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iMac G4 17

Y

yassi

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 19, 2014
48
3
Finally, I had the chance to get a lamp ;-)
For 75€ here in Germany.

It's a 17" iMac G4, only 512MB, no Airport, 80GB HDD, but in perfect condition. Memory is on the way, Airport let's see.

Seems a pixel is dead, but it's ok.
The case is in perfect condition and white, only the white frame of the monitor is a little bit yellowish.

Now, the question: I know it it possible to open/ replace the screen (as described on the ifixit site), there are three screws.
I just want to separate the white frame (1) from the acrylic one (2) - see my picture here. It's on the read side of the acrylic case.
On the ifixit site it's not really clear if they can be separated.
I just want to clean the white frame to get it (as close as possible) white.

Thx!
 

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I suggest looking at the Apple Service Source manual for your model of iMac, it should explain what you need to do to get the thing apart correctly. They can be found here but there are actually three iMac G4 17" models and as such three different service source manuals corresponding to them, and the info you've provided doesn't identify which iMac you have.

I'll leave the identification up to you, if you look at everymac.com you'll be able to find specifics about each model there and likely be able to identify which one of the three models of iMac it is. Once you've done that just go to that link I posted and download the corresponding PDF: The "imac.17-inch.pdf" details the 800MHz iMac, "imac_17in_1ghz.pdf" is for the 1GHz of course and "imac_usb2.pdf" is for, among others, the 1.25GHz 17".

Of course having said all that I can't imagine the procedure for display disassembly is different depending on what model you have, it might be identical in fact. Have a look at all three manuals if you can't be bothered to try and identify which iMac it is and see what it says I guess. If it is the same then it doesn't matter what model you have you can just use any of the manuals.
 
Xandros said:
I suggest looking at the Apple Service Source manual for your model of iMac, it should explain what you need to do to get the thing apart correctly. They can be found here but there are actually three iMac G4 17" models and as such three different service source manuals corresponding to them, and the info you've provided doesn't identify which iMac you have.

I'll leave the identification up to you, if you look at everymac.com you'll be able to find specifics about each model there and likely be able to identify which one of the three models of iMac it is. Once you've done that just go to that link I posted and download the corresponding PDF: The "imac.17-inch.pdf" details the 800MHz iMac, "imac_17in_1ghz.pdf" is for the 1GHz of course and "imac_usb2.pdf" is for, among others, the 1.25GHz 17".

Of course having said all that I can't imagine the procedure for display disassembly is different depending on what model you have, it might be identical in fact. Have a look at all three manuals if you can't be bothered to try and identify which iMac it is and see what it says I guess. If it is the same then it doesn't matter what model you have you can just use any of the manuals.
Click to expand...

I've got the Apple Take Apart guide for mine and the bezel with acrylic is one part. I should have stated that earlier when I said that the white and acrylic parts are bonded together.
 
Oh, that's a bummer. In that case I should imagine you'll be able to separate them with great difficulty, but you will need the use of a heat gun to melt the glue holding them together. Or the bodge job alternative is to use a hair dryer, which can work in some cases, but don't tend to get anywhere near as hot as some heat guns can. Though having said that I've actually used the hair dryer method before on a mobile phone that's bezel was glued on to the case holding the screen in. Of course a mobile phone isn't as big or sturdy as a bloody great LCD display so there's a good chance Apple will have used a more powerful adhesive. At any rate you just waft it around the entire bezel in a back and forth motion for a long while until the glue gets hot enough to start to melt and you can start to pry the bezel off. Obviously remove all the internals first though, you want the case to be as bare as possible so nothing incurs potential heat damage.

Just to say though, I have no idea if what I suggest will work. I can't see how else Apple stuck those things together but like I say they might have used some kind of adhesive with a very high melting point in which case a hair dryer might not work as clearly they weren't designed with that level of disassembly in mind. You may also damage the bezel or other parts if it gets too hot. If I were you I'd probably instead look to try replacing the case with a cleaner one from a cheap "for spairs" broken iMac, or even new spare part from a parts website if you can find any in stock. Probably won't be cheap doing that though (here are some second hand ones though which I believe is what you'd want). The only other thing is even if you do manage to separate them, getting them back together might be even more of an obstacle. So, yes, attempt this entirely at your own risk.
 
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Think i'll probably just look around auction sites for a decent replacement. I've got all the required tools and such here as I work for an authorised repair centre, but I don't want to ruin it. You can tell the difference in colour, when it's stood next to my 15" Flat Panel, which is perfectly white, but it's no biggie to me.

@yassi apologies for hijacking your thread
 
Hi guys,

thx for you input!
@Godzirra: no prob, it was useful! ;-)

BTW: if powerbookmedic has the bezel, then the acylic can be removed, but I'm not sure if I want to do it. :(
I do a lot of things, but this can be tricky.
 
I did wonder why powerbookmedic has just the bezel available. They probably recognised the bezels discoloured/dirtied as they aged and decided to sell them as a separate part for people in the exact situations like yourselves.

Anyway, there's also thebookyard.com. They're UK based which would suit you Godzirra though they do ship internationally I believe if you are somewhere else in the world yassi. TBY don't tend to be the cheapest of parts suppliers though but I've used them many times and they've saved my bacon. A quick look shows they do actually have the 17" display case + bezel in stock (for the 1.25GHz iMac 17" at least but, it's probably the same part for all three machines) and it appears to be the whole part, not just the bezel as it is on powerbookmedic.
 
Xandros said:
I did wonder why powerbookmedic has just the bezel available. They probably recognised the bezels discoloured/dirtied as they aged and decided to sell them as a separate part for people in the exact situations like yourselves.

Anyway, there's also thebookyard.com. They're UK based which would suit you Godzirra though they do ship internationally I believe if you are somewhere else in the world yassi. TBY don't tend to be the cheapest of parts suppliers though but I've used them many times and they've saved my bacon. A quick look shows they do actually have the 17" display case + bezel in stock (for the 1.25GHz iMac 17" at least but, it's probably the same part for all three machines) and it appears to be the whole part, not just the bezel as it is on powerbookmedic.
Click to expand...


Xandros, thanks for the URL!
I may take a look on it.
 
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