Slashdot Mirror
Separating the iMac
Emous Pratt writes: "There is a neat article up on iMacLinux.net which talks you through separating the monitor and computer parts of the iMac. It is very detailed, with lots of cool screenshots including this one of the completed machine, and this one showing the machine is still working. This is useful if you want to run Linux and not run the monitor, or if your monitor is broken." Update: 02/03 19:37 GMT by T : Note for the curious: this is about the old iMac (CRT equipped), not the new lampish G4 variety.
The site has officially been /.'ed by the second post. So much for seeing that... Guess I'll have to wait till later...
Am I lying when I tell you that im telling the truth? Or am I telling the truth when I say that Im lying?
Anybody manage to build a mirror?
The Right Reverend K. Reid Wightman,
Now it would be great to have a tutorial on how to make the iMac Arm wall mountable.
The Surgeon General says sigs are bad for me.
You really have no idea what that word means, do you?
It should be noted, that the article is about older iMacs, not ones with pivoting LCD screens.
If you open yourself to the foo, You and foo become one.
The site is very detailed, with lots of cool screenshots including this one of the completed machine, and this one showing the machine is still working.
But do they have pics of their server up in smoke after a mid-Sunday Slashdotting?
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
Given how successful the original iMac was, and that this one is probably going to be, how come the vast majority of PC cases are just plain dull? Beyond a different colour, or a small curve somewhere, they are all essentially identical. There's got to be a market for mass-produced decent looking PC cases.
Shame you can't order an iMac with wintel innards....
Huh? PNGs should load fine on any browser made in the last 5 years. What's your problem?
Now think... if the post I'm replying to was about a Windows-XP embedded device, it would be up to +5 funny in minutes. Because it's about an Apple product, this one will be modded down pretty quick.
Humm... appears that the iMac from the story was hosting the page. Doh!
I wonder if knowing how to disconnect the display would be equally handy for someone not running linux.
But then,what am I saying? Linux guys are all about disconnecting stuff. And besides who in their right mind would want to run Linux on a LCD display like the one on that iMac?
"Slashdot: News for Nerds. Stuff that matters"? Hey I love slashdot, but let's face it. It's "Slashdot: We like Linux. Not much else."
You like your Macintosh better than me, don't you Dave? Dave? Can you hear me Dave?
LOL... 2 users at once? nooooo not here
Hey, now! What's wrong with black clothing? I wear all black all the time!
The owls are not what they seem
Was that the fastest slashdotting or what? Anyway, I came accross the PDF file for the new iMac, it's very detailed and it explains how to dismantle it without breaking anything...
Here's the url.
I'd rather have a bowl of coco-pops.
I got one page to come up from the site, it looks like they are talking about the old imacs, not the new white-whats-the-point-of-having-a-flat-panel-if-it s-tied-down-to-a-20lb-hemisphere imac. I want to see the lcd panel taken off and have the hemisphere tucked away somewhere.
Walk to back of box.
Unscrew Cable.
Unplug Power Lead from box.
Carry monitor away.
Guess what - nothing broken in the process.
/me stomps of to his corner wondering why on earth anybody would want a bloody mac.
"Semper in excretum set alta variant"
That's because you're fat.
Sorry, this site is temporarily unavailable!
The web site you are trying to access has exceeded its allocated data transfer. Visit our help area for more information.
If you are going to put info somewhere don't use sites with limitations on bandwith.
If it's not your info: Just don't link to it, or even better: mirror it!..
Cheers...
$HOME is where the
-- silver_p
iMac Revision A/B rehousing guide
:)
This guide provides information on how to rehouse your Revision A or B iMac into some other type of casing. This guide SHOULD also work for Revision C and D iMacs. This guide comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRENTY and we DO NOT RECOMMEND that you follow it unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing, or (like me) you had NO OTHER CHOICE.
Tools
You'll need a non-magnetic philips screwdriver, snips or pylers, and a sheet (or something to protect the screen while you have the iMac face down on the table).
Background
Revision A and B iMacs came out in 1998/99, making them about 2 or 3 years old at this time. Many of the revision A iMacs were plagued with monitor problems. I originally had a Rev.A iMac, however after 2 weeks, the monitor started to turn green, and the local retailer exchanged it for a Rev.B iMac, since the store no longer had Rev.A iMacs. This evening, I noticed my Rev.B iMac was powered down and cold, when I attempted to power it back up, nothing happened. I tried plugging in a different power cord which had no effect. So I moved the iMac out of the rack, and placed it on the workbench and tried to power it up again, this time I held the power button, and the iMac chimed and started to power up, then there was a big flash, some smoke and the iMac was dead. Luckily I happened to be looking at the iMac when the flash occured, and it looked like it came from the HT transformer on the iMac. This was somewhat good news, as it meant the monitor part of the iMac was probably fried.
Solution
Since I wasn't about to shell out to have the iMac repaired, I figured the next best thing was to try to fix it myself. Since this iMac is used as a server, the monitor really wasn't needed anyway. So I decided that the best thing to do would be to remove the logic board, drives and power supply, and see if I could get the unit to power up by itself. This meant of course, taking the entire thing apart.
Pass the screwdriver..
Taking the iMac apart wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. First, you need to remove the screws that keep the system board in place underneath the iMac, the system board has a handle you can pull it out by, remember to unplug all the connectors from the system board first. Once removed, place this to one side, you will need it later.
There are several pairs of screws along the back of the case, you need to remove these, the hardest one to remove is the one near the door (one that is used to route the cables). Once you have removed all of these, the rear plastic casing comes out. This is the piece that has the speaker covers attached to it. Once it is off, you will see two screws in the front of the iMac (either side of the hole where the CDrom drive goes), you need to remove these, and the front facia (piece of plastic with the iMac part written on it) comes off. The next bit is a little tricky, you are left with this generic grey plastic cover on the front of the iMac, at the very top of the monitor where the grey plastic meets the coloured plastic, there are two capped screws. You will need to remove the caps, then remove the screws. Once you have completed this, the coloured plastic can be removed, exposing the tube.WARNING: BE CAREFUL WHEN HANDLING THE TUBE AND SHIELDING, EVEN WHEN OFF, THE TUBE ELECTRONICS CAN HAVE A NASTY RESIDUAL CHARGE IN ITS CAPACITORS!!!USE EXTREME CAUTION TO AVOID ELECTRIC SHOCK!!
The next thing you will need to do is remove the shielding that protects the monitor. There are about 8 or 10 screws you will need to remove. You can see a picture of the removed shielding here . Now you should be able to see the electron-gun, and two logic boards on either side of the monitor. Make sure you do not put pressure on the electron gun itself, it is very easy to break it, and since it is made of glass, you could injure yourself or have a nice mess to clean up if you break it. If you are facing the screen, the board of the left is for the monitor, and the board on the right is the power supply. We want to remove the power supply board so we can use it to power the system board we removed earlier. If you click here you can see a picture of the monitor section with the power supply board removed. It takes 3 screws to remove the power supply, two on the side and one on the top. There are two connectors you need to unplug in order to remove the power supply board. The first is a 2 pin brown connector that leads to the monitor board, the other is a block connector with lots of strands of grey thin wire that also go to the monitor board. You need to be very careful with the connector block as it can easily be damaged. You should be able to remove the power supply board now.
Now we have the system board and power supply board, but there is a catch. We need the logic board that is screwed into the front of the iMac's casing so we can switch on the power supply. You can see a picture of the removed board here . The board is pretty small, and you need to remove the entire front casing before you can get it out. This means you must remove the 4 shielded screws around the tube (monitor) as well as the 4 additional screws on either side of the monitor. Once you do this the screen and remaining boards are pretty loose, so be careful not to scratch your screen. The board has two connectors, we are just interested in the long one, the short connector seems to pull power from the monitor board to drive the led. If you really want the LED, you could probably pull power from somewhere to drive it.
We are almost done, we still need the connector to connect the power button to the system board. You will need to snip the tie-wraps that are pinning the wiring that goes to the microphone along the side of the monitor, there are two tie-wraps, and you will need to remove the tape from the wiring for the right speaker. You will also need to disconnect the microphone, and speakers if you have not already done so. The speakers come out pretty easily with a single screw, as does the Infrared box. You should now be able to pull the cable out. The cable should have the connectors to link the system board to the powerbutton, as well as 2 speaker connectors and the microphone connector.
Thats it, now all we need to do is reconnect the parts we want to use. You'll need to connect the power supply board to the system board, the power button board to the system board, plug in your keyboard, ethernet and plug the power into the power supply board. The power supply board was grounded off the metal shielding we removed, so you may want to find a means of grounding the power supply board. Then power it up, and see if you can telnet/ssh into your Linux system (assuming you had Linux running on it before). If something goes wrong, you will need to either type blind, or get a monitor. The iMac Rev.A and B units have an Apple RGB (db15) connector. You should be able to pickup a RGBVGA adapter or pickup an Apple RGB monitor. You might be able to pickup an Apple RGB monitor from PowerMax or eBay.
Picture Gallery
* Empty iMac Shell Casing
* Casing with front facia removed
* iMac Tube
* Electron Gun w/PSU removed
* iMac IR unit, and screws
* iMac power button board
* iMac speakers removed
* Power Supply Unit
* Working iMac
* iMac connectors
* iMac Case Parts
* iMac is on-line
Next...
Now that we have successfully brought the iMac back to life, we can't leave it hanging around on the desk. We will bring you the next installment, as soon as we find something to put the iMac in. For now, it has been rehoused in the plastic shell casing without the tube from the monitor. We need to address cooling issues, especially with the fan being in the monitor half of the casing.
Author: John Buswell
Version: 1.00
Last Update: 2002-02-03 02:19:15
Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org
Wow, these linux guys must not be used to graphics, a 790kB pic for the web?, repeat after me...jaaaayyyypeeeggggg....by the way, correct me if I am wrong, but isn't linux a crappy way to run a unix style OS on PC hardware, why in the world would you want to run this on a PPC when there is now Darwin?
--anon coward
A number of years ago, a friend of mine had his Atari STe mounted
in a PC case, complete with a PC keyboard and everything. Now that takes some dremel work!
Just the keyboard was a lot of work, since the Atari was built into the machine,
and the PC one needed a custom interface..
Oh, memories..
Once you have released the computer from its fruity prison, you can then give it a proper rectangular computer case with the iRack
1U rack mount box. Sadly, it only handles rev A through D, so you will get topped out at 333MHz, still for many network applications thats way too much CPU anyway.
I'm still hoping Apple will make G3/G4 computers in a form factor similar to briq. Something I can cram in 3 or 4 to the U. As long as I'm dreaming, no video hardware, just Quartz over ethernet and a discovery protocol that lets me connect by MAC address from my management station.
Lynx
I'm not talking about wearing a black t-hirt and black jeans. That's vulgar. At work I wear black pressed dress slacks, a black long-sleeved button-down shirt and black suit jacket. For less formal occasions I'll just drop the suit jacket.
The owls are not what they seem
If you make a computer dyslexic & uncreative post-rehashers can use, then ONLY Alan_Thicke will use it.
...which says 12:17.
I then looked at my computer's clock, which said "12:11".
holy shit, I thought, slashdotted six minutes before even being posted to slashdot.
Not that anyone cares. <AC.>
in this article. Appropriately titled "Rack an iMac".
http://w3.one.net/~johnb/imaclinux/
I wish Apple would have an option to sell the IMac 2 without the 15" LCD monitor - it would be sorta a rounded Mac Cube. You could hook up Apple 22" cinema display (a bargan for a 22" LCD display) and have an almost silent XWindows terminal that looks preyy cool on your desk.
The 22" Apple display has got to be some sort of loss leader for Apple - most competetors charge about $4000 for the same spec monitor.
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
It's this kind of condescension that lets Windows dominate the market unnecessarily. Do you assume that Apple's computers are for stupid people from genuine experience with the OS, or are you just generalising because it's labeled as easier to use compared to Windows or Linux (and hence doesn't seem "manly" to you)?
If you want, OSX has a Unix-based command terminal on top of the GUI. Apache is built-in for a web server (provided you aren't going to violate your ISP's terms of service with it). You can customize the Dock's size, position (including auto-hiding it), and whether it magnifies icons when you move your mouse over them. There's plenty of network configuration options if you need them.
If you're worried about hardware upgrades, get a PowerMac G4 - they have a bay expressly designed to make upgrading easy. iMacs aren't for "stupid people," they're for people who don't feel they need to upgrade except for when they get a new computer altogether. Not everyone 'needs' a new video card or hard drive every 6-12 months, or even at all. If I'm just using AppleWorks or Word, why bother?
But I'm likely making assumptions of my own, and I apologize. I'll ask you then: what, exactly, about Macs do you think makes them limited to "stupid people?" Maybe you should visit Apple's OSX site and find out. Just having lots of visual flash and a one-button mouse doesn't put your hardware or OS on a lower plane of existence.
In regards to your claim that this article applies to the older iMacs: 75% of the hardware is similar to that of the cube/swing aram(new iMac). So, given the embedded OSXI (11), you can apply this to all of he aforementioned devices.
This sig intentionally Left Bank.
cnn.com is running a story about DDOS attacks! One paragraph is particularly interesting,
"The most effective tool for denial of service attacks is ironically not a piece of software, but a web site. Fans of the web site know of it as the "Slashdot effect," and it has been known to slow all but the most reliable servers down to a crawl."
j/k =D
BlackGriffen
How about using a sledgehammer to whack a Linux user (complete with dark shades, long greasy hair, prodigious gut, suspenders and living in his parent's basement at forty).
Should take a little longer as most of the blow is absorbed by the hyperinflated ego.
Let the flames begin!
> if your [built-in] monitor is broken
The iMac has a VGA output on it as well as its internal display. You can also boot it with the T key held down and it will mimic a FireWire drive, so you can plug it into another machine and get data off it. These are more useful to people with broken internal monitors than disassembling the machine.
It's a display with a computer in it, a computer that includes both hardware and software making a seamless whole. The only use for disassembling it is to enjoy the experience, just like wiping the hard disk and installing Linux on an iMac.
http://w3.one.net/~johnb/imaclinux/ has the same pictures one a fast server (at least at the moment it's fast.) Just thought I would share that with those trying to see the large photos.
Apple has "take-apart" guides for all of their models, that show each and every component, including screws, and where and how they fit where they do and how to disassemble them.
The CRT iMac one was also made into a set of posters by a third-party, I believe. It's a very cool set of documents, with the distinctive egg-shaped shell coming apart fully exploded right down to the screws.
The LCD iMac take-apart guide was also posted recently, showing the full guts. Quite ingenious.
complete.jpg
imac-1.jpg
You're just a tool of the system, aren't you?
Fuck you Alan! I hated you on Gilligan's Island you sick fat bastard. I hope you burn in hell.
nah, easier just to destroy their Star Trek DVD collection - they'd never recover from that, and it'd be fun watching a Linux geek die of a broken heart.
I'm running my original Rev A iMac (which I got because I couldn't afford a 'real' G3) on an Apple 1710 17" Trinitron monitor. This plugs into the standard Apple DB-15 port which the internal screen would normally plug into. This is readily available once you take off the rear shell. There is nothing wrong with the internal monitor, it's just that the 1710 is much nicer.
The monitor is recognised as a 'VGA Monitor', and the iMac will drive it at up to 1600x1200. The only irritation is the huge amount of desk space taken up by the iMac and monitor, and that it can only do 256 colours at higher resolutions, since the Rev A only came with 2m VRAM.
And you show your independence by wearing what?
The owls are not what they seem
a Prince Albert.
That was classic intercourse!
What you describe is the Green Light Of Death. A common flaw in the first generation of iMacs. One that has claimed a hell of a lot of machines.
Including mine.
I wish Apple would *do* soemthing about it, but they don't seem to care.
Needless to say, after my iMac died and Apple didn't want to fix it, I dumped the Mac for good. If it were some simple, random hardware failure, I would just deal with it. But this was a design flaw, plain and simple. It's their responsibility to fix it, not ask for $300 to repair the damage they are responsible for.
re-read the parent until it sinks in... this is an obvious troll - you moderators are on crack.
I don't think the presence of sarcasm indicates that the post is a "troll." I figure a "troll" post is one that doesn't necessarily represent the genuine beliefs or opinions of the poster, but is simply there to generate a large, emotional response from the community.
My post is not that. I mean what I say and I say it for the good of this community, of which I am a part. I wonder if you could even explain in your own words what my point actually is. I feel sure, somehow, that you don't even get it.
You like your Macintosh better than me, don't you Dave? Dave? Can you hear me Dave?
> I can completely disassemble an iMac in about
.2 seconds with a hammer! beat that!
> 30 seconds with a sledgehammer...
Oh yeah?? I managed to solve a Rubik's Cube in
...this is one of the older, CRT iMacs, not a new LCD imac. Linux users can't afford the newer stuff.
Next time, though, read the fucking thing before commenting. (Heh, that'll be the day, on slashdot.)
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
At some point last year, my gf's iMac monitor died completely, so this process was very necessary.
The thing is now suspended by zip ties in my old full tower, with two hard drives and the cdrom drive strapped to the side. The 19" ViewSonic looks real pretty on it too... Too bad the old RevC doesn't have the 3d to do much gaming. *pout*
Ah, who needs a sig?
Lets see here...
I can go to Grand Vitesse Systems' online store [gvstore.com] and buy a 2U, dual 1Ghz mac with a gig of ram and all the other apple goodness (gigE, superdrive et al) for around $3500.
For compairson, we next go to dell [dell.com] and price out a similar 2U server using wintel, namely the PowerEdge 2550. Put in dual 1.4Ghz Intel pent III (G4's will eat this for breakfast), 1GB of ram, Red Hat 7.2 pre-installed, and basic everything else what do we get? $4,871!!! Granted this comes with an 18GB SCSI 10K drive vs. the mac's 80GB and 40GB ATA hard drives, but I think you can get a SCSI controller and a 18GB HD for less than $1300.
Face it, since OS X macs have been better than anything that runs on Intel for any application.
--InfinityEdge
Remove the obvious spam catcher to e-mail
It seems necessary to inform those who have not seen the real world for a few years that "photograph" and "screenshot" actually are not synonyms.
Antti S. Brax - Old school - http://www.iki.fi/asb/
Not to nitpick, but either this isn't a screenshot but just a photo, or we did slip into the Matrix without me noticing.
Trust the geeks to find something that looks bad and make it look worse.
imagine a beowulf cluster of these?
Just having lots of visual flash and a one-button mouse doesn't put your hardware or OS on a lower plane of existence. Actually, the one button mouse pretty much covers that.
Hitler's in the fridge.
I thought it would be nice to put a new PC into a classic 'all in one' Mac case. Has anyone ever done that? Biggest problem would probably be the screen (TFT 10.4') and graphics card. Where can you find those for a reasonable amount of money?
;-) Moritz.