How do i open the screen on my 17" iMac?

Hi

This is my first post so please excuse any mistakes!

I have a 17" iMac and unfortunately we live out in the country so we get infested with harvest bugs (tiny black beetles) during the harvest season. Some of these bugs have managed to get behind the screen of my lovely iMac and i can't get them out.

Does anyone know how to dismantle the screen so i can remove them, or does anyone have a drawn guide showing a step-by-step approach to help me? At the moment the screen is like having 3 or 4 dead pixels in various places, and its most distracting!

Thank you

Karl

happyleaves said:

Hi
...
Karl

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Hi Karl, welcome aboard.

I *THINK* I might have a service manual for the new design iMacs. Drop me an email to jerodh at hotmail dot com and if I have it, I'll email it to you.

jjh

happyleaves said:

Hi

we live out in the country so we get infested with harvest bugs (tiny black beetles) during the harvest season

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Hi Karl.

Whats up with all these bugs. I guess I gotta avoid coming to Durham?!?

Hi Strider!

They're tiny black flies that have this amazing ability to get into places you wouldn't believe possible. They come out of the corn when they harvest the crops, but if the farmers were to spray the crops with pesticide, then they would all die off. But then again... we all know what pesticides can do to some food!

I've taken my screen apart as far as i can, but the little bu**ers are actually inside the sealed unit component. So, question... who is going to pick up the tab for this? Me or Apple? If the unit is designed to be completely sealed, then how did they get in? And if consumers aren't supposed to be able to take this unit apart, can Apple, or is it effectively written off? Its very distracting when you're working away having these black dots all over the screen... worse than any dead pixels you might come across, i'll tell you!

I think i might have to take it to my Apple dealer to see if they can Apple UK to replace my LCD for free. I'm not holding my breath though. I can see a big bill coming my way for this.

Karl

hey Karl

Here's a try. u know the cans of compressed air u get at stores? try that. try to blow the buggers out of ur computer screen. if that doesn't work, then i think the only choice u got is to goto apple.

good luck!

If apple doesn't take care of it your house insurance might. are they causing any damage? how did you know they were in there?

Hi Guys

The can of compressed air sounds good, but am not sure where to spray it. When you detach the LCD from the back plate and have removed the front surround, you are left with one piece which doesn't seem to have any mechanical fixings to take apart, and has a folded edge of thin foil/metal. Am i supposed to peal this edging back and spray the compressed air along it in hope that the bugs come loose?

Anarkhy, the bugs are easily visible inside the screen alost as though there are blocks of 3,4 or 5 pixels which are broken. If you go to http://www.happyleaves.co.uk/harvest-bugs.html you can see what one of them looks like.

Does anyone think Apple might assist by replacing my screen for free (even though it is 13 months old) as the unit is supposed to be a sealed unit, yet it clearly isn't?

As i am in the process of setting up my Happyleaves Graphic Design company, i'm going to switch my main PC to a G5 with the new aluminium look 20" Cinema Display, but now i'm not so sure. £1000 is a lot to pay if i'm going to need to replace the LCD component next summer when they harvest again!

Cheers

Karl

Sounds like u've opened the monitor as much as u could, I wouldn't suggest doing anything further with the display. From the image in ur post, the bugs look extrememly small, I dont even know if that compressed air trick would work on them. ****! How on earth did they manage to sneak into ur monitor

I'm not sure about Apple's policy, i suggest u make an anonymous call and inquire about this issue.

Also note that if this has happened to you on an apple monitor, there's no guarantee that it'll not happen to you on another monitor. I mean, most monitors are the same, aren't they?... I can't think of a solution to this issue - maybe pack up your computing equipment and store it away during the harvest season?

BTW, Nice website. I like the way the menu is made in a hierarical manner.

Thanx Strider, i appreciate the kind comments about my Happyleaves website.

I'd love the G5 and matching screen, and i probably WILL get them but i can't be shelling out for e new LCD every summer if apple can't guarantee that they are sealed units. My poor old Dual P3 800 is struggling with the print work i get involved in these days, so i was gonna wait a few weeks until harvest is finished and then buy my new machine.

The trouble with these bugs is that they are very very small, but if you squash them, they can leave a black stain which would be even worse if this marks the pixels... if in fact it is actually crawling on the screens' pixels.

I don't know how an LCD is constructed but it looks like the bugs are between the pixel layer and the cover - that's why i was hoping to be able to get between these two and remove them, but now i've found that's not possible

This is a bummer! I'll have a chat with Apple tomorrow and see what they say.

I'll keep you informed OK guys!

Karl