Did I kill (fry) my G4?

[miguelcorleone]

All I heard was a pop, the power surge protector that I just bought switched off and then I smelled something burning: it was my Mac! a G4. Is it dead? Did I kill my computer? Is this something that can be repaired?

I was actually fearful of something like this happening; that's why I bought the surge protector and it might have been the worst thing I could have done. I just moved to Lisbon, Portugal from the States and was told by people in my building to protect my electronics. Is there any hope? Can something like this be fixed or is my computer just junk now. If it is in fact dead, can any of the information on the memory be retrieved?

I'm almost in tears.

Voltage here is 220v. My computer is a Power Mac G4 tower. Things with the power went wrong, but I'm not sure exactly what. The Ironic part is that I went out and bought a power surge protector, and by actually plugging my computer into it caused the electrical pop and subsequently "fried" my computer.

Any tips, signs of hope, recovering my files if my computer cannot be fixed? Also, does anyone knowof a Mac repair in Lisbon?

 

[lexfuzo]

US Mac?

Did you plug your US-Mac with its Power Adaptor possibly set to 115V in an european 230V outlet?
In this case a surge protector won´t help at all.

 

[lexfuzo]

This is a list of Apple shops in Lisboa:
http://www.apple.com.pt/ondecomprar/Lisboa.html
FNAC and Valentim de Carvalho are big media warehouses.
Maybe you will want to go to a smaller, specialized, store like Lojapple or the like.

 

[eva01]

wrong forum much?

 

[lexfuzo]

wrong forum much?

You have to understand - it´s his first post, and on such a terrible topic....
*shaking head commiseratively*

Can threads be moved from one forum to another?

 

[Music_Producer]

All I heard was a pop, the power surge protector that I just bought switched off and then I smelled something burning: it was my Mac! a G4. Is it dead? Did I kill my computer? Is this something that can be repaired?

I was actually fearful of something like this happening; that's why I bought the surge protector and it might have been the worst thing I could have done. I just moved to Lisbon, Portugal from the States and was told by people in my building to protect my electronics. Is there any hope? Can something like this be fixed or is my computer just junk now. If it is in fact dead, can any of the information on the memory be retrieved?

I'm almost in tears.

Voltage here is 220v. My computer is a Power Mac G4 tower. Things with the power went wrong, but I'm not sure exactly what. The Ironic part is that I went out and bought a power surge protector, and by actually plugging my computer into it caused the electrical pop and subsequently "fried" my computer.

Any tips, signs of hope, recovering my files if my computer cannot be fixed? Also, does anyone knowof a Mac repair in Lisbon?

You're kidding right?!! I mean, you bought a SURGE PROTECTOR?? You're supposed to get a "Transformer".. more specifically, a Step Down Transformer.. to convert the 220 V to 110-120 V. A surge protector is only meant to handle small transient surges.. not a leap from 110 to 220 V!

Sorry..but.. your G4 is toast if the logic board is fried. On the other hand, if the fuse (do G4s have fuse in their power supply?) blew..meaning it prevented the high power from runing evrything else by blowing up.. your G4 is good. Only the fuse will need to be replaced. Hopefully that "pop" you heard was just the fuse blowing up.. hopefully. As for the contents of your memory.. you mean the hard drive, right? If its not damaged, yeah you can retrieve that.

Who told you that you need a surge protector for using your G4 internationally?!

 

[tweakers_suck]

Did you change the Voltage setting switch?

There is a voltage setting switch next to the power connector socket on the back of the powermac that needs to be switched to the 230 V line. See your manual.

 

[.:*Robot Boy*:.]

Years ago I went exploring 'round the back of my G3 and found the orange switch. I flicked it from 230V to 110V (hey, I was young and stupid ) and experienced the same pop. From memory, it just blew a fuse, so you might be alright.