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Repair information for the iMac G4.

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iMac won't boot properly, left with blank screen and no disk activity

After installing some new components into my iMac G4, including 2 new sticks of RAM, I found that my iMac won't start up again properly. After pressing the power button, the computer will make a mechanical-sounding noise, presumably the cd drive, and the fans will spin, and that's it. The chime doesn't play, and nothing appears on the screen.

I'm not too sure of what the problem is here, as it was working perfectly before I upgraded it. The most damage I think that the most damage I could have done to any of the internals was when I accidentally dropped the computer about 1/4 of an inch from the surface I was working on. Alternatively, I could have dislocated something when putting the computer back together, but I believe that's a bit less likely. I doubled-check both RAM sticks, and they're both seated properly.

Any advice is much appreciated.

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First replace the old RAM and give it a shot.

UPDATE

When doing upgrades, just do one at a time and then test it, otherwise you don't know which upgrade is faulty. At this point I would take it back to the original setup when it was running. Now do one upgrade at a time.

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6 Comments:

Thanks for your answer. I gave that a shot, but it seemed to make things worse. With the old ram in, not even the fan would come on. Should I also try removing the SODIMM ram?

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I tested each upgrade individually, but got the same result each time - nothing happening when I pressed the power button other than a small clicking noise toward the top of the dome. I'm beginning to think that somewhere along the way I knocked a connector or something loose, perhaps something related to the PCU. Any ideas on what that could be?

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Was it working before you started fixing it?

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It was working perfectly, and at this point I'm almost positive I knocked something loose on the inside. Only problem is, I don't know how to diagnose which part is causing the issue.

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Take it back to the original condition where it ran. Unplug it, press and hold the power on button for ten seconds, plug it back in and see if it start.

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A. C. will be eternally grateful.
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