My Problem

Apparently the iMac G5s of a certain generation were outfitted with bad capacitors, either going bad on the logic board or the power supply. This hand-me-down computer would shut itself off intermittently and have a really hard time waking back up. Eventually it got worse and worse until I decided to try to fix it. With some online advice and info I identified some bad caps on my power supply and went about ordering a new one. iFixit had a clean and easy to navigate website and offered a warranty on their parts, so I went with them.

My Fix

When I got the new power supply I realized that I had accidentally ordered the 20" power supply instead of the 17" one I needed! ARRGH! Luckily the iFixit guy on the phone got me set straight and my proper part arrived hassle free a few days later.

Ok, now for the repair... Easy. Switch out old power supply, insert new one, test run... Done!

Runs like a dream and this awesome machine is back from the dead.

My Advice

iMac g5s are notorious for having this issue, there even was a recall that expired in 2008. If you open up the back and see blown capacitors in the power supply, replacing it with a new one ($150 or so with shipping costs) will almost certainly fix a failing machine. Did for me.

My Problem

A friend of mine brought in an old iMac (emc1989) that did nothing at all when I hit the power button. Having never had a power switch go bad on any Apple product, and many blogs attesting to bad power supplies on these units, I made a qiuck diagnosis.

My Fix

Extremely easy swap out on these. Like replacing a battery on a kids toy. Hit the power switch and got a yellow pilot light and no start up. Hmmm. Pulled the back off again and looked closer. About 5 of the capacitors on the motherboard were swollen and powdery. Bad news. Informed the friend I screwed up and they're out 150.00 and their old iMac is a boat anchor. Good news is their hard drive is okay and the info is safe.

My Advice

If there's no startup and nothing is happening. Take off the back first and check the caps on the motherboard before you buy a power supply.

My Problem

Our 17" IMAC G5 (2005) had been dying a slow death. First the sleep function failed, then it periodically wouldn't start. The question - was it time for a new MAC?

My Fix

After diagnosing (correctly, yeah!) that the problem was the power supply, we decided that it was worth repairing the IMAC and keeping it another two years. I ordered the parts from ifixit, they came the next day, I followed their instructions and it all worked! The IMAC works beautufully. While I was inside, I doubled the RAM to 1GB. Since RAM is cheap now, that seemed a good investment.

My Advice

I was so happy with the repair, I went out and bought more RAM for my Windows laptop. Wish I had ifixit instructions for the PC!