MAJOR RANT: I'M MAD AS HELL!!!

[classic mac 500]

I'm REALLY angry right now! Today, I decided to open up the case of my Indigo iMac (Summer 2001) to dust it out. Imagine my shock and horror when I got the outer front faceplate off (where iMac is printed below the tube), the CHEAP AS HELL plastic had cracked in several different places!!! Sorry for the caps, but I'm furious right now! Why? Because I baby my equipment whether it be a Mac or otherwise. I did not, at any time drop it, abuse it. I was gentle as I could be with it throughout the 7 years I've had it. The part that curves over the top (same plastic piece) where the outer blue shell screws in to, broke the brackets!!! Plus there are pieces of what looks like a dull colored maroon type something that fell out of the case. I don't even know what this is. Anyone have any ideas? The plastic is so brittle, it could come apart in one big piece.

I love Apple's technology, such as the OS and apps, don't get me wrong, but their engineering and hardware construction leaves a LOT to be desired. This same type of plastic that's crumbling to pieces is no better than your standard issue el cheapo $3 trash can you can find at Dollar General. This royally pisses me off (pardon the language). I take care of my stuff and to see this happen really disgusts me to no end!

Has anyone here ever had this happen on your CRT based iMac?

GRRRRRRRRRRR!

 

[slomacuser]

I opened 3 CRT iMacs and no plastic was broken ...

 

[coius]

where are you at? I happen to have an iMac DV parts coming out my ears. I can send you the case part(s) you need. Would be like $5+ s/h. I can ship overseas too

 

[macintoshman]

I am mad at my iMac too.

WONT BOOT FORM CD!

SPINS UP AND DOWN

 

[QuadSix50]

Well, you're not the only one. My iMac G5 ALS of two years is having major hardware problems. At this point, I've tried various RAM modules and I'm still having problems. I'm suspecting either the logic board or the power supply. The LEDs on the inside will sometimes show three green and then sometimes show two green (the third one which signifies the connection from the motherboard to the LCD screen sometimes won't come on). Looking at the logic board, it's evident that some capacitors have bulged and one looks like it's leaked. As it stands, my serial number falls outside of the affected Macs in the logic board replacement program even though it's showing the same signs of defectiveness.

I've already got a letter and pictures ready to send out to the Apple educational rep since I work for two schools. I'm hoping he can help me out without me incurring charges for issues that weren't mine, especially since I've helped get some Macs into one of my schools. As it stands, I just can't afford to spend money on repairs for a Mac that I paid over $2K for only 2 years ago. It's either find a used Mac that will run OS X or delve in the world of the Hackint0sh. Unfortunately for Apple or any other manufacturer, it's going to be a long time before I purchase new from a brand name vendor again.

 

[Sludgedragon]

I'm suspecting either the logic board or the power supply.

I just had the power supply replaced a couple of months ago for mine. It did not have the magic serial number but I had Applecare. It seems that it is not unusual. Don't you have applecare for it? So far I have had it pay for itself every time.

Or else you could order the part, I suppose...

 

[QuadSix50]

I'm suspecting either the logic board or the power supply.

I just had the power supply replaced a couple of months ago for mine. It did not have the magic serial number but I had Applecare. It seems that it is not unusual. Don't you have applecare for it? So far I have had it pay for itself every time.

Or else you could order the part, I suppose...

That was my mistake. I didn't get it with AppleCare mainly because at the time I just couldn't afford it on top of the cost of the iMac. I know that the power supply is about $200 so that's doable in time, but it's just not worth paying the price for the logic board. For that, I might as well just get myself a Core 2 Duo Mac mini and run with that until I can afford something else. :-/

 

[MacJunky]

I'm REALLY angry right now...cheap plastic..blahblahblah

And guess what? the CRT is screwed to that very same piece of brittle shitty plastic! I have seen this as well, even with a caring owner who never moved the computer more than 5-10 times since they got it the plastic is still horrid.

 

[MacMan]

Most of my experience with Mac plastics have been good ones and the only problem I ever had was with a 5200, whose plastics snapped as soon as you put any kind of pressure or strain on them. That 5200 came from London originally and it led me to believe that the brittle plastics were possibly caused by the warmer, more humid climate down there. Possibly just coincidence though, but all of my other desktop Macs which have always lived in Scotland don't have any plastics issues.

Having said that, a small piece of the plastic "foot" under the front of my iMac G3 has shattered - it seems a rather flimsy piece of plastic to put the weight of the CRT glass on. Fortunately it is still usable.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck with your iMac. Fortunately G3 iMacs are available very cheaply these days so it should be easy enough to get replacement plastics. Annoying though!

 

[iMac600]

I've heard a lot of cracking iMac G3 plastics, although you can get some good ones out there very easily. Both mine have solid plastics with no signs of wear. Yet.

 

[II2II]

One of the problems with almost any Mac is Apple's love of plastic. Between yellowing, it growing more brittle with age, and it being software -- you will have problems. C'est le vie.

As for AppleCare paying for itself, that's only because Apple over-charges for service. I remember getting a receipt for the servicing of my old CRT iMac. The hard drive was replaced, and the already obsolete 6 GB hard drive cost $600.

 

[Christopher]

I have never had the plastic problem. I even got my iMac's from a place who stacked the 3 I got on top of each other!

 

[II2II]

Thing is, the life of plastics depends a lot upon the environmental conditions. If the conditions are right, it will become less flexible and more susceptible to cracking. And the problem with old Macs is they're only getting older.

The same can be said for any material. If you store something with a lot of iron in a humid place, it will rust. The big difference with plastics is that the environmental conditions that cause degradation are less evident to us and the form of decay is less visible to us.

 

[SiliconValleyPirate]

3 Major things make ABS plastic I think they are ABS, I'd have to double check) go brittle over time:

- Sunlight. We all have seen white machines go yellow, but translucent plastics denature in sunlight too in the same way, but it's not nearly as evident. When it gets *really* bad you can start to get discolouring and loss of translucency but by then it's long gone.

- Heat. Plenty of that in an iMac.

- Age. Over time and exposure to an oxygen atmosphere the surface begins to oxidise which can lead to it going brittle, especially in combination with the other two factors.

 

[equill]

... Furthermore, ABS in general has poor weatherability characteristics (it ages and becomes embrittled at room temperature) and it thermally degrades due to processing heat ...

The very description as 'plastic' indicates that the materials are neither 'rigid' nor 'permanent' in the way that metals or ceramics are, and they therefore have to be treated accordingly. This description of the characteristics of ABS is clear enough.

Having long been acquainted with the snapdoodles of 8500/9500 cases, I have also seen the result of the degradation of the rubber (the B in ABS) component.

de

 

[mac2geezer]

I just disassembled my G3 iMac yesterday to replace the PAV board, and I heartily agree with the rant! Various and sundry bits of plastic fell out, connectors broke off, screws were difficult to get at, etc. It's back together now but who knows if it would hold together if I tried to move it.

As an aside to Coius, changing the PAV board did not fix my display problems as I described in the PM to you.

 

[LCGuy]

Its strange that this happens to be happening to the slot loaders, rather than the tray loaders. The plastics on my tray load iMac are pretty much immaculate. I'm thinking...as SVP said above, maybe heat could have caused it? Remember, these things have a fast G3 chip, a DVD-ROM or CD-RW drive, and a 15" CRT. It gets bloody hot in there, believe me.

 

[Patrickool93]

Not to mention a lack of fan...