Indigo!

[wardsenatorfe92]

Picked up this piece of Apple history today. I've always wanted an iMac G3, but never put any initiative into buying one. It was listed pretty cheap (almost nothing) so I decided to take the plunge.

I was told it was a "700mhz blue" model, but I knew that didn't exist. I figured it would be a 500MHz, which seem pretty common for this color. It actually turned out to be an "iMac DV Summer 2000".

SPECS: 400MHz G3, 256MB RAM (bumped from 64MB... wheew!), 10 GB HDD, ATI Rage 128 Pro, CD-ROM drive. Had a fresh install of OS Tiger on it. Also came with a white apple pro keyboard and mouse (both pretty beat up/ dirty though).

The only flaw I noticed was a huge crack on the inner bezel around the display, and the side bezel appears to be shattered at the top (on the port side).

yikes!

The guy had a few but he told me all of the ones he bought were like that. I assume at one time they were sold surplus from a school or university and probably thrown carelessly on a pallet. The other flaw I've noticed is that the hard drive is EXTREMELY loud. From the minute you turn on the machine, it makes a very loud humming noise. It will probably be replaced down the road.

QUESTION:

Would it be possible to repair the interior bezel? If so, what kind of glue/ parts would you recommend? I thought about looking for a replacement but after I do that, I'm either A) buying another machine, or B) paying a lot to find one for sale in good condition. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep the machine and fix it up or use it for parts. Outside of what I stated above, it does seem to be a pretty sound computer.

 

[bibilit]

Would it be possible to repair the interior bezel? If so, what kind of glue/ parts would you recommend?

It's always possible, but the crack will be always visible.

Dismantling the Imac is not an easy thing, and getting to the cracked bezel will mean removing a lot of pieces.

Removing the Hard disk in the other hand is pretty easy.

 

[wardsenatorfe92]

My biggest worry is if I disassemble it to try and repair it, I don't want to make things worse. I've read too many other horror stories about working on these iMac's. Complexity doesn't really bother me, I've torn down/ rebuilt 3-4 iBook's from scratch. My only worry would be working close to the CRT. I've never worked on anything with a CRT inside of it, but naturally I'd take more precautions.

Hard drive replacement is a must, though. I have a friend saying that he remembers the hard drives on these old iMac's always being pretty loud, but I know they should be very quiet machines.

Looks like I'll be trying to source a new inner bezel. :-/

 

[bibilit]

Looks like I'll be trying to source a new inner bezel.

Should be easy,the Imac G3 is known for Flyback transformer failures, once this done the Imac is more or less useless.

I have been given two units with that problem,kept the logic board, drives and casing (still have those...but no inner bezel )

By the way,sorry but apparently the right side panel seems to be broken too. :'(

Working with CRT is no problem, if you discharge the unit properly.

Changing the HD is a piece of cake, once the bottom casing has been removed.

 

[wardsenatorfe92]

Yeah, thankfully the hard drive does look very simple to replace.

I kinda figured the side panel was broken too, but I've never disassembled a iMac G3 before, so I didn't know for sure. It's almost a shame, because the machine seems pretty good outside of the case fractures. Do you really need to discharge the CRT to replace the bezel around it? I've never worked with a CRT Mac before but I want to play safe as well.

I have another guy that wants me to check out some iMac G3's (apparently Indigo as well). I hate to get another machine but so far I've had no luck finding inexpensive G3 case parts online.

 

[bibilit]

Do you really need to discharge the CRT to replace the bezel around it? I've never worked with a CRT Mac before but I want to play safe as well.

You will be very close from the neck, so play safe (it's pretty easy)

 

[macman142]

That split around the inside bezel is an easy fix IMO. You can use some good, translucent plastic glue (test the glue on a really hidden part first).

I've had a couple of iMac G3's with cracks like that and so long as the bezel isn't cracked all over, you can glue it and because the plastic outer bezel is frosted you don't even see the repair *unless you look really really close because you KNOW where it is*

You might get the iMac apart and the bezel just keeps spitting and all the screw mounts just snap off etc. I've had one or two that bad!

 

[wardsenatorfe92]

Indigo? Indi-no

Went to upgrade the hard drive today and boy was I in for a surprise. From the moment I started to pop off the bottom case, all I heard was popping and creaking from the case. I decided while it was open that I would go ahead and try to glue the bezel back together.

What appeared to be a simple crack on the side ended up being an entire shattered inside bezel (as I feared). The moment I got the front of the case off, it was cracked so bad it pretty much fell into pieces everywhere. I did end up gluing it back together, but I was still missing pieces that fell deeper into the case. Since I didn't think the case would survive being completely removed, I decided to just write this one off as a loss. I hate to do that to a working Mac, but the parts it needs would cost more to locate than the machine is worth.

My friend is considering taking it from me and turning it into a iMacquarium. :I

 

[LCGuy]

Yep, its a common issue on slot loaders, mostly due to the excessive heat they generate, due to them not having a fan. I have two slot loaders, an Indigo and a Sage iMac DV+ - I haven't been game enough to pull apart the top half of either due to this very reason.

 

[iMac600]

Unfortunately I had to give up on two of my Graphite slot loaders for this very reason, it was quite sad, but the stress they caused me with all the creaking and cracking wasn't worth it, and I'm glad I've arranged to get rid of them.