Deskew Blog

My trusty Intel dual core, 24″ iMac just shut down on me today. Out of the blue and after no particular provocation from my side.

I thought that it might have overheated and that once cooled – it might come back up, but no luck.

I was sure it was the power supply – there’s no “peep” coming out of the thing so I set out to find how to replace it. I found a bunch of interesting things, but mostly wanted to figure out a proper way to open it up.

A video I found on YouTube was good enough to let me know what I am up against. You can find the video here

Once I opened the thing – I disconnected the LCD, took out the memory modules and then the power supply. I could not see any signs of damage on it. I know – it’s not always visible, but when a power supply goes bad – there is usually a strong smell coming out of it or other noticeable signs of damage.

I put it back in and thought to try to power it now with everything else disconnected. It worked – the fans started to spin, showing the signs of life. I soon figured out that plugging in the monitor inverter was the source of trouble so it went bad and was most likely surging the power supply which in turn correctly shut down everything.

So – I went to the store, got myself a mini DVI->DVI cable (not the $65 Apple one, but the $18 one) and plugged the iMac into my regular 24″ LCD  – worked like a charm.

I’m going to miss the nice LCD, but at least I have my iMac back and will most likely get a new 24″ for it since that is far cheaper and more modular than repairing the current LCD.

So – next time your computer dies – don’t assume it’s the power supply. Plug everything you can out of it and test it before you make you final verdict.

PS. You are backing up your files are you? Anything can go wrong at any time – back up your important data. If I didn’t get my mac running – I would have to get another one, but my data was never in jeopardy.