PowerMac 5500 All-In-One

Hello, new to this forum, I'm not sure if this really thread belongs in this section.....

I recently obtained a PowerMac 5500 All-In-One system [monitor, FDD, HDD in one box]. Strangely enough, the FDD is completely busted. I was wondering, is there any way I can remove it from the casing, and would there be somewhere that I could find a replacement?

If the FDD isn't able to be removed, does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations as to how to connect a FDD to this box?

Thanks,
-A.

iceeedtea said:

Hello, new to this forum, I'm not sure if this really thread belongs in this section.....

I recently obtained a PowerMac 5500 All-In-One system [monitor, FDD, HDD in one box]. Strangely enough, the FDD is completely busted. I was wondering, is there any way I can remove it from the casing, and would there be somewhere that I could find a replacement?

If the FDD isn't able to be removed, does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations as to how to connect a FDD to this box?

Thanks,
-A.

Click to expand...

The 5500 has an ATA IDE interface for hard disks, which is good news, as replacement drives are widely available and much cheaper than their SCSI counterparts. You'll be able to pick up one for relatively little cost, so its well worth replacing!

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pass on your other question though. I had a 5500 myself but never had any need to open it (except to add more RAM, however I got my local Mac dealer to do that for me)

They are decent machines - much nicer than the dreadful 5200 line - and still make decent little workhorse Macs for internet use and word processing. Heck, you can even upgrade it with a G3 card if you really want!

Actually, the post was referring to the floppy drive...not the hard drive. The floppy drive inside is a standard floppy drive minus the front bezel. You can remove the shell and replace the drive yourself. It's been a while since I've cracked open a 5500 but I don't recall it being too much of a hassle. An alternative would be to slap a CDRW drive in place of the CD-ROM drive and just use CDs instead of floppy discs. Floppy discs are a dinosaur that should not be perpetuated.

Josh

jhazel said:

Actually, the post was referring to the floppy drive...not the hard drive. The floppy drive inside is a standard floppy drive minus the front bezel. You can remove the shell and replace the drive yourself. It's been a while since I've cracked open a 5500 but I don't recall it being too much of a hassle. An alternative would be to slap a CDRW drive in place of the CD-ROM drive and just use CDs instead of floppy discs. Floppy discs are a dinosaur that should not be perpetuated.

Josh

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply!

Do you have any suggestions or any instructions on how to remove it? I've taken a look at it, and I don't see how I can really just pull it out.....

Thanks again,
-A.

Like I noted earlier, it has been a long time since I cracked open the case of a 5500. I recall there being 2 or 3 screws in the back around the ports that needed to come off. That may only slide out the motherboard but I don't recall. Someone else on the boards here may have some better insight.

Josh

Yeah, it's been a while since I opened one of them, but turn it upside down first. Have a look for some screws; most of the visible ones will need to come out I think.

Now I'm not sure about the next step, I may be getting confused with a different model... Either the front clicks off (don't be too scared of breaking it, you'll soon know if there's still a screw to be undone, there may be some up the top), or you have to take the motherboard out from the back (it slides out if you use enough force once undoing the screws) and reach in to replace your stuff.

But as jhazel suggested, floppy disks are pretty much useless. Why not connect it to the net and email any files you need? Or install a CDRW drive?

PS, you may be able to unclip the front panel (the bit that contains the cd and floppy drive) upwards to get it off. Turn it upside down and have an explore It's fun.

Thanks for your replies, again, everyone! muso - I'll have to try that when I have free time.

The thing is, I have a few floppies from long ago [remember double-desnity disks?], and I'd like to just look over them; some memories of the old days. This is the only accessable mac at the moment; the others are stored away and would be too difficult to set back up. And I'd rather not spend too much cash right now; saving up for that G5 TiBook [when it comes out ] and CDs

Once again, thanks for all your help!
-A.

Dont know if you found this out yet, but, just plsce your two fingers under the panel where the cd and floppy are located and you will feel two holes, press up and pull and the face plate will come off. The all you have to do is to press on the release tab for the floppy, or cd for that matter and pull it out and disconnect it from the cable and replace. If you like I can email you a link for a serive manuel fro this machine in pdf format. I have one of these too, by the way.

jtadkins said:

Dont know if you found this out yet, but, just plsce your two fingers under the panel where the cd and floppy are located and you will feel two holes, press up and pull and the face plate will come off. The all you have to do is to press on the release tab for the floppy, or cd for that matter and pull it out and disconnect it from the cable and replace. If you like I can email you a link for a serive manuel fro this machine in pdf format. I have one of these too, by the way.

Click to expand...

Post the link. It may help someone else, that might read this thread.