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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > iMac G4 with broken screen

iMac G4 with broken screen
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omarv
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Nov 14, 2004, 07:00 PM
 
Hi,
I have an iMac g4 with a broken LCD screen. The computer works just fine, the dvd player and everything are in good order. Will the computer work if I take the screen off (The entire neck assembly and stuff) and use an external monitor through the external VGA port with the adaptor? Basically it would be like a g4 Cube wouldn't it? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.
     
buffalolee
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Nov 17, 2004, 11:39 AM
 
Originally posted by omarv:
Hi,
I have an iMac g4 with a broken LCD screen. The computer works just fine, the dvd player and everything are in good order. Will the computer work if I take the screen off (The entire neck assembly and stuff) and use an external monitor through the external VGA port with the adaptor? Basically it would be like a g4 Cube wouldn't it? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.
If you want, you can try purchasing a screen for it. It will require surgery, patience, and lots of luck. Try finding a screen with the same dimensions, and buy it to replace the broken one in your mac.
     
darkhawk64
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Nov 20, 2004, 02:15 PM
 
Hello-
Yes, that will definitely work, and it looks quite cool! I work at an Apple Authorized Service Provider, and we did that a few months back for a customer, and it worked really really well. I'm not sure what was used to plug the gap where the display neck goes, but It was some sort of plastic cap, I think. Good luck and post pics if you do it!
jared
"You don't cuddle up to Max Power. You just strap yourself on and feel the Gs."
-Homer Simpson from "The Simpsons"
     
omarv  (op)
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Nov 22, 2004, 10:59 AM
 
So I took the screen off, carefully, the airport antenna survived, just took some patience to remove it from the housing, and route it out a different way. So yeah, It's hooked up to a plain ol' CRT monitor and works great. It is however limited to 1024x768 resolution. I couldn't be more pleased. It is super quiet and working!!!
     
pickslide
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Dec 6, 2004, 09:38 PM
 
Originally posted by omarv:
So I took the screen off, carefully, the airport antenna survived, just took some patience to remove it from the housing, and route it out a different way. So yeah, It's hooked up to a plain ol' CRT monitor and works great. It is however limited to 1024x768 resolution. I couldn't be more pleased. It is super quiet and working!!!
Hello there, I'm glad everything worked out for you. I happen to be in the market for imac neck assembly that you may have. Would you be interested in selling it to a small start up company who desparately needs some imac parts?
Thanks, Al W
     
omarv  (op)
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Dec 9, 2004, 07:19 PM
 
Sorry but the neck didn't survive the surgery. I saw a few on Ebay however. Good luck
     
kenjayz
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Dec 12, 2004, 10:02 PM
 
** It is however limited to 1024x768 resolution**

omarv -

What are the capabilities of your CRT monitor? Which model iMac do you have? Which internal video chipset? What resolutions are available in the "Displays" preference panel?

I have a G4 iMac [800mhz] formerly w/ a 15" screen. The specifications say it has a nVidia GeForce 2 in it. I also removed the arm and LCD assembly. I use it with the white Apple video out adapter, and an 18" LCD monitor at 1280 X 1024 @60HZ.

It works great!
     
blindemboss
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Dec 15, 2004, 03:24 PM
 
Originally posted by kenjayz:
** It is however limited to 1024x768 resolution**

omarv -

What are the capabilities of your CRT monitor? Which model iMac do you have? Which internal video chipset? What resolutions are available in the "Displays" preference panel?

I have a G4 iMac [800mhz] formerly w/ a 15" screen. The specifications say it has a nVidia GeForce 2 in it. I also removed the arm and LCD assembly. I use it with the white Apple video out adapter, and an 18" LCD monitor at 1280 X 1024 @60HZ.

It works great!
WOW! I have the original 15" 700 model and would love to get 1280 x 1024. Which of the two video adapters is it?
-Apple Video Adapter M9109G/A
-Apple VGA Display Adapter M8639G/A
     
kenjayz
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Dec 15, 2004, 07:11 PM
 
Originally posted by blindemboss:
WOW! I have the original 15" 700 model and would love to get 1280 x 1024. Which of the two video adapters is it?
-Apple Video Adapter M9109G/A
-Apple VGA Display Adapter M8639G/A
I would guess it's the VGA Display Adapter [it's white - and one end goes into the iMac's video out port, and the other connects to the VGA monitor]. I don't remember the part#.

If you still have your 15" screen assembly connected [internally] - it's not gonna work for you. The 15" iMac will only do 1024 X 768, and the external [monitor out] will only do the same. But with the iMac's LCD disconnected - you can get higher resolutions - whatever the monitor you connect it to - will do.

I recently wrote a long story about what was done to my iMac - and I posted it on Apple's discussion boards [under iMac/Flat Panel]. Here [most of] it is:

... I didn't actually do the work to remove the screen & arm. My friend, who is an accomplished laptop repair person did it, but he described the procedure to me - which was that he basically just removed the arm and LCD assemblies and put it back together. He mentioned something about making sure that the wire from the fan [which is in the top of the dome] is re-connected. Apparently, he had to "re-route" it from where it was originally - [it must have inter-connected with the wiring which comes down from the screen] - and he connected it to a place on the internal power supply. I might add, that he had never been "inside" a G4 iMac before, and had no wiring diagrams or illustrated pictures to guide him.

He simply disconnected all the wiring that comes down through the arm - inside the dome. The wires all terminate into mating connectors inside the "dome". There were no wires that had to be cut - except "possibly" that fan wire - which [as I said] was re-routed and connected directly to a terminal on the power supply. If you do this operation - you will lose your microphone & Airport antenna which were in the screen assembly. But you can connect a microphone to a USB port on the base, and you can create an "extension wire" from the internal Airport antenna - if you wanted to.

I am using an 18" LCD monitor that has a VGA connection - which is coupled to the little white Apple video-out adapter. I am getting a very clear picture at 1280 X 1024 resolution - 60hz. The full effects of "Quartz Extreme" are present.

Regarding the resolution - It offers what ever the monitor you have connected will offer. In the case of my machine [800mhz-15"], it has - what I guess is, a full fledged nVidia GeForce 2 MX "card" which is integrated into the motherboard.

A lot of people on the Apple discussion board are "weeping & moaning" about having a DEAD LCD and being out of warranty. It is unfortunate, but actually, this is kind of a "blessing in disguise" - and my machine "proves it".

I think the real [secret] story here is that you have to disconnect the iMac's screen to get the FULL power of the [on-board] video components through the video out adapter. If the LCD is internally connected [whether working or not], you can't achieve these results with an external monitor.
( Last edited by kenjayz; Dec 15, 2004 at 07:36 PM. )
     
megasad
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Dec 15, 2004, 08:05 PM
 
Originally posted by kenjayz:
I have a G4 iMac [800mhz] formerly w/ a 15" screen. The specifications say it has a nVidia GeForce 2 in it. I also removed the arm and LCD assembly. I use it with the white Apple video out adapter, and an 18" LCD monitor at 1280 X 1024 @60HZ.

It works great!
Could you take a picture of that and post it for us all to see? Close-ups and in-use pictures, if you have the time and inclination. What did your friend do with the hole left when the arm was removed?
BayBook (13" MacBook Pro, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 1TB HD) // BayPhone (iPhone 4, 32GB, black)
     
kenjayz
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Dec 15, 2004, 10:12 PM
 
Originally posted by megasad:
Could you take a picture of that and post it for us all to see? Close-ups and in-use pictures, if you have the time and inclination. What did your friend do with the hole left when the arm was removed?
What was "done" with the hole - I did - and if you saw it, you would think that Apple designed it that way!

I would [post pics] ... but it won't let me post any images.

( Last edited by kenjayz; Dec 15, 2004 at 10:38 PM. )
     
gsxrboy
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Dec 16, 2004, 12:50 AM
 
Host them at www.imageshack.us or similar and then copy the [img] piccyurl [/i m g] link in the normal reply window...
     
kenjayz
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Dec 16, 2004, 12:58 AM
 
Originally posted by gsxrboy:
Host them at www.imageshack.us or similar and then copy the [img] piccyurl [/i m g] link in the normal reply window...
http://img142.exs.cx/img142/3366/imacg4hl16od.jpg
http://img146.exs.cx/img146/7475/imacg4hl34tx.jpg

More later [maybe] ...
( Last edited by kenjayz; Dec 24, 2004 at 04:56 AM. )
     
mitchell_pgh
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Dec 16, 2004, 08:35 AM
 
Looks great! Talk about an inexpensive solution.

I wish Apple sold just the old iMac body -$200+
     
megasad
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Dec 16, 2004, 08:43 AM
 
Originally posted by kenjayz:
What was "done" with the hole - I did - and if you saw it, you would think that Apple designed it that way!
That be downright purty.
BayBook (13" MacBook Pro, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 1TB HD) // BayPhone (iPhone 4, 32GB, black)
     
blikum
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Dec 16, 2004, 03:10 PM
 
Woe that's cool! It's not a cube, it's a "Dome"!
     
gsxrboy
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Dec 16, 2004, 07:24 PM
 
Originally posted by kenjayz:
More later [maybe] ...
Thx kenjayz, it would make for a cool little media centre box-o-tricks in the lounge too !

p.s. your welcome
     
kenjayz
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Dec 16, 2004, 08:17 PM
 
Originally posted by gsxrboy:

"it would make for a cool little media centre box-o-tricks in the lounge too!"

Yes- that is exactly what it should be!

Since it's VERY portable - it would be easy to move it into the "lounge" - and connect it to a projector when I'm having a soire. Then- afterwards - I can unplug it and take it back to my desk for more "serious" work.

Here's the deal on why/how I got this thing:

Where I live, there is a local internet bulletin board called "Craigslist". Someone posted to sell a G4 iMac for $125, but it was missing the hard drive, and it was "semi-disassembled".
He posted it in the wrong category [under electronics - not computers as he should have], and he posted it at 11:00PM on a Saturday night.

So ... I jumped on it - and when when I got there, he had the iMac [screen still attached - wiring dangling out the bottom], and the drive cage - separate [missing the hard drive - but with a SuperDrive in it!]. He told me he had got it from a friend, but it had a bad hard drive, which he was trying to change out - but since he was a "PC" person, he had lost interest in completing the project!

So I said - does it work? And he said that it "used to work" - but he didn't know how to put it back together either!

OK.

I offered him $100 and he took it! The next day I picked up a Seagate 120GB HD for $40 [after rebate], and took it over to my friend's house. He put it all back together - and the screen stayed black! He took it apart again to check if he had connected it incorrectly, but the screen stayed black. So then I went and bought the little white Apple "mini-VGA" adapter [$20], and we connected an external monitor.

It worked!

I decided that I didn't like having a "dead" and "useless" arm & LCD screen on top - so I asked him to "amputate" it. I sold the arm & screen assembly on eBay for $200 [I clearly stated that it was NOT known if it actually worked - or if it didn't work, that I wouldn't know why] - "Sold-As-Is" [in big letters]!

Technically - I got this iMac FOR FREE + an extra $40 - but I gave my friend the $40 - and a $10 "tip"!

( Last edited by kenjayz; Dec 16, 2004 at 11:26 PM. )
     
gsxrboy
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Dec 16, 2004, 09:28 PM
 
What a fantastic deal ! Wish I could find one in Australia like that

The project finished up looking great man.
     
naiomi
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Jan 23, 2006, 09:09 PM
 
I have done the same thing and it worked successfully, except I am not sure about what to about the fan. I don't think I have the experience to connect it directly to the power supply. Would it be okay to cut the connector from the screen and use if for the fan? Any imput would help!!
     
Eriamjh
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Jan 27, 2006, 08:22 AM
 
Great story, kenjayz!

I'm a bird. I am the 1% (of pets).
     
   
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