>From: Kathy Kotomaimoce, [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Reply-To: iMac List, [email protected] >To: iMac List, [email protected] > >I have an iMac that needs help. It's a Blueberry - 350 mhz I think - but I >can't start it up to check. It's running OS X.3 and occasionally Classic. >It's the kids' machine. Sometimes the dates get funky, and I'm told that's >probably a pram battery thing - which I have a replacement battery but >haven't wanted to open the machine up again.
Hi Kathy; Yes that sounds like pram battery. Flakey dates are a dead give away. They often reset to some date in 1904. >What it's doing - it won't start up. When pressing the startup button on the >cpu, the button lights up for just a sec, then nothing. No chime. No >breaking glass sound. > >When this started - maybe a week or so ago, and it's just been sitting >there. > >Main suspects - The Toddler. I'm guessing everything was fine until wee little fingers discovered that they could pull that cord thingy out of its connection to the wall. A trickle of power sometimes keeps the pram from messing up while its still plugged in even if the battery is pretty much dead. >Reasoning - Because the computer wouldn't boot, and because The Toddler >likes to insert CDs into the slot... I started digging around the in the CD >slot. I managed to remove THREE CDs that were jammed in there using >stickyback tape on a thin plastic ruler. (I also tried the paper clip >method, holding the mouse down on startup (which it doesn't) and tweezers, >all without success.) I don't know if there's anything else left in there, I >really can't tell. It feels like I could slide a CD in there now, but I'm >afraid to. And no change with starting up. OUCH!!! Well, the cheap solution is starting with the pram battery, but its your call which way to go from there. If it were MY machine, I'd probably just do the battery, put it back together and hope for the best. If you really despise a second surgery and have money to burn, then perhaps ebay yourself a replacement CD or better yet upgrade it to a cdrw (not sure if a dvd works in that model) to avoid tearing it apart a second time. My limited iMac disassembly experience really hates that excessively loud POP when the case is pulled open. It sounds to me like the plastic tabs are surely headed for never never land. As to that part, I'll turn it around to someone else to respond if I'm doing something wrong in how I open the case. Then again, maybe I'm mixing up a 350 with a 500 that sits beside it. I'm unsure if the 350 has those nasty tight tabs or not. >What next? > >Kathy K >http://www.spotart.net Good luck Kathy Don -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
