iMac G5 20" won't POST!

[rainman1976]

Hello,

I have an iMac G5 1.8Ghz 20" w/ 1GB RAM. Yesterday when i got home from work, the screen was frozen (kbd/mouse input would not wake it up). Held power button for 5 seconds and it shut off.

I turned it back on, and it now has a grey screen with a flashing icon of a Mac computer then a question mark. As a test, i held down "C" while booting up and booted to the Apple test CD that came with the computer.

First time it loaded the test application, my mouse/kbd would not work (move the mouse and the pointer doesn't move). I rebooted. Second time, it does work and I tried an Extended Test (which is supposed to run from 5-15 mins), but the test went on for more than 1 hour then the mouse curser wouldn't move (but the time on the test kept incrementing).

I worked with Apple tech support last night for about an hour, and they believe the iMac G5 has faulty hardware. I'm very unhappy about this since i paid alot of dough for this computer and i have sensitive data on the internal s-ata HD (the HD does not make any clicking sounds, sounds okay to me).

I believe there is some type of internal failure on the motherboard/logic board and/or the system memory. I two 512MB memory modules, and tried removing 1 of them, swapping them, etc and I still get the same problem. After swapping the memory, I noticed that now when I run the system test CD I do get error codes in there (POST/20 error, and also a DIMM/0 error).

I have Apple Care so this is all covered, but it's the point that I just got this computer 3 months ago. Not too happy about this.


Anybody else have an iMac G5 with a similar issue or am I the first to have a failure like this?

Any input would be appreciated.


Thanks,

Rainman1976

 

[rainman::|:|]

Sorry to hear that. My 17" runs perfectly so far.

Think about how incredibly complex a personal computer is, especially an iMac G5. All those microscopic parts... just one failure can take down the whole system. It stands to reason there will be defective models. Apple or any other company. Fortunately the iMac is part of Apple's new user-replacement program, so you should be able to swap the defective parts yourself... which minimizes downtime. Sure it still sucks, but it's better than shipping your machine off for a week.

 

[rainman1976]

User serviceable parts

Well,

From what I have read, the only user-serviceable parts are the 3.5" sata HD, and the memory. Everything else seems to have proprietary screws which I would think apple does not want me touching. If the memory is bad I can just send out the 2 DIMM's (I hope thats the case). I really don't wanna ship the iMac out.


Thanks for the response - Rainman1976

 

[jeremy.king]

I have Apple Care so this is all covered, but it's the point that I just got this computer 3 months ago. Not too happy about this.

Hate to break it to you, but electronics fail from time to time (even Dell *gasp*). Good thing you have Applecare and a solid backup of your HD (right?). Just get it fixed and be done with it, no need to dwell on the negativity of the situation.

 

[rainman1976]

Results of working with Apple Care

Just wanted to let you guys know that I did work with Apple Care, and they determined that the mid-plane logic board / memory was bad.

What happened next surprised me.

Instead of shipping the computer back to Apple for repairs, they shipped me a replacement logic board / memory. Memory is rather easy to replace so that is understandable, but the logic board is huge! It's basically the entire internals of the iMac G5 20" (minus the hard drive, super drive, memory, wireless, & power supply). It's amazing that their service department puts that much faith in their customers regarding their technical abilities. I personally am experienced in working on various types of computers, so I'm ready to do the logic board / memory replacement. If I were a novice, I'd be really scared right now.

I'll be replacing the hardware this weekend so I'll let you guys know how it works out.


-Rainman1976

 

[wordmunger]

You might want to check out edesignuk's ordeal with this. If the self-repair doesn't work, they should send you a new computer.