My PowerMac G5 Dual 2.5 Liquid Cooled just went up in smoke! *UPDATED*

C

Crawn2003

macrumors 6502
As the title says, it just went up in smoke! It's about 4:35 a.m. right now (EST) and around 4 a.m. I heard this loud POP! POP POP POP POP ZEEEEEZZEZ POP!

I jumped out of bed and ran to my office where I found the entire office in darkish color smoke and the G5 sitting there without power. Quickly ran it outside (afraid of fire around ALL of my photo gear and documents) where it sat smoking for a little while longer....

So it's unresponsive and won't turn on. Either it's a leak like everyone is getting or just the power supply. I didn't notice any water inside but really haven't been paying that much attention this morning (still groggy).

Now what do I do? It's still under AppleCare. Do they replace the parts or do they replace the entire unit? This is my server for my photo files and music!

~Crawn

UPDATE:
The Apple Store decided to replace the G5, finding that the cost of repair for the G5 would be around or more for replacement parts. In return they are sending back a Mac Pro.

I have to admit that they were really awesome there at the Apple Store and helped me along every step of the way.

Now to play the waiting game until the unit arrives.

~Crawn
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/3A109a Safari/419.3)

*Update*

Apple is replacing my Dual G5 with a Mac Pro. They have it ordered and should have it come in later this week. What was really a nice touch is that they are giving me the exact same amount of RAM and an equivalent HD. I'm very pleased that Apple really takes care of their buyers.

~Crawn
 
Crawn2003 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/3A109a Safari/419.3)

*Update*

Apple is replacing my Dual G5 with a Mac Pro. They have it ordered and should have it come in later this week. What was really a nice touch is that they are giving me the exact same amount of RAM and an equivalent HD. I'm very pleased that Apple really takes care of their buyers.

~Crawn
Click to expand...
Looks like getting replacement G5 parts is getting to hard.

I wish my 2.7 GHz was under AppleCare. :rolleyes:
 
I've been following those threads on xlr8 for about a year now. So glad my 2.7 is covered and I check it weekly just to make sure. I think the reason apple isn't repairing them may partly be because of parts on backorder, but maybe because they're afraid of some sort of lawsuit, either involving this happening too often or just that, a house burning down.

Well, nice to hear you're getting taken care of. This makes me excited for leopard and the ease of backups. I'll be doing weekly backups as well as the checks inside for leaks.

dustin
 
If anyone wants to take a proactive step (if they're not under Applecare) to ensure their cooling system is in good condition, they should open up the cooler and inspect the tubing to make sure there is no damage to the tubing.

These guys can also assist you if you want to redo the tubing in your loop or if you need to source a replacement pump. If nothing else you may want to take a picture of anything that looks suspect and post it there.
 
Crawn2003 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/3A109a Safari/419.3)

*Update*

Apple is replacing my Dual G5 with a Mac Pro. They have it ordered and should have it come in later this week. What was really a nice touch is that they are giving me the exact same amount of RAM and an equivalent HD. I'm very pleased that Apple really takes care of their buyers.

~Crawn
Click to expand...

Wow, you lucky dog!

PLEASE post pics of the post-mortem G5. :D
 
G5 go boom

Here's a shot from my own debacle this summer. Down and out almost 6 weeks until they made the MacPro offer.
AppleAcid01.jpg
 
Eidorian said:
Looks like getting replacement G5 parts is getting to hard.

I wish my 2.7 GHz was under AppleCare. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

My DP G5 2.5ghz is in the shop right now. Replacing just about everything they can. Logic board, both processors, ram, power supply. PArt of me hopes they can't fix it so I get a new machine. :D

For now I'm back on my old G4 DP 500mhz and doing ANYTHING is like pulling teeth. :eek:
 
Nice that they are sending you a Mac Pro. I will say you will love the computer.

I am sad though that you haven't posted any photos. It is like passing a car accident you know, you just can't help but to look:D
 
JesterJJZ said:
My DP G5 2.5ghz is in the shop right now. Replacing just about everything they can. Logic board, both processors, ram, power supply. PArt of me hopes they can't fix it so I get a new machine. :D

For now I'm back on my old G4 DP 500mhz and doing ANYTHING is like pulling teeth. :eek:
Click to expand...

Just give it some time. My Dual 2.5 has gone through the same thing. They called to tell me they found the parts, replaced everything and still a no go. So, after 11 days in the shop, they gave me the offer to get the Mac Pro. It was ordered tonight and should be here soon.
 
I didn't get any photos unfortunately but you could see a little black area on the back. The worst was the smoke when I ran into the office! It was dark and VERY acrid smelling.

I was fully expecting them to just replace the parts and call it a day. When they came back after 10 minutes or so and said they were just replacing it with a Mac Pro I was surprised.

I'm just happy I went with the Apple Care when I bought it. I'd be in a world of hurt right now if I hadn't....


~Crawn
 
Really pleased that things have worked out well Crawn2003

My AppleCare expires in December... this thread has convinced me to renew it.
 
emilsjr said:
Just give it some time. My Dual 2.5 has gone through the same thing. They called to tell me they found the parts, replaced everything and still a no go. So, after 11 days in the shop, they gave me the offer to get the Mac Pro. It was ordered tonight and should be here soon.
Click to expand...

Well I've been without it for about a week now...
 
Southernboy said:
My AppleCare expires in December... this thread has convinced me to renew it.
Click to expand...

Hows that possible... unless you're talking about the standard 1 Year that comes with any Mac.. after 3 years (add on 2 Years) thats it, game over... right?
 
amemoryoncelost said:
How do you open er up?
Click to expand...


I'm not entirely sure but I'd imagine that it required removing the cooling device and removing screws from the bottom of it.

Top.jpg


You can see the insides there of one revision. The items on the left side are the radiators, on the far right the heatsinks for the L3 cache. The black devices are the pumps and the waterblocks look to be the grey boxes on the bottom of the device.

In My Professional Opinion® the putty looks suspect. I've never seen a system use that. Instead loops are generally kept water tight thanks to hose clamps (the silver things). Usually we use the automotive type. Possibly the putty dries over time and cracks. One solution to cracking there would be to give it a healthy dose of GOOP brand Marine RTV silicone (or any other, I just like GOOP). You'll want to literally smear it all around the barb connections.

The two pumps are Laing DDC pumps, also sold as the Swiftech MCP350. These are extremely dependable pumps used in many PC water cooling setups. I myself use the Liang D5 which you could almost consider to be the DDC's big brother... though that really has to go to the DDC+. Note that all three of the pumps I've mentioned have been revised so the original specs are not the same but for this purpose will function the same.

Replacement parts

You can also get replacement tubing, anticorrosion additive, and hose clamps from there as well.

Laing's website (IIRC they're a devision of Delphi, as can be seen by the Delphi logo on the pump)
 
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