Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iMac G5 widespread problems?
- Thread starter Wireless Buddy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Is this Power Supply issue easy and cheap to repair?
And the logic board thing, does it fail the same way with the display corruption?
And the logic board thing, does it fail the same way with the display corruption?
The Power Supply thing is covered by a special extended warranty, I believe. If not, it only takes about 10 minutes to changes and I've seen it done on the Genius bar with just a screwdriver.
TEG
TEG
Affected systems will exhibit one of the following video- or power-related symptoms :
* Scrambled or distorted video
* No video
* No power
Note: If your iMac G5 is not experiencing any of these symptoms, you do not have to contact Apple or any Apple Authorized Service Provider.
Which iMac G5 computers are affected by the iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues?
The program is available for certain iMac G5 models that were sold between approximately September 2004 and June 2005 featuring 17- and 20-inch displays with 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz G5 processors.
The affected iMac G5 computers have serial numbers where the first 5 digits fall into the ranges noted below.
Serial Number ranges:
* W8435xxxxxx - W8522xxxxxx
* QP435xxxxxx - QP522xxxxxx
* CK435xxxxxx - CK522xxxxxx
* YD435xxxxxx - YD522xxxxxx
If my iMac G5 is still under warranty, how does this program affect me?
If your iMac G5 is eligible for the program and within its warranty period, you will have your system repaired at no cost to you. If your iMac G5 experiences the symptoms described above and is determined to be eligible under this program by Apple or an AASP after your Standard One Year Warranty expires, the program covers affected iMac G5 computers for up to three years from the original date of purchase.
* Scrambled or distorted video
* No video
* No power
Note: If your iMac G5 is not experiencing any of these symptoms, you do not have to contact Apple or any Apple Authorized Service Provider.
Which iMac G5 computers are affected by the iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues?
The program is available for certain iMac G5 models that were sold between approximately September 2004 and June 2005 featuring 17- and 20-inch displays with 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz G5 processors.
The affected iMac G5 computers have serial numbers where the first 5 digits fall into the ranges noted below.
Serial Number ranges:
* W8435xxxxxx - W8522xxxxxx
* QP435xxxxxx - QP522xxxxxx
* CK435xxxxxx - CK522xxxxxx
* YD435xxxxxx - YD522xxxxxx
If my iMac G5 is still under warranty, how does this program affect me?
If your iMac G5 is eligible for the program and within its warranty period, you will have your system repaired at no cost to you. If your iMac G5 experiences the symptoms described above and is determined to be eligible under this program by Apple or an AASP after your Standard One Year Warranty expires, the program covers affected iMac G5 computers for up to three years from the original date of purchase.
IIRC, in the first generation the power supply heat could cause problems elsewhere (on a part called the midplane circuit board) ... see this.
The heat seems to contribute to faster capacitor failure there. This is supposed to primarily affect Rev A iMacs (the ones that had 64MB video cards).
On the other hand, it seems to me that there have been numerous reports of "later" hit failures of various kind on the motherboard of the iMac G5s after the first revision. The SATA controller died on mine (and as far as I can see nothing else was affected!), and several of my friends have also had iMac G5 failures.
The heat seems to contribute to faster capacitor failure there. This is supposed to primarily affect Rev A iMacs (the ones that had 64MB video cards).
On the other hand, it seems to me that there have been numerous reports of "later" hit failures of various kind on the motherboard of the iMac G5s after the first revision. The SATA controller died on mine (and as far as I can see nothing else was affected!), and several of my friends have also had iMac G5 failures.
I had TWO 400GB hard drive failures on my 20" G5. Each drive lasted about 18 months. No AppleCare. After the second failure this July, I bagged it and bought a new 24".
I have an iMac G5 and I had a power supply issue (it wouldnt go to sleep) and it was fixed by Apple under applecare. Besides that no issues at all and I had it since it was first released.
it wasn't all of them, just a limited production run of the Rev B model IIRC....if yours was 4 years old then it would probably fall outside the range of the "known" issue
Only Rev A iMacs have problems. Ones which serial numbers start W8. They have power supply failure and graphics card go bad, which would require a whole new logic board.
I wouldn't buy an iMac G5 unless it's your only option. My suggestion is going to be an Intel iMac that's still under warranty or a refurbished one from Apple under $999.
Yeah yeah, I know Intel.
The reason is that I can get a G5 iMac for cheap. And I'm poor, so money is a huge operative.
I know plenty of places that are giving away CRT monitors and old Mac keyboards. I'd get a refurbished Mac mini and a free CRT if I was desperate for a new Mac.Yeah yeah, I know Intel.
The reason is that I can get a G5 iMac for cheap. And I'm poor, so money is a huge operative.
Jesus, can Apple make one product that won't break? It seems like you could buy a PC and not have any trouble later on, but all these overpriced Apple computers break all the time...
If you feel that your money is better spent on a PC and you can provide superior support then please buy/build a PC.
I'm not going to force a Mac on you if you can't afford it. Sadly products can be defective and mechanical devices are capable of failing.
Well I can't stand Windows and I like OS X. I just don't think Apple should walk around all high-and-mighty when they can't make a computer that last more than a few damn months without needing major repairs.
So PowerPC stuff aside, would I be OK getting a 2.0 GHz 17" iMac G5?
For that much money just buy a new refurbished iMac!
True, But I talked them into fixing it for free!!!
