old Dell laptop-thanks the the longest extended warranty they offer-and the previously dead blank screen came back to life. So, while it is obvious when one thinks about it, a bad screen can be caused by bad memory. Of course that would not explain the smell. But it is worth considering. Perhaps another memory module is available for testing.
Well, I finally got around to replacing the battery, fired the machine up and everything seemed to work normally. I did notice that the RAM was loose, so I pushed that back down in the slot and flipped the “clamps” up to lock it in place. One of the clamps seemed a bit loose, so that might be a problem. Presently, it’s rebooting after installing updates from Apple. Keeping my fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong with it.