[fletch521]

I have two dead G4 iMac's. Can the displays (15") be used for anything else?

[turtle777]

I don't know anything about the hardware, but perhaps the internal connection between the display and the motherboard runs a basic VGA connection.

If that's the case, you should be able to turn it into a simple VGA monitor.

Edit: Ha, it's been done before: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=213932

-t

[Simon]

I can't find jack in that thread. Other than a guy saying it's impossible.

I'd be surprised if it worked. Notebooks (and I guess the iMac too) usually use LVDS/LDI/OpenLDI for video. Not DVI or VGA.

[turtle777]

Uhm, yeah, I dunno, I must have misread it the first time around

-t

[shifuimam]

You might (and I really stress that) be able to use the LCD for something else.

Internally, the LCD uses a standard connection to interface with hardware. In the case of the iMacs, I'm betting that the LCD interfaces directly with the motherboard, whereas an external standalone LCD monitor interfaces with a controller board that translates video inputs from DVI, VGA, etc. to the raw digital data accepted by the LCD itself.

You might be able to try sticking it in a 15" external LCD monitor that's got a cracked or otherwise broken display. You might also be able to put the display into a 15" laptop, although no laptop today takes a 15" 4:3 (standard aspect ratio) display.

There are only a handful of connectors used on the LCD side of things; the pins required are the same across the board, so the only differences are the pin order and the physical size of the connector. Might as well hack one apart and see what the LCD data connection looks like, then see if you can get your hands on a busted 15" LCD monitor and compare the two.

You also might be able to attach the LCD directly to a laptop motherboard and set up some kind of FrankenMac with it...

[fletch521]

I was hoping to find a way to use it with a Mac Mini

[shifuimam]

Like I said - you'll have to find a smashed external LCD monitor that has a working control board - that's what you need to convert the DVI or VGA input from the Mini to raw video for the LCD.