Questions about eMacs

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What are your thoughts about E mac?

The school I work for is doing away with four of them because of manufacture problems and replacing them with brand new PCs.

They still run good bit the vice principle says that they may crash since there is a problem with the logic board.

he said I can get the logic board replaced for about $400.

If you was in my position, what would you do?
 
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Sounds like the dreaded faulty capacitors and I do not believe any eMac is worth that much alas. If they are free grab one otherwise give it a miss.
 
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Sounds like the dreaded faulty capacitors and I do not believe any eMac is worth that much alas. If they are free grab one otherwise give it a miss.

yes, I m getting it for free. So should I grab one? Is it still of good use?
 
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What are your thoughts about E mac? They still run good bit the vice principle says that they may crash since there is a problem with the logic board.
he said I can get the logic board replaced for about $400.
If you was in my position, what would you do?

Welcome to the eMac club - despite what some others say ;D. Yes, it IS of good use.

What would I do in your situation? Firstly, get all the info you can about that particular model of eMac.

Second, search this and other forums exhaustively for information about the eMac and its well-known capacitor issue. Some who've had the capacitor problem have found much cheaper ways than $400 of fixing it.

Thirdly, you may never in fact encounter the capacitor problem. A Tip: do not let your eMac get too hot, as that accelerates the process that causes the faulty capacitors to bulge, and eventually leak; and switch it off overnight, or if leaving it unused for several hours.
 

dtravis7


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If it's the Capacitor issue and I would almost bet it is, if you are good with Electronics and soldering circuit boards, you can change the capacitors yourself. Otherwise it may crash a lot.

Try and find out the exact specs.
 
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what you think: Free eMac

Machine Model: eMac
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.1)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 256 MB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.8.2f1

Is this upgradable?

Also, how can I set up the eMac so I can scroll between it and my iMac using one mouse?
 
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Why don't you just donate it to some misfortunate family?

I was going to actually give it to my Dad who really needs it. Or, I was going to swapt it with my Dell desk top and give the Dell to my Dad.

What attracted me to it was that the emac has microsoft office 2004 on it. Currently I have pages and I really don't like it. Thus, I can use the eMac for word.

You know though, I appreciate your words of advice. You don't here a lot in here about helping out the less fortunate. There are probably some on here with big money. I am not one of them but I do thank God for giving me what I have by way of having two jobs.

Thanks!
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MacMini 14.3, 8.1 & 4.1, OS 13.5, 10.14, & 10.11 & 10.6; Macbook Pro 8.2, OS 10.12.
Machine Model: eMac
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.1)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 256 MB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.8.2f1
Is this upgradeable?

Oh yes, it most certainly is. Nothing you can do about the processor, but memory certainly, which can be taken to 1 Gb maximum. That model of eMac is USB 1, which rather limits options in that respect. You can also upgrade both the hard drive and the optical drive.

Be aware that eMacs have a reputation for logic board capacitor failure. It's well-documented, so do some serious research. You may never experience the problem - here's hoping for you - but if it does occur, there's plenty of advice on Mac forums various about what can be done. Do not buy into the "get an expensive replacement logic board" argument.

Enjoy your eMac - they're a good desktop computer.
 
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What can be upgraded in the following eMac?

EMac:
OS: Mac OS C 10.3.9

Processor: 1GHs PowerPC G4

Memory: 256 MB DDR SDRAM

Hard Drive: ATA-3 Bus HL-DT-ST CD-Rom GCR-8522B
 
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eMac upgrade

Hi, you can upgrade almost everything in your emac.
Upgrade your ram to 1gb, I have a 1,25ghz emac running 2gb of ram, dont know if 1ghz's are able to.
The HD can be changed for a 200gb or less hd. Mine is with one of 160gb maxtor ide ata100 7200 rpm. I recommend this brand, you will have no compatibility issues.
Also you can install a superdrive, this part is the easiest.
At last you can upgrade your OS to leopard, I recommend Tiger.
Hope this helped.:)
 
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Hi, you can upgrade almost everything in your emac.
Upgrade your ram to 1gb, I have a 1,25ghz emac running 2gb of ram, dont know if 1ghz's are able to.
The HD can be changed for a 200gb or less hd. Mine is with one of 160gb maxtor ide ata100 7200 rpm. I recommend this brand, you will have no compatibility issues.
Also you can install a superdrive, this part is the easiest.
At last you can upgrade your OS to leopard, I recommend Tiger.
Hope this helped.:)


Yes it did. Thanks Roughly how much would all the upgrade cost?

I do hope I can upgrade to 2 GB of memory. How would I know if the 1 ghz are able to be upgraded to 2 gb?
 
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Get Mactracker Mactracker - get info on any Mac to read what upgrades can be done. Also Low End Mac: The Mac Experience and Mac Specs, Prices, Answers, & More @ EveryMac.com - Established 1996.

Unfortunately you're limited to USB 1 @ 12 Mbps, but no PCI cards (or processor upgrades) though. You can put in an Airport card. Maximum RAM for that model is 1 Gb (2 x 512).

I agree with buenos about Tiger, perhaps Panther, but not Leopard. Almost any capacity hard drive will suit as long as it's ATA (not SATA). I suggest Hitachi, purely because they run cooler and quieter than other brands, and heat buildup inside an eMac can be a significant issue. You can also run external firewire drives.
 

pigoo3

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An e-Mac is still an e-Mac!

Two of the most important things you would like to be able to upgrade in a computer are the processor & the graphics card.

In an e-Mac you cannot upgrade:

- the processor
- the graphics/video card

What you can upgrade:

- ram
- CD/DVD drive
- hard drive
- install an airport card

Basically, if you find that your e-Mac is slow (not that I'm saying they are, they can be very useful for certain tasks)...this is where a CPU or GPU upgrade would be nice.

Hope this helps.
 
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In "about this mac" the eMac info reveals that it has a an airport card. Are you speaking of an external one?
 
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Get Mactracker Mactracker - get info on any Mac to read what upgrades can be done. Also Low End Mac: The Mac Experience and Mac Specs, Prices, Answers, & More @ EveryMac.com - Established 1996.

Unfortunately you're limited to USB 1 @ 12 Mbps, but no PCI cards (or processor upgrades) though. You can put in an Airport card. Maximum RAM for that model is 1 Gb (2 x 512).

I agree with buenos about Tiger, perhaps Panther, but not Leopard. Almost any capacity hard drive will suit as long as it's ATA (not SATA). I suggest Hitachi, purely because they run cooler and quieter than other brands, and heat buildup inside an eMac can be a significant issue. You can also run external firewire drives.

Good info. thanks! Will take all the advise into consideration.
 

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