• Hello MLAers! We've re-enabled auto-approval for accounts. If you are still waiting on account approval, please check this thread for more information.

He just can't help himself!

Bunsen

Bunsen

Admin-Witchfinder-General
68040
Well, after my recent bleating about trying to reign in my Mac hoarding ways, I went and done it again [:o)] ]'>

Indigo iMac 450 slot loader DVD - $10 from the Reservoir tip shop.

I haven't been game to plug it in yet - it rattles like there's something loose inside. iMac600 suggested on IRC that it might be loose glue from the CRT windings. In the morning I'll open 'er up and give 'er a good shaking.

 
Ahh I have that same Mac. It's in sorry shape, but I rescued it from a closing computer shop for $5.

It is more than likely a piece of that greyish inner bezel (behind the clear pinstriped bezel on the front). My Indigo is literally falling to bits because that brittle plastic is just disintegrating. One of the CRT mounting screws broke off and is loose near the CRT, so it hasn't been powered up in a while.

 
Yes, a piece of grey plastic fell out of it, somehow.

Mmm. Brittle plastic leading to loose screws in a high-voltage device. Nice.

 
And a mere 9 months later, I plugged it in and it works first go. 64MB/20GB, OS 9.0.4 and a bunch of software, MS Works, Illustrator 8, Acrobat, Photoshop, Claris Works etc etc etc.

 
It is more than likely a piece of that greyish inner bezel (behind the clear pinstriped bezel on the front). My Indigo is literally falling to bits because that brittle plastic is just disintegrating
Click to expand...
That seems to be a common issue with these machines, Classic Mac 500 posted a while back that his machine has the same issue. Strangely though the tray loaders don't seem to suffer it, I'd say that either Apple switched to a cheaper plastic with the slot loaders, or its caused by the excessive interior temperature that the slot loaders run at (since they have no fan)

 
I have dealt with over 100 slot loading iMacs and their corresponding plastic.

About 10 were extremely severe and had to be chopped. It is too difficult to replace the inner plastic - you have to take the whole damn thing apart.

Another 15-20 were starting to go, but were still usable.

 
I pulled it out as a temporary substitute for my dead Lombard and it's currently running Ubuntu Feisty Fawn off the live CD. Swiped 512MB from my DA to max it out. It's running Ubuntu and Firefox ... adequately.

I have to download the firmware update to install OS X. Trick is, I can't see the local hard drive from inside Ubuntu, so I've got nowhere to save it. I've just downloaded the update on my girlfriend's laptop and I'm going to try transferring it via a USB stick.

The notes for the firmware update say I must run it from OS 9.1 or higher. The iMac currently has OS 9.0.4 on it. I do have the 9.1 and 9.2 updaters somewhere, but can anyone advise whether the updater will baulk at 9.0.4?

 
512MB / to max it out.
Click to expand...
Yeah, not quite. Just realised it'll take a pair of 512s for a 1GB total.

Got the firmware patch onto a USB stick at a friend's place, updated to 9.1, 9.2.1 and 9.2.2, did the patch, installed OS X 10.3 and updated to 10.3.9. Currently downloading the next round of software updates, the G3 optimised build of Firefox 2, and posting on it in Safari right now.

Another surprise - when I got 9.2.1 installed, it automagically connected me to the net via my DHCP serving DSL modem/router. I thought I was in for manual config hell to get OS 9 on the net.

Also: plays DVDs, has Harman Kardon speakers. Yay.

All in all, I'm glad I couldn't "help myself" when I picked this up last year. This spare, just in case, you never know, oh why not, whim of a computer purchase, which has been sitting unmolested for nearly a year since I nabbed it, is a good 50% faster than the one it replaced. The internal 20GB HD could be quieter - and probably faster too - so I might swap that out for a Seagate at some point, if I can be botherated.

Otherwise, w00t!!

/edit/ Flipping heck, these speakers are good }:)

 
You should try tracking down an iSub, with an iSub that machine would make a fine DVD/iTunes station - I remember hearing such a setup back in the day and being amazed at the quality.

 
The speakers on my blueberry 350 are one of the best speakers I have heard in any computer. They may even be better than the ones in my iMac G5. The Apple bong makes me shiver of how GOOD it sounds for a 1999 machine. To bad the HD is broken and it does not have a DVD Drive (Only CD). It would make a nice media center.

 
Spoke too soon, of course. One minute I'm surfing along happy as Larry, next minute *poof* - dead as a doornail. No power, no chime, no lights, nada.

So I grab the nearest donor slot-loading iMac (a lowly 350). After three hours of wrassling with stripped screws, no manual and a stripped screwdriver, jumping around like a monkey with a medicine ball to shake out all the crumbled plastics and loose screws, it's up and running again with the power supply from the 350.

Handy tip: the perforated ventilation cover from over the RAM slots on the base makes a convenient place to keep your screws. You can drop or lightly twist them into the holes in positions relative to where you got them out of the Mac. That makes it easier to remember where they go back.

I have it propped up now on the front foot (which I didn't before) and a small block of wood to allow better cool air intake from underneath. I'll consider adding a fan as well, perhaps a small one blowing air over the power supply itself.

Question: If I run with an external monitor, can I switch off or sleep the internal display? If so, will this take some of the strain off the power supply and/or reduce the internal temperature?

I have to concur: the grey plastic CRT surround in these is appalling. Can it be re-assembled without it? It seemed not, from my explorations; it seems to be the lynchpin holding all the other plastics together.

 
We need someone to experiment with various coatings to increase strength and/or full replacements.

I know, you have to tear down the whole iMac to get at it but sometimes in some places that is easier than finding a different iMac that most likely suffers the same issues.

This also brings up the question: What if someone with a decent foundry cast replacements out of aluminum?

 
happy as Larry
Click to expand...
Who said Larry is happy?

I think I've said this before, but after using an iMac G3 as my main machine from July 2007 to July 2008, I personally can't stand them anymore. They are slow (I've only used the 350mhz models however) and difficult to open, and I don't even think the speakers are that great, though I admit they are better than the PowerMac G3/G4 internal speakers (the G4 speakers are especially horrible). Have fun with that machine, hopefully it won't irritate you too much.

Also, when I first got my iMac G3 I thought the fan was broken (later found out there isn't one) and used a fan, it caused the screen to shimmer so bad I turned the fan off.

 
after using an iMac G3 as my main machine from July 2007 to July 2008, I personally can't stand them anymore. They are slow (I've only used the 350mhz models however)
Click to expand...
A 700 MHz G3 iMac with 1 GB of RAM is a surprisingly usable Tiger workstation. Access to the hard drive and CD drive is not too difficult (the iMac G4 is even worse).

Also, when I first got my iMac G3 I thought the fan was broken (later found out there isn't one) and used a fan, it caused the screen to shimmer so bad I turned the fan off.
Click to expand...
That would happen with any monitor.

 
A 700 MHz G3 iMac with 1 GB of RAM is a surprisingly usable Tiger workstation. Access to the hard drive and CD drive is not too difficult (the iMac G4 is even worse).
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workstation
Aside from that, a 1Ghz G4 with 1GB RAM and early Radeon graphics with Tiger will struggle with flash content on websites. With the continually increasing usage of flash even as a browsing machine G3s and G4s are being rendered barely usable for online activity and it will only get worse.

Speed concerns are also encountered when playing back video files. So far most files commonly found are ok but the higher resolution and higher quality stuff is starting to choke these old computers.

If your idea of a workstation is playback of MP3s, MSN chats and a word processor with limited internet and video usage then yea, a 700Mhz iMac would work ok.

*Edit

Oh, and nevermind that the G3 iMac use a silly optical drive with the connector on the wrong side(compared to most slim ODDs). If you ever want to do something like burn a DVD then you are pretty much out of luck.

*Edit

Unless you use a USB drive over the USB 1 ports or FireWire 400.

USB flash drives = painful for the above mentioned reason. No quick transfers from a PC that is not networked with the Mac.

 
I used workstation in a general sense.

a 1Ghz G4 with 1GB RAM and early Radeon graphics with Tiger will struggle with flash content on websites. /If your idea of a workstation is playback of MP3s, MSN chats and a word processor with limited internet and video usage then yea, a 700Mhz iMac would work ok.
Click to expand...
You can load any non-Flash site just fine. You can also get by on many Flash sites. You can use AppleWorks, or "Office". You can load up older games. The 700 MHz iMac will have no problem playing back any 320x240 video thrown at it, but it will choke on the larger videos in the newer codecs. To play YouTube videos more smoothly just use the QTYouTube bookmarklet which magically converts the Flash YouTube video on any page into a QuickTime player.

iChat does not support MSN as far as I know }:)

If you ever want to do something like burn a DVD
Click to expand...
It has FireWire 400 which allows you to connect hard drives or DVD burners. You can also get adapters if you want to replace the internal slim line with a DVD burner.

 
You can load any non-Flash site just fine. You can also get by on many Flash sites.
Click to expand...
Sites are becoming more bogged down by flash and scripts every day and it will only get worse. You might be able to get by for now but not for all that long.
iChat does not support MSN as far as I know }:)
Click to expand...
Apparently you can do it through jabber. But people end up using MSN with clients like Adium and others anyway because all their windows buddies use MSN.
It has FireWire 400 which allows you to connect hard drives or DVD burners.
Click to expand...
Yes, I recognized that and I did it for years. I should have initially specified burning a DVD with an internal drive. Having a bunch of 5.25" and 3.5" enclosures on your desk gets old fast and most average home users do not have the available desk space that I have the luxury of being able to use.(the only reason for the iMac is reduced footprint and reduced cable clutter, you eliminate that with a bunch of external enclosures)
You can also get adapters if you want to replace the internal slim line with a DVD burner.
Click to expand...
mm, so then we need this?
fb9e66d2a25627af7fbf4b7d4f2780a9ad6a5093_full.jpg


then a normal 40 pin to ATAPI board + 4 pin Y splitter for power?

Yea, it would work but most people do not have the parts/knowledge/ability to whip up a cable like that(or trim off notches/etc of an existing 40 or 50 pin cable with a dremel or other tool) so they are pretty much out of luck.

Most users start the internet by clicking the blue e icon then go "lololol youtube are funneh and I liek 2 post pics of myself while drunk on myspace." while chatting with their 500 MSN/facebook 'friends'. once they are done they proceed to turn off the internet by closing the blue e icon's window and turning off the computer.

and btw, the underlined bits are word for word quotes of what I have heard many people say and that includes school teachers. >_<

It is extremely disappointing.

 
It serves adequately for my purposes until I can revive one of my faster machines.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top