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eMac 800Mhz -> 1.33GHz conversion

Does anyone know where the connector for the emac's power switch (Gen 3) goes? I've just got myself a Gen 3 logic board that I want to run headless but I can't work out how to switch the thing on!! I've made an adapter to connect it to an ATX power supply, its got RAM in it and I have a VGA adapter plugged into an LCD screen. I can't for the life of me work out which pins I have to short to start it up though!!

Ok, I'm pretty sure I've found the power connector now. When I short it the lcd screen comes on for a few seconds and turns off again. Is the output from the mini-VGA output stuck at a high refresh rate in the same way that the on board one is? If it is then I'm a bit buggered. I've got an iBook G3 I could run in target disk mode, how do I do the whole remote changing of resolution trick? Actually that won't work because I'd be using the G3 as a target disk. Bugger.
 
Spanky Deluxe said:
Actually that won't work because I'd be using the G3 as a target disk. Bugger.
Click to expand...
Install VNC server on eMac's disk in target mode (boot iBook off it via Option boot) and make it autolaunch. Then boot them both up and log into eMac from iBook or any other computer on the network.
 
I worked out how to do it. I started the iBook in Target Disk Mode, connected it to the eMac, booted up whilst holding down Command+Option+Shift+Del so that it booted from the iBook's hard drive (you've got to love the fact that no matter what computer your on you can use the same installation, not like Windows!!). I then formatted the eMac's hard drive and did a disk backup of my iBook's hard drive to the eMac. Restarted and unplugged the iBook and hey presto!! I'm typing on it now!!

I've now got a 1Ghz G4 166Mhz FSB Apple computer for £61. I chucked in some old ram I had lying around, a spare hard drive and dvd drive and found an old ATX power supply and there we go, a super-cheap but very decent Apple computer!! Now all I need to do is sift through this hugely bloated and ageing thread and find the resistors needed to overclock to maybe 1.5Ghz. I'm hoping for 1.33 but with luck will be able to go further. So for £61 I'll have a mac that's of equal specs to a mac mini. Mac minis might be cheap but this is way cheaper. A G4 for £61. That's about $106 for you American folk. Deal, eh?!!

I noticed in the eBay auction it said "Doesn't have an onboard modem" and knew it was going to be an underclocked G3 eMac. I was right. Radeon 9200 and 166 FSB. Nice.
 
eMac 1G headless.

Hi guys, I've been lurking around for years now, I don't really have much to say, but now it seems I'm running into a problem.

I've managed to get a 1G mother board and now it is working as a headless mac but I've ran into a problem outputing the image.
I'm trying to use the mini-VGA out put an older style Apple CRT. I get an image but it's all distorted and wavey.
I've connected it to my other eMac (2G) and it works fine.
I cloned it's hard drive and put it into the headless mac, so it should behave the same.
But, it doesn't. I using ReswichX for monitor resolution and when I plug in the monitor to my 2G it works fine, but not with my 1G.
I've even tried swapping 1G boards over for another one I have and again the same image comes up.
You can see the programs and OS running...barely.

Any help or advice would be great.

Thanks

Gav.
 
Hey Folks,

I run my Headless eMAc(1G 700 Mhz) with a old AT Power supply. The video works on both connectors.
My problem is, that my eMac won't boot anymore with the AT Power supply.
With many different boot CDs(all 10.3) the eMac stops to boot with the grey Display and a strange sign, I found out it's called the "prohibited sign" or formerly broken folder sign.
The boot CDs I used are working fine, I tried them with my old iMac G3, it booted fine off the Cds.

Has any one a clue what the problem could be?

Thanks for your answers.
 
bad Video on the mini-VGa output

brutus19 said:
I've managed to get a 1G mother board and now it is working as a headless mac but I've ran into a problem outputing the image.
I'm trying to use the mini-VGA out put an older style Apple CRT. I get an image but it's all distorted and wavey.
Gav.
Click to expand...

Hi Brutus 19,

what you experienced with the Mini-VGA adapter is quite normal. The Video quality on the Mini-VGA output is not as good as the internal one. I compared both images and the Mini-VGa output is a good deal worse in brightness and contrast, no matter how high those settings are.
But the output should not be distorted. Perhaps you should try to use a better CRT. I have a quite new one from LG, and the image is quite ok on the mini-VGa output.
I advice you to solder a normal VGA-Connector to the internal video connector. Its not to difficult, and no problem at all, if you have some experience with the solder iron. There are only 8 wires needed to run a monitor on this internal connector. The image wth this connectos is much better than on the mini-VGa ouptut.
You can also find the pinout for the mentioned connectors in this thread, some pages earlier
 
Hallo,
I am happy to find this site and lbodnar's site of the "headless eMac" .
But I don't know - what shall I do - repair the analog-board of my eMac G4 700 or connect it to an atx-power-supply and a TFT-Panel.
Has anyone a shematic of the analog power-board?
Maybe I can find the mistake....
Best regards
CPG
 
Hallo,
I was soldering some hours.
I have now atx-power for my emac 700 and the self-made-dcb.
The voltages are ok, but the emac doesn't start.
The cpu is warm - not hot.
The LM317 is not hot - a little little bit warmer than the room-temperature. The voltages are ok.

Any idea?

Best regards
cpg
 
Soldering help with overclocking emac 800mhz

Hi all, I know this is a newbie question but I've been searching around for a while and I'm getting frustrated.
There are plenty of sites telling me what things to solder on these emac 800mhz but I'm just not sure how to do it exactly? Some say to bridge certain points on the logic board and some people suggest solder pens etc.
If someone could pm me or help me or point me to a detailed article etc, on how to solder these points to overclock the emac it would be awesome!
Thanks a lot
=Paul=
 
Basically, all you are looking to do is to complete the circuit. Some people like to use solder pins because they are easy. Personally, however I connect the two pads, I want it to be able to undo it. Solder pins don't let you do that unless you want to scrape the pcb with a razor blade. Some people have reported success with graphite pencil lead. I would not feel comfortable doing that.

I used a tiny blob of solder to complete the circuit. If you mess up or if the clock speed is too high, you can use a variety of methods to remove the solder after the fact. I use desoldering braid for that.

If you have already removed the required jumpers, I wouldn't figure this would be a problem for you.
 
The original link in the first post has a closeup photo with pads connected with solder-

http://www.lbodnar.dsl.pipex.com/eMac/eMac-upgrade.html
http://www.lbodnar.dsl.pipex.com/eMac/eMac-jumpers-closeup.jpg

As topgunn says, you just need a tiny blob of solder that connects the pads (and obviously doesn't touch other pads, etc.)

I did it the same way. You definitely want to be careful, but it's not that hard. I don't have much experience soldering and I did it, although I do have some experience taking computers apart, etc. Having some sort of magnifying glass or something like that will help you apply the solder, as the pads are pretty small.
 
Leo Bodnar!!

Hello, I'm looking for Leo Bodnar, the legendary emac know-it-all. I've tried contacting him several times through email and haven't gotten any response. I have some questions about making my Gen 1 eMac headless. If anyone knows how to get a hold of him or if you still come on these forums Leo, please let me know! I could really use your help right now...
 
Hey all

Hello everyone. I was doing some research to overclock my Gen 3 1.25GHz eMac and it worked. I Have it running @ 1.58GHz for the last 2 months now. Only locked up once and that was when it was 88 in the basement.

My only problem is the bug that the firmware has when it is at 1.58GHz. ATM shows only 750MHz. Which sucks because the link to a website forum that had a fix is gone. If anyone knows how to fix that it would be unreal.

Brandon
 
lbodnar said:
Great! Here they are then:

Code: 
                         1.25  1.33  1.42  1.50  1.58  1.67  1.75GHz
R658 (reverse side)        +     -     +     +     +     -     -
R270 (J11 side)            +     -     -     -     -     +     +
R673 (reverse side)        +     +     -     -     -     -     +
R275 (J11 side)            -     +     +     -     -     +     +
R689 (reverse side)        +     +     +     -     +     -     -
As usual, "+" means either resistor or solder bridge is present and "-" is an open contact or removed resistor.

Just to let you know, Open Firmware might not correctly show 1.58GHz speed (displayed as 750MHz) because no Mac yet runs at that speed. This issue is the same on Mac mini - it has the same CPU and very similar architecture. It is purely indication issue and the solution can be found here
Click to expand...



I just used that Key above from page 16. The only problem is that part about the firmware reading 750MHz. Seems that there was a website with a fix but that website is gone. :(
 
1.58Ghz overclock nvedit

Instructions for a Mac Mini but I suppose it will work for an emac. (Haven't tried it). I overclocked my 1.25Ghz emac to 1.42 or 1.5, but it reads 417 MHz in "About this Mac". Still trying to figure that out... from:
http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15109&view=previous&sid=45bb3b3b5bc2238bc264381e240a15c0

These are the values for 1.58GHz overclock:
1.58 GHz PowerPC G4
5e2ce2fd = 1579999997 = " clock frequency"
5e1da0c0 = 1579000000 = " rounded-clock-frequency"
5e178682 = 1578600066 = " recalced-clock-frequency"

Here's the instructions on how to persist the 1.58GHz into the system so that "About This Mac" works properly:
1. Reboot the computer holding down Cmd-Opt-O-F to enter the Open Firmware command line.
2. Type nvedit and press Return
3. Enter the following script exactly, pressing Return at the end of each line.
Code:
dev /
9eb18ef encode-int " clock-frequency" property
dev /cpus
dev PowerPC,G4@0
5e2ce2fd encode-int " clock-frequency" property
9eb18ef encode-int " bus-frequency" property
5e1da0c0 encode-int " rounded-clock-frequency" property
5e178682 encode-int " recalced-clock-frequency" property
27ac63b encode-int " timebase-frequency" property
dev l2-cache
5e2ce2fd encode-int " clock-frequency" property
dev /
4. Press Ctrl-C to exit the editor.
5. Type nvstore and press Return
6. Type setenv use-nvramrc? true and then press Return
7. Type reset-all and press Return
 
questions questions

Hi everyone, i'm new to the whole "cutting up my apple" deal... i'm trying to work on my 700mHz gen1 G4 emac

i'm trying to make it work headless, with a twist... i want to get the internals into a mac plus case that i've got lying around

i've seen all the advice on how to make it work "headless" but i still have some questions.

1) can i make my emac work through an ATX power supply and completely remove the analogue board? if so... how?

2) i swear i had another question, but thats the big one at the moment!

i'd love it if someone can help me out with this!

cheers,
:apple: Mark :apple:
 
Anyone else?

Has anyone else done the same mod to the eMac 800 mhz model that lbodnar has? I've got one, and I'd like to try it, but I have a couple of questions...

First, I've never soldered anything, but I've purchased a "teach soldering" kit that lets you practice making simple things like flashing lights and AM radios. I don't want my eMac motherboard to be my first attempt...

After that's out of the way, I'll give the up-clocking mod a try. I've been to lbodnar's page on the subject, seen the photos and the tables....all very helpful. However, here are my questions:

I've downloaded the pics of the jumper area of the motherboard, and magnified it some to have a better look. I also looked at the tables provided, and if I'm reading the page correctly, he's simply stating that all that's involved here is removing resistors from R1512 and R1518 (via a soldering iron), and then using spare solder to create bridges on R1509 and then R1515? That's it?

Another question....on the table, R1518 is listed as one of the resistors with a jumper, and yet on the motherboard grid itself, the picture seems to indicate that the resistor in question is R1517...it's the next number in sequence, right next to R1515 on the motherboard printed grid. Perhaps I'm missing something here, or perhaps I'm reading the grid wrong. Suggestions? Folks? I don't want to screw this up.

Here's lbodnar's original pic of the modified board:

eMac-jumpers-closeup.jpg


Here's my version, with questions....

eMac-jumpers-questions.jpg


Also, does it appear that R1506 has also been removed?
 
gripnrip said:
Instructions for a Mac Mini but I suppose it will work for an emac. (Haven't tried it). I overclocked my 1.25Ghz emac to 1.42 or 1.5, but it reads 417 MHz in "About this Mac". Still trying to figure that out... from:
http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15109&view=previous&sid=45bb3b3b5bc2238bc264381e240a15c0

These are the values for 1.58GHz overclock:
1.58 GHz PowerPC G4
5e2ce2fd = 1579999997 = " clock frequency"
5e1da0c0 = 1579000000 = " rounded-clock-frequency"
5e178682 = 1578600066 = " recalced-clock-frequency"

Here's the instructions on how to persist the 1.58GHz into the system so that "About This Mac" works properly:
1. Reboot the computer holding down Cmd-Opt-O-F to enter the Open Firmware command line.
2. Type nvedit and press Return
3. Enter the following script exactly, pressing Return at the end of each line.
Code:
dev /
9eb18ef encode-int " clock-frequency" property
dev /cpus
dev PowerPC,G4@0
5e2ce2fd encode-int " clock-frequency" property
9eb18ef encode-int " bus-frequency" property
5e1da0c0 encode-int " rounded-clock-frequency" property
5e178682 encode-int " recalced-clock-frequency" property
27ac63b encode-int " timebase-frequency" property
dev l2-cache
5e2ce2fd encode-int " clock-frequency" property
dev /
4. Press Ctrl-C to exit the editor.
5. Type nvstore and press Return
6. Type setenv use-nvramrc? true and then press Return
7. Type reset-all and press Return
Click to expand...


Thank you SO MUCH!!!!

:) :)
 
you guys should really check out some of the OSx86 stuff you can find on google, lol
 
geekmaster64 said:
Now why would we wanna do that?
Click to expand...

a. check my benchmarks for starters :)

b runs absolutely everything my real mac does ( actually some things much better lol).

dont get me wrong i oc'ed a mac se20 then centris, quadra's etc back in the day, and i think this a great thread
 
ease718 said:
a. check my benchmarks for starters :)

b runs absolutely everything my real mac does ( actually some things much better lol).

dont get me wrong i oc'ed a mac se20 then centris, quadra's etc back in the day, and i think this a great thread
Click to expand...

But afterall,

Its still not a Mac. Only pretending :p
 
I installed Tiger on a Centrino notebook a year or so back, it ran pretty good considering it didn't have SSE2.

I'd love to find a really cheap P4 (around 3 Ghz) that supports SSE3 and install Leopard on it, and see how it compares with my 1.25 Ghz eMac.


ease718 said:
a. check my benchmarks for starters :)

b runs absolutely everything my real mac does ( actually some things much better lol).

dont get me wrong i oc'ed a mac se20 then centris, quadra's etc back in the day, and i think this a great thread
Click to expand...
 
you can get a motherboard for about $80, a E2180 dual core 2.0GHz (oc'ed to3.0) for $80 and $80 for 2GB 800ddr ram. also < $80 for a 7300GT graphics card.

my machine is a speed monster. I spent a total of $700.
4gb of RAM from apple is $700. as is a mac mini.

the satisfaction of rolling your own .. priceless.

i openly challenge any mac pro quad to ANY speed test :)

it may not be a 'real' mac but that only makes the experience sweeter.
It runs a 'vanilla' stock kernal and for all intents and purposes Leopard the real deal.

i am so tried of the apple desktop lineup being either reboxed laptops or server workstations rebranded as desktops sold for crazy prices.
the mac pro desktops are stupidly expensive for performance that could be had at a reasonable price. there really is a place for a modern day emac built from desktop parts.
 
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