Apple Computers & iMac - Repair, Mod, and Upgrade!

[CRTGAMER]

Here's the iMac in question sitting on my workbench next to his older brother, the G4. I also keep a couple Mac Pro towers nearby to drive this array of monitors. I'm typing this sentence on one of those Mac Pro towers right now. The port on the far right is a mini-DVI output. I'm using an adaptor to connect it to another monitor via VGA. I'm connecting a Firewire 400 cable from this iMac to one of my Mac Pro towers. Don't you just love Apple's proprietary connectors?

iMac 4,1
2GHz Intel Core Duo
1 Processor; 2 cores
1GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

I think those tray-loading G3 iMacs are cool because they have a VGA connector on the INSIDE of the computer. How cool is that? If all iMacs had been designed that way, screen replacement would be much easier!

Did not know that on the early G3 CRTs, thanks. That internal VGA port would have made for an easier mod. You do have that mini VGA port which is already analog for the VGA cable, perhaps the $20 LCD swap out could work if the entire housing could be fit? It would just be an issue of replacement screen clearing the motherboard and mounting. Rotozip out an access hole in the back for the VGA cable and AC cord input. The controls would need preset before mounting.

Reading the specs, more then adequate as a browser and Mame, worth salvaging and adding a hard drive inside. I see a lot of iMacs! Ooh the shiny silver Apple monitors at the top! I almost bought one of those at the thrift store; had a proprietary video cable. Your broken G5 iMac can work with the replacement monitor in front of the Apple; maybe one of the beautiful silver Apple Monitors with a conversion video cable? Curious, how do the internal speakers sound, are they Harmon Kardon?

Make it a dual boot OSX and OS9 for all the OS9 Mac games! The G5 is the last and fastest iMac for direct dual boot OS9 option. So many games to rediscover out there, Jazz Jack Rabbit, Spectre, Lemmings and others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_G5

The iMac G5 is an all-in-one desktop computer designed and built by Apple Inc. from 2004 to 2006. It was the final iMac to use a PowerPC processor, making it the last model that could natively run Mac OS 9 (Classic) applications.

[samsonlonghair]

Did not know that on the early G3 CRTs, thanks. That internal VGA port would have made for an easier mod. You do have that mini VGA port which is already analog for the VGA cable, perhaps the $20 LCD swap out could work if the entire housing could be fit? It would just be an issue of replacement screen clearing the motherboard and mounting. Rotozip out an access hole in the back for the VGA cable and AC cord input. The controls would need preset before mounting.

I'm aiming for a tidier job than that. LCD panels are connected using a specification called LVDS. I'm hoping that I can connect my replacement LCD panel to the Logic board using the standard LVDS connection. Fingers crossed that Apple actually utilized a standard connection for a change.

Reading the specs, more then adequate as a browser and Mame, worth salvaging and adding a hard drive inside. I see a lot of iMacs! Ooh the shiny silver Apple monitors at the top! I almost bought one of those at the thrift store; had a proprietary video cable. Your broken G5 iMac can work with the replacement monitor in front of the Apple; maybe one of the beautiful silver Apple Monitors with a conversion video cable? Curious, how do the internal speakers sound, are they Harmon Kardon?

Make it a dual boot OSX and OS9 for all the OS9 Mac games! The G5 is the last and fastest iMac for direct dual boot OS9 option. So many games to rediscover out there, Jazz Jack Rabbit, Spectre, Lemmings and others.

Actually, this is an Early Intel iMac circa 2006, not a G5 iMac. It's an easy mistake to make because they look very similar on the outside, but the processor architecture is drastically different. I can't run OS/9 on this iMac, but I can run Windows 10 32-bit believe it or not. If I upgrade the processor to a core 2 duo, I could even run the 64-bit version of Windows 10.

I certainly can dual boot. Every Mac I own is setup to dual boot in one way or another. In this case I could choose to boot a modern version of windows and an old version of OS X. I'm sure that I would rather run OS X if I could get a version running up-to-date web browsers, but that's become increasingly hard to do over the past year or two. Not even Firefox Extended Release candidate will continue to support Snow Leopard. Ironically, the enthusiast community keeps tenfour fox running on PowerPC hardware but not on early Intel hardware, but that's another tangent for another day.

Back on topic, I think my next move will be disassembling the iMac and the monitor. I already have the data sheet for that monitor handy.

[CRTGAMER]

I think my next move will be disassembling the iMac and the monitor. I already have the data sheet for that monitor handy.

Oh darn no OS9, ah well. Really, OSX Safari though not the latest browser works just fine. Apple OS does have the reputation of less malware intrusion even on older browsers. Eager to read results of the mod. Have you looked into the Apple Silver monitors at your top shelf even if not for this mod; an adapter cable plug in for any PC? Those retro G4 monitors look so cool, maybe sitting in front of your G5 aesthetics feasible?

[marurun]

I actually think the lamp/gumdrop base iMac is my favorite model, and I see from the pictures you've got one right there! My parents still have one tucked away. If I thought I could do anything cool with it at all (with time and lack of skill as mitigating factors) I'd take it off their hands.

[isiolia]

Those monitors are ADC, for which adapters exist, but they were fairly pricey when new. ADC carries power as well, so, the adapter kit also had to include an AC adapter. Used ones aren't super expensive, but are still probably at the point where one could buy a different 17" monitor for a similar price.


Lampshade iMacs were a neat design, but they are an annoyance to work on.

[CRTGAMER]

I actually think the lamp/gumdrop base iMac is my favorite model, and I see from the pictures you've got one right there! My parents still have one tucked away. If I thought I could do anything cool with it at all (with time and lack of skill as mitigating factors) I'd take it off their hands.

Compared to Sam's Apple wall, my Vaio laptop looks embarrassing subtle as a desktop even with the iMac inspired clear Harmon Kardon G4 speakers on each side of it.

Those monitors are ADC, for which adapters exist, but they were fairly pricey when new. ADC carries power as well, so, the adapter kit also had to include an AC adapter. Used ones aren't super expensive, but are still probably at the point where one could buy a different 17" monitor for a similar price.

That single cord the reason why I did not buy the monitor years ago. Realize now not too difficult to mod; splice solder the cables to DVI and a separate power brick. Then again, looking at Ebay the adapters only run around $30 to $50 used; Sam jump on this!

DVI ADC Adapter - https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... r&_sacat=0

EDIT
A bit more research?

https://lookanotherblog.com/diy-adc-adapter/

http://www.jasondoesitall.com/adc/

[fastbilly1]

It is very tricky to make old imacs work without the built in monitor. If you can make it work I am very interested in knowing your findings. I have only had this work on a G3 and it was alot of soldering.

The G3 CRTs have an auxiliary VGA output, at least in the later series with slot loaders that

My bad, I meant G4. I had a G3 that I put an LCD monitor I used until the psu burned out.

[samsonlonghair]

Those monitors are ADC, for which adapters exist, but they were fairly pricey when new. ADC carries power as well, so, the adapter kit also had to include an AC adapter. Used ones aren't super expensive, but are still probably at the point where one could buy a different 17" monitor for a similar price.


Lampshade iMacs were a neat design, but they are an annoyance to work on.

Yes, I have an ADC adapter for each of my Apple Studio Displays. The great irony is that the adapter is worth more than the monitor itself. For what it's worth, the colors are vivid on those beautiful old monitors.

That iMac G4 is certainly beautiful. It's the computer I wanted most when I was in high school. No other computer before or since is quite like it.

I actually think the lamp/gumdrop base iMac is my favorite model, and I see from the pictures you've got one right there! My parents still have one tucked away. If I thought I could do anything cool with it at all (with time and lack of skill as mitigating factors) I'd take it off their hands.

But I don't actually do much with it now that I own one. I installed OS X 10.4 tiger, and set up dual boot with OS X 10.2 jaguar. I upgraded the "easy" RAM, but there's another memory module deeper inside that iMac. I need to have some thermal paste handy before I even think about cracking open that white dome.

I feel like I should have a separate thread just for Apple computers in general because I'm constantly tempted to go off a tangent here.

Back on topic, I think I should be able to crack open my early Intel iMac with just a screwdriver and a credit card. I believe there are latches on the inside near the top. If I understand the procedure, I just pop a credit card into those two latches from the vent in the back of the Intel iMac. When I break open this machine, I will take time to snap a few photos for everyone's viewing pleasure (and to make sure I remember how to put it all back together afterwards).

Removing the LCD panel from that donor monitor should be straightforward enough. I just need to make sure that everything fits the way I think it should. Knock on wood.

[samsonlonghair]

It is very tricky to make old imacs work without the built in monitor. If you can make it work I am very interested in knowing your findings. I have only had this work on a G3 and it was alot of soldering.

The G3 CRTs have an auxiliary VGA output, at least in the later series with slot loaders that

My bad, I meant G4. I had a G3 that I put an LCD monitor I used until the psu burned out.

Wow, you worked on a G4 iMac? Hats off to you, sir! Those things are a modder's nightmare. Practically everything is proprietary; practically nothing is user-serviceable. Don't get me wrong; I love my iMac G4, but I'm not trying to mod mine. I'm happy just to let her sit there and look cool. ...which is what the G4 iMac does best.

A bit more research?

https://lookanotherblog.com/diy-adc-adapter/

http://www.jasondoesitall.com/adc/

Thanks for the research, CRT, but I already own two ADC adapters for those Apple Studio displays.

By the way, if I didn't own an ADC adapter, I would approach the solution from a different direction. I would look up one of those sellers on eBay like NJYtouch who sells kits to adapt a laptop monitor with a new LCD controller board that comes with VGA, DVI, and HDMI outputs. That would solve the problem better than hacking together an adapter I think. Just my two cents. It's all academic anyway, since I don't need to worry about that right now.

[marurun]

Oooo... Now I wonder if I could turn my parents' iMac G3 lamp model into a good OS 9 machine. I can't remember if the boot loader in that model allows booting to Classic.