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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Desktop Hardware
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<blockquote data-quote="Randy B. Singer" data-source="post: 1187665" data-attributes="member: 190607"><p>Computers get quite hot inside. The little joints where discrete components are soldered to the motherboard are metal, soft metal (tin), and thus readily expand and contract with each temperature cycle. In time they can crack from this expansion and contraction and cause an electrical discontinuity.</p><p></p><p>I haven't been inside a Mac to fix it for years, but when I was younger folks would give me their dead Macs that they had given up on and I would open them up, touch a soldering pen to each of the solder joints to reflow the solder (especially around the power supply, which gets really hot) and ta-da!, the Mac would be as good as new.</p><p></p><p>Often I found that Macs that were dead only needed a 17-cent capacitor replaced. You can spot a popped capacitor on a motherboard in seconds. It only takes a few minutes to remove the old one and solder in a new one.</p><p></p><p>If you take a Mac with either of the two problems, above, to Apple, you will find that they simply don't do component-level repair. They will replace an entire motherboard to fix the problem. If your Mac is out of warranty, they will charge you for an entire motherboard. So, for want of a 17-cent capacitor or a reflowed solder joint, it might be uneconomical to have an older Mac repaired. </p><p></p><p>It used to be possible to find computer repair shops that would do component-level repairs, and who would charge accordingly. Sadly, those types of shops are becoming harder and harder to find.</p><p></p><p>___________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Randy B. Singer</p><p>Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)</p><p></p><p>Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance</p><p><a href="http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html" target="_blank">OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting</a></p><p>___________________________________________</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Randy B. Singer, post: 1187665, member: 190607"] Computers get quite hot inside. The little joints where discrete components are soldered to the motherboard are metal, soft metal (tin), and thus readily expand and contract with each temperature cycle. In time they can crack from this expansion and contraction and cause an electrical discontinuity. I haven't been inside a Mac to fix it for years, but when I was younger folks would give me their dead Macs that they had given up on and I would open them up, touch a soldering pen to each of the solder joints to reflow the solder (especially around the power supply, which gets really hot) and ta-da!, the Mac would be as good as new. Often I found that Macs that were dead only needed a 17-cent capacitor replaced. You can spot a popped capacitor on a motherboard in seconds. It only takes a few minutes to remove the old one and solder in a new one. If you take a Mac with either of the two problems, above, to Apple, you will find that they simply don't do component-level repair. They will replace an entire motherboard to fix the problem. If your Mac is out of warranty, they will charge you for an entire motherboard. So, for want of a 17-cent capacitor or a reflowed solder joint, it might be uneconomical to have an older Mac repaired. It used to be possible to find computer repair shops that would do component-level repairs, and who would charge accordingly. Sadly, those types of shops are becoming harder and harder to find. ___________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance [url=http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html]OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting[/url] ___________________________________________ [/QUOTE]
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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Desktop Hardware
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