On Jul 10, 2010, at 9:33 AM, Eric Herbert wrote: > The Cubes seem like one of those products that was a good idea at the time, > but just poorly implemented. I've owned 2 450 MHz models and both have > similar problems to what you describe. Both of mine were sent in for a > switch repair procedure when they were new, so they don't have issues with > the switch anymore, but both of them had issues just like you describe. > Intermittent FW port failure, intermittent (although rare) endless gray > screen at boot, intermittent lockups, and perhaps most > annoyingly......intermittent USB port failure! OY! > > I found a partial solution to the problem was to install a fan in the bracket > in the bottom of the machine (It actually has a place for a slim 80mm fan in > the bottom of the case) and allow that to cool the thing down. I found a > correlation between the instability and how hot the room was and how hard the > machine was working. The hotter it was in the room and the harder the > machine worked, the more frequently it crashed or lost a port. With a fan > installed, the frequency of weird "issues" went way, way down. Compared to a > laptop, I can only come up with the issue that on a laptop, all the > peripherals are soldered to the main logic board. In the Cube, they're > installed in sockets. eg: Video card, power regulator, HDD Drive, etc. > With all the heat that the Cube makes internally, and with only a central > port for the heat to leave, it's easy to get the machine heat-soaked. With > repeated heating and cooling cycles, it can cause some connectors to not make > such a great connection anymore. Poor connections = poor reliability. > > If you're feeling adventurous, you might slap a fan in one of the machines > and see if it's reliability improves! It did with mine.
They all have fans and that did help and you're right about the crappy connections, funny about the problems, still hardly any one will turn loose of them. Thanks for the opinion on the issues I have, obviously you're a Cube user, They're kinda my prize machines next to the Wally's. John Carmonne Yorba Linda USA Sent from my MBP 28 kids all named Mac -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
