Re: Need A Little Advice Please
Fred, Still messing with those old iMacs, huh? I must have gone through 3-400 of those guys back when I was fixing them up and giving them away to schools and kids. Gave away 1,000 from 2002 until 2015. Then I had back surgery and no longer could lift those old, heavy iMacs, eMacs, G3 AIOs, G5 towers, etc. One thing that I didn’t put in my description, because it hadn’t appeared at the time, is the little rubber band-type drive belt that motivates those rollers. The belt gets glazed and should be removed and cleaned too. Isopropyl alcohol (91%, preferably) will work. Also, clean the little pulleys. That almost always takes care of the drives that don’t quite perform perfectly every time. On the other hand, those drives are almost old enough to vote and buy booze in some states, and nothing that moves keeps working forever. (When is the last time you saw a perpetual motion machine?) Jim > On Apr 25, 2019, at 8:20 PM, Fred Potter wrote: > > Jim — Thanks from the future for these wonderfully detailed instructions. I > just used to them to attempt a repair on a 1999 iMac which would almost > always fail to eject. > > It was partial success in my case. About half the time I'll get a complete > ejection now, and the other times the disc comes out just enough to grab it > and pull it the rest of the way. I think my biggest problem isn't worn > rollers, but rather that the rubber rollers aren't snug on the metal dowel > and they sometimes spin freely. > > Best, > Fred > > On Wednesday, March 8, 2006 at 6:08:19 PM UTC-8, Jim Scott wrote: > > On Mar 8, 2006, at 2:05 PM, Thunder 1 wrote: > > > > I will be cracking the case and extracting the CD from the slot- > > loading > > drive, and will also attempt to clean the rollers(?) on the drive. > > I've downloaded > > a file to guide me in tearing the computer apart and putting it back > > together > > again. I figure that as long as I'm taking this baby apart, I will > > check/replace > > other items at the same time (RAM, Battery). A few questions that I > > would > > like answered first, if anyone can help: > > > > 1. What is the nominal output voltage of the battery? Suggested > > replacement voltage? > > (I know I saw answers to this question somewhere on some list a while > > back, but can't > > seem to find the link ...). If I need to replace it, any particular > > type/brand/store I should > > look at? > > > > 2. The CUDA switch: What is it and what does it do, exactly? Do I need > > to reset > > the CUDA before putting my iMac back together again? > > > Bill, > > 1. It's a 1/2 AA battery, 3.6 V nominal output. A new one will test > out at about 3.7 V. Any brand 1/2 AA with 3.6 V nominal output will > work. Radio Shack carries them, and all kinds of vendors sell them > online as "computer clock batteries". > > 2. Once you get the bottom cover and the perforated shield off, > you'll be looking straight at the logic board. The CUDA button is > just below the battery and on line with the RAM slots on the left > side of the board. On all 350-700 G3 iMac logic boards I've seen, > it's a tiny black button in a very small silver case. It's always a > good idea to push the CUDA button after replacing the PRAM battery, > or any component. It resets the logic board to factory defaults, and > causes the logic board to identify every component on first reboot > after a reset. This comes in very handy when you replace a hard > drive. Replacing the PRAM battery almost does the same thing, but it > doesn't reset the logic board. > > 3. You'll need to disconnect the IDE cable from the logic board, and > the power cable from the hard drive. Remove the 4 screws holding the > HD/CD drive carrier to the aluminum divider panel and remove the > carrier. Pay attention to how the CD drive comes out of the carrier > after you remove the 4 screws that hold it in place. Use pieces of > marked masking tape to help you get everything oriented properly on > assembly. > > 4. I've taken apart quite a few CD/DVD drives in slotload iMacs. It's > really very simple to do. First, remove the two screws holding the CD > drive IDE adapter to the CD case at the back. Then remove the two > tiny brass-colored screws, one on each corner near the front of the > case on the sides. You'll need a very small Phillips screwdriver with > a fat handle to get the screws out. Don't strip the heads! With the 4 > screws out, gently use a thumbnail to pry the top cover apart from > the bottom of the CD casing at the very front on each side. Voila! > The top cover comes up and off in a smooth lifting motion toward the > back of the CD drive. Note how the three projections fit into slots > at the back. > > Set aside the cover. Now comes the tricky part. In order to get at > the split and tapered drive roller that injects and ejects CDs, you > must disconnect two very tiny springs on either side of that metal > cover
Re: Need A Little Advice Please
Jim — Thanks from the future for these wonderfully detailed instructions. I just used to them to attempt a repair on a 1999 iMac which would almost always fail to eject. It was partial success in my case. About half the time I'll get a complete ejection now, and the other times the disc comes out just enough to grab it and pull it the rest of the way. I think my biggest problem isn't worn rollers, but rather that the rubber rollers aren't snug on the metal dowel and they sometimes spin freely. Best, Fred On Wednesday, March 8, 2006 at 6:08:19 PM UTC-8, Jim Scott wrote: > > > On Mar 8, 2006, at 2:05 PM, Thunder 1 wrote: > > > > I will be cracking the case and extracting the CD from the slot- > > loading > > drive, and will also attempt to clean the rollers(?) on the drive. > > I've downloaded > > a file to guide me in tearing the computer apart and putting it back > > together > > again. I figure that as long as I'm taking this baby apart, I will > > check/replace > > other items at the same time (RAM, Battery). A few questions that I > > would > > like answered first, if anyone can help: > > > > 1. What is the nominal output voltage of the battery? Suggested > > replacement voltage? > > (I know I saw answers to this question somewhere on some list a while > > back, but can't > > seem to find the link ...). If I need to replace it, any particular > > type/brand/store I should > > look at? > > > > 2. The CUDA switch: What is it and what does it do, exactly? Do I need > > to reset > > the CUDA before putting my iMac back together again? > > > > Bill, > > 1. It's a 1/2 AA battery, 3.6 V nominal output. A new one will test > out at about 3.7 V. Any brand 1/2 AA with 3.6 V nominal output will > work. Radio Shack carries them, and all kinds of vendors sell them > online as "computer clock batteries". > > 2. Once you get the bottom cover and the perforated shield off, > you'll be looking straight at the logic board. The CUDA button is > just below the battery and on line with the RAM slots on the left > side of the board. On all 350-700 G3 iMac logic boards I've seen, > it's a tiny black button in a very small silver case. It's always a > good idea to push the CUDA button after replacing the PRAM battery, > or any component. It resets the logic board to factory defaults, and > causes the logic board to identify every component on first reboot > after a reset. This comes in very handy when you replace a hard > drive. Replacing the PRAM battery almost does the same thing, but it > doesn't reset the logic board. > > 3. You'll need to disconnect the IDE cable from the logic board, and > the power cable from the hard drive. Remove the 4 screws holding the > HD/CD drive carrier to the aluminum divider panel and remove the > carrier. Pay attention to how the CD drive comes out of the carrier > after you remove the 4 screws that hold it in place. Use pieces of > marked masking tape to help you get everything oriented properly on > assembly. > > 4. I've taken apart quite a few CD/DVD drives in slotload iMacs. It's > really very simple to do. First, remove the two screws holding the CD > drive IDE adapter to the CD case at the back. Then remove the two > tiny brass-colored screws, one on each corner near the front of the > case on the sides. You'll need a very small Phillips screwdriver with > a fat handle to get the screws out. Don't strip the heads! With the 4 > screws out, gently use a thumbnail to pry the top cover apart from > the bottom of the CD casing at the very front on each side. Voila! > The top cover comes up and off in a smooth lifting motion toward the > back of the CD drive. Note how the three projections fit into slots > at the back. > > Set aside the cover. Now comes the tricky part. In order to get at > the split and tapered drive roller that injects and ejects CDs, you > must disconnect two very tiny springs on either side of that metal > cover above the roller. I use a very tiny jeweler's slot screwdriver. > I slide it into the top loop where the spring fits into a notch in a > black plastic; I gently lift the spring and slide it off the catch. > Once both sides are free, I raise the metal piece a bit and pull it > out of slots on either side. > > There are all kinds of recommendations for cleaners, most with the > words "rubber rejuvenator" or similar descriptions in them. I use a > commercial product called "Goof Off", which is found in just about > any hardware store. I open a window for ventilation because the > stuff's pretty potent-smelling. Using as lint-free a cloth as I can > find (usually a small piece of old T-shirt), I rotate each piece of > the split rubber roller with a finger while wiping off the embedded > lint, dust and who knows what until the roller is nice and black > again and somewhat "tacky". Wipe off the rectangular felt piece on > the underside of the assembly you
