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solidgoldmini

macrumors regular
Original poster
Hello all, I am looking for some fellow iMac G5 owners' input. I recently bought a rev.B 20" iMac G5 after having owned a rev.A for a few months. When opening up the rev.A, the three screws which hold it closed were very easy to turn and obvious when they had been tightened or loosened, as in, it was smooth turning, and then it would stop. I've had the new iMac for 2 weeks, and I've noticed that the screws are difficult to turn, and I can hear/feel a rubbing of metal on metal when turning them. They're hard to turn and it's tough to tell when they're fully loosened or tightened. Tonight I received some new RAM, and eager to put it in, I opened it up. When I tried to close it up, the screws have gotten worse, and the one on the left was not turning at all. I didn't want to strip them, and I figured this can't be normal, so I took it to my local (45 minutes local) Apple store where the guy said he hadn't had a chance to check out the new screw mechanism they came up with for the rev. B models, but he thinks it may be normal. I left it for a few days (sniff, sniff, my baby) and now I await their response. The question is how tough are your screws? The ones from the first rev. turned like butter-these are turning like....well, something that doesn't turn well. I'm afraid they're going to say it's normal, but I can't believe that and I have no way of knowing short of breaking in to the Apple store after hours and secretly unscrewing and screwing in the displays. Any input will be greatly appreciated, if for nothing more than to give me peace of mind if I have to fight about this. Thanks!
 
I installed my new ram in my iMac a few days ago and it was smooth, no resistance. So there's one response for smooth screws in the Rev B's.
 
Put memory in my new iMac yesterday, following their instructions carefully so not to hurt it :p
No problems with the screws, smooth on the way out (they seemed to have a bump stop to prevent them falling out), and smooth on the way back in.
So unless you're back panel wasn't on right, I think you might have a case.
 
Well I installed a 1GB RAM card in my iMac recently. I actually used an electric screwdriver...gently...

I found initial resistance then smooth anticlockwise turn up to a point where I then met resistance and immediately stopped. Did this for all three screws and the back came off no problem.

After installing the RAM, lining the back panel with the tabs at the top and checking the closure was flush all round, each screw was then tightened clockwise smoothly up to a point where I again met resistance at which point I immediately stopped.

Vanilla
 
Rev B 20", just installed RAM last week - I wouldn't say the screws were like buttah, there was a bit of resistance at first, but sounds smoother than what you're describing.
 
I have had both a rev A and rev B G5 iMac and both were able to be unscrewed with little or no resistance.
 
Trip to NJ!

That's good to hear. That means I'm not crazy, and the guy must be to think it may be normal. The one screw seized up and I wasn't about to force it and strip the screws. There must be something wrong with it. I hope they come to the same conclusion. But just in case, how many of you would like to come to beautiful New Jersey, USA to back me up. Anyone?
 
my rev a 20" had the middle screw break, and it got locked shut and I had to pry it apart with a screw driver to open it. :mad:
 
I saw your post about the broken screws, and that's really part of what makes me worry that I'll get that "cosmetic problem" crap when they call me back about it. I'm sure they hear it all the time, but we pay around $1800 or something close to that, we should get a fully functioning unit, including the screws that keep it closed. I have/had mine wall mounted too so I want to be sure it's sealed well. I can't really see it coming crashing down off the wall but you never know. And for a computer that's supposed to be so user serviceable, they should be willing to fix the screws that the users will have to use to get in. ...Hmm, lots of use in that sentence....I just have to wait and see I suppose.
 
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