Daniel911

Hiyo!

My mom has a 2 year-old eMac, for which she did NOT get extended Applecare coverage - so its no longer covered.

Coupla days ago, as she was doing something totally innocuous (browsing the web) the screen went blank and the whole computer just went dead (just like during a normal shutdown). A faint residual smell of hot electronics accompanied the event.

Since then, no amount of prodding will get any kind of response when she tries to start up her eMac - it just sits there dead. No whirring, no clicking, no NOTHING!! It doesn't even TRY to start up. Paperweight. Boat anchor. Door stopper. Artificial rock.

What are the chances that the machine is salvageable? Do the above symptoms point to something that could be easily fixed (e,g, power supply), or is it something more sinister?

I could really use your feedback, 'cuz my mom is really freaking out over the loss of her favorite toy...

thanx!

Daniel911

don

I had an eMac go south on me about a year ago. the symptoms were about the same as your mothers. It was the power supply on mine FWIW.

don

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IronMac

Was it purchased on any sort of credit card that would give you an extended warranty? Sounds like it's time for a trip to the local Apple repair shop.

Moscool

Power supply or fan have been the most common faults since the dawn of personal computing...

Make sure that you get it serviced via a 'part exchange' programme: they swap your power supply for a reconditioned one and give you a warranty. Much cheaper than a new part.

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Daniel911

(Sorry for the slow response time, I was busy with my regular day job and then out with da boys last night!)

So you guys are also thinking power supply? What kind of money am I looking at for the repairs (case cracking, disassembly, installation)?

Daniel911

SkyHook

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Gerbill

It's not a good idea to get inside the case of a monitor or an all-in-one computer, unless you know exactly what you're doing. There are voltages in there that can kill.

If that doesn't discourage you, I can say that I've worked inside my eMac to the extent of installing a big HDD and a SuperDrive - I have a PDF service manual that I downloaded from

http://home.earthlink.net/~strahm_s/manuals.html

It has a good take-apart and troubleshooting section. The only thing that can be done without major dismantling is resetting the PMU (Power Management Unit) You can do this in the little hatch you remove to add RAM or change the battery. Proceed from there at your own risk entirely.

Cheers :-> Bill

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Daniel911

I'm not going to screw around with high-voltage related parts. Just bite the bullet and pay to get it done.

Funny though, I've had dozens of 'puters over the years and never had power supply related problems. My mom gets her first new 'puter and it craps out after 2 years...