Hi, this is my first post here, so I hope I'm in the right place (right website, right forum) for what I need. I have an imac that's been having trouble powering on. It powers on fine if it has only been just briefly shut off, but if it is off for any length of time it has problems. It will rev and the l.e.d. light will flash, but it has trouble "catching". Sometimes, if I work and work at it, it will finally catch and power up. But not this time! Right now it's been black screen for over two weeks! Currently, I am not always able to get any noise or light. I tried readjusting the internal power button, which did look out of alignment, but that did nothing. Any ideas?
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If you've never changed the PRAM battery, you could try that. Otherwise, it sounds like the famous old PAV board problem that eventually plagues so many iMacs. Unfortunately, if it's the PAV, it's basically fatal, since replacement is not worth the expense. Do a search on this site for PAV and you'll find it discussed many times.
sounds like you did without upgrading the firmware...
What revision is this? (bondi, Fruity, DV, Etc..)
The quickest question is, does it have a slot for the CD drive, or does a tray pop out?
The trayloaders have these symptoms when the analog board is dead/dying.
Actually, I've encountered many slot loaders with the same problem. Of course, I forgot to ask, this is an iMac G3, not a G4, right?
Of the slot-loaders I've seen with bad PAVs, they turn on, the power LEDs lights up, and they stay that way. From what I've read here,t he tray-loaders will power up and then back off if the analog board is bad.
Of course the OS X question is also very important.
I think you're right. You're a careful reader, Jon.
This imac is a slot loading G3.
The PRAM battery has never been replaced.
I did not try to install OS X.
Where I live there are no repair places for MacIntosh. The closest place is about an hour away, and as a school teacher with 3 small children, getting there is gonna be like planning and taking a field trip!
Any other ideas of what I might try myself before making the trek?
Thanks!
Check this site for battery part numbers and sources.
Mac PRAM, NVRAM, CUDA/PMU & Battery Tutorial
http://www.geocities.com/texas_macman/pram.html
Cheers, Tom