Disney/ABC Power Mac G5(s)?

[iamMacPerson]

So I went down to the e-recyclers today and picked up some more parts and 3 machines. 2 were Power Mac G5s (a 2.7 and a 1.8). When I picked them up I noticed some tags on the air deflector on the 1.8 and just thought they were some stupid stickers put there by the previous owner. The guy said they were both from the same lot brought to a local AASP, which were recycled to him because they were of no use.

Then I got home and looked closer. One of the stickers was just barely holding on because it was stuck to its self. I un-stuck it and read it. "The Walt Disney Company" with a barcode and number. Then, a little further down on the deflector was one that read "ABC WC". There was also an ABC one on the ODD.

Any idea as to what this might be? Worth noting that it won't boot and processor #2 is fried. Nice char marks on some of the capacitors.

 

[RedCroissant]

So I went down to the e-recyclers today and picked up some more parts and 3 machines. 2 were Power Mac G5s (a 2.7 and a 1.8). When I picked them up I noticed some tags on the air deflector on the 1.8 and just thought they were some stupid stickers put there by the previous owner. The guy said they were both from the same lot brought to a local AASP, which were recycled to him because they were of no use.

Then I got home and looked closer. One of the stickers was just barely holding on because it was stuck to its self. I un-stuck it and read it. "The Walt Disney Company" with a barcode and number. Then, a little further down on the deflector was one that read "ABC WC". There was also an ABC one on the ODD.

Any idea as to what this might be? Worth noting that it won't boot and processor #2 is fried. Nice char marks on some of the capacitors.

Seems to me that these were older Macs used by the companies most likely for some portion of video production. That's pretty awesome.

It would be cool if the HDD was still in there and it had some original projects on there.

 

[iamMacPerson]

Seems to me that these were older Macs used by the companies most likely for some portion of video production. That's pretty awesome.

It would be cool if the HDD was still in there and it had some original projects on there.

Unfortunately, the HDD has long since been removed. I believe it was done by the AASP middle man.

 

[RedCroissant]

Unfortunately, the HDD has long since been removed. I believe it was done by the AASP middle man.

If anything, just keep it for that. It's pretty awesome. Maybe they used that PM for TRON!!!!

Welcome to the Grid, Program. Ok, that's my new signature line. Done.

 

[iamMacPerson]

If anything, just keep it for that. It's pretty awesome. Maybe they used that PM for TRON!!!!

Welcome to the Grid, Program. Ok, that's my new signature line. Done.

Makes you wonder...

Nice sig, BTW.

 

[RedCroissant]

Makes you wonder...

Nice sig, BTW.

It does make you wonder. But then again, it could have been used for Hannah Montana or something like that (which I don't think is as cool as TRON).

And thank you! I love TRON. Love it. I just wish some idiot at Disney didn't drop the ball with merchandising. They could have done so much more with it. :-(

 

[iamMacPerson]

Here are some images of the machine and its asset tags:









I'll add some pics of an extra special side panel later.

 

[Altemose]

Here are some images of the machine and its asset tags:

View attachment 466407

View attachment 466408

View attachment 466409

View attachment 466410

I'll add some pics of an extra special side panel later.

Either way they are neat machines. Are both fried?

 

[gavinstubbs09]

Either way they are neat machines. Are both fried?

The 2.7 isn't. I bought it from him

 

[Altemose]

The 2.7 isn't. I bought it from him

Any signs of leakage?

 

[gavinstubbs09]

Any signs of leakage?

From what I can tell there is none, but the other 2.7 was full of them. Also, there is a new Ethernet ID sticker on the label, so I assume at one point in time the motherboard was replaced probably with a new LCS and PSU.

 

[Altemose]

From what I can tell there is none, but the other 2.7 was full of them. Also, there is a new Ethernet ID sticker on the label, so I assume at one point in time the motherboard was replaced probably with a new LCS and PSU.

You are quite possibly right. Those darn LCS systems always seem to leak.

 

[iamMacPerson]

You are quite possibly right. Those darn LCS systems always seem to leak.

Yeah, gavinstubbs09's 2.7 runs really nice. Temp Monitor reads 103°F on CPU-A and 99°F on CPU-B. Seems Apple refurbed the whole machine at some point replacing the LoBo, CPUs, LCS, and probably the PSU too. It seems that during the process the machine lost its asset tags.

So, I found out that ABC is actually owned by Disney (didn't know that), which would explain the Walt Disney and ABC asset tags. Refurbishment of the machine will be needed. So far, at least both CPUs and possibly the PSU are goners. I inspected the MoBo, front and back, and it seems fine. As soon as I get some moolah I'll see about ordering them. For now, the machine is going to stuffed away, nicely protected.

 

[eyoungren]

And thank you! I love TRON. Love it. I just wish some idiot at Disney didn't drop the ball with merchandising. They could have done so much more with it. :-(

I wish the writing had been up to Jeff Bridges talent (speaking of Tron Legacy). He was awesome and to me the backstory was deep. Unfortunately, to me though, much less care was given to the stories and interactions of everyone around him. Everything else kind of fell flat and depended on "action" to make up for it. Some of the plot lines you could see coming a mile away and the end scene was - uninteresting. You have to make your audience care and I didn't by that time.

Sorry to sidetrack, just my opinion though. The original TRON was awesome!

 

[RedCroissant]

I wish the writing had been up to Jeff Bridges talent (speaking of Tron Legacy). He was awesome and to me the backstory was deep. Unfortunately, to me though, much less care was given to the stories and interactions of everyone around him. Everything else kind of fell flat and depended on "action" to make up for it. Some of the plot lines you could see coming a mile away and the end scene was - uninteresting. You have to make your audience care and I didn't by that time.

Sorry to sidetrack, just my opinion though. The original TRON was awesome!

I almost completely agree. That's the thing that Legacy did better in my opinion thanks to the development of better CGI (as far as action).

What they should have done though is look at the demographic of TRON fans and do something to get them more interested in the film and other stuff (like the PS3 game that I have which is great). Why couldn't they release official GUI themes, custom apps with awesome interfaces, electronic merchandise with TRON themes...etc. They totally missed the boat on MAJOR mark ups of basic equipment for the TRON fans like me.

I did get a light cycle usb flash drive (which is great and comes with a few things) but I would have liked other things as well.

 

[eyoungren]

I almost completely agree. That's the thing that Legacy did better in my opinion thanks to the development of better CGI (as far as action).

What they should have done though is look at the demographic of TRON fans and do something to get them more interested in the film and other stuff (like the PS3 game that I have which is great). Why couldn't they release official GUI themes, custom apps with awesome interfaces, electronic merchandise with TRON themes...etc. They totally missed the boat on MAJOR mark ups of basic equipment for the TRON fans like me.

I did get a light cycle usb flash drive (which is great and comes with a few things) but I would have liked other things as well.

I hear you on the merchandising. My only guess is that they didn't see much in the way of a return on their investment. Oh sure, they would have made money but not the major bucks like say with a Toy Story release.

I think my divergence came with the night club scene. I like Daft Punk, but I thought it was a little over the top to actually have them in that scene. The rest of the scene didn't really play out well, IMO either. So that kind of set the stage for my disinterest at the end. Of course, all the effects were cool, but I'm a story driven type.

 

[iamMacPerson]

Last night I was debating what should be done with the machine. It's neat, but its taking up space that could be occupied by a working computer. And now that space does hold a working computer.

I decided to steal the PSU out of my 2.0GHz model and stick it in there. I removed the processor that looked burned, stole RAM, a HDD, and vid card in from my 2GHz, and plugged the machine in half assembled.

Sure enough, I hit the power button and it POSTed. It booted like it never skipped a beat. Amazing.

Interestingly enough, Sys Profiler and the ATM window don't show a serial number so the board was at one point replaced by Apple. The PSU was also replaced because it was a 600w model versus a 450w that the dual 1.8 used. There is rust on the PSU. Not much, but it is there which makes me think it might be a capacitor problem.

The main part I need to get is a PSU for it. I think I have lead on one.

 

[Mr Rabbit]

Worth noting, Disney's Animation Studios are rich with both Macs and skilled systems administrators. They're behind two of the most popular open source Mac administration tools out right now. Reposado, which replicates and builds on most of OS X Server's software update mechanism, and Munki, which is used to manage package installation and Mac deployment.

With that in mind, not only a cool find because they were likely production Macs but also quite cool that they came from such a renowned Apple shop.

 

[iamMacPerson]

PSU came in, works great! Its a carbon copy of the one in my 2GHz model, 450W Samsung PSU. Works great! RAM and a vid card are on order for the machine. Also ordered the second CPU so this machine will be running on its own steam without stealing parts from my 2.0GHz machine. That means I now have 2 G5s!

 

[Altemose]

PSU came in, works great! Its a carbon copy of the one in my 2GHz model, 450W Samsung PSU. Works great! RAM and a vid card are on order for the machine. Also ordered the second CPU so this machine will be running on its own steam without stealing parts from my 2.0GHz machine. That means I now have 2 G5s!

What are you planning on doing with the second G5?

 

[iamMacPerson]

What are you planning on doing with the second G5?

No idea. Collectors item?

 

[Altemose]

No idea. Collectors item?

What are the total specs when you are done? You could get a bit of cash for it...

 

[iamMacPerson]

What are the total specs when you are done? You could get a bit of cash for it...

So far:

Dual 1.8GHz G5
Radeon 9650
2GB (2x1GB) of RAM
160GB HDD

Of course, all the parts I pulled will be put away incase I ever sell it (highly doubt I will) like the PSU and charred CPU.

 

[Altemose]

So far:

Dual 1.8GHz G5
Radeon 9650
2GB (2x1GB) of RAM
160GB HDD

Of course, all the parts I pulled will be put away incase I ever sell it (highly doubt I will) like the PSU and charred CPU.

How much VRAM does the 9650 have in it? How's the performance? I am looking at either upgrading my dual 1.8, but the four RAM slots is definitely a hinderance or upgrade to a 2.0 or Intel.

 

[gavinstubbs09]

How much VRAM does the 9650 have in it? How's the performance? I am looking at either upgrading my dual 1.8, but the four RAM slots is definitely a hinderance or upgrade to a 2.0 or Intel.

It's 256MB. The performance is a million times better compared to the FX5200 and this card has dual DVI. Comparing the 9650 to a 128MB 9600 I didn't notice anything super significant.