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Can a 240 V power supply work in an iMac G5 Model A1076?

L

lifewebb

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
2
0
I have had the disaster of bringing my iMac G5 (model A1076) from San Francisco to London UK, not knowing that the machine only had a 120 V power supply unit in it, so it blew up - big spark, big bang - when it was plugged in to the English electricity system.

Now I am attempting to figure out if it will work with a new 240 volt power supply unit (IF one could be found to fit it) or if I have to get a 120 volt power supply unit sent over from the USA and find an external voltage control gadget to bring the power down from the normal 240 volts delivered here in this country. I am talking about the INTERNAL POWER SUPPLY unit, not the plugs!

Or do I have to decide that it is now dead and gone and the only thing to do is find someone who can get the data off somehow and work with a rented machine or buy a new one (not desirable here in UK where prices are about double what they are in the US)? This seems the only other option to get working again....

Any ideas/tips/suggestions? Will be very grateful as this is really a big bummer and I need files off this machine ASAP.
 
R

rtrt

macrumors 6502a
Jan 19, 2008
544
0
thoughts in no particular order;

don't know the model number you mention - but am surprised the psu was 120v only - thought all macs were 120-250V. Then again maybe it's laptops only.

I'd think you could put in a uk supply and it would work - but plan on £100 +. At least they were around that, when i looked a while back for my own G5 ALS.

if you need quick access to the files, you can just remove the hard drive from the imac and install it in an external case. But then you'd need another mac to plug it into.

if the price difference us to uk is v high and you go the new mac route - can you get someone to ship you one from the US as a 'gift'? It might still be more cost effective even after paying the taxes. You'd need to be sure the psu was universal tho.

If it were me and I was looking for a quick fix, then i'd get a new macbook from the refurb store on apple uk (or the US gift route). I'd get the hard drive out of the imac and install it in an external case. I'd ship the imac home without the hard drive and deal with it when i left the uk - your post seems to suggest a short stay with the rental comment.

it might cost you more but it'll be the simplest.
 
L

lifewebb

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
2
0
Thanks very much for this contribution. I know about getting the HD out of the iMac and then plugging into another machine, so yes, the plan is now to compare prices of fixing the old iMac or getting something at a lower cost here to keep me going while I am here - an unknown duration at this point in time.

Thanks again
 
R

rtrt

macrumors 6502a
Jan 19, 2008
544
0
here's some sites i'd bookmarked previously when i had a problem with my imac/power supply;

http://www.thebookyard.com/index.php?cPath=34_48&sort=2a&filter_id=25
http://www.scrumpymacs.co.uk/buy/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=18_32

some more thoughts;

if you're looking to keep costs down and you're technically minded then you could go the hackintosh route for a replacement.

There's always ebay for a used replacement - not a risk i'd take with a G5 but might be inclined to go for an Intel as think they have generally been more reliable. Anyway i'd definitely do some reading on whatever particular model i was looking at - to make sure there weren't any known issues.

I have no experience of what happens when you plug in a US power supply to the uk mains - but i wonder if there's a chance you might have damaged another part of the imac - hopefully you might just have blown a fuse! Maybe someone else with some knowledge can chime in here.
 
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