Should I still use this Sawtooth?

[MacFoxG4]

So, one of my favorite Macs in my collection is my Sawtooth. I've had it for roughly two years now and love using it. One downside though, which I knew about when buying (though not the full extent of it), was that it had some rust spots. Two of the rust spots were on expansion cards that I replaced pretty soon after I got the Mac. The grill on the PSU fan has rust too and there's a tiny amount surrounding the Ethernet port. What I didn't know about was the rust inside the case. There's some rust on top of the Optical drive bay, and rust where the side door and the top of the case meet. I let all of this go since some of the stuff I read online at the time led me to believe that this rust was no big deal. Then I discovered this:

I asked around online on another site and was told this was just water damage that had long since dried off. I got the impression that this wasn't a big deal so I let it go. Last night I came across a post in another forum saying that rust can cause electrical issues and now I am worrying about this again. Do I have any reason to worry? The Sawtooth works fine, even the FireWire ports work, but if it is a hazzard to use then I will stop using it.

I'm thinking of just getting another G4 tower and placing my CPU, GPU, RAM and SSD (none of those components have rust or water damage on them) that I have in the Sawtooth and transfer them to the new tower. I used the Internet Archive to look up the system requirements for my CPU and it will work in the AGP Graphics, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, and the Quicksilvers. I may have to buy new RAM depending on the model, but the rest of the upgrades should work in either of these models.

So what should I do? Do I keep using this Sawtooth or do I get a new Power Mac G4 and transfer the upgrades into the new tower?

 

[eyoungren]

So, one of my favorite Macs in my collection is my Sawtooth. I've had it for roughly two years now and love using it. One downside though, which I knew about when buying (though not the full extent of it), was that it had some rust spots. Two of the rust spots were on expansion cards that I replaced pretty soon after I got the Mac. The grill on the PSU fan has rust too and there's a tiny amount surrounding the Ethernet port. What I didn't know about was the rust inside the case. There's some rust on top of the Optical drive bay, and rust where the side door and the top of the case meet. I let all of this go since some of the stuff I read online at the time led me to believe that this rust was no big deal. Then I discovered this:

View attachment 944218

I asked around online on another site and was told this was just water damage that had long since dried off. I got the impression that this wasn't a big deal so I let it go. Last night I came across a post in another forum saying that rust can cause electrical issues and now I am worrying about this again. Do I have any reason to worry? The Sawtooth works fine, even the FireWire ports work, but if it is a hazzard to use then I will stop using it.

I'm thinking of just getting another G4 tower and placing my CPU, GPU, RAM and SSD (none of those components have rust or water damage on them) that I have in the Sawtooth and transfer them to the new tower. I used the Internet Archive to look up the system requirements for my CPU and it will work in the AGP Graphics, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, and the Quicksilvers. I may have to buy new RAM depending on the model, but the rest of the upgrades should work in either of these models.

So what should I do? Do I keep using this Sawtooth or do I get a new Power Mac G4 and transfer the upgrades into the new tower?

I'd replace it, meaning find a new case and swap the internals into it.

Here's a thing…the handles and the side panels of the G3 and G4 come off. Remove them and take a look. I bet you'll find more rust on the outside of the case that's hidden by the panels.

 

[z970]

My MDD came to me with a bunch of rusted parts. I simply took them out, and all has been well thus far.

It's up to you, but I would definitely remove that rusted screw in the corner (which isn't immediately near any pathways, so there shouldn't be any electrical issues there), and then brush that supposed water damage with good old iso alcohol, which would hopefully remove the residue there.

The most dangerous thing that could possibly happen with a computer, as far as I'm inclined to believe, is that its power supply blows up; but even then it's usually just a pop with accompanying smoke. Nothing more.

I wouldn't worry about any hazards at all, although it would be useful to have a broader picture of the machine's internals than just one photo.

 

[MacFoxG4]

Thanks @eyoungren and @z970mp for your replies. I have thought a lot about what you guys have said and I think I will go with the option of replacement. Board level repairs make me nervous and even if I cleaned up the board successfully, I'm not sure if I would ever be able to trust it.

Here's some more photos of the board:

 

[Macbookprodude]

NO !

 

[z970]

@Macbookprodude For God's sake, what's your problem man??

 

[Macbookprodude]

@Macbookprodude For God's sake, what's your problem man??

The sawtooth, while a good G4 machine does not have the power for most things. Maybe a few, but outside the internet its not a good machine for even basics. At only 350,400,450,500 its not going to do much at all. Maybe with a 2.0 ghz Powerlogix processor upgrade it might work and a cheap SSD, but the FSB is 100 mhz and that itself is very weak. We are now in the post PPC and soon POST INTEL age where the next true PPC like processor(though it doesn't resemble it, accept for fact its RISC) maybe our savior.. At least Kaiser woulnd't have to worry about tenfourfox for ARM.

 

[MacFoxG4]

Been thinking about this again. I removed the rusty screw and replaced it. I haven’t cleaned the board since I don’t have any iso alcohol at the moment and up until recently I had my mind set on replacing this Sawtooth. I even removed the PRAM battery I installed last year because I thought I was getting rid of this Sawtooth. A part of me still thinks about replacement, but now I wonder if I am just being paranoid.

I have it turned on now and so far it seems to be running good.

 

[Alive76]

You could take everything out and clean it. No need to do it with alcohol perse. A slightly damp cloth will work just fine. Spray the inside with an anti corrosion to prevent further corrosion (I think a matte graphite would look awesome) and place all parts back with new screws.

 

[z970]

@MacFoxG4 Personally, that strikes me as paranoia. The only thing the computer is really concerned with is if all its solder joints and electrical pathways are both intact and in a closed circuit. If that checks out, then it should operate just as well as a pristine board straight from the factory, cosmetic condition be damned. That being said though, you may also attempt to clean it with a Windex-dipped brush if it is an issue for you.

But if you ever end up replacing it anyway, I'm positive there are several here who would be happy to give it a home.

 

[Macbookprodude]

In a word, NO.

 

[CooperBox]

In a word, YES!
Keep using your G4 Sawtooth if it's still giving you pleasure! You have nothing to worry about.
There are many of us who still have and enjoy using a Sawtooth (and other later PPC models - as well as far newer Intel models including MacBookPro's). Every Mac, whatever the vintage, has a worthy presence in a collection if it gives pleasure - whether it's fully functional or not.
And certainly don't pay too much attention to the doomsayers who spout, '350,400,450,500 its not going to do much at all'. That's nonsense overgeneralizing. Of course you are not going to surf the web rapidly with any of the aforementioned GHz models, but I'm one of many on this forum who can vouch that even a very modest, less powerful model (say a G3) can give enormous amounts of pleasure even today with maxed out RAM and using a suitably balanced OS for the model. The forums are full of stories of those installing and using OS X10.5 and wondering why their PPC doesn't perform as well as with an earlier OS.
Bottom line is, use your Sawtooth 'as-is' without fear. If you find a cheap, similar model in better condition, by all means change out the motherboard which is the ideal opportunity to re-paste the cpu at the same time. Plus you will have some back-up spare components for your computer which can often be useful.

On a related issue of how some early Macs can give enormous pleasure, just a short while ago a wrote the following:
"We had my wife's 17 yr-old niece here. I fetched out my iBook Lime 466, curious to see what her reaction might be. And I wasn't disappointed. Her eye's lit up like a 4 year old! It booted to OS 9.2.2 (which she'd never seen or used before), and I showed her the basic features. For the next hour or so, we forgot she was there, absorbed in this new 'treasure'. Amongst a few other games, she'd found one called 'Sammy's Science House' (or something similar), which I learned afterwards is aimed at very young kids - but it certainly kept her quiet and extremely entertained. She said afterwards she'd enjoyed the iBook almost as much as her iPhone."
In a word, YES!

 

[m1maverick]

In a word, YES!
Keep using your G4 Sawtooth if it's still giving you pleasure! You have nothing to worry about.
There are many of us who still have and enjoy using a Sawtooth (and other later PPC models - as well as far newer Intel models including MacBookPro's). Every Mac, whatever the vintage, has a worthy presence in a collection if it gives pleasure - whether it's fully functional or not.

This. Except I would expand it to non Macintosh systems as well. I am currently working on a Packard Bell 80486 system which I am having a great time restoring. My Apple //c provides a lot of pleasure for me despite its minimal specs (a lot has to do with nostalgia but there's something very pleasurable about being able to work directly with the hardware).

If it makes you happy then use it. If not and you find it's just sitting around sell or donate it to someone who would enjoy it.

 

[Amethyst1]

She said afterwards she'd enjoyed the iBook almost as much as her iPhone."

That's a failure in my book - she should have tossed the phone

 

[MacFoxG4]

I appreciate the kind words @CooperBox and @m1mavrerick have given me, but I feel the need to clarify what this thread is actually about.

Just to clear things up, I started this thread because I wanted to ask whether or not the Sawtooth was still safe to use due to the water damage residue and rust that is present. This is not about whether I should still use an old computer because it is old. I love things like old computers and old game consoles. Some I love more than others sure, but the Sawtooth is one of my favorite items in my collection. Even when I was retiring it, I was still gonna take the upgrades and put it in a new Sawtooth some day. I did consider other options sure like getting a G5 instead or relying more on my 2006 MBP for OS X Leopard stuff, but I scrapped those plans because I love this Mac so much.

Based on the advice I have received in this great community and elsewhere I have decided that the Sawtooth is safe enough to use again.

 

[ervus]

I'm glad it's working; thanks for following up on your thread. Looks like some nice upgrades too!