[WOPR]

Anyone had to have their eMac's CRT replaced out of warranty? My brother's screen is on the way out I think and I have a bad feeling that Apple will want a ludicrous amount to fix it. Colours are going a bit strange in one corner and it has a flicker too.

Any help appreciated!

[imitchellg5]

It would be ludicrous indeed.

[WOPR]

Care to put a rough price tag on it?

[seanc]

Checked this? Apple - Support - eMac Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues

Not sure whether yours is covered.

[WOPR]

Originally Posted by seanc 

Checked this? Apple - Support - eMac Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues

Not sure whether yours is covered.

Thanks for that, I'll check tonight and pray that it's covered!

[mikemako]

My parent's eMac screen was dying and Apple told me it would be $600 to fix it, almost the cost of the computer when I bought it!

If you bought your Mac within the last 3 years it might be covered for a free repair, check that link from seanc to verify if your computer's serial number falls in the range.

Good luck!

[WOPR]

Bah, it falls outside of the range of serial numbers. Oh well, I'll ask them anyway.

[macintologist]

Just buy a cheap external monitor and that use that. I'm pretty sure the eMac supports video mirroring.

[WOPR]

That's what I'm considering, a cheap 17" screen would do the job. According to MacTracker it can drive the internal screen to 1280x960 so can I get an LCD of that res and it would just work at the native res do you think?

[ghporter]

Considering the age of the eMac in question, I'd buy a new computer and get away from the CRT all together. It would not only get your brother a much faster and more capable computer, it would use a LOT less electricity. Just my 2¢ worth (about 1d where you are ).

[dn15]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Considering the age of the eMac in question, I'd buy a new computer and get away from the CRT all together. It would not only get your brother a much faster and more capable computer, it would use a LOT less electricity. Just my 2¢ worth (about 1d where you are ).

Not a bad idea. Sell it before it loses even more value. You might still be able to get a few hundred for it from someone who can fix it themselves or doesn't mind plugging it into an external display. Then you can get either a new entry-level iMac for $999 or a Mac mini + third-party LCD for about the same. (Personally I'd go that route so the screen and computer can be replaced separately, to make future upgrades cheaper.)

[iMacYouMac]

Bust that eMac apart and sell the logic board and such on eBay. You'll be surprised by how you much you make off that. Then get the iMac or Mac Mini + LCD.

[WOPR]

Store Genius said £300-£400 for a new screen, lol. And now spookily, it's suddenly started behaving itself again. All very odd indeed...

[Eriamjh]

Sounds like you should sell it while its working!

[mikemako]

Originally Posted by WOPR 

Store Genius said £300-£400 for a new screen, lol. And now spookily, it's suddenly started behaving itself again. All very odd indeed...

This is so funny.. that's exactly what happened to me! I took the eMac in and they told me how much it would cost. No way was I going to pay $600 (USD) so I just took it back home and it started working perfectly again! That was about 4 months ago. YEAH! The eMac knows what's going on...

[dave39]

I'm running a 700Mhz eMac with external 19" LCD with no trouble, the CRT has an internittent fault causing the picture to shrink but it has no effect on the LCD picture so the fault is in the EHT area of the eMac rather than the driver card.

Another question: the original eMac keyboard has a CD drive open and close key; if you don't have that keyboard, can you program one of the function keys to do the same or some other key combination. At the moment I can open the CD tray at startup by holding the mouse down but that doesn't work afterwards. At the moment I prise open the CD door and press the open button - real pain in 'arse'.

Dave

[WOPR]

Originally Posted by dave39 

I'm running a 700Mhz eMac with external 19" LCD with no trouble, the CRT has an internittent fault causing the picture to shrink but it has no effect on the LCD picture so the fault is in the EHT area of the eMac rather than the driver card.

Another question: the original eMac keyboard has a CD drive open and close key; if you don't have that keyboard, can you program one of the function keys to do the same or some other key combination. At the moment I can open the CD tray at startup by holding the mouse down but that doesn't work afterwards. At the moment I prise open the CD door and press the open button - real pain in 'arse'.

Dave

Hi

Thanks for your reply. Can you tell me what LCD you are using and what resolution it is please?

As for your second point, I use a small app called Ardiem to open the tray on my external DVD writer, works like a charm and I assume you can choose the internal drive too.

Here it is, give it a whirl, and it's free too.

[WOPR]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

Sounds like you should sell it while its working!

I'd like to be able to persuade him to sell it but he doesn't like spending money! Who knows where this will end up...

[centerchannel68]

I think you need to learn about this word:

does - Definitions from Dictionary.com

[WOPR]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

I think you need to learn about this word:

does - Definitions from Dictionary.com

Thank you for your stunning contribution to this thread.

Idiot.

[kick52]

Originally Posted by WOPR 

Thank you for your stunning contribution to this thread.

Idiot.

yeah.. i mean, what relevance did that have?

anyway, yeah. you should persuade your brother to sell it, and get a newer mac mini or something.

i had a problem with my old iMac G3, where it would flicker and made a "tick" sound occasonly.
but i stopped using it once i got my powermac

[ghporter]

Calling people names is not acceptable here. While I can't see a point in the "definition of does" post, being rude to other people is uncalled for and counter productive. In other words, "knock it off." Particularly the crudities, kick52. Remember, "family-friendly" forums?

[WOPR]

Sorry but he didn't exactly word his post in a brilliant way did he? A simple smiley would have made all the difference. Annnnnnnnyway....

[ghporter]

Yep, and I forget that my own attitude and emotions don't come through sometimes too. My bad when I let it happen, and I usually catch myself before that.

Anyway, what's the status with your brother's machine? "Cheap" is a word with a lot of meanings, and "the most economically advantageous choice" is not among them. Fixing an old machine that is not in any way a classic (as opposed to a '66 Mustang, even a '59 Ford Prefect auto) is a poor economy. The eMac is NOT something that will go down in the annals of computerdom as a machine to be reckoned with. In other words, is he just out of funds, or is he somehow in love with his eMac enough to not want to part with it? I'd consider the external LCD solution a "work around" rather than a solution in and of itself, mainly because to me the eMac is too big to have on the desk unless it's right in front of me.

[WOPR]

Status is this. He's not a tech person, but he needs it for his digital camera, email and web. It's only 2 years old, and cost him £700. I agree with him that he should expect to get at least 4 years use out of the machine, as he's a 'light' user, i.e. doesn't need a very powerful Mac. Anyway, we'll see how it goes, at the moment it's behaving itself...

[ghporter]

I hope it stays that way for him. CRTs are funny animals sometimes. They can hiccough and look like they're dying, and then never give you another moment's trouble.

[WOPR]

I used it again today and it still seems OK.