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Honey I fried the new iMacG5

photocat said:
Thanks Rod and all the others who can understand me and offer a bit of support. To be honest, I don't really need anyone bashing me, I have done enough self-bashing over the last days.
My main reason for posting was to make people aware of this problem.
If this was a problem for me, and experienced mac user and firm believer of the mac cult, I am sure that more will follow in my path.
Unless they find a thread or a lucky page with information.
It will never happen to me again, because from now on I will be suspicious about voltage. It was a hard lesson to learn.
In the long run, it is only a machine, and it can be fixed. It will be fixed by next week.

I sincerely hope that with this post I have kept at least a few readers from doing the same.
Click to expand...

Well you warned me at least... Thank you very very much for that.. I was seriously thinking to buy an iMac from United States and use it here in Turkey, where we use 220V like all European countries.. Now I'll be looking for solutions to that, or I'll buy a PC unfortunately, because of the price difference (500-600 euros or something more...)
 
unfortunately, I can relate...

just did the same thing to my Emac..... I'm serving in the US Army in Germany... YES, I should have checked the voltage, YES, I'm at fault and am going to pay.... HOWEVER, when many to most computers are dual voltage, a touch more warning would be helpful (with the Emac, the voltage indication is inside the disk drop flap, which you have you pry open with your fingernail).

Also, I've been super frustrated trying to get this fixed... Apple said warranty void, here are some numbers for places in Germany... the vendors here don't know if they can get the parts because it is a US machine....

So if anyone is familiar with power supply problems on Emacs, please provide some advice. Some techs are saying I have to replace my analog and CRT at the tune of $675... please help, I have 50 lbs paper weight.
 
caveman_uk said:
She's already said her imac G4 was auto-switching. Are you calling her a liar?
Click to expand...

I checked it (which I should have done first), stand corrected and apologize. Had a bad day yesterday and guess my reply was pretty unfriendly.

Sorry.

And because I traveled a lot, I always first check if my electronics work with the country's voltage and hence took such precautions for granted.

Please accept my apology.
 
Photocat, have you managed to get it fixed? I'm pretty sure you could try to claim on the warranty by saying the adaptor was faulty. Lightning is another excuse but I think such "acts of god" are not covered by warranties or insurance. Otherwise, you might be able to claim something on your house insurance. Worth a check.
 
Doraemon said:
I checked it (which I should have done first), stand corrected and apologize. Had a bad day yesterday and guess my reply was pretty unfriendly.

Sorry.

And because I traveled a lot, I always first check if my electronics work with the country's voltage and hence took such precautions for granted.

Please accept my apology.
Click to expand...

Good man, most people would have shut up, it's nice to see some manners in action.

well done. :D
 
Doraemon said:
No US desktop Mac EVER has auto switch voltage.
Besides, it's not old technology. It's totally unnecessary to have auto switch voltage on a desktop computer. The number of owners who move to a country with a different voltage is so little, that it's economical nonsense to have such feature on a desktop computer.

Check your facts before you spout them. I have a G5 from America that is dual voltage/auto switching. My european Imac at home is also auto sensing.

One question for the person who had the problem. How did you get Apple to ship to your APO? They won't do it for us. I am in Germany and we had to order from mac warehouse. I checked the Apple return policy page and they state that if you have a problem with your computer out side of the country you purchased it, you just need to call them and they will arrange for it to be repaired.

I feel for you, I would not have expected the problem you had because of my own experience with apple products.

Frump.
Click to expand...
 
photocat said:
Thanks Rod and all the others who can understand me and offer a bit of support. To be honest, I don't really need anyone bashing me, I have done enough self-bashing over the last days.
My main reason for posting was to make people aware of this problem.
If this was a problem for me, and experienced mac user and firm believer of the mac cult, I am sure that more will follow in my path.
Unless they find a thread or a lucky page with information.
It will never happen to me again, because from now on I will be suspicious about voltage. It was a hard lesson to learn.
In the long run, it is only a machine, and it can be fixed. It will be fixed by next week.

I sincerely hope that with this post I have kept at least a few readers from doing the same.
Click to expand...


Thank you for posting the info. I have Two U.S. friends that want to by from the states and use here in Germany. I think I stopped one but the other one might be in for a surprise. Not sure why Apple would change the power supply? We have Two Mac's from the states and did not have to use any thing other than a European power cable. With my experience I am not sure that I would have checked either. An auto switching power source does not have to be any bigger than normal ones. We have compact dell's at work that have very small power source's and they are auto switching.
I hope it all works out for you.

Frump.
 
sorry to hear about your bad luck, i wouldn't have thought about it i don't think but then i don't take my computers many places! My G5 doesn't have a power brick, everything must be inside.

To clear things up if i were to take my powerbook to the states, took my power adapter and plugged it in to a universal converter type thing (like you always see in airports) would it be ok? or would it fry it to?

If someone who knows states what you can and can't do then maybe it will prevent this sort of thing from happening to someone again.
 
stevehaslip said:
sorry to hear about your bad luck, i wouldn't have thought about it i don't think but then i don't take my computers many places! My G5 doesn't have a power brick, everything must be inside.

To clear things up if i were to take my powerbook to the states, took my power adapter and plugged it in to a universal converter type thing (like you always see in airports) would it be ok? or would it fry it to?

If someone who knows states what you can and can't do then maybe it will prevent this sort of thing from happening to someone again.
Click to expand...

powerbooks, at least mine is, are auto-switch power supplied.. if you go to US and want to use it, you probably have to find a US-type socket-end and change the end of the power brick to plug it in the wall...
 
Idea time!
Someone said earlier that Apple would ship you the correct model (110 or 230 volts) depending on where you ordered it. You ordered it in the States. But you had it shipped to your UK address. This most likely caused the software that Apple uses to send you the 110 volt version.

So, call Apple and say they should have known better to ship you the 110 version because you are in a UK address. It is worth a shot.
 
One question for the person who had the problem. How did you get Apple to ship to your APO? They won't do it for us. I am in Germany and we had to order from mac warehouse.

I just recently discovered a website, www.fpoapo.com which has a couple vendors that will ship to germany.... prices are decent.
 
That really sucks that your Imac is fried (well, hopefully just the PS is bad). I also travel a bunch (currently on international assignment in Sweden), and have to constantly check my equipment. I have a bunch of Radio Shack power converters all over my flat :(

It is strange what items come with a PS that does 100 - 240, and what doesn't. My cheap $10 USB hub has a 100-240 PS, but my $120 electric shaver doesn't (which would probably travel a lot more than a USB hub :) ).

I guess Apple is saying that if you buy an Imac in the states, you can't ever take it with you. Nope, it has to stay. Maybe they are hoping you will buy another Apple for your travels :rolleyes:

Kimo
 
it alos bils down to customer service. It is simple to do a followup on any US sale sent to a APO or overseas address to make sure that that they have ordered the right system.

It saves them time and goodwill (in particular to APO addresses).
 
photocat said:
It will never happen to me again, because from now on I will be suspicious about voltage. It was a hard lesson to learn.
Click to expand...
I was about to jump on you too, but then I remembered ruining a wool sweater in the wash a couple weeks ago simply because I'd been able to get away with machine-washing other wool sweaters from that store even when they DID have "hand wash only" on the label. So, much less damage done, but no more room to speak.

I guess the lesson amounts to: Never assume, always check and make SURE. :eek:
 
Was it fixed

Don't feel so bad, I made the same mistake right now. I just wanted to know whether it's fixable or not. Is it only the power supply that is damaged or the whole computer.

Thanks
 
jared_kipe said:
Maybe it isn't dead, pull out your transformer and see what happens.
Click to expand...

i second that... maybe just the fuse of the power supply 'run off'

worth a try..


side note i found pretty interesting that apple didn't only use a single power supply for their european/US imacs..that would cut down manufacturing costs for sure (just liek the whole imac design)
 
i do audio work and often buy/rent/borrow gear from america and europe, and yes, the voltage compatibility is the #1 thing to check, but it's annoying. it is the most annoying thing one can think of, and for that reason, the lack of such annoyance immediately makes any gear look better quality compared to others that are fixed voltage.

i'm very close to banning all fixed-voltage gear now, and i'm very surprised apple still does it. APPLE SCREWS YOU AMERICANS, PLEASE COMPLAIN about it as we europeans are now given better apples than you. we get it, you don't, does apple save that much money by screwing its home market?

or does apple think you americans don't travel at all?

i think this is apple's fault, nevertheless the user error that plugged the cord into a "wrong" outlet. however, by today's standards, it's not up to apple to decide what voltage should be used. apple should use universal power supplies everywhere, period.
 
JFreak said:
i do audio work and often buy/rent/borrow gear from america and europe, and yes, the voltage compatibility is the #1 thing to check, but it's annoying. it is the most annoying thing one can think of, and for that reason, the lack of such annoyance immediately makes any gear look better quality compared to others that are fixed voltage.

i'm very close to banning all fixed-voltage gear now, and i'm very surprised apple still does it. APPLE SCREWS YOU AMERICANS, PLEASE COMPLAIN about it as we europeans are now given better apples than you. we get it, you don't, does apple save that much money by screwing its home market?

or does apple think you americans don't travel at all?

i think this is apple's fault, nevertheless the user error that plugged the cord into a "wrong" outlet. however, by today's standards, it's not up to apple to decide what voltage should be used. apple should use universal power supplies everywhere, period.
Click to expand...

Um, OK then. Its Apple's fault people dont take the time to check the voltage their computer requires. I know if I had just baught a new sub 2000$ computer through questionable means (buying it from America and shipping it overseas) I'd sure as **** check to see what voltage it requires.

Maybe Apple trusts people too much, thinking they're not going to pull a fast one like that?
 
I'm sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you manage some sort of solution. For the person in Turkey, there are power bricks you can buy to convert to 110 volt (just make sure you get one rated well enough for computer use), a friend of mine had to use one in Lithuania for a year. Aside from the size and weight of the toe-stubber, it seemed to work fine.

When I went to visit him this year I am very glad that I took the time to check and double check every one of my devices I took with me to ensure it was auto switching. Luckilly everything I took with me was, including most importantly my dell laptop and ipod. :) Saved me some trouble.

I am also quite glad he warned me to watch out when plugging into non-countersunk sockets, I guess he got zapped once. :eek:

Good luck in finding a solution/replacement.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Hope that you will be able to successfully resolve. Will look forward to hear the solution.
 
photocat said:
Thanks Rod and all the others who can understand me and offer a bit of support. To be honest, I don't really need anyone bashing me, I have done enough self-bashing over the last days.
My main reason for posting was to make people aware of this problem.
If this was a problem for me, and experienced mac user and firm believer of the mac cult, I am sure that more will follow in my path.
Unless they find a thread or a lucky page with information.
It will never happen to me again, because from now on I will be suspicious about voltage. It was a hard lesson to learn.
In the long run, it is only a machine, and it can be fixed. It will be fixed by next week.

I sincerely hope that with this post I have kept at least a few readers from doing the same.
Click to expand...

I feel for you. It is a shame that some were blasting you. I think you have a valid point about the shop you brought it from. I know when I did electronic sales, and APO address was an instant trigger for checking on the voltage of the product.
 
photocat - Sorry to hear about the iMac. It was an honest mistake, but in your first post you did seem to place the blame on others more than yourself. I mean you are a little bit to blame. The rest of the blame should go to Apple. Not because it wasn't auto-switching, but because they make such cool products. I'm so excited when I get a new Apple product. I want to play with it ASAP. I tend to read the manual only as a last resort. I'd have taken that sucker out of the box and plugged it without a second thought too. What a terrible experience. You must have gone from extremely happy to miserable in a matter of seconds. Good luck. :)
 
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