Dead (?) slot loading graphite G3 iMac 500 DV SE

[Jackonicko]

I have a charcoal iMac DV SE 500 which won't complete a proper start.

The machine chimes and begins to start, and then clicks off again before
anything can show on the screen.

It won't start in Target Disk mode, and zapping the PRAM (starting with
alt/apple/P/R, right?) has no effect.

Does this sound like a dead PRAM battery, a dead 'Power/Analog' board, or a dead hard drive?

Can anyone give me an idea of how much it would cost to fix, and recommend good, reliable, cheap UK repairers

It's not worth much, but I have a friend who'd love it if it can be restored to life, and I'd like to get some of the files off it if it's not the drive.

Thoughts, anyone?

 

[tuc]

It's hard to know. It could be bad RAM, but that's not the only possibility.

If you end up trashing it, may I have your optical drive?

 

[zami]

Having once owned a DV 400 that ran with a flat battery I would guess that is not the problem.

However mine suffered a terminal HD failure following a few minutes of loud "clonking" which is very loud in this machine due to it's particular casing. The iMac G3 is equipped with the infamous IBM Deskstar (AKA Deathstar) that in its day had a fearsome reputation. The HD was replaced and it lives on today.

http://www.olympiacomputers.com/ These are good but not cheap, South London.

 

[BBC B 32k]

zami, wow I had exactly the same issues with my iMac DV SE. It is still running fine with dead cell - I just have to set the clock if it is left unplugged for long.

I too had the hard drive from hell and replaced it with a 40gig unit.

This Mac is a design icon and worth holding on to.

You could remove the hard drive and connect it to a different computer which will either help you recover data or confirm a dead HD.

Best of luck.

 

[Killyp]

My G3 runs with a dead battery too, I don't think that's an issue. Try re-setting the RAM, and also, where does the click seem to originate from? If it's near the right, back end of the machine, then it's a power supply issue (which I believe is fixable, as the power supply is a separate module).

 

[ickystay]

I bought an iMac from the local Goodwill that was doing the startup chime/nothing thing. The problem was a fried Quantum 13GB "Fireball".