Bonehead MAC Manuever

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First, let me say that I am a PC person who suffers from MACophobia.. But I got a REALLY nice A1225 in that I couldn't resist tinkering with.. Once I got it open, I said to myself, I said, "Self?? This ain't bad.." :D

Anyways, everything seemed to work OK on this MAC....

http://sjfm.us/temp/mac2.jpg

except it wouldn't boot into the OS... Would come on, display would look fine, but it wouldn't boot all the way..

I used the COMMAND - V and got this:

http://sjfm.us/temp/mac3.jpg

I researched it and figured the HD was bad..

As I said, I suffer from MACophobia, but I tackled it anyways...

Wasn't too bad... :D

Until I put it back together.. :(

Now my display is all frak'ed up...

http://sjfm.us/temp/mac1.jpg

I pulled the display off, reseated the connections and I still get that same fritzy display..

How badly did I scrooo the pooch here?? :(

Any hints tips suggestions would be most appreciated..

Michale
 

chscag

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Replacing the hard drive in an iMac is not an easy task. Anyway, it would appear that one of the video cables or connectors is either loose or defective. Open it up again and go over your work to make sure everything is snugged down. But be careful as those cables and connectors are fragile especially in older Macs.

For best instructions on tear down and parts, go to www.ifixit.com
 
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SUCCESS!!!!! :D

I disassembled the motherboard.. Not a fun chore, but not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be...

Noticed that this unit had a Video Card so I was able to get by without doing a full motherboard reflow..

Put the Vid Card on the reflow and viola.... It's booting up crisp and clear now..

WOOT!! :D

Going to recheck the HD and see if my futzin' around might have "fixed" that...

If not, what would be a good MAC OS to put on this machine? It's 4GB, 3.06ghz Dual Core with a 1TB HD...

Thanx for the reply, chscag.. Much appreciated...
 

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Do you have access to actual reflow equipment? If so…must be nice!:)

- Nick

Yea, I do.. I initially bought it when I was doing XBOX 360 RLOD repairs.. From that, I branched out into PS3 YLOD repairs. One day about 6-7 years ago, I had a sweet HP that had a GPU issue.. I figured what the heck.. It wasn't doing me any good anyways.. So I put it on the reflow and brought it back to life..

I have simply been amazed how many things I can resurrect with the machine.. TVs, game consoles, video cards, laptops....

It's been a boon... :D
 

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Yea, I do.. I initially bought it when I was doing XBOX 360 RLOD repairs..

Just curious. Is this an expensive piece of equipment? I kind of thought that it was. Something a professional would use due to volume. Versus a home-user that would only use it occasionally or a couple times.

I know that a quick internet search comes up with reflow ovens costing $4000+…and that some folks build their own reflow ovens (not sure the quality of these).

- Nick
 
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Congrats! Yeah, reflow has saved more than a few old Macs from the scrapheap. You've gotten advice on the OS version elsewhere (my two cents: max out the RAM and go with Mavericks, 10.9.x), so I'll just add this since you're new to the Mac world:

A Mac is short for "Macintosh." It's not an acronym, thus it should not be capitalised.

To put it another way:
mac: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
MAC: a data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Media Access Control
Mac: a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

Ditto for iPod. :)
 

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This is what I use...

With laptops, I have about an 90% success rate on GPU related issues.. With power issues (No Power) I have about a 60% success rate. On Direct Short issues, only about 20%..

I also use this:

For directed heat on XBOX 360, PS3 and Laptop/Video Card GPUs...

But usually a reflow alone is sufficient...

Thanks a bunch for the info. I was just curious.:) Those units look much more affordable for the average user.

- Nick
 
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Congrats! Yeah, reflow has saved more than a few old Macs from the scrapheap. You've gotten advice on the OS version elsewhere (my two cents: max out the RAM and go with Mavericks, 10.9.x), so I'll just add this since you're new to the Mac world:

A Mac is short for "Macintosh." It's not an acronym, thus it should not be capitalised.

To put it another way:
mac: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
MAC: a data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Media Access Control
Mac: a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

Ditto for iPod. :)

I stand corrected.. :D

Thanx again for the replies..

I tend to shy away from repairing Macs :D but this one wasn't too bad...
 
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Thanks a bunch for the info. I was just curious.:) Those units look much more affordable for the average user.

- Nick

It's not the professional multi-thousand$$ rig that most people think of.. And you really don't need the AOYUE unit to get started.. That one is actually just specifically for extra heat on GPUs.... I rarely have to resort to the AOYUE...

So, for around $200, you can get the Infrared PreHeater and go to town..

I charge $160 for a laptop reflow which includes complete disassembly/re-assemebly... $50 if the customer brings me the bare MB...

So two jobs will more than pay for the unit..
 

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