iMac G3

While driving over a month back i noticed this computer by the side of the road. It looked like it was fairly new so i threw it in my trunk. Ya i took a computer out of the trash.
How to repair an iMac G3, monitor
I started reading about it and learned that it was an iMac G3 and they stopped making them in 2003. On ebay, when they work, they are only worth about $300.

I plugged it in and amazingly, nothing happened! I kind of figured that since it was in the trash. So i went about trying to fix it.

The short version of the story is I didn't fix it. These iMac's are impossible to work on. It took probably 2 hours of me removing screws and trying not to break plastic before i could even look inside of the thing.
disassemble iMac G3 computer, case, screen
iMac G3 parts, case, disassemble, repair
My only hope was a fuse i saw on the motherboard that might have blown. I checked it but it was fine. So i said forget it, there's no way i'm going to get this to work so i started taking everything apart. That took another hour or so.

I realized why they probably threw it out. It's one of those things where the broken part might only cost a few dollars but the cost to pay someone to fix it might be a few hundred dollars.
salvage parts, computer, iMac, G3
I ended up throwing most of it out but i did get the 80Gb hard drive, DVD drive, 2 small speakers and 2 ram cards. I'm using the hard drive in the new computer i built.

But if anyone asks for your help in fixing a Mac, just tell them to throw it out, it isn't worth it.
useable parts from and iMac G3 computer


walter164 said...

What are you gonna do with the shell? And where did you start with dismantling it? I have one I want to take apart too.

Notitlerequired said...

I was planning on doing something with the shell because i thought it looked cool but ended up throwing it out. I have too many projects going on now as it is.

And you can see from the first picture that i started with the green plastic on the back. The hardest part was the white/clear plastic along the front of the monitor. By that point i didn't care and just started ripping out the bolts holding everything together.

Anonymous said...

I bought one of those for 50 dollars....

Fabiàn, from Montevideo,Uruguay