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Inside the eMac

danamania writes "A Japanese site is the first to publish pics of disassembling an eMac. These pages are all in Japanese, but the photos are easy enough to understand. It's an eMac stripped completely; it shows the fan, curious looking heatsinks, heat pipes... everything!"

52 comments

  1. translation by tps12 · · Score: 3, Informative
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    1. Re:translation by Soulfader · · Score: 2, Funny
      The Porsche like the fan for enormous cooling is enshrined in the eMac rear.
      That sounds vaguely obscene--I'm not sure I should be reading this at work. =)
    2. Re:translation by tps12 · · Score: 0

      Haha, yeah. The stuff about the "crust" was pretty raunchy, too.

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    3. Re:translation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably not.

    4. Re:translation by Dokushoka · · Score: 1

      It really does look like the fan off a 911 though!

    5. Re:translation by DavidRavenMoon · · Score: 2
      As for crust such feeling.

      he he he

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  2. eMac? by ObviousGuy · · Score: 1

    When did they stop being iMacs?

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    1. Re:eMac? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      eMac = powerful old-school iMac previously only sond on the educational market. The iMac has an LCD display.

    2. Re:eMac? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The iMac is now the hemisphere with the flatpanel plonked on. The eMac is the G4 AIO with the 17" CRT.

    3. Re:eMac? by johnpaul191 · · Score: 2, Informative

      well they are still currently selling the 15" G3 CRT imacs (for now at least)......

      the G4 imac is the LCD "luxo" model..... the eMacs were first sold as edu models only... to to keep everything straight they are calling it emac still, as opposed to "imac G4 17" CRT"....... though who knows, i have a feeling the 15" CRT iMac will be going away soon. with eMacs selling to the public for about $1100 (according to the ClubMac catalog i got today). one interesting thing is that the only public version of the emac had a CDRW, where the 15" CRT imac and the LCD imac have CDrom base models.....

    4. Re:eMac? by reverius · · Score: 1

      When they were introduced as a separate product line. Check the Apple page.

  3. Gotta love .jp Mac sites by zaren · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can always count on them to do the sorts of things we'd never dream of doing with our own Macs - tearing them apart and photographing them, overclocking the $#!+ out them, wedging a cd drive into an SE/30, etc.

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    1. Re:Gotta love .jp Mac sites by phillyclaude · · Score: 1

      dont forget the guys who put a G3 into a color classic! now that was impressive

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    2. Re:Gotta love .jp Mac sites by littlerubberfeet · · Score: 1

      hmmmm.......remember the fish tanks made out of Mac Plus cases?

      And the couch made out of Mac IIs?

      I took a mac laptop, the 150, and planned to disect it and pin it to a wall. My idea was vetoes though. How about a 'computer art' thread?

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    3. Re:Gotta love .jp Mac sites by Blackstealth · · Score: 1

      Nah, G3s in Colo(u)r Classics are becoming commonplace (sort of). G4s in Colo(u)r Classics are something special.

  4. modded new imac! by paradesign · · Score: 5, Interesting
    look its black

    now thats balls

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    1. Re:modded new imac! by dadragon · · Score: 1, Redundant

      That's snazzy. I should do something like that to my iBook.

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    2. Re:modded new imac! by SpamJunkie · · Score: 1

      The black looks good, but it should really be glossy and not matte. The matte looks like it was made by Dell, not Apple.

    3. Re:modded new imac! by LenE · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Dell would never produce anything that looks like that, because they are in to square obtrusive things.

      The white iMacs have a matte finish as well. The matte black paint job just makes the already unobtrusive iMac even more so.

      -- Len

    4. Re:modded new imac! by Mononoke · · Score: 2, Informative
      The black looks good, but it should really be glossy and not matte. The matte looks like it was made by Dell, not Apple.
      The white iMac is matte, not glossy. I'm impressed that they got the finish as nice as they did.

      The white iMac looks like white sherbet in person; Sort of a slightly translucent matte white.

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  5. What I want to know... by Craig+Maloney · · Score: 2

    What I want to know is where they got that black iMac LCD. If I had the cash, that's what I'd want rather than that white iMac LCD.

    1. Re:What I want to know... by White+Roses · · Score: 1

      No doubt! Whose leg I gotta hump to get that? Or is it a mod? And if so, where's the directions?

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    2. Re:What I want to know... by red5 · · Score: 2

      It's most likely a mod. I'm not sure about the exact procedure but I imagine it's not too different from the ibook method

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    3. Re:What I want to know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree, I would like to know how it was done or where they got it.

    4. Re:What I want to know... by Sherman22 · · Score: 1

      They most likely just spray painted it you know. it's not that hard. All you have to do it cover the display and parts you want to keep clear eg around the edges of the screen and vents with masking tape, done right, this will yield the results you behold. those guys look like they're pretty competent in modding their macs, so I'm assuming that's what they did, and used a keyboard from an older iMac/G4 that was already black. You silly, silly people.

  6. He also added a super drive! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Looks like this guy swaped in a super drive while he had the box taken apart, looks like the machine recognized the drive and dvd-r media just fine... cool stuff

    1. Re:He also added a super drive! by johnpaul191 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      i guess it would as long as it is the right drive (one apple uses).... you figure the drivers are in the OS..... cool stuff

  7. Re:eMac? oops, my bad by johnpaul191 · · Score: 1

    i was wrong, the base model flat panel iMac had a CDRW... the mid is a combo (cd burner/dvd player) and high end has superdrive

  8. eMac is alive! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    No disassemble!

  9. Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by Spencerian · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's a nice thing that someone else wanted the rest of us to see the innards of the new iMac. It's really ingenious how Apple stuffed everything in the hemisphere. I like the use of old tech terms, like "Faraday shield."

    I am an Apple Service Technician...part of a very few group of people who are authorized to take apart and reassemble Apple products without voiding its warranty. As such, this topic is of no news to me since I have access to confidential service manuals that tell me how to properly take apart the things.

    The flat-panel iMac has a panel at its base to install additional RAM, but that is all that Apple expects users to disassemble. If you disassemble your iMac in this manner, do NOT expect an Apple repair service to consider it under warranty should you need to have it repaired. iMacs are cheap, but not THAT cheap.

    The iMac is more like the classic Macs of old that Apple did not expect you to open anymore than you would crack open your toaster to repair it. (Other Macs, like the desktop Power Macs, don't have this problem--upgrades are as OK as on a typical PC. Add as many hard drives and RAM and PCI cards as you need, or even add a new processor [OK, that's a warranty void, but who cares?])

    In other words, don't try this stuff at home!

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    1. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by Spencerian · · Score: 2, Informative

      Of course, I'd be a better AST if I used "eMac" and not "iMac" throughout my diatribe above.

      Same thoughts apply, but with one serious addition: The eMac has a CRT, full of very high-voltage parts that could end your life quite painfully and permanently. Definitely DON'T open an eMac (or anything with a CRT) unless you are experienced.

      Hell, I'M experienced, and I still would fork these over to another lackey--er--professional.

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    2. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by littlerubberfeet · · Score: 1

      If you insist on working on a computer, save the components, use a static band. If you are working around an exposed CRT, gloves might be in good order, along with insulated tools. If you have the electronics knowledge, discharge the capacitors too.

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    3. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by SN74S181 · · Score: 1

      Hell, I remember the press conference back in 1984 where Steve Jobs boasted that the new Macintosh was 'hacker proof' like it was something wonderful.

      Apple made an enemy or two on that day.

    4. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by usermilk · · Score: 1
      I am an Apple Service Technician...part of a very few group of people who are authorized to take apart and reassemble Apple products without voiding its warranty. As such, this topic is of no news to me since I have access to confidential service manuals that tell me how to properly take apart the things.
      You make it sound so secrative... like a high end FBI/CIA job.
    5. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by TwitchCHNO · · Score: 1

      I used to do that too. Certified and everything.

      Got paid $9 per hour to do it too.

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    6. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by dr00g911 · · Score: 1

      It's a little scary at first but not THAT scary.

      I was a certified Apple tech about 10 years ago (age of 19 or so). Got paid about $7.50 an hour.

      Before that point, I spent most of my formative years tearing apart machines... added a caps lock mod to my Apple II+ at the age of 9 unassisted and that required far more "scariness" than anything I've seen to date, with the exception of overclocking.

      You sound like an MCSE fresh outta CompUSA training. Being Apple Certified might be warmer and fuzzier sounding, but it entails the same precise level of competence and aptitude. Trust me.

      Apple "Certified" techs, as arrogant as SOME may sound, don't replace single chips or whip out the soldering iron. Entire components only. Your USB bus get fried by lightning? New MoBo.

      Fiddling inside machines is cake for the MOST part once you get over the fear factor of being inside the machine and get a few common sense tips (unplug it, use a static strap or discharge yourself on the power supply, be gentle, and when poking at things which you don't know what are, use rubber-handled tools ;)

      The stuff's really not that difficult, and if you have any technical inclination at all I wouldn't worry about doing stuff like adding a hard drive, etc to an e/iMac or any other desktop model.

      Note I said desktop model. Laptops are generally (technical term) bitches to get apart and back together. The Powerbook 5200c comes to mind. Think twice on these.

      Mad props to the .jp Powerbook/iBook modders out there. I just don't have the balls to do half of the stuff I've seen, even once the machine is out of warranty!

      A note on the CRT issue:

      Keep metallic crap (and fingers) away from bare metal on CRTs. It may not end your life (unless you have a pacemaker), but it will sure as hell throw you across the room and scramble your brain for a few minutes. You won't forget the first time one discharges on you. You haven't really lived until that happens!

      Yeah, yeah, some stuff'll void your warranty.

      The morals of the story:

      Don't be stupid
      Think twice before doing anything that requires a soldering iron (overclocking comes to mind) -- are you really competent enough and do you have the right tools to solder pinprick-sized points?
      Don't break any seals (until the warranty's up)
      Make sure all the screws get back in
      Don't use too much force in frustration

      --dr00gy

    7. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by usermilk · · Score: 1

      I work at a Macintosh repair shop and am Apple certified, thank you very much. I never said it sounded scary, I said he makes it sound like such a secrative position. ie: He made himself sound so elite because he was Apple certified.

    8. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by Spencerian · · Score: 2

      I'm not elite. I'm just experienced. The AST isn't much more than an Apple A+. I'm a writer, so I make much ado in writing in case someone didn't know.

      Right...we don't get very dirty doing repairs. I leave my tights and cape at home. It's a job, but I'm proud of that little bit of stuff.

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    9. Re:Be Careful--Warranty-Voiding Stuff by Mr.+Spleen · · Score: 1

      So the real question is, have you actually had to do a repair on an eMac yet?

      I too am a certified AST, and I have replaced the Display/Analog assembly in one of those monsters. The 'e' stands for evil, in case anyone was wondering.

      The neat thing about eMacs is the shell. You can wear it and feel just like Dark Helmet from SpaceBalls.

  10. PRAM battery access by guuyuk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Nice to see that the PRAM battery (the purple thing you see when you open the RAM access door) is readily accessible without taking apart the whole box. The G3 iMacs have to be taken apart to get to it. I know you only replace it every 2-4 years (I still have a 5 year old 8600 with the original battery, but YMMV), but it's nice to see that you can replace it easily when it does eventually die.

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    1. Re:PRAM battery access by finnatic · · Score: 1

      That's not entirely correct...

      ...I've fitted a PRAM battery to a G3 imac (a grape 450 IIRC) through the RAM access panel at the back.

      It may not be the recommended method, but with nimble fingers and a bit of know how it can be done.

    2. Re:PRAM battery access by guuyuk · · Score: 1

      Oh good... I have only taken apart a couple of the old models, before they switched to a slot-load CD drive. My wife picked up a late model slot-loader recently, but I haven't really looked at it other than to add more RAM. I didn't really look for/notice the battery at the time...

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  11. trivia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For those that haven't heard about them just yet, it is common to tear into various hardware in this manner in Japan, and then photograph and display the results...known as 'barashi', these types of photos & details keep us all entertained, I'm sure.

  12. There's more here... by Global-Lightning · · Score: 2
    Dang, that's sexy!
    More pictures, site apparently by the modder

    Babelfish translation of the text (brace yourselves):

    As for the black color conversion iMac flat panel, the work of the Suyama senior of the Suyama tooth research which already adapts in disassembly paint of the numerous Mac. The greedy search to side Mack of work of tooth course skill manufacture each time is surprised. We have become the good opportunity where information of medical technology with respect to HP by your you expand the width of interest with the information whose it is few usually to touch, it covers public and private matters and when conversing with the person on the eye even, it has utilized as the information where is useful. And the case of information of analog record MP3 conversion, astringent phase such as tune selection. As for me the Japanese of the sixties pop (as for me liking the singer, hill ??, it does) with only recurrence of the CD being you have not heard, you enjoy even with this. What looked at the activity of the in the first place Suyama senior by your will try customizing with reached conceivably with opportunity. You gave the opportunity where Mac heat accelerates more and more.

  13. Re:Mobo cumshot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everyone who makes comments about homos just doesn't want their buddys to know they suck off the local priest

  14. Re:Mobo cumshot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude, fags use Dell. They want to "get" that cute little steven boy.

  15. Check out that Heat Sink by phloda · · Score: 1

    http://218.223.20.17/Pictures/Large/em34.jpg

  16. those wacky japs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    actually, they're just like those American born losers who like to put up vanity web pages showing their clever owners taking apart a $3,000 piece of brand-new equipment. Wonder if the kanji skip translates to "Here's where I decided to drill a fist-sized hole in the cathode-ray tube. Be sure to unplug your Mac before attempting this. The last time I had to go to the hospital because my XL-48b dremel drill bumped up against the flyback transformer."