eMac freezes randomly, open window turns into broken up jibber

I just wanted to toss my computer in the ring as yet another one that at about 1 1/2 years started to do the EXACT same thing.... I don't have the extened warrenty so unless apple will repair it for me my husband will be buying a PC when this computer dies.... 😟

I'm going to attempt to bring my eMac to an Apple Store this Sunday (2.5 hour drive :-P ). It looks like others who have brought theirs to Apple Stores have had success in getting Apple to fix them and foot the bill. I'll post what happens when I know what happens.

This computer has become about as useful as a Pentium I PC... I am not pleased with Apple ignoring this problem, but not surprised. Corporations (even one as cool as Apple) categorically suck.

Well I got my emac back from the service centre today, works a treat. One slight problem though, it appears to have gone from being a 1.25ghz machine to a 1ghz machine. That's right, they have replaced it with a lower spec logic board!! Sheesh, looks like I'll be without my beloved computer for another 2 weeks!
The replacement logic board had an X capacitor on it too by the way, so I'm kinda glad it will be changed. I hope!

The eMac came back today and seems to be working well. Yes, the installed a new motherboard as I'd suggested, and no, there was very little else they said about it. The best experience came with the delivery guy who huffed up 4 flights with the machine and was pretty cool about it, but didn't have much Mac Tech experience. The eMac went on, and I reinstalled a different system... Seems to be working well.

BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Please tell me, anyone who has had their logic board replaced: Where do I find the serial number? It no longer comes up on the System Profiler. Has it been erased? If yes, then how do I prove to the retailer (who is carrying my 3 year warranty) that this is in fact the machine I bought from them. Help on this, please.

Best,

MR C

What I have learned is that an Apple Certifided Tec. needs to phone their special support line and report the problem so that Apple can see a trend... in the event that happens those of us with out the extended warrenty may be able to get our computer fixed.

Please everyone ask your apple repair person to call in and report this problem....

Thanks

People, here is an article about faulty caps:
http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30328/article.html
Also, here is an entry from the wikipedia. This issue is starting to be noticed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_capacitors
happydaze

Well I'm not certain about where they get the serial number for the software profiler but the serial number is also on the inside of you CD/DVD drive door.

iMac Core Duo 20" 2Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.6) also have a iMac Mini Core Duo 1.66GHz (Media Center) and a 17" eMac G4 1.25GHz

Hmmm according to this:

The serial number may be restored for some but not all computers. If, for example, your computer's logic board had been replaced under warranty service, the serial number would not be retrievable by these methods.

They did replace my logic board but my serial number was these same. I had assumed that when they replaced it they pulled the CPU and ROM chips from the old one and put them in the new one and that the serial number was in one of them.

This is problem is confirmed in one of their developer notes:

It is possible for a system to lose its serial number so that it will no longer appear either in System Profiler or the I/O Registry. Repairing a system by swapping hardware components is one reason this can happen. Apple does not document the specific details of how a machine can lose its serial number. Once the serial number has been lost there is no means to restore it to the machine.

Apple does not guarantee that all future systems will have a software-readable serial number.

iMac Core Duo 20" 2Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.6) also have a iMac Mini Core Duo 1.66GHz (Media Center) and a 17" eMac G4 1.25GHz

Message was edited by: MauMan

Yep - my serial no is gone from the "About this Mac". Not sure about the "swapping ROM chips" etc...? But basically as I understand, if they change a Mac's logic board, you lose the serial number from there. No real big deal. It's still behind the CD door.

can someone tell me how to remove my ATI extensions? i dont care about detriorated graphics or anything i dont play games on here.

I just figured when they replaced the logic board they pulled the socketed parts (if there are any, I've never been inside an eMac before) from the old one and put them on the new one to reduce cost. I'm guessing that's why I did not lose my serial number when they replaced my logic board.

Or maybe they just have a utility that they run to set it if they remember to do it 🙂

Another side note, removing the ATI extensions disables DVD Player. On all machines that have the ATI extensions removed, DVD Player quits during launch.

Robert

Swollen, bulging, and leaking capacitors on eMac from Sept 2004. Photos available on request.

I have an eMac with the same problem as posted here in this discussion. It was purchased Sept 2004. Looked at the capacitors and they are leaky and bloated.

Called Apple, no help yet, but I was told to take it to a store to have it looked at.

Hope this is not the end of an otherwise great computer.

The eMacs all require special drivers for the built-in CRT (the screen). If you boot from a generic MacOS X or MacOS 9, like the install discs that come in the retail box of Panther, the OS may (or may not) load the correct drivers for the eMac CRT.

The "jitter" you're seeing may be from the refresh rate of the CRT being set wrong. Think back to pre-MacOS X macs, the jitter you saw on a monitor if you set the refresh rate or the resolution to the wrong values in the Monitor control panel. Your screen capture reminds me of that.

Tiger may be different, but for Panther and earlier MacOS you have to use the "eMac" version of the install CD. Otherwise, the video driver that's getting installed may be subtly wrong. In other words, the video settings will work fine for a while, then suddenly the screen goes dingbats on you and the eMac crashes because the ATI video chipset has gone off into outer space once the wrong setting/drivers crash the graphics chip.

If you copied you OS install over from another Mac, or you installed off discs other that the factory eMac install CDs, like a generic Panther or Tiger disc, that may be your problem.

Try this:
- Boot the eMac normally and turn the screen saver off and set sleep to Never. Configure the Date/Time to show minutes & seconds in the menu bar. Write down the time. Wait for the screen to go jittery and write down the time when it goes nuts on you. How long did it take? Pull the power and repeat this 2-3 three times until you get an idea of how long it takes for the eMac jitter to appear (and if there's a pattern or if it's random)

- Boot from an install CD or Apple Hardware Test and let the eMac sit at the installer windows or the language selection, and see if it takes the same amount of time to go jittery.

If it NEVER goes jittery booted from CD, but it does booted from hard disk, you have a software problem. Reinstall from an eMac-specific OS disc - Archive and Install. If you have both eMac install discs and generic install discs you might boot from both and compare the results.

If it goes jittery booted from the install CD or Hardware Test CD, you've got a bad logic board. You're going to have to bring it into the shop.

Or the CRT in the eMac may be going bad, or have a bad cable/connection, or the CRT may be out of adjustment inside. Again you would have to take it into a shop for service. But if it was a CRT problem, I would think you would still be able to discern the Force Quit window through the blur and jitters.

Even though you're Mac is out of warranty, take it in and ask for an estimate. Or ask to be quoted part/labor prices before doing the repair, so you can decide whether it's worth the money.

so...........

can someone tell me how to remove the ATI extensions. can you still burn cd's/dvd's if you remove these? i don't play games or watch dvd's on this computer anyway.