G5 goes "pop" and won't turn on now

[Gatorfreak]

I bought my Power Mac G5 in the spring of 2006. So it's just out of the 1 year warranty now. Pressed the power button today and it made a "pop" sound and now it won't turn on. Didn't smell any smoke. I tried resetting the SMU per Apple website instructions but that didn't do anything.

Is this a common thing to happen and if so, what is it that needs to be replaced? I would guess it's either the power supply or the motherboard but I'm fairly new to Macs so I'm seeking some help here.

Thanks!

 

[dtravis7]

This is just a guess but it really sounds like the Power Supply blew. I have had PC's with a pop like that and it was always the Power Supply.

 

[Geeky1]

Chances are very high, as dtravis said, that the PSU puked. My money is on a cap blowing its top. Not an uncommon failure. Just hope that it didn't take the board or anything else in the system with it...

 

[Gatorfreak]

For anyone who has had the same thing happen, it's apparently all too common.
Here is a long list of people who've had the "POP" power supply failure.

Apple has granted a warranty extension for this failure.
http://www.apple.com/support/powermac/powersupply/repairextension/

 

[Gatorfreak]

*Update*

My particular Mac's serial # is just outside the range that are covered by the warranty extension for this problem. I called Apple and they didn't care. This is my first and last Mac.

 

[wiley17]

did you buy with credit card?

Some credit cards extend the warranty by the amount of the original warranty. I know my AMEX does. Visa Signature cards do also. I hope you get it fixed! Good luck.

 

[dtravis7]

Not to be a mean person here, but I am a PC tech. Do you even know just how many PC's with BLOWN power supplies I run into? Most when they go BOOM take out the Motherboard, even the CD ROM and Hard Drive controller board and even the video card. I see this all the time and for some reason it's happening a lot more lately. Makes me wonder if the Power Supply manufactures are slacking a bit. Most of these supplies I have seen POP lately are top of the line from respected manufactures. So just because a few Power Mac's blew out their Power Supplies does not make Macs the only one with issues.

I was on the phone with Dell a few months back when the power supply blew the motherboard. Argued with for an hour and still had to pay $150 for some old P4 board for the customers machine. The customer wanted it fixed, otherwise I would have told them not to put that much $$$ into that old Dell.

 

[bryphotoguy]

It's somewhat your error for not purchasing an extended warranty.
Although it's an Apple product, it was made in China. I don't exactly go and buy products made in China for their reliability.
Just hope it is a cheap fix.-Peace

 

[Cam]

Come on, can't blame someone for not buying an extended warranty, a g5 was a top of the line apple computer. If it is the psu it'll cost nothing to fix, if it has taken out other bits of hardware then start kicking up **** with apple until they pay

 

[bryphotoguy]

Come on, can't blame someone for not buying an extended warranty, a g5 was a top of the line apple computer. If it is the psu it'll cost nothing to fix, if it has taken out other bits of hardware then start kicking up **** with apple until they pay

In terms of a G5 PowerMac, yes, his model was the "top of the line" as you call it. Does that mean a Lamborghini does not break down because it cost a lot more than a Ford Focus? More often people take care of more expensive items, so a warranty would have been the smart thing to do so his investment stayed secure.

If it's out of warranty then there is nothing to do but replace what he needs on his own dime. It's not Apple's fault every time every little thing goes wrong with every single persons computer, is it?

Since it is a known problem with earlier PowerMac models, maybe he can have something worked out with Apple. He should give them a call and plead his case.

 

[Alexis]

Whether or not his model was top of the line or not, I'd expect the Lamborghini, Ford and Apple all to last more than 18 months regardless of price.

It's not Apple's fault every time every little thing goes wrong with every single persons computer, is it?

I think it is really. If your engine went after 10,000 miles you wouldn't shrug your shoulders and say it's not Ford's fault and they'd tried the best they could.


There is such as thing as a period of time you'd expect a produce to work for, regardless of warranty. A computer should last 4 years minimum before you'd expect something to break. And that would be worst case scenario.

 

[bryphotoguy]

Oh, I expect my computer to last 18 months, I am agreeing with you there. And I wouldn't shrug my shoulders if my engine broke down at 10,000 miles. Any warranty covers 10,000 miles. If my car broke down outside the warranty, all the kicking and screaming I would or could do wouldn't get my engine fixed. This is why I own a Honda and not a Ford.
He had the choice to spend the extra $250 or whatever to extend his warranty 2 more years and chose not to, right? He played the game or risk and lost.
Nothing is perfect which is why there are warranties and extended warranties.

 

[dtravis7]

I posted this already but Power Supplies do die. Every brand of power supply has had a few failures that I know of and same with every brand of computer. No hardware is perfect. Most Seagate hard drives last a long time, but a few get through quality control that die a fast and sometimes early death. It happens. Hardware is not perfect. I agree with Bryphotoguy on this. A good warranty is a good thing!

 

[jjoliver988]

As an aside I added a firewire card to my PC and the thing blew up with flames and everything (real fire-wire). I took the card out when I blew the flames out and the machine carried on working. I can't use that PCI slot for some reason though?! Any suggestions? Just kidding half of it is ash. But the machine still works!

 

[Cam]

Still, 250 quid is still a lot of money. It could easilly cost 10% of the value of the computer, and I personally wouldn't spend 2500 to extend my cars warrenty by a couple of years. I'm sure apple uses good parts, but if the occasional h/d or psu etc... goes pop and dies they should just replace it within a reasonable time frame. 3 years is entirely reasonable.

But I guess we should all just get used to people being *******s

 

[MacHeadCase]

Still, 250 quid is still a lot of money. It could easilly cost 10% of the value of the computer, and I personally wouldn't spend 2500 to extend my cars warrenty by a couple of years. I'm sure apple uses good parts, but if the occasional h/d or psu etc... goes pop and dies they should just replace it within a reasonable time frame. 3 years is entirely reasonable.

But I guess we should all just get used to people being *******s

But then again, you still have old Power Mac G5s, G4s and G3s, clamshell G3 iBooks, Pismo PowerBooks, etc. being sold on eBay. Those are 5, 6, 7, even 8 years old and they still work fine and can be sold for a nice sum. What if after 7 years of use one of those breaks, should Apple still replace a dead part free of charge?

Just for my peace of mind, each time I buy a new Mac, I get the extended Apple Care warranty so I feel safe. Some will say it's a waste of money but then again if something fails, I am covered. If you're not covered the only thing left is to hope that you bought a Mac that has a recall program for a widespread problem (which doesn't happen a whole lot) if something should go kaput.

So I agree with Bry and trav.

 

[bryphotoguy]

If it's a PSU or HD problem, call the manufacturer of the broken piece and have it replaced. Their warranty might cover more than a year. I think some HD's comes with 3 year warranties. It shouldn't be Apple's duty to fix 3rd party problems.

 

[Alexis]

Any warranty covers 10,000 miles. If my car broke down outside the warranty, all the kicking and screaming I would or could do wouldn't get my engine fixed. This is why I own a Honda and not a Ford.
He had the choice to spend the extra $250 or whatever to extend his warranty 2 more years and chose not to, right? He played the game or risk and lost.
Nothing is perfect which is why there are warranties and extended warranties

Well, kicking and screaming and writing to the media and magazines can often get you some results

Warranties are not a goodwill gesture, but a pure money making exercise. Buying every warranty for every product you buy is not cost effective. The law in Britain at least is a little more flexible than the 'you didn't buy a warranty so tough luck' approach. A product should last a 'reasonable' amount of time, regardless of warranties, so a small claims court action would be worth pursuing if Apple don't cooperate.

 

[bryphotoguy]

Well, kicking and screaming and writing to the media and magazines can often get you some results

Warranties are not a goodwill gesture, but a pure money making exercise. Buying every warranty for every product you buy is not cost effective. The law in Britain at least is a little more flexible than the 'you didn't buy a warranty so tough luck' approach. A product should last a 'reasonable' amount of time, regardless of warranties, so a small claims court action would be worth pursuing if Apple don't cooperate.

Extended warranties may be a money making exercise as you call it. How much do you buy to make the cost of buying extended warranties not cost effective? A $20 toaster doesn't need an extended warranty. The only things I would purchase an extended warranty for are my Mac Pro, my iPhone, and my HDTV. I could go without one for my monitor and XBOX 360. Those don't cost enough to put more money in. If you're shelling out thousands for electronics every month and fill a whole room with stuff that might go bad after the original warranty is over, I could see extended warranties piling up.