[tpicco]

I have a 15-month old G4 iMac... the kind shaped like half a basketball with the screen on a swiveling bar... about two weeks ago, the CD drawer wouldn't open. When I press the drawer open button, it makes a "sh-dunk" sound, but nothing happens. I have tried every way possible to trick it into opening that I can think of... and am sorta resigned to bringing it in to a repair place...

Just one question... Is this potentially an expensive repair? How much should I expect to spend?

Thanks...

PS: OR, never having opened a Mac before, is it worth trying to fix myself?

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Machine Model: iMac
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
Memory: 768 MB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.6.8f4

[liquidtrance123]

those drives have a small rubber band that usually wears out and breaks. This prevents the drive from opening and you can do 1 of 2 things. Try and 'rig it' with a small (equal sized) rubber band. Or get a new CD drive. I would do research into what type of drive it is and just get a normal drive at the store and take the front panel off.

Or just take it to the apple store.


edit: repairing those imacs is NOT for the faint of heart. If your not a tech of any kind DO NOT TRY IT.

[omar96]

Would those iMacs boot off an external FW or USB2.0 optical drive? If so (and if you're worried about killing your iMac by opening it), it'd probably just pick up an external drive that does what you need it to and not ever use the internal drive. Then again, if it's covered by AppleCare there's no reason not to just take it back and get it replaced.

[PB2K]

go to www.xlr8yourmac.com and see a manual of how to open a flatpanel imac g4. it's not difficult but you need to be a little careful with the operation. always be prepared to what you are doing, just opening the case and see what happens will lead to an even more broken computer. have the right tools at hand, touch something metal to remove static and good luck