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#1 2005-01-13 4:14 pm
Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Well I have an iMac 700 G4 15". I bought motherboard for an iMac 800 G4 17" on ebay for 46 bucks. Can you belive that! I am very comforatbale with these machines and have done work internally in the past. I will keep everyone posted on how that transplant goes. I think it should work. If all goes well it will mean 100 mghz more in speed and a newer graphics card.
-Jim
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#2 2005-01-13 4:55 pm
- NightCougar_37
- For Gallia!!
- From: The back of my Twilight Drake
- Registered: 2001-07-22
- Posts: 9143
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
If its practically the same board then you should be able to get it to fit. By all means do keep us updated. I'm curious as to how this will turn out 
.
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#3 2005-01-13 5:17 pm
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Yeah, I am taking on this project because of this...
http://www.macaddict.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=48495
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#4 2005-01-19 12:08 am
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Well, the motherboard was used and appeared to have suffered minor water damage. I took the gamble on buying an "AS-IS" item. So most people would say, shucks and toss the board. Not me!
My friend proceeded to clean the motherboard with windex and a tooth brush to stop whatever corrosion from continuting. He insisted that this is what you do to clean a motherboard. I trust him he knows more about these science projects.
Complications:
Heat sink for iMac 800 grapics chipset is slightly different.this caused the dome not to close properly This was a simple fix. I took the iMac 700 heatsink and slapped it on the 800.
I guess you can't just slam in a board and boot the machine with an OS formatted for an iMac 700 with a different chipset. Kernel attacks everywhere! I am smart but also dumb in many ways too 
. I mean who would attemp this? I am sure Apple loves this. 
The system hardware components passed the tech tool tests. And the new OS install was in order.
I am getting video interlacing craziness when I startup. It then flashes before OSX startup screen and then corrects itself. This must be because the ROM is set to recognize a 17" screen.
I am not working on installing and applying a ton of updates. I will keep you all posted on how long this ebay $46 board lasts. At least my USB ports work now! And it has lasted long enough for me to make this post.
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#5 2005-01-19 12:23 am
- NightCougar_37
- For Gallia!!
- From: The back of my Twilight Drake
- Registered: 2001-07-22
- Posts: 9143
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Well they say not to use ammonia (i forget the spellin) based cleaners on screens but if its ok with the boards then thats good to know.
Good to see that it does boot up. Thats a good protion of the battle there 
. Might have to just reinstall OSX all over again to clear everything up.
Can't remember off hand what GPU chipsets those models shipped with. Either the GF2MX or the GF4MX, but be sure to watch heat levels if you can. If the heatsink was bout the same then you should be fine.
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#6 2005-01-19 8:41 am
- dv
- Negusa Negest
- Moderator
- From: Minneapolis, MN
- Registered: 1999-08-30
- Posts: 18100
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Well they say not to use ammonia (i forget the spellin) based cleaners on screens but if its ok with the boards then thats good to know.
Really? Why not? They're glass. Huh.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
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#7 2005-01-19 11:11 pm
- NightCougar_37
- For Gallia!!
- From: The back of my Twilight Drake
- Registered: 2001-07-22
- Posts: 9143
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Maybe the chemicals in them are too strong, just every manual that ever came with my monitors and LCDs said to not use those types of cleaners with their screens.
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#8 2005-01-20 2:46 pm
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Your friend should have used isopropyl alcohol to clean the mobo, it's what we use on all the circuit boards we manufacture at my work.
He probably used windex becasue it eventually evaporates, but it's really not the best thing to use.
Oh, and make sure that there is enough thermal paste between the processor and the heatsink, or the computer will kill itself.
"I'd rather be told, 'Have a nice day.' by someone who doesn't mean it, than 'F*** you!' by someone who does." - Lewis Black
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#10 2005-01-21 3:33 am
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
Well they say not to use ammonia (i forget the spellin) based cleaners on screens but if its ok with the boards then thats good to know.
Really? Why not? They're glass. Huh.
They're coated glass. Windex and its ilk can destroy that coating.
,xtG
.tsooJ
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#11 2005-01-28 1:18 am
- Mac_Addict58
- Member
- From: East Coast USA
- Registered: 2003-02-17
- Posts: 245
- Website
Re: Motherboard Extraction and Replacement
If somethign doesnt fit, get out the dremmle. You obviousley know what can be cut, filed, grinded etc... without breaking something, Mini files work good if something needs to be trimmed down 1 mm or less possibly more.
I have been thinking about upgrading the logic board in my 12 inch Powerbook, but I have the last VGA moddel, so that could complicate things for me. I think I am just going to buy a mini to get me to when I can buy a Powermac G5 in about a year and a half.
[MA]PBG4-Ghost Recon Division
Disclamer- Not responcible for anything typed after 12:00 in the morning.
Yeah my spelling sometimes really does suck.
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