Friends of mine have pinged me with news that iMac G5 machines are having a meltdown. Apparently, the machines have been a hit with corporate users who are snapping up these puppies. However, most corporate employees tend to leave their computers powered up overnight. This is resulting in overheating and resulting in power supply brownouts and fan problems. Anyone else hear this news? I wonder, the popularity of everything Apple is resulting in technical problems all the time. I had the same problems with iPods in the past.
I could believe this if they have turned off “Sleep”, which is likely because they probably have a really cool screen saver.
I have sleep turned off on my PowerMac G5 because I love the photo screensaver. Occasionally, I will be sitting watching TV and the sound of jet aircraft will come from the other end of the room, meaning the fans have turned on.
One suggestion I made to someone was to use the ‘Schedule’ control to turn off your computer at, say, 9:00PM and back on about a half-hour before you generally arrive at work.
My iMac G5 was a victim just last week. Power supply flamed out, and left scorch marks on the motherboard (midplane). Apple was great to work with, and the machine is so well designed that user service is easy. However, it took a few days to get the parts because of stock issues. That suggests that it is not an isolated occurance. The replacement power supply is now a 120/240 universal unit, and I hope that the problem does not return.
Just an FYI on screensavers and LCD’s. Don’t use them! First of all LCD’s don’t burn in so there is no point. Second, the light source inside the lcd has a limited lifetime and if you are doing anything that uses the display (including a screen saver or visualizer in iTunes) the light is on. Thus screen savers (in theory) could cause your light source to fail early. The only thing that is going to save your lcd screen is for it to be shut off by the Energy Saver in system prefs. In reference to the article, those computers should be shut off at night anyway.
They don’t need to be shut off, just put to sleep. This means that the cron tasks can run at night, and the computer just needs a wake up in the morning. Another thing, if you do remote administration on PCs or Macs it’s a drag when users shut their PC down because you can’t remotly administer them.
Why shut down at all? Generally, OSX doesn’t need rebooting.
I’ve got one of the first 20″ iMac G5s to ship, and it’s been running at 80% CPU since it shipped without any downtime. While it’s been a bit louder than I expected (absolute quiet), it hasn’t had any reliability problems.
Our iMac is unusually loud; Apple claims the hardware checks out. But compared to equipment from other vendors, it’s noticeably louder and more annoying, especially when the CPU is active. Here’s a thread discussing this subject.
G5 running since Jan 1 2005, sleep at night. NO PROBLEMS!
We run a demo 20 inch iMac which is on 24/7, and the only time I’ve heard it sound like a goddamn blow dryer is when I booted it into Single User Mode.
Hit or miss I suppose.
In reply to the notebook being left on all the time. This is at best a G4 and a completely different animal. The cool design for a G5 iMac is a design in progress if they are replacing the power supply with a a different aniimal. The reason we haven’t yet seen a G5 powerbook is for this very reason…overheating problems. The G5 Tower has special cooling devices to keep the processor from overheating.
It’s typical former windoze users don’t understand their machines and what they should do. Their are tools and not something to be understood except through programs, etc.
“That suggests that it is not an isolated occurance.”
It suggests nothing of the sort.
The iMac G5 has been out for 6+ months, and only now someone burned its voltage supply accidentally? Sounds like someone forgot to dust.
Take into account some people are completely disassembling the iMac BEFORE this happens or are adding upgraded (and hotter components) They could have bumped something/loosened something as well.
Most likely this is isolated due to dust/environment or maybe just within the 98.4% quality control.
Parts stock is NO indicator of wide scale problems – it may also be a sign that Apple is selling so many – it can’t even keep up with service parts. This is how the Mac Mini currently is and how the original release of ALL major revisions of the iMac have been (initial 1997 release, 1999 slot load release, 2002 LCD release, 2004 LCD release)
I’ve known that for a while because my fan make loud noises after hours of being on, i put it to sleep now and then. Worst was when it over-heated and rebooted the whole mac when I was using it. Shit happens, but Apple is extremely reliable because of their OS 🙂 I still love my iMac G5, its almost an all in one of a PowerMac G5 + 20″ 🙂 Save money. As long as it doesnt start a fire in front of me I’ll be happy.
i never shut down my pc. The only time i do is when i choose to. By pc i dont mean apple any thing. I run a custom built computer and my current up time is 2 weeks 4 days. It doesnt go in to sleep mode or any other mode. At night i press the power buttons on my monitors and that is it. Sounds to me like yet one more reason to not buy macs
Christ, & people call us Mac people zealots?
“Sounds to me like yet one more reason to not buy macs” What an idiot. I know of a great reason never to buy a computer that’s not an Apple, seems to be a fairly widespread problem too, it’s called “Microsoft Windows”.
the bastards should turn their computers of and save some energie.
exactly – so many times i have reminded people to shut down their computers when leaving offices, but its the same thing – leave the cable box on all the time. or leaving the stereo on. that is called passive waste of energy. one doesn’t need to be a green peace loving liberal to save energy and money and now the MACs
ok – saving energy is a good thing.
bud a pc / mac has to work perfect although it is running for days!
i heard that the temp of the hdd in the i-mac is really hot!
lioan – i agree but just making a point. also i have heard similiar things as well about the HDD.
IS it really a shock that when you jam a computer into the space of an LCD that it will overheat ?? Lets see… you got a nice laser or two firing off right behind the screen, plus the super hot processor… they should have designed a liquid cooled system, maybe then it would be worth 2 Large.
i can imagine that many i-mac g5 users will have big problems in some months (or years). i have also the impression that the i-mac is too hot.
so i won’t buy an i-mac g5!
i heard from a friend that also the tft is getting maybe too warm…
the i-mac g5 is looking great but i think it was the wrong decission to build it into this case! the case of an i-mac g4 would be better…
we will see what will happen…
Ouch Rus… You need to do a bit more research before you shoot off at the hip. Try reading Apple’s own discussion threads. Even the technicians I spoke with hinted that this was not an isolated case.
And by the way… I have not hacked apart my Mac in a Geek Porn fit or failed to dust. Your post reminds me of the troll Linux fanboys who accuse new users with driver problems with being street thugs in the Windows Industrial Complex.
Detroit Iron, well i have to say you use colorful descriptors. i personally have not had many problems with the iMac G5 – though the fan sometimes just makes me jump out of the chair. but then i put the computer to sleep everytime i walk away from my desk. i think there are some issues, and most of them could be directly traced back to the chip – its hot hot hot
chalk another imac g5 to meltdown!!
I shut down my mac at night,it has its own outlet( all acessories share a seperate outlet)
its very quiet
and it was very clean inside when i opened it up….except for the “fry” marks where the power supply cooked the midplane
this can not be too isolated a problem
even the mac guy said he had seen this before
also power supplies for imac g5s are on a long back order list….still waiting for mine …almost a week!!
so I dont think i’m alone
Id just like to add a few words to Nova comment, about her Windows PC that has been running for 2 weeks and 4 days. My iMac G5 has been running for (adding up the days since purchaced) 78 days. I just put it to sleep at nite, and wake it up in the moring. Havent re-booted once. Try that on your Windows PC! Unless all you do is let it sit there, it wont happen because PC’s suffer from Memory loss.
My iMac G5 1.8Ghz 20″ died this week…. came home from work and the screen was locked. Powered it off, and upon booting it back up now it doesn’t POST.
I don’t abuse my computer equipment, actually I treat it rather well. I can’t believe it died 🙁
-Rich
Yup, me and another colleague of mine had the same problem. I think the problem is something more than just heating. I know because i religiously put my computer to sleep every night. Oh this is not looking good.
I tried to start up my G5 this morning and nothing happened. I left it last night (as I usually do) in sleep mode and this morning, nothing. When i hit the power button the light qickly flashes and then nothing. I called apple and we went through the steps of resetting the G5 by taking the back off and holding down the SMU. Still nothing, they said the would send me a new motherboard and this should fix the problem. I do leave me Mac in sleep mode almost everyday, could this have cause it? And does anyone have any other comments?
okay this is getting out of hand a lot of people are facing the same troubles and wondering if they shouldn’t have bought the device. actually there are fewer problems with the 20 inch model
Another one. I woke up to a dead 20″ iMac this morning. Bought it about 3 months ago, and usually put it to sleep or shut down at night, but not always. (Display turns off after 15 min though, so not to “use up”my LCD). It’s also kept in a clean area, I don’t think dust did this, whoever said that. Haven’t had time to call Apple yet, but I’m not looking forward to backordered parts!!
I’m so bummed, I love my mac.
In response to Rus who wrote (re: the back order on power supply units suggesting “burn outs” not may not be an isolated occurence…)
It suggests nothing of the sort.
The iMac G5 has been out for 6+ months, and only now someone burned its voltage supply accidentally? Sounds like someone forgot to dust.
This is NOT true. I have a 6 month old 20 inch which failed recently. Apple initially diagnosed it as drive failure. After a week and a half and a second drive failure, they agreed to replace the midplane board. I had to get one of their “geniuses” to consider their might have been a power supply issue going on… He then ordered that be replaced as well. The power supply was, of course, “back ordered”. When I inquired about the back order with an Apple Care employee, he admitted that a number of these new Imacs have been having this problem — enough so, that Apple has since redesigned the power supply units. Hence the back order in manufacturing the new ones. So this is not an isolated incident. Why Apple is not disclosing this and furthermore, why the people who work at their “genius” bars are taking weeks to diagnose what Apple clearly knows to be an issue with these computers is very infuriating. Granted, not every power supply from the 1st batch of these Imacs are failing, but enough have that they have redesigned one of the central components of the computer. I guess I understand why they’re not disclosing this to consumers from a financial stanpoint, but as someone who has always been a loyal mac user, I’m pissed…
Let me register another one down. My 20″ IMac died March 11. The Appel tech first said it needed a new midplane board, that didn’t do it and now close to four weeks later, still no part. Mine was quite clean inside, no burn marks, no funny smells. I’ve had it since mid December, I rarely shut down but have sleep set at 30 min. I still love the machine and am reluctantly willing to wait for a part that hopefully won’t fry in another 3 months.
My iMac G5 came with the 250GB hard drive upgrade, which I think makes the problem worse. I saw this post on apple.com’s forums:
“The head technician fro [sic] my dealer (large company in Germany) confirms the problem to the 250 GB HDs, They stop selling this configuration and will not give me a machine with 250 GB. We are now talking about a Samsung 160 GB Disk. Hope this helps. The larger disks do become too hot and heat up the complete system. Seems as if Apple needs a better HD-Cooling for this drives. — Joachim”
I installed Hardware Monitor (http://www.bresink.de/osx/) and found, just by turning on my iMac, the temperature my hard drive slowly climbs up to 70C — almost 160F — and just stays there! The fans can’t keep up.
When ripping music with iTunes, my CPU temperature rises to & stays at about 72C (162F). Is does come back down when I’m done ripping — no reboots so far.
Hey i got my mac fixed a couple of weeks ago ( notice my post on Marh 23) I was sent a new mid-plane assembly after being diagnosed over the phone by an apple product specialist. The board came the very next day and i have to say it wasnt very difficult to install it. However as i was fixing it i noticed the power supply unit had burn marks on it and also the old mid plane assembly did as well. I called apple and they said they would send me a new power supply. Well after what was said to be an overnight delivery, i found out the product was back ordered. As i use my Mac for work I needed the part ASAP and couldnt wait. Apple put in a world wide search for the part and i had it in about 3 days, instead of what was said to be a 2 week back order. The old power supply units seem to be the problem, not the mid plane assembly. So in short my Imac G5 is back in action and everything works fine, the olny thing i had to do was re-install the blutooth software which required picking up a wired mouse, as i only had wireless. I went to the Apple store in NYC and saw this huge line waiting for the “genius bar,” I guess we arent the only ones.
just came home with a 17inch imac for my girlfriend, got about 3 pages into start up and ‘blip’ she turned off good. think i smelt some burning ruuber too.
we were happy once
rick – sorry to hear about your loss!
I just had my 20in imac power supply burn out on me. Aparently this has been happening quite a bit lately. Not only do I know this because the power supply’s are backordered for the 20in iMac, but also because the guy on the support line said these calls have been coming in a lot. That burning smell Rick is the freaking plastic in the power supply melting. The only problem on the system should be the power supply though. It usually takes a lot to fry the logic boards on these things.
Mine went up in smoke, as well. A distinct POP and a weird smell. The local Apple distributor (I’m in Latin America) says he’ll need at least 22 days to get a replacement power supply. Several Apple stores in the US have the part in stock, but are unwilling to sell it to me. Several calls to Apple corporate, including the so-called “executive relations department” yielded no significant help. I’ve stressed repeatedly that I would pay whatever was necessary to have the part sent to me via DHL. All I got was an astonishingly frequent use of the words “can’t” and “impossible.”
I was just about to purchase a small fleet of iMacs for my office. Now, seeing the frequency of this problem and Apple’s inability and unwillingness to supply parts, I’ve reconsidered.
The idea that people should turn their computers off at night just makes very little sense in a corporate environment. Some of us need the computers running 24/7. Particularly those who are making use of Apple’s much ballyhooed cluster processing arrangements.
are there any “symptoms” to this problem before the computers just die? my imac G5 is starting to freeze up for a few seconds at a time when i am in photoshop or my husband is using sibelius. my husband says that the back feels really hot when it starts doing this. is this a precursor to my computer dying?
emilee.. these are early signs. quickly call apple and ask them what is going on and try and get the situation fixed. sorry you have to experience this kind of problems
thanks for the advice. hopefully we can get everything fixed!
my two month old i mac g5 20″ died on me yesterday.i started it but the fan went off…i didnt know what had happened till the time i took it to the store and they told me it had heated up.so i went on this site and checked out the reviews and was amazed to find out that this perfect looking machine is not really that perfect.ive been told it’ll take up from 10 to 12 days for it to be fixed….lets hope it does.
I feel all of your pains, My 17-inch Imac G5 Power supply just crashed yesterday. What sucks more is that I was working on a very important project in Final Cut Pro. I’m a very careful and very timid user of the Imac G5 and i have to say that i keep my updates up to date. This is very peculiar and strange for Macintosh to be doing this without disclosing it to it’s customers. I don’t believe I have a first generation Imac g5 I recently got mine about 4 months ago. Yeah well anyway this sux and It hurts me to know that Steve Jobs hurts me 🙁
“Try that on your Windows PC! Unless all you do is let it sit there, it wont happen because PC’s suffer from Memory loss. ”
Oh, please. My scratch-built XP Pro machine (specifically built for video editing, so this thing gets hammered) has been running continuously since an ice-storm power outage in January 2004. Get over yourselves
My iMac G5 at work just mysteriously powered off five times within a couple of hours today. I upgraded to Tiger yesterday (well, the gold developer seed). It’s been on all the time since Feb and in heavy use for the last couple of weeks. On the fourth boot-up, the fan came on really loud, almost like it was doing it as a safeguard. It was fine for a while until the fan died down and poof, no power. I just left it at work unplugged because I was frusterated. Hope it’s not serious. I’ll start having it sleep at night now.
Hello,
I am writing from Spain, so excuse my english.
I had my Imac 17´´1,6 G5 for 3 months now and I was a very happy new mac user. The problem arised when I decided to give it a clean, so I went to a computer store and bought a normal computer liquid cleaner (without alcohol or amonia), so I wet the cloth, powered down the imac and clean it. After this, turned back on and keep working, an hour latter went to the toilet and WHAAAA!!! They where there… two cracks in the front plastic case comimg from the bottom angles of the screen. This cracks are only in the transparent plastic and not on white plastic under it, also the screen works perfect, but now my imac looks like shit, and the support of apple ignored the problem, and I swear I did not knok it or anything… It looks as the plastic case that was hot (cause I never shut down my mac) reacted with the cold fluid or something. Now I just want to cry… any ideas what could be the issue here, and is it possible to replace the whole front cover without changing the LCD.
I bought an iMac 20″ G5 1.8ghz back in October ’04. I shut it down every night. As of this week, I had to have the logic board replaced. The computer died on start up, leaving only a power light and black screen.
The interesting thing about the repair was that eventhough the the Apple Store technician couldn’t power it up to make a diagnosis when I first brought the computer in for repairs – and subsequently told me he didn’t know what the problem was – he wrote up the work order to show that it needed a logic board. (“Board, logic, 1.8GHz, w/ SuperDrive, iMac G5 20” – a $732 replacement part, covered under warrantee, for a less-than-six-month-old $2000 machine.) And yet no one seemed surprised. Hmmmm.
iMac G5 20″ – PS flamed out. 3 weeks for a replacement PS. The Apple forums across the web are full of this problem. Way to go Apple. I’m sure a class action suit is just around the corner. The lawyers will get a bazillion dollars and the people actually harmed will get the 5% off coupon on their next Apple purchase. And you will all RUN to the Apple store to redeem it because that is what good Apple drones do.
I too have been hit with the power supply burn out.
The odd thing that happened to me is I could smell the burning, but with all the electronic equipment I have, I could not tell were it came from. My iMac continued to work for several hours after I smelled the burning. When it stopped working I took it to the apple store for repair. It has been almost two weeks and when I recently called to check on the status, I was told it could be another 4 to 6 weeks before they can get the new power supply.
Just had the same problem with my iMac G5 20″. Came home and noticed a strange burning smell. Started up the computer and 2 minutes later it shut down. Tried to reboot and it kept shutting off. Brought it in to the Apple Store in Soho, NYC…they do same day repairs now. Unfortunately the logic board and power supply they need to replace is back-ordered. Still, the service was much better than when I deal with Tekserve, who I loathe.
I, too, had a problem with my iMac G5. It started within two hours of taking it out of the box, too. First, it crashed in the middle of installing Office. Then the fan would come on when it was just sitting there, asleep, and it sounded like a jet taking off. It would crash even when it was asleep–the light would just stay on and even when trying to do a hard re-start with the power button, it wouldn’t re-start. When I leaned over the back of it to re-start I smelled hot plastic, and when I told this to Apple TechSupport, they immediately escalated my call up the chain. “Burning smell” and “fire” seem to be the magic words when calling, BTW. The tech was excellent and ordered a new midplane, power supply, inverter, and hard drive, which arrived the next day. They were easy to replace and it’s been up and running since late March. I do have it set to go to sleep after 15 minutes of non-use.
The latest development: it makes a buzzing/alarm sound from the right speaker. It did it twice last week while I was doing a word count in MSWord, and then once when I hit “send” in the email program. Scared the crap out of me and everybody in the office. Anyone having a buzzing/alarm problem?
Let me join this litany of disasters for a growing group of people worldwide. I’m typing this on my 10 th mac computer since 1986 and have NEVER owned such a poorly put together machine. Bought this 20 inch G5 1.8 GHz in February and all was fine for a month – truly whisper quiet – even took it to work in our gropup office as it didn’t disturb anyone sitting near me.
Then had the screen flicker and dim which was correctly diagnosed and repaired as a power supply problem.
The day I took it home after that repair, now 5 weeks later, the fans started loud on start up and are always blowing when the macahine is on ( which is when I like to use it otherwise a very expensive and cluncky paperweight Steve)
Apple repair store say they too have a back order – guy at the repair desk looks like he needs committing to a psych hospital because its this night mare he relives every week – another faulty mid plane or motherboard or poorly thought-constructed -and sold- on- the-cheap metal base that houses this cross between a blowdryer and model airplane.
Not fair
Not impressed
Not Apple
Mine is totally fried! It died so I did the wise thing, self diagnose off apples’ website wait 2 freaking weeks for the part. install it, nope still no go. so off to mac-mall. those ass-clowns have had it for two weeks, I’ve called mac now six times, this is freaking crap. A total waste of my time & money. Whats worse is I’m a web designer, have no machine, love mac and now have to defend my broken computer in front of my friends who all have dell’s.
oh well.
on the plus it has increase my spare time to drink and stare at the empty spot on my desk….
Hi!
Two year ago i buy 28 emac, all of them was returned to guarrantie, some of it up to 4 times,
Now we upgrade it with imac g5 4 months ago and by today i have returned 6 machines, 1 broken down display, 1 memory fault, 4 power suplie fault.
make your conclusions
Jose Cordova
Hello There was talk about substandard capacitors failing early inside of iMac G5s, anybody have the details on this? Some of us are technical enough to swap capacitors, a parts list would be helpful, anyone? I am pleased with my machine after three weeks and cannot afford to be down for weeks.
Tim in Phoenix
My 20″ Imac G5 died in it’s sleep this afternoon. Opened it up and the left-most led was on when plugged in.. but it won’t start up.
Interestingly, it had lost the “gong” sound on start up several days before everything quit. It’s now at the apple store awaiting repair.
Jim in OC
Three words…CLASS ACTION SUIT!
Everybody that’s had this problem needs to write to
Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo LLP, the firm that won the iPod case. ( http://www.girardgibbs.com/ ). We paid for a defective product and Apple won’t acknowledge it!
I am on my second G5 – I bought the first in late December; it lasted 5 weeks until the power supply went up in smoke and took the motherboard with it (burnt plastic smell). The store where I bought it accused me of somehow having faulty power at my house, not using a good surge protector, etc. (all untrue), charged me $40 to get my inaccessible data, and traded me for a brand new one. 3.5 months later, that power supply too bit the dust; my mac has now been in the shop for 3.5 weeks with no prospect of return; they won’t answer my phone calls. I’m upset to say the least. Not just once, but twice! I did in fact contact the law firm listed in the previous post, who called me the same afternoon. I love Apple (disclaimer!) but things have gotten too sloppy for me lately.
If anyone stil have doubts of being alone with their Imac G5 problems, I suggest to visit “Macintouch.com” . Threads here are identical and more on this other website!
I was considering getting the Imac G5 and ran across great reviews on CNet. com but after reading personal experiences at Micntouch.com and then here…..
I decided to wait it out and see what Apple will do…
Joel
Guys! I was able to get an Apple service supervisor on the phone today (Saturday) which was impressive, and his drift was that most of the problem iMac G5s were built in the November-January time frame, and the problem units were mostly from one of several contract manufacturers. I was able to order a spare power section for a mere US $107, as I cannot afford downtimes due to business use of my machine.
Just returned from one weeks Holiday and found my iMac G5 20 inch screen 250GB Drive frozen, then went all fuzzy and had rapid lines across it. Now just a blank screen when I boot up. But I have to leave my iMac on to run a dynamic IP DNS updater program. Looks like there was a problem with the earlier iMac Power Supplies, mine was one of the first to be shipped and has lasted about 7 months. I do not believe the comment that 250GB drive is causing a heat problem as Apple UK are now selling this configuration as a minimum with an option of a 400GB drive as of today. I am just glad it is a PSU problem and not a Hard drive issue as all my 5,000 photos and 4 days of music are not backed up..! 1st thing I will do when up and running again….!
On my son’s advice, I bought my first mac, a 17″ iMac G5, about 4 months ago. Just loved it until recently when it just froze up. Diagonal pattern accross screen and the roar of a hairdryer comming from inside. It is some comfort that I’m not alone in this but I am not happy that when I thought i was getting my first “apple” , I seem to have got a “lemon” ! I have been without it for 2 weeks now ans no sign of when I will get it back.
Just great! After 2 weeks they tell me today that a “system board” is needed and will take 3-4 weeks just to get the part. What is going on here!!
My new iMac G5 20″ from MacMall has been backordered but am told it is now on its way. Ran across these posts and feeling like I shouldn’t accept it when it is delivered. Does anyone know how to 1) check to see if i would have a new powersupply (if that indeed is the full problem, hence the delay in shipping out); and 2) if it would be wise to get the 3 yr Apple Care to protect my “investment” just in case it fries itself? This is for my home/family so it won’t be on everyday, but I do want to keep it for 6-7 years before I replace it.
Apple has seriously messed up the thermal analysis and design of the iMac G5. What you read about above and elsewhere (kernel panic, burning smell, hard drive failures, among other symptoms) is the result of the iMac being unable to adequately get rid of the heat generated by the CPU (brilliantly, Apple engineers designed the internal layout such that the heat from the CPU is blown directly over the hard drive). Eventually, the capacitors around the CPU start to pop like popcorn (literally — it’s curious that the text on the screen reports “kernel panic”), and then that’s the end of your logic board. If you’re lucky, your hard drive won’t be fried as well.
Apple is quietly replacing logic boards and drives as long as the machines are under warranty and/or Apple Care (it’s curious that Apple extorts an additional few hundred dollars to fix problems caused by their negligent design).
The thing *you* should be worried about is when the warranty/Apple Care runs out, and *you* have to spend $1000+ (yes, three 0’s) every few months to replace the logic board.
Might I suggest a class action law suit to make Apple either buy back the machines or replace them with properly designed ones?
My 4 week old 2 Ghz 20″ iMac G5 is started freezing 2.5 weeks after purchase. Often when I leave the machine standing for periods over about 1 hour the mouse and keyboard no longer respond. This machine was shipped directly from the factory and has an upgrade to 1.5 MB of RAM, otherwise it is stock. Obviously the problem outlined by everyone here and on most other Mac blogs has not been addressed by Mac. My machine is the newest model, I had to wait 3 weeks from purchase till Mac started shipping this model.
I expected better reliability from Mac than to ship machines with know major problems.
3 days ago, I was using my 20 inch iMac G5 when I smell plastic burnt. The computer still works, but after 5 minutes it stars melting, I believe, from the power supply. What should I do?
Guys!
Some interesting developments in trying to find out why my iMac G5 17″ 2Ghz unit was running hot. It was fine for six weeks, and problems began about ten days ago. I have a room ambient around 78^F, but the Apple factory guys said even 90 should not be a problem. The unit was taken over to Apple Biltmore (Phoenix) and benchtested hard for over 24 hours, at my office it would not go an hour. I was measuring 106^F at the air vent at top rear, and the Bresink CPU Temp Monitor was reaching 175^F plus, I was getting worried. Well, the Biltmore guys said they found no problem, I have just gotten back home and have run the unit about 50 minutes now. I am seeing 97^F at the rear, and 154^F on the CPU, so what happened? Three things are not the same, since I am testing still. I have not plugged in my HP printer yet (USB) nor have I plugged in the VGA feed to my projector. Thirdly I have not changed resolution down to 1280×1024 that looks best on the projector. One or more of those factors is causing more heat; I will report back when I know a bit more.
Tim in Phoenix
I’ve had all the same problems too… but, I’ve had enough with iMacs… Still under warranty, they’re going to take it back!
Monday July 18th was a pretty hot day for Seattle (91º but my office could have been hotter). I was using my computer and smelled a strange electrical smell. Trying to figure out where it was coming from I felt around and decided my computer felt hotter than normal, although I don’t usually make it a habit to feel up my computer so I really couldn’t be sure. I shut it down and hours later when I tried to turn it back on, the power light flashed on quickly but would not start. Bought it in Jan 05. Quite bummed. Can anyone tell me if my data will be saved once they fix it or is it lost forever? I have not backed up my mac and am freaking out that I may have lost all my data.
Hello (un)happy mac users!
I bought a 17″/1.8-253MB G5, on the jan 3rd 05. The superdrive would not work… replaced 8/01/05. ok for about 3 months then the much blod’g “Narcolepsy” kicked in, baring in mind it was being used for little other then watching films and burning cdr’s in Toast (a waste i know!). I’m VERY dissapointed, was hoping to get down to some serious Photoshop/Cubase SX3 work… after taking it back to the high street retailer (again) i am still no better off, even after maxing it out with 2G of expensive memory. An avid Appleite at work claims “Problems occur with first revision state of the art technology” Well as far as state of the art goes, i never seen a better looking paper weight…
I have taken it back to said retailer (wasted journey number 3 no doubt ), hoping that it will not be fixed, under the 28 day repair guarantee i am entitled a replacement (their 1 and only apple tech is very ill and away from work), i will be upgrading to the 20″ 2G model if i can get them to do that…
On a final note, OSX is quite simply amazing it’s a fliud, intuitive joy to work with, and i only wish i could have afforded a liquid cooled dual power pc…
Kind Regards
Happy Mac’ing…
We smelt a burning plastic smell last night, could not figure out where it came from, and my G5 Imac died today, just boots then dies, boots then dies, something must have cooked in my computer?
OH well I guess I will call Apple tomorrow and buy a service plan before my warranty runs out!!! Anyon had there computer repaired?
OH and yes I keep mine on all the time, but so does my powerbook. Hope my HD is ok….
Hello
I have a possible announcement for iMac G5 owners with overheating issues but I need Om Malik’s permission to announce something here, or do I?
we’ve got 10- 20 inch iMac g5’s purchased in Oct 04. Seven have died so far, four are currently at the repair shop all but one of the repaired systems has gone back for more repairs and all of this has been in the last month except for one system that didn’t work right from the start. However when they are working right it’s all good, but this is ridiculous! these systems are used in the production of a newspaper and are seriously jeopardizing our operation. Midplane boards and hard drives failing one after the other. I’ve documented everything with Apple and may have to go after them with our Lawyers.
What is supposed to be the “normal operating temperature” of an iMac G5 (20″)?
Guys!
Based on testing with my own iMac 17″ and running the Bresink Temp Monitor from http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html my machine locks up when the CPU reaches 175^F (79^C) for more than a minute. We are working to develop a fan mod for these, anyone interested should e.mail me at ehometech@earthlink.net for more info.
Say Ben!
Perhaps we should be talking about fan mods for your 20″ers, e.mail me if interested. ehometech@earthlink.net
My iMac 20″ 2ghz wont boot 🙁 Actually it boots with a blank screen. Maybe not the same problem?
Ok so I own an iMac 20″ 2.0Ghz and found out why my computer was getting so hot. And by hot I mean 87 C!!! I went into work this morn and talked to my good techy Mac Genius (these guys are awesome!) friend (do the deductions) he said bring it in and they’d check but see what i’m running in the activity monitor. So I look in there and see that I was using 65% of my system and the rest was being used by the user which is nuts! so obviously i click All processes in the top right field. vshield is running and taking up 85% of the cpu!!! I force quit the task. COMPLETELY uninstall virex and clamxav from my computer and the rest is history. My temperatures dropped down to 52 C which is a temperature I’m definitely comfortable with my iMac running at. And for all of u running ur iMacs or other macs or whatever out there be careful. There’s plenty you can do keep track of ur comp and what it’s doing. You could just be playing itunes and surfing safari on the front end but in the back your comp could be cooking up a storm. So if you have an iMac or are thinking about getting one just be a little bit more careful. This is a work of art… you wouldn’t keep the Mona Lisa out in scorching heat would you?!
oh and btw for that really annoying XP pro user… shutup will you we’re bonafied mac users… ever heard of a mac switcher? the grass ain’t greener when you come to our side!
After 10 weeks of patience with Apple Computer and spending another $5,000 CDN on an alternate Mac system a new iMac G5 20″ replacement for the one that died arrived today. It’s 2nd generation but I don’t want it, it’s staying at the dealers and will be sold for me. My reason for dumping this thing isn’t that I don’t trust it, it’s the inconvenience to my business that has cost far more than this machine.
I thought this was a neat machine until I went through the horrors of inept service repairs (at a different depot) and Apple’s denial of the problem. You don’t have to collect evidence of these failures to get a replacement. At worst let them do 2 or 3 repairs, but get a case going with Apple for a replacement. All you have to do is tell them you want it replaced, they put it on record as so. They’ll concede after 2 or 3 repairs. I’ve been through this before, you have to nag to get results. Think of it as it’s just the way it works, Apple isn’t going issue a recall, they will never admit to a problem.
The most common problem with the first generation iMac G5’s has been bad power supplies. Tell tale signs are white marks appearing on the LCD screen, usually across the bottom. Such a mark appeared on mine months before it died. Many reports of repairs are the same, replacing everything but the power supply which is the problem, then at last the power supply. Repair shops are running diagnostic software that does not catch the source of the problem. Apple requires they do so to be authorized for repair service. In my own case, even after I told the repair agent that it was the power supply, he argued with me. A call to Apple customer service forced him to replace it. Another sign is the iMac getting very hot in the lower right area. Be careful, the vent screen on the underside gets hot enough to cause injury.
I read somewhere that the 2nd generation iMac G5 (2 GHz version) has a lower watt power supply. Apparently dropped from 125 to 90 to reduce heat output. I personally don’t care what Apple has fixed or improved, so readers will have to check it out for themselves if they still want to own one.
The lengthy nature of the post and the comments is causing a bit of a slowdown, and many have emailed complaining that they cannot really digest the information in the posts properly. I have set up a forum, where we can continue the conversation. Here is a link to that page. I have to shut down the comments on this page. Hopefully the new forums will be more useful.
My 17″ 1.8GHz iMac G5 runs at between 72C and 85C with approx 75% processor idle. Environment temp is approx 24C. Fans are making a lot of noise. This is not the silent machine I thought I bought 🙁
Hello all,
Around christmas this year I bought a 20 inch imac with internal bluetooth and love it! I agree that the computer does run quite hot but not all of the imac’s problems are hardware. I agree that the CPU could have been placed better. The heat from the CPU is enough to cause problems with burning disks as extended heat exposure causes the vinyl to distort. To solve this I have decided to buy an external DVD burner. Having had my imac for nearly a year now, I have learned that it’s a toasty little bugger. After reading all of your disturbing stories I have decided to change some of the system settings to lower my imac’s operating temp. If you arn’t overly concerned with blazing speed change the processor performance to reduced as opposed to automatic or highest. Doing this alone dropped the operating temperature of my machine by 20’C. Though you have had your problems remember to see that none of this was done on purpose.
PS: to the windows XP guy: Why don’t you find a more productive use for that energy you constantly feed that monstrosity you call a computer. Rather than filling up your ego it could be used for something productive. Rather than gloat about the mac help forums get a hobby, fold origami, or fly a kite! Just get something more useful to do with your time. Or is the word productivity completely alien to you?
hi all – just like to report that i’ve been running folding@home for the past three months now with no problems UNTIL the night of 10-26-05. That was the night I tracked down a burning plastic/wires type of smell -nothing heavy, just a light smell in the room- to my imac g5. it was running fine -no indication of a problem. I shut it down and the next morning removed the back and sniffed around. strongest smell of burnt plastic was at the power supply. no burn marks or any other indication of anything wrong on the interior.
My husband bought a iMacG5 several months ago. he was told to leave it on–which i have never done with my Mac–I shutdown for the day. He noticed an odd odor one night and turned it off. The next morning he powered up and within an hour there was a heavy melting odor. He shut it down and unplugged it. If we had not been there I’m certain it would have caught on fire. Tomorrow it will be three weeks that it has been in the shop. Apple says the parts are on back order. Apparently there are 5 other customers from the store he purchased from in the same situation. Fortunately he can use my computer in the interim–but I have never heard of anything like this happening with Apple, and am surprised it has not been in the news.
Looks like I’m not the only one around with a failed burnt out iMac G5. I’ve had it since Oct ’04, until a few days ago, it started having problems starting up. Tried everything. Opened the back a minute ago and sure enough, leaking little nods? whatever they are a bulged out with light brown oose, We should file a class action because I can’t believe the amount of same stories here. I’ve owned macs for 15 years, never a problem until NOW!
I have had my g5 for 1 year and 2 weeks when it suddenly ceased to operate and attempted to take off with a fast whirring fan Why hasn’t Apple made a recall of the product and fixed it? I have brought back my 5 year old Dell from the cellar and am up and runnming again without a problem. Makes you think about Apple
20″ g5, had it for about a year. 6 months or so after the purchase it did’nt want to start up. same thing everybodys describing. the apple people bent over backwards to help. again, same thing, back ordered part. a week later its back, its working great, fans quiet (i didn’t even talk to them about the loud fan), here we are 6 months after that, damn thing won’t start up again. i don ‘t abuse my machine, but i’m considering starting.
About 6 months ago, they replaced my fan and said that should fix it….But after 2 hours trying to figure out why it would boot up attempting to repair with Apple, I decided to take it to the Apple store. The tech took the back off (without turning it on) and could quickly identify the logic board was fried. From the way he was talking, I inferred that this wasn’t an isolated instance. One more repair and I want a new one (or my money back)—I’ve only had it for a year.
What is up with the failing macs? I love Apple. I have a G3 Ibook that has NEVER had a problem. I recently (2 months) bought an imac G5 and have had the most problems. I can’t boot because of Kernel Panics. I think it might be possible hardware problems. I’m highly dissapointed in Apple these days. The applecare was quite helful and fairly fast. Is anyone else having trouble with kernal panics and memory problems??
Our Imac G5 is on it’s SECOND warrenty repair in less than 1 year, 6 motnhs ago it had a buring smell and they replaced the power supply. Last week it started having boot issues, sometimes it would take several trys to get it to work. Two dayz agao it crashed and would not power back on. Tekserve is great, they had the part on order in bulk, last time we had to wait to send in the broke part for anew one. Still takes tooo long to fix such a known problem. Maybe apple could do a recall like the car companys and FIX the problem before it affect the business they are trying to grab a foothold in.
The best way I can describe my I mac G5 problem is a brown-out. Love the computer, I’ll say right off the bat. Problem is similar to above. it takes several boots to get it to boot and only seems to run happy when it is warm. When it does glitch out, every other line of resolution on the screen seems to deinterlace and skew one direction then… Freeze. I also notice that the screen has the most even picture when warm and does give off a lot of heat. Third and possibly best of all… cheaper media gets warped ever so slightly in the burner and will only come out the slot loading device after it cools. Is apple aware of the problem? Maybe, one of the first updates I downloaded was for the fan. As soon as I downloaded it, I noticed an increase in fan velocity when taxing the processor for renderings and such.
Thanks for the blog…
My iMac G5 20″, purchased in March 2005, had a logic board replacement at 3 months and another logic board replacement and power supply replacement at 6 months. I’ve been using Macs since 1987 and have NEVER had a machine with this many major problems. Though I do have Applecare for 3 years and also purchased ProCare (to get my 1st repair done in 2 days instead of 2 weeks) I am extremely disappointed in Apple’s quality and wish they would make some type of restitution/replacement to people like me who are experiencing multiple issues. Though the repair is “free” ($250 later) the time I have to spend taking apart and putting my system back together is not “free.” With only 4% market share, Apple should pay a lot more attention to long term users like me and others who have been tortured with these faulty machines. The tech at the Apple store tells me this same issue has to happen two more times before Apple considers the machine a “lemon.” Hey Steve Jobs, that’s 3x too many!!
Oh no! My 2.1 ghz 20″ iMac is a month old now…When I get on it…I’m on it for hours (when my wife’s not too mad at me for abandoning her and our new daughter). Love the computer…it’s super quick and I’ve never turned the performance to highest. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed some crashes as of late. Tonight, it locked up and I had to restart. Well, it would come back on and lock up again in minutes…then would reboot from power button…only to get a black screen and the fan purring! Sounds like I’ll be needing to get the replacement parts tomorrow. I’m ticked!!! I love the machine. It’s awesome but if it keeps having this problem?… I don’t see why I don’t maybe try to send it back for a full refund and opt for a desktop. The only thing I’ll regret is the beauty of this computer- 20″ lcd, and all the cool features. I don’t know…dang it! Wish I would have read this mile long thread before making the decision to spend the Benjamins!
Called Apple Care. Got some good advise. Now I’m thinking my “freezing” issue is related to bad memory installed by MacMall. Anybody have similar problems? Memory from MacMall is Crucial Tech…supposed to be reliable. I’ll keep the thread updated. From what I’ve heard though…Apple’s got this overheating problem fixed with the new iMac G5’s. I’m not worried about that anymore!
new iMac G5 may have the meltdown problem you all are talking about. It froze about 3 weeks after purchase and nothing I do will get it to recognize the HD. That includes a lengthy call with an Apple Tech who can’t figure it out. All i get is clicking noise the flashing question mark, loud fan on boot up. Can’t reboot from install disk since disk utilities won’t see HD. Nothing we do sees the HD. Anyone out there had similar experiences and maybe a cure??
Bought iMac G5 in November 04. Two major hardware breakdowns and replacements. July 05 video broke up on LCD. December 05, logic board a write off (after three weeks of unstable behaviour from System X). The second occurred just after I had installed EyeTV. I suspect overheating.
My iMac G5 17″ has had the optical drive replaced once, and due to the overheating problems others have described, the power supply replaced and later the logic board replaced. It still has the problems overheating, and it does not get left on overnight. It’s due for another new logic board. I think Apple should replace these defective machines if they can’t repair them. Class actions are undoubtedly being prepared somewhere and it will be difficult not to participate if Apple doesn’t resolve the problems first.
Dang guys….I wish I’d seen this first prior to purchase…I’d gotten mine in the end of feb ’05…and it’s been lockup after lockup….even when it was new….so at this point, I’m waiting on the end of a power supply, logic board, and hd replacement….totalling $1137.61, now I bought applecares but you’d think after one failure they’d boot a new machine my way…seems like a case for faulty engineering if you ask me…
I bought a first-gen iMac g5 in December 2004. Logic board fried after 3 months, then again at 5 months, then again at 7 months, and have just fried AGAIN at 12 months! The Apple techs refuse to replace the computer – they just keep replacing parts which break moments later. It has been out of commission most of the time I have owned it. Apple does not care about their customers. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
My G5 is now in the shop and has been for 2 weeks
I’ve been told that the problem is the logic board and yep – the power supply.
I’ve been told that this part is back ordered with no estimate on the delivery date.
This of course tells me lots of machines have failed and this explains the lack of available parts.
had the same problem I have a 1gen imac has worked great till last month it crashed 6 times it’s like when i really use it and when i say that i mean brows the internet check my mail burn dvds it freezes up and seems to crash the hd drive i have cleared the hd and reinstalled tiger 6 times last month I’m pissed and i feel bad because i convinced some of my friends to buy imacs i called apple and I’ll keep you updated on the outcome if they don’t fix it it’s the last mac for me
My iMac g5 20″ just had a power supply problem. The thing would not turn on. I took it to Apple and they replaced the power unit for free even though it was no longer covered by warranty. I guess that they know there is a problem. The Mac Genius was told by a supervisor that there was a tab on their fix it screen that delt with the problem.
I’ve had mines since may 2005 I’ve never had a problem yet, by the way my computer has been on 90% of the time. Well most problems would usually occur when its a refurbish model
I’ve had my iMac G5 for about 6 months now in my home, in the last 2 weeks it keeps powering off suddenly with no warning. I bought the apple care warranty, thank goodness. I’ve called apple tech support and it was awful – very surprised, the guy knew nothing at all, after 1 hour of getting no place I was directed to an apple store. I will take it in next week, anyone with recent similar issue?
Bought my iMac G5 in December 2005. In mid-January it suddenly stopped working: wouldn’t boot, black screen, fan extra noisy. Brought it to Tekserve, got it back after a week, said they had to change the power supply. Brought it back home, plugged it in, got the exact same problems: computer froze, noisy fan, etc. Called Tekserve, they told me to bring it back. They put another power supply in. I went to get it today, they turned it on in front of me and showed me it was working. Brought it back home at 3pm. It’s now 10:28 and the computer’s dead again. What do I do now? Go back to Tekserve with a lawyer? I want a new machine. I just bought this one! Did I just pay $1500 to drive back and forth to Tekserve? WTF??
It seems Apple has learned little — or done less — about the early failure problems … I bought a pre-intel iMac G5 iSight on Feb. 11, 2006, from CompUSA, which advertises itself as an authorized Apple reseller … it worked splendidly until Friday, March 17, when it froze an could not be restarted after an hour of trying with an Apple support tech in Canada … took it to an authorized Apple repair shop (26 years of working on Macs) and they devined a logic board failure … 3 weeks and a lot of whining later, Apple finally shipped the board, it was installed, and the machine started to freeze up within an hour of restart … locks up every 20-40 minutes … 2 hours with Mohammed in India, a very friendly guy, and an OS re-install later, the freezing every 20-40 minutes persists … back to the shop, where the tech guy says mable Apple shipped a faulty logic board
meanwhile, I called Apple’s 800 and asked to be connected with someone with the authority to send a replacement machine, since I use a computer in my free-lance writing business … was switched to a guy in Sacramento, who promised “Apple will do whatever is necessary to make this right”
Apple repair shop guy ran 3 hours of diagnostics and said everything checked out fine… turned machine back on and it ran a day without crashing … I recommended they try running a program while this test was taking place … they switched on my iTunes library, enjoying a wide range of music — from Sara Brightman to ZZ Top — but only for 25 minutes, at which point the machine froze, and continues to freeze at about the same intervals
meanwhile, and this is why I’m spending this much time on this project, the Apple guy in Sacramento calls, and I’m thinking, he’s going to authorize sending a replacement … instead, he tells me since I bought the iMac through a third party, not directly from Apple, it’s CompUSA’s responsibility … I told him I already ran that route, being informed by the store manager that there guarantee lasts only 21 days, which was conveniently outside the 34-day window of my iMac’s performance
I argued with the Apple guy, finally saying to him: You mean the company that manufactures and markets this machine is not going to support it, despite the fact that it failed well inside the 90-day tech-help timeframe, 1-year guarantee from Apple, and the 3-year AppleCare protection plan for which I paid $180 … he hemmed and hawed a little and said they would do everything they could to get the machine repaired
meanwhile, the repair shop has ordered another logic board (the second, at what I believe is a wholesale price of around $450) and is now also ordering a power supply (price unknown), not to mention what Apple must pay the shop tech — rather than send a new machine.
I have been a Mac user since the late 1980s, and I have been very loyal about it … but this run-around seems to indicate Apple is having severe problems with the G5 stuff and no one is willing to admit it … it took 3 weeks to get the first logic board shipped … you’d think they’d have some of those on hand
anyone like to comment?
Stay away from the iMac G5. I’ve had one for a little over a year now. Within 3 months of purchase, the logic board failed and had to be replaced. As the base system had a paltry 256MB of RAM, I added another GB. That RAM failed within 2 months. I replaced it with the original 256MB stick – the system was slow beyond belief – and that too failed within 1 month.
I’m not the only one! It took 2 returns to my apple repair here in Nottingham, England to get my G5 imac reepaired. 5 weeks later, it’s doing it again! the first time they mended it, they replaced the power supply. It went back a day later, they replaced the screen. 2 days later another power supply.
Tonight, after 5 weeks, it’s shutting down again! It does it, i power it up again, it shuts down again. I counted 6 times in quick succession.
the temp read just over 70 Degre’s C. Plastic felt hot to the touch. Now it’s working fine and feels cool. Room temp is cool. It’s after midnight and the room temp is cool.
Mac deffinitely got it wrong this time.
I am having the same problems as everyone else here states. My computer is past its initial apple warranty, but still under its apple care warranty…can I ask for my money back?
I have had the power unit replaced once already, now I cannot even start the thing up any more. I have too many serious commitments to be worrying about an ongoing battle of this nature. I need to dump this shit if it isnt working.
I have the 20 inch G5 iSight model which I purchased in March, 2006. In August, 2006, it had start up issues (“you need to restart your computer” in several languages) no matter what I did. I took it to the local Mac repair shop, they said that it was probably the logic board almost before I told them the problem. They replaced the logic board (under warranty). I’m worried that it is a common problem, and that the logic board that they replaced it with is no better. I know of someone who has had the logic board replaced several times.
I have an iMac G5 20′ screen that I purchased 2 years ago. Up until 2 days ago, it was perfect. Then it started freezing after it woke up from sleep, and not booting up if I turned it on. I phoned Mac apple Care, and they suspect that the hard drive has failed. Has anyone else had this issue? This is a home computer that gets moderate use; nothing heavy-duty. I am taking it in for service today, and my PC-loving husband is mocking me!
HC:
My iMac G5 20″ purchased in Nov.’04 died yesterday. Over a couple of years I have had a few kernel panics, fans going into take off mode, &c., but in general it has performed well. About two days ago it started exhibiting the same symptoms as yours; not waking up, not wanting to start up then starting up by itself 5 minutes later only to crash before getting to the login screen, finally it just refused to turn on. I too called Apple Care, all I said after giving them the serial number was that the machine wouldn’t come on. The tech said that their has been a problem identified with that model and serial number range and Apple had extended the warranty for this issue, he then attempted to make an appointment for me at the local Apple store. Unfortunately they are currently booked up and I will have to try again next week.
I’m pretty disappointed, I really like my iMac, love OS X and totally bought into the ‘Switch’ deal (I’ve been using MS OSes and x86 hardware since DOS 3.3), having bought an eMac for the kids and a 12″ Powerbook for my portable. I still have a PC around because I am a big gamer, but everything else I did I did on my Macs. I got to where I was recommending Macs to anyone who asked my opinion, &c. Now that my Powerbook’s battery died after about a year and a half (unfortunately not one of the ones covered under the recall and will cost $130) and now this problem with the iMac I’m seriously thinking of switching back. While I hate Windows at least I can fix the hardware it runs on myself and without the exorbinant prices. You know I’ve had PCs that have run for years and when they did break I could at least fix them myself and with cheap, commodity hardware. From what I have been reading I’m looking at being charged about half of the $2000 I spent on this machine if it doesn’t fall under this special extended warranty. I’m afraid I’m about to have a very expensive doorstop.
I can’t believe this!!! I too am having the same problems as most of you are. I bought my iMac G5 in January 2005 and it has been fine up until April of this year. Fans come in like a blow dryer, then usually freezes up, and can’t power on 9 times out of 10.
Long story short, Apple has replaced (free of charge) my motherboard and power supply THREE TIMES NOW!!! It is now back at the Apple Store as of last Sunday for it’s 4th repair. This time it’s freezing up and and shutting itself off after 10 minutes or so of use.
The techs at the Apple Store said that if this isn’t resolved after another powersupply/motherboard replacement, they’ll replace it with the new iMac 20″ Intel.
I am so frustrated with this! I own a Mac Mini and PowerBook G4 and have had no problems at all! These machines are defective!
I could almost quote the last post straight off, except that my iMac G5 20″ was bought last September, and that tech have had to replace my motherboard twice, power supply once, hard drive once and for some reason the casing once as well. At least I’ve now gotten a promise from Apple that I’ll get a new intel iMac the next time, and they’ve been helpful and generally nice… but still! You buy what amounts to the best and (supposedly) most well-designed home computer you can find, and it spends a sixth of it’s first year being repaired/waiting for replacement parts and generally being completely unavailable for use.
Just wanted to say that I finally got into the Apple Store to have my iMac checked out. That was an ordeal in itself and took much rangling and tenaciousness with Apple Care to get an appointment. Seems that if you aren’t Pro Care they won’t have much to do with you, but I asked for a supervisor when the first level reached the end of what he could do, and just stayed on the line with the supervisor and kept pushing for help I guess until she got tired of dealing with and found a solution that would allow her to schedule me for a date in the future.
Having secured an appointment, I was in and out within 30 minutes with a working Mac. Power supply was fried, they had one hand and it was replaced at the genius bar right in front of me. No charge as it was covered under the extended warranty for this issue.
Now that I know what some of the symptoms are I will definitely be looking for a recurring problem, but for the time being I won’t be totally switching back to the dark side.
While I was there tho, someone else was picking up their iMac G5 from a repair and someone else brought in a brand new laptop with what sounded like some pretty serious viddy problems.
My iMac g5 20″ that I bought two years ago started turning off at random times the past couple of weeks. While the room is at around a constat 74, the Mac was showing temps of 70-86 depending if I had browsers/itunes open…nothing serious. I dealt with the sudden power-offs until two days ago when it just shut down for good. I, too, heard the whinning noise when plugged in coming from the power supply and other times not at all.
I tried the LED test recommended on Apple’s site and it looks like the logic board’s gone, too. No soot, burn marks, etc. though on the power supply.
Since it’s pre-ambient light sensor I was required to take it in today. Really hope the part isn’t backordered.
Update: Fixed after replacing power supply. Thankfully the logic board/midplane was entact. Guess I have another year on my warranty to see this thing act up again…
My 3 month old, $3000 24″ iMac just died. I am unhappy to say the least. I unpacked it with a stuck pixel right in the middle of my screen when I got it brand new so this is just a slap in the face. This is very dissapointing comming from Mac, I really expected more. My $3100 Powerbook I owned right before my iMac also had major issues that seem to occure… oh gee! right after my warenty expired! What a suprise. Anyway, I think the Power Supply is dead because I was doing some heavy gaming, which draws a lot of power which heats up the PS, and maxes out both the processor and the video card processor which creates heat. Oddly enough my fans never got louder than a wisper – I just figured mac had found some elegant way to move massive volumes of super heated computer component air. As a side note, the computer was really hot to the touch in the upper right back of the case (I’m guessing video card…) I’ll open it up tonight to see if it toasted my board with flames. 🙂 Thanks Mac!!!
Hi guys.
I have an G5 imac- purchased approx 2.5 years ago. I have noticed that recently my screen is randomly flickering. I have run a hardware test – nothing wrong. Any suggestions?
Thanks
My iMac G5 has become narcoleptic. Also, it wants to emulate the G4 windtunnel machine it replaced. The noise I can take, it’s the sleep that is maddening. My machine’s serial # is included in the exchange program…seems rather uncool and un-apple like to not offer to fix what is clearly a problem through an entire model line. For the first time ever, my mac bums me out.
My iMac G5 has become narcoleptic. Also, it wants to emulate the G4 windtunnel machine it replaced. The noise I can take, it’s the sleep that is maddening. My machine’s serial # is included in the exchange program…seems rather uncool and un-apple like to not offer to fix what is clearly a problem through an entire model line. For the first time ever, my mac bums me out.
My iMac G5 has become narcoleptic. Also, it wants to emulate the G4 windtunnel machine it replaced. The noise I can take, it’s the sleep that is maddening. My machine’s serial # is included in the exchange program…seems rather uncool and un-apple like to not offer to fix what is clearly a problem through an entire model line. For the first time ever, my mac bums me out.
iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues
If Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) determines that your iMac G5 computer is eligible as part of the program, the repair will be covered by Apple for up to three years from the original date of purchase even if your iMac G5 is out of warranty. This is a worldwide Apple program.
Affected systems will exhibit one of the following video- or power-related symptoms:
The program is available for certain first generation iMac G5 models that were sold between approximately September 2004 and June 2005 featuring 17- and 20-inch displays with 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz G5 processors.
The affected iMac G5 computers have serial numbers where the first 5 digits fall into the ranges noted below.
Serial Number ranges:
Some second generation iMac G5 computers have serial numbers that fall within the upper band of the ranges listed below. Only first generation iMac G5 computers are affected by this program.
http://www.apple.com/support/imac/repairextensionprogram/
I purchased my 17″ imac G5 in October 2004. I did not have any problems with it whatsoever until about early fall of this year. This is when the computer would randomnly turn off an on. I just dealt with it, as the computer would usually turn back after a few minutes. Well, recently it got to be that the computer would turn off for days at a time before it would turn back on again. Finally, about 2 weeks ago it just tuned off for good. I did Apple’s LED test and it appears that I need a new Logic Board. My computer’s serial number falls within the ranges for the repair extension program, but the program says Apple will cover the repairs for up to 3 years from the original purchase date. It has been 3 years and 1 month! I am bringing my computer in tomorrow…hopefully it can be fixed for free.
I have a 17″ G5 that will not power up at all. I have already had it in once because I had the fuzzy screen and kernal panic problem a year or so ago. That fix lasted for a little while. A few months ago I smelled the melted plastic smell coming from the computer. I should have done something at that point, but it ran ok for another few months. But now it won’t do anything. I just ordered a new power supply. I’m going to replace it myself. The power supply is easy to remove and replace. If this doesn’t work it will be another $200 wasted on my G5 problem child. I could have bought 3 mac mini’s for the same amount of money.
Heat has always been a major factor in the performance of my iMac g5. In the 3 years
of ownership every major component has been replaced. No matter how much you try
to keep it cool it will always ramp up if playing video. The temperature gets up to
178 degrees F.
I’m on my 3rd hard drive and am starting to hear clicks of a different sort when the
computer has all it’s fans running. 🙁
I have a iMac G5 – 3yr 2mths and it just went off and wont come on. I have had intermittent power on problems over the period and in the first 9mths I had the flickering screen/power and hard drive problem which resulted in pretty much every component in the machine being replaced then. Now its kaput again 2mths out of warranty – the serial number is in the faulty range! hope apple do the right thing and repair what is obviously a faulty product line. You cant sell people stuff you know does not work!
I think this a clear reason why apple switched to Intel, the powerpc architecture is crap and prone to heat.
I had previously had the bad powersupply issue. And just last week, after my machine had turned OFF for a week and a half while I was on vacation, I went to turn it on and it would boot and immediately turned off. I took it into the shop and sure enough the motherboard was toast. Several capacitors were just melting and junk was coming out of them.
I did end up buying a new intel imac but I was pissed to say the least. I have had multiple Dells in my lifetime as a software engineer and I have never seen something like that. That was clearly a poor architecture design by apple and I think they knew it when they switched to Intel. Intel runs so much cooler than any IBM chip.
Anyways, be warned, don’t buy any used G5 imacs…There’s a reason people don’t want them anymore.
I just picked up my 1st generation 20 in. imac, again. I’m now on my 4th hard drive and my 3rd power supply in 3 1/2 years.
My hard drives have never been covered by apple because the dealer I bought it from (Nov. ’04) didn’t have a 250G hard drive model in stock so they installed a 250G Maxtor in a 160G model and sold it to me that way. That dealer said he would replace it for free but he is now 500 miles away.
After siccing my wife on Apple, they did offer to pay for this hard drive replacement but they lucked out, the drive was still covered by the 1 yr. Seagate warranty.
I love the imac concept but I hate my imac.
1st get the HDD outside of it, Second recap the board with Rubycons. http://WWW.capamac.com has some good ideas. My 17″ G5 shut down all of the time till I converted it.
This is a big problem. I always leave my Acer on over night to download all sorts of nonsense, and if it kept overheating that would be a super pain.
I need help!!!! My Imac G 5 i bought in 2005, has worked perfectly until now. My audio doesnt work!!! i went to system preference then sound and its locked!!!! i can’t get it undone!!! can someone help????
Now that the G5’s have been out long enough for everyone to see how flawed they are. Defending this corporation for being “green” and “perfect” is obviously blind fundamentalism. Hypocrisy even.
*No virus’s – 99.99999% of the world uses PC’s duh.
*Socially and environmentally conscious. – Nope wrong again.
*Look cooler than pc’s – they did, but now they look sterile like pc’s did and pc’s look cool.
*Have a psycho cult following totally blind to evidence. – Yep