Aloha reminds me that I would really like to get back to Hawaii some time.

I would say that you should at least try to inspect the inside of the the computer and PSU for bad capacitors. Refer to the Apple manuals for instructions on how to disassemble.

Also, refer to my other Apple articles for more information on what to look for in the way of faulty logic cards and PSUs.

I have a 2005 iMac G5 17 inch monitor (iSight) that I haven’t used in years. The problem is when powering on I get a black screen. Tried resetting the PRAM, same results, black screen. When I first took it in for repair, Apple quoted me over $900 to repair it. I said forget it and bought a new iMac G5 20 inch instead. This one has been working well ever since.

My 2005 iMac has been sitting in its box all these years. In your opinion is there any hope in getting it repaired? Should I even bother? I imagine it will cost more today to get it repaired.

Mahalo,
Susie

Here is something I found online concerning not being able to boot. Can’t Boot: DEFAULT CATCH!, Code=1800

Thanks

My sister took it to Apple and they laughed at her. LAUGHED! “This old thing? It’s 6 years old! You need a new one.” Bah! The arrogance. It was working fine for her needs before this problem happened. Next, she took it to a local computer repair place run by some kids and they instantly saw an opportunity to take advantage. Thankfully before she committed to doing anything, she asked my advice. I called up that shop… and they could not answer my technical questions straight forwardly, and when pressed, they’d scramble back to “well, the hard drive is bad anyway”. Other basic questions were not properly answered and so, as the robot in Lost In Space used to say, “Danger, danger, warning, warning!” I had her get the computer back. I scoured the Internet looking for bits of information and yours is the best I’ve found.

I’ll be checking out her computer in person this weekend. I will definitely examine the mother board and PSU for issues, as you’ve outlined. I’m very much hoping that the scope of her problems are relegated to the hard drive. I’ll see if I can locate a few of the Hitachi models you’ve mentioned. At this point, in 2011, are there any other 500-750Gb drives worth looking at for this computer? Any particular ones to stay away from? Thanks!
~Gary

When we tried to fire it up all we got was an Apple logo and a spinning wheel. We have run all the tests we could find with no results. If I hold down the Option key at turn-on, I get a blue screen with the Disc Drive Logo. I can insert and eject the CD from the Key Board. The mouse controls the arrow, but if I use the mouse to try and play the CD, the screen reverts to the Apple logo and spinning wheel. HELP

The picture is of a generic 3.5 inch HD with a SATA (Serial ATA) connector. I am told that any brand SATA drive will work with an iMac G5, though I can not confirm this.

What is the name for the kind of hard-drive pictured in your post? I’m having a hell of a time trying to find a HD with the same terminals (connectors?) as the one I’m taking out of my iMac. The terminals on mine are identical to the ones in the image above. Thanks in advance for your help

Lane

Those divas are a real pain.

First off, 360 dollars sounds awfully expensive for an internal hard drive. You could try a brand new 1TB HD from Amazon (see above) for under $90.00.

Jim

My iMac “Core 2 Duo” 2.4 20-Inch, Lucille, also has been powering off lately. She really doesn’t power off so much as reboot – screen goes black, 3 second pause and then restart.

Tried self-diagnostic and then took her into genius bar after she suffered 4 fainting spells in a row last night while working on a simple Googledocs.

Of course, she is performing like a diva for them and won’t replicate the problem. I agreed to let them change the powersource for $160 and left her during a stress test. They called back and said she passed the stress test, they cleaned the powersource of dust and the only issue they see is an error message in the hard drive but nothing specific. I could replace the hard drive for $360 and hope that solves it.

I am going to pick her up and bring her home. If she faints one more time, I am taking her back for a hard drive replacement. Is this the right course of action?

Powering off problem leads me to believe that it probably is a PSU problem. If a voltage is flaky, it can cause all types of random problems. I would double check your voltages. Refer to some of the other articles I have written about the Apple iMacs.

20″ iMac G5 (iSight)

Sporadic powering off. Ran hardware test, showed “Mass Storage” error.

Replaced hard drive.

The powering off issue stopped but running Software Update after fresh system install would result in freezes during updating(Had to reinstall system 2 or 3 times, always the same, just rampant instability).

Now running hardware test again, 3rd time straight, its showing “Mass storage” error still. Error code (2STF/8/3:S-ATA Bus 0 – Master)

Is it possible this is all due to a bad power supply?

I would assume logic board but it hasn’t showed and error in hardware test yet even after running the extended test 5 times in a row.

Is it possible to replace the SATA connector on the MOB?

Thanks for any help.

I would always start with a visual check of the MOB caps. Then proceed to an internal visual inspection of the PSU caps. Refer to my various articles on the Apple iMacs for complete details of what and how to check these areas. Bottom line, I suspect you have bad caps.

I have brand new caps for sale at my online eCommerce store.

Thank you for sharing your success story online? I have a question on my iMac G5. FYI, I bought my Mac in 2005. I would be very appreciative of your help by giving me some geek tips. Today, I think my machine is down. I’ve been spending hours with Google online, shared by forum short cut tricks, with no luck, and also, I’ve replace battery with a new battery back up. When I start it up, it seems to start up fine, but it won’t show up my monitor screen properly, and then after 30 seconds the fan starts sounds crazy noise from the back vent. My warranty is no longer covered. Jim any ideas about this? Hope you can help me.

A million thanks
Joe