I picked up an untested acrylic Apple Studio Display (ADC connector) last week that was advertised locally for a small sum, brought it home and plugged it into the G5 for which it was intended — and no power. So into the "to be fixed" pile it went, with a slight regret at having wasted more beer money.
At the weekend, having nothing else to do amid the first storm of our winter season, I took it apart for cleaning and very basic stage 1 diagnostics, meaning I wanted to begin by ensuring the connections were all good and that the wiring and board components inside were not visibly fried. All looked good. It all went so fast that I then went a-googling for typical troubleshooting tips, and discovered, to my surprise, that getting ADC displays and G5s to work well together can actually be one of life's little mysteries. Thus inspired, and while the screen was still in a state of partial disassembly, I plugged the cable into the ADC port on my G4 Cube, and Bingo! the screen lit right up. 'Twas very odd, because I have an identical display already that works just fine with the G5 in question.
Still, it appears that I have an additional clean, working 17" Studio Display. We'll see once I get it back together whether the G5 will refuse again co-operate with it. If not, I can just swap the two displays around.
While I am on this subject, these displays have always looked formidable to me, so that I had vowed never to take one apart unless absolutely necessary. However, having been forced into the act, I discover that they are remarkably easy to work on, so much so that I plan to take my other one apart for cleaning in the next snowstorm (having had it for nearly ten years and with young children in the house during those years, there is reason for wanting to clean the thing properly). The basic physical structure supporting the screen comes apart in about 5 mins., with only a few screws needing removed and absolutely nothing complicated needing done. Wonderful industrial design.
At the weekend, having nothing else to do amid the first storm of our winter season, I took it apart for cleaning and very basic stage 1 diagnostics, meaning I wanted to begin by ensuring the connections were all good and that the wiring and board components inside were not visibly fried. All looked good. It all went so fast that I then went a-googling for typical troubleshooting tips, and discovered, to my surprise, that getting ADC displays and G5s to work well together can actually be one of life's little mysteries. Thus inspired, and while the screen was still in a state of partial disassembly, I plugged the cable into the ADC port on my G4 Cube, and Bingo! the screen lit right up. 'Twas very odd, because I have an identical display already that works just fine with the G5 in question.
Still, it appears that I have an additional clean, working 17" Studio Display. We'll see once I get it back together whether the G5 will refuse again co-operate with it. If not, I can just swap the two displays around.
While I am on this subject, these displays have always looked formidable to me, so that I had vowed never to take one apart unless absolutely necessary. However, having been forced into the act, I discover that they are remarkably easy to work on, so much so that I plan to take my other one apart for cleaning in the next snowstorm (having had it for nearly ten years and with young children in the house during those years, there is reason for wanting to clean the thing properly). The basic physical structure supporting the screen comes apart in about 5 mins., with only a few screws needing removed and absolutely nothing complicated needing done. Wonderful industrial design.
