On May 24, 2010, at 2:29 AM, Jim Coy wrote:
I have a Power Mac G5 Quad, and it has been a nightmare since day one. I don't mistreat things; in fact, I've spent thousands on this one over the years and it proceeds to perform exceedingly worse with each bit of attention. It runs super slow, even after running Mac Tune Up, Maintenance, and others, and upgrading to 16GB of ram. Its latest problem is that it overheats and just cuts off (goes to sleep) after the slightest bit of work like checking email. I know it needs cleaning, and I've attempted to clean it several times in the past. I remove the side panel and the Plexiglas shield. I remove the dual fan assembly, I simply can not get past this point in disassembly to get to where all the dust, dirt and gunk must surely reside. I just have tried to clean out all that I could get to. Still, it overheats and it is as noisy as can possibly be.
You removing all that's really necessary. You need to blow it out with compressed air from an air compressor. You'll need one of the trigger blowguns with a nozzle. No water or liquids, they'd just make the dust into mud and mess things up so that you'll never be able to get it clean again. If you already used water or some liquid, get some soft brushes, perhaps soft toothbrushes or paint brushes that you can use in conjunction with the compressed air. Do this outdoors unless you have some type of exhaust ventilation, it will blow dust all over the place, and you need a lot of fresh air. You'll need to do the fans and plexiglass cover separately.
Remember, these water-cooled G5's tend to corrode and leak if you cycle them on-and-off daily. You seriously need to leave this Mac running 24/7/365, or sell it now before it leaks, and it will leak if you cycle the temperature daily by turning it off & on again. Some suggest it's not so much the temperature cycling as it is the lack of circulation of the coolant that allows corrosion to start. Whatever causes it, it doesn't happen to ones that are left running 24/7.
Blow the air both directions through the radiator fins and everywhere. When you're done, no dust should blow out from anywhere and it should look "like new" again. If any dirt is stuck, use the soft brush with the air. Have the DVD tray closed while you're blowing out the inside, and if you're going to blow out the inside of the DVD unit, do this last after everything else is done, and be a little careful not to focus super high-pressure air inside. Everything else is pretty much ok with as much pressure as a pressure regulated blowgun can deliver.
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