[dfbennett]

Well looks like my new 17" iMac has a defective screen or board somewhere
The screen has this constant flicker of brightness. I called up Apple and they said it needs to be serviced and gave me the names of places I could bring it.
One of the ones they mentioned(and the closest place I might add) was my local Apple retail store. I tried to call them to see what I need to bring, but I assume all I need to do is bring the unit and a copy of my sales reciept(the machine is still under the factory warranty).
Has anyone else had to get something serviced at an Apple Store? How fast was the turnaround time? Other than taking out my extra ram(to make sure it doesn't get lost or something when they fix my iMac) and backing up my HD, is there anything else I need to do? Thanks for any info. Hopefully my iMac will be back soon better than new.

[OpenStep]

I brought my broken PB G4 to an Apple store for service... I left the RAM in it and didn't back up my HD Everything came back exactly like before except obviously fixed. They diag'ed it right at the Genius bar and took it in, fixed it, called me when it was done and I picked it up. I didn't even need a reciept, they looked up the serial number for warranty info.

[dfbennett]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully this will make the hastle of getting my machine repaired minimal. Hopefully it won't take long either. There's a PC I can use in the other room but I don't know how many days I can tolerate using it

[dfbennett]

Well I burned a backup DVD of a good deal of my stuff last night just for safe keeping and I also decided to just remove the ram module just to avoid any possible damage or loss to it while the iMac is being repaired. So I decided to reconnect my G4 350 so now I'm back chugging away at 350 mhz on a 17" CRT. Not only does it seem small but man is it blurry compared to the iMac's LCD. The guy at the Apple Store was quite helpful and unlike alot of computer techs actually had a personality and was swapping crazy party stories with my friend and I while we were filling out the repair forms. I feel like I left my beloved iMac in good hands
The guy determined the screen needs to be replaced(we looked at their 17" iMac just to confirm and it indeed didn't exhibit the behavior mine did). The good news is that I should have it back by Saturday at the latest(assuming no other problems arise with it). I must say if I have my iMac back by saturday with the problem fixed I will be so pleased with Apple's service I will write a letter to Apple corporate headquarters to show my appreciation for the guys over at the Apple Store Westfarms. So, bad news is that I'm back to the old G4 for now, but I should have my iMac back much sooner than I expected. Oh well it could be worse, I could be forced to use my parent's Windows XP machine

[dfbennett]

Got my iMac back today. They replaced the LCD and the inverter board.
The good news is that the problem is much much better.
However, the bad news is that it's no completely gone. I can still notice a slight flicker, though nowhere near as bad as it was before. Now I really have to look for it, but before it was in your face. So, I'm not really sure what to do. I'll see if it gets worse or starts to bother me more over the next few days. Part of me is wishing that I'd just got a new Powermac and kept my old sony monitor. sure it was small but it didn't have these weird problems