Wife's G3 iMac just went poof - power supply?

[magicmikey]

My wife has been happily using a Graphite G3 iMac SE. (I think it has a 700 mHz processor.) Tonight, she was moving the mouse when the iMac made an electrical noise and completely shut down. It won't restart. It makes no sound whatsoever, although unplugging the AC cord from the computer and replugging it allows the computer to make one short electrical sound when you press the power button and the button flashes on for a split second.

Is this the power supply gone bad? I did a quick search and read that some G3 iMacs didn't have a separate power supply but had an analog logic board that the power went to. Is this what this model has?

Is it worth fooling with? Please understand that we're in no position to buy a new Mac. Even a cheap used Mac would be hard. (I know there's no such thing as a cheap used Mac!)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Michael

[C(-)ris]

Not even worth fooling around with. It is most likely the video/analog board, they cost more than the whole iMac is worth. Sorry to say, but pull the ram and the HD and Airport card and freecycle it. Most of the time, the ram and HD are worth more than the machine itself.

[RgrF]

I had a similar problem with an old G3 600, the power light would come on and then stop. As I was disassembling it to remove the hard drive I tried powering up while holding in the programmers button and it worked. It's the recessed button on the side just to the rear of the restart button.

It powered into dos and after a few attempts it powered into standard mode. The video eventually died completely but that kept it alive for a few extra months. Good luck!

PS: If that should work for you don't shut down or you'll have the same problem, if you get it up use sleep mode to work around the issue.

[Harbourmaster]

It's a bad PAV or Flyback Transformer (far less likely though).

Not worth spending a dime on IMHO.

Best bet is to sell off the parts, ie. Logic board, CD/DVD drive etc, and put that money towards a new(er) Mac.

[PizzaGod]

Gee, with 700 mhz lampshades going for $200 or so, why even bother?

Time to move up!

[Paul F.]

Yeah.. sounds like a blow'ed up PAV board...

Even if you find one (and they're getting a bit scarce), you'll pay more than the cost of a used eMac for it.

I'd take the suggestion of stripping it for it's good parts, eBay or Craigslist what you can, and then start shopping for an uber-cheap replacement like a lampshade iMac, or early model eMac... or even a G4 Tower.

I'm a fellow cheapskate... but it's really NOT worth fixing (it's NOT a job for someone uncomfortable with stripping the iMac down to the last screw, either)... and with a bit of patience, $200 can buy you a pretty darn good replacement if the iMac DV was "adequate".

[Jimmypoo]

I have eight 400MHz Indigos. Where are you? I also have a Snow with what sounds like your problem. Then again, I have a meter, just know clue where to put it.

(set up line is perfect... who will be the taker?)

[Black Landlord]

[quote Jimmypoo] Where are you? I also have Snow , just know clue where to put it.

(set up line is perfect... who will be the taker?)
Pretty sure dealing narcotics on the forum is verboten, but I could be wrong.

[magicmikey]

[quote Jimmypoo]I have eight 400MHz Indigos. Where are you? I also have a Snow with what sounds like your problem. Then again, I have a meter, just know clue where to put it.

(set up line is perfect... who will be the taker?)
I'm in Knoxville, TN. You anywhere near?

Michael

[Jimmypoo]

It's heavily cut, so it's OK.