eMac freezes randomly, open window turns into broken up jibber

IKE-D - a good point. If anyone has had the jibber, and looked inside and found that their capacitors were NOT bulging/leaking, they should certainly check that out.

However I think of everyone who has posted here with the jibber/freezing, there's only been 1 or 2 with "good" caps (the 2 visible under the hatch), and given the other 10+ caps on the logic board, the time frame in question, etc...

Add me to the capacitor-problem list. I've been dealing with the typical crashes for a week and discovered early in the process that it doesn't crash in Safe Boot mode. I bought my 1.25 GHz eMac in the summer of 2004.

Today I discovered this thread and immediately checked my machine by looking at the two capacitors near the RAM slots. One appears to be leaking and may be bulging a little.

I do have AppleCare. I am about 3 1/2 hours (one way) from the nearest Apple Store. CompUSA is closer, but I'm a little uncomfortable taking it there.

Patrick

eMac 1.25 GHz Superdrive Mac OS X (10.4.3)

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.

go here-> /System/Library/Extensions/

they're in that folder. I removed every ATI extension and I'm not having any problems. I can't really do anything but it's not crashing.

3)Check your state/country consumer law (Google
'consumer law for computers' for starters) as there
are responsiblities beyond warranties that companies
carry.

I happen to be a Warranty administrator for the company I work for. I also have an eMac with a cap problem.

Purchased Sep 04. G8429GSAQOJ

One thing a have learned through work is that once a company gives a warranty repair or replacement out of a warranty period, they are obligated, by law, to give such warranty to others who qualify under the same conditions.

I was very happy to see some posts on here fom people who received warranty after the base warranty has expired.

If any of you come back here at all, please can you post your claim # on here so we can all reference it as presidence! And if anyone from Apple Warrranty happens to read this, you better start a warranty program on this problem because the pot is starting to boil.

To the Apple PR department. Fix the problem. Blame the manufacturer. Promise not to do it again. We will all be happy.

eMac Mac OS X (10.3.9)

so what do i trash these 5 extensions? or is there some way of just turning them off? can someone please tell me what i can & cannot do if i get rid of these? i use this computer for making & listening to music so if i can't run a program like Propellerhead's Reason then i can't do it.

so what do i trash these 5 extensions? or is there
some way of just turning them off? can someone please
tell me what i can & cannot do if i get rid of these?
i use this computer for making & listening to music
so if i can't run a program like Propellerhead's
Reason then i can't do it.

as far as i know you won't be able to do anything that requires OpenGL. keep a copy of the extensions in case you get your eMac fixed, otherwise you'd have to do a system reinstall (i think). I can still run iTunes and most of my other software. I can't run games or play dvds. quicktime movies work however.

Here's a photo of what I saw when I took off the RAM cover:
http://static.flickr.com/45/1462587146e75593a2do.jpg

i bought mine in august of 2004 as well and it jsut started freezing up about a month ago (getting worse)...what gives?!, i am surprised i was able to stay online long enough to post...did anything more ever come of this??...this ***** badly!

M.

Sadly Klocket, it's still a matter "in progress".

Restart in "Safe Mode" (hold SHIFT key down) to help prolong your eMac's life...

Over the past 3-5 months some eMac owners who made their purchase in mid-2004 have been experiencing complete system-freezes, which gradually occur more and more frequently til they cannot use their eMac.

Inspection inside the eMac (via the hatch on the base of the computer, which does not void warranty) on these eMacs has shown leaky/bulging capacitors.
Of the 2 capacitors affected - 1 is "bulging" at the top, and the other has a brown discharge. There are numerous other capacitors inside your eMac that are not visible via the hatch. Capacitors that have this problem feature a "+" marking on their base (though not all will necessarily bulge/leak). Ones with a "K" appear not to be affected.

The best known work-around to this problem at the moment is to start your eMac whilst holding the SHIFT key until it says "Safe Mode". This however limits your eMac's capabilities, and will at best buy some time until hopefully Apple agrees to repair these machines.

eMac Mac OS X (10.4.6)

same problem but on 1 GHz eMac. bought February 05.

Serial# VM44400LQJ6

Does anyone know the # to call to speak with customer service? Of course I am unable to locate my documentation. I am going to try and call in hopes of getting some resolution. I will post any information (person I spoke with and whatever resolution comes of it)
Thanks

subwayfreak - from what I can tell from your serial number, your machine is in fact a 1.25Ghz machine, made in Nov04 - which falls within the known time that the badcaps were being used in these eMacs.

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
--- Put your serial number into this page ---

neena - Only number I can see on Apple's website is for "Tech Assistance", though I gather that is the paid service (ie for those with AppleCare).

1-800-275-2273

Call that number though, and insist on talking to a Customer Relations Officer about the eMac capacitor problem. See how that goes...

IKE-D writes:

"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."

Yeah, sounds good, but we can all see caps leaking all over our mobos.
happydaze

emac Mac OS X (10.3.9) Another leaky cap victim

I followed some advice on this thread - contacted apple by sending a polite email to a s jobs address. Like some others, I was contacted by executive relations within a day and after describing the problem and pointing them to the thread, they agreed to fix my computer for free.

The engineers did indeed find bulging caps and have replaced the logic board - now it is working perfectly.

Many thanks to all you guys on the thread - also to Apple who have behaved really decently and with interest. I was ready to junk the computer but now it is working as good as ever.

I don't know if they'll do a recall but chances are that they will fix your computer if it has bulging caps.

I just wanted to let you know.