Blown Intel iMac Power Supply

[Vlade]

My roomate just got a new iMac and decided to swap the hard drives from his old computer into it. Everything was going great and we had OS X running on the new HD, except one of the fans was spinning to fast, so we decided to open the iMac back up and make sure we plugged in all of the fan sensors. My friend was unplugging the screen cable and dropped it onto the PSU, there was a big spark, and we realized we fried the power supply. We voided the warranty, but were pretty sure that the only thing that needs replaced is the power supply. Does anyone know where we can get one, with the computer being so new and apple being so closed with their hardware I think its going to be hard. Also, if we can't find a replacement has anyone ever had a power supply replaced in another mac by apple, if so how much did they charge?

 

[Mac_Freak]

Just put the old HDD back in its place and say that Power Supply has just fried. From your post it looks like there is no physical damage, is it. That would be naught of course.
DON'T DO IT'S JUST A JOKE

 

[AJBMatrix]

Did you damage it physically?

 

[cnakeitaro]

You know even tho he says don't do it, its a good idea. How would they know it wasn't just a faulty power supply? Just make up a story and keep to it.

 

[leftbanke7]

What's the worst that could happen? They tell you that you voided the warrantee and you're back to where you were at to begin with.

 

[cnakeitaro]

atleast you didn't kill your iMac by trying to load windows on it

 

[ITASOR]

Not being able to swap hard drives in a desktop without voiding the warranty is BS. Couldn't the G5 be opened easily to swap HDs? Heh.

 

[cnakeitaro]

Not being able to swap hard drives in a desktop without voiding the warranty is BS. Couldn't the G5 be opened easily to swap HDs? Heh.

I don't think it was swapping the drives that was the problem. It was the fact he killed his power supply.

 

[GoCubsGo]

What's the worst that could happen? They tell you that you voided the warrantee and you're back to where you were at to begin with.

And that he'll be lying. Sometimes I wonder if the hype around faulty goods is nothing more than a bunch of people screwing up their brand new toys and taking them back saying they didn't know what happened.

Enjoy your fried mac.

 

[ITASOR]

I don't think it was swapping the drives that was the problem. It was the fact he killed his power supply.

Oh, that could be. I thought he meant swapping the drive voided the warranty.

 

[pistol44]

Thank you Jessica. The voice of reason.

 

[Mac_Freak]

Oh, that could be. I thought he meant swapping the drive voided the warranty.

Come on guys, read the original post carefully. His friend has shorted the PSU.

...My friend was unplugging the screen cable and dropped it onto the PSU, there was a big spark, and we realized we fried the power supply. ...

 

[AJBMatrix]

Other people are the voices of reason too. Just a different line of reasoning. Why is it that people always consider others not to be reasonable when they do not agree? Just because they do not agree with you does not mean that they are not reasonable.

 

[emaja]

Other people are the voices of reason too. Just a different line of reasoning. Why is it that people always consider others not to be reasonable when they do not agree? Just because they do not agree with you does not mean that they are not reasonable.

No, he fried his PSU. Why on earth should Apple pay for this? How is Apple responsible for his mistake?

Yes, Apple could make it easier to replace the hard drive, but they didn't and due to his neglect - not Apple's - his PSU is toast.

I feel for the OP, but the fact is that this problem was caused by a user error - by his own admission. The best that can happen is that you take it in, honestly explain that you need a new PSU, tell the truth and pay for it to be replaced.

I am not chastising OP for trying to replace his HD. He admits his error and wants to do the right thing, but I can't believe that people are encouraging him to lie instead of allowing him to stand up and take responsibility for it.

Vlade, do what you know is the right thing and do not listen to those here that are less honest than you.

 

[Vlade]

Not being able to swap hard drives in a desktop without voiding the warranty is BS. Couldn't the G5 be opened easily to swap HDs? Heh.

The insides of the intel iMac are nothing like the G5 iMac, we had both of them open side by side and the intel iMac is NOT meant to be opened. There is a ton of aluminum tape that my friend removed as he was going to the HD so its obvious we were in there so I don't think he could claim the PSU just burnt out on its own - there is clear burn marks and three resistors are melted/shorted out pretty bad, it blew a circuit in my dorm room so there must have been a ton of power going through there.

My roomates taking it to the apple store tomorrow morning, and another friend called my campus apple rep, hopefully they can figure something out.

Thanks for all the advice, I can't speak for my roomate but I don't think screwing apple is the right thing to do, I'm hoping for his sake that there is some way to get a used PSU and we can fix it ourselves because I know that apple is going to charge a TON to replace a part that costs them under $50

 

[cnakeitaro]

honestly tho, why did you have it plugged in while you were working inside of it?

 

[jsw]

Hopefully from now on you'll at least unplug the computer before disassembling it. Lesson learned, I guess.

I'm pretty sure your only hope is going through Apple or an Apple-certified repair shop, because, as you said, these things are so new that no one else will have the power supplies - unless, somehow, you can figure out the original supplier, but Apple probably isn't using a stock PS.

 

[Mac_Freak]

honestly tho, why did you have it plugged in while you were working inside of it?

what, I didn't think he was that ( insert a word here ) to leave it plugged in

EDIT: Made the post not as harsh sounding.

 

[cnakeitaro]

what, I didn't think he was that stupid to leave it plugged in

looks like it

there is clear burn marks and three resistors are melted/shorted out pretty bad, it blew a circuit in my dorm room so there must have been a ton of power going through there.

 

[Vlade]

Yeah it was plugged in when it happened. We actually had it unplugged for most of the time and we plugged it in to test it before we put in all the screws, but the fan still spun way to fast so we started taking it apart again and forgot to unplug it. My friend even had a grounding kit hooked up to his wrist and the ground in the wall and had tons of experience with computers (he's going for computer engineering) but just made a care mistake.

Call me (even though I didn't really touch the thing I just watched them) retarded if you want, I don't care, I'm just trying to help them fix the thing!

 

[toneloco2881]

Yeah, I feel for your friend but WTH was he thinking working on a computers innards while being plugged in. Im glad the psu was the only thing hurt. Hope everything works out anyhow. If you go to a local apple repair center and talk to one of the techs there, they may order a part for you, that normally apple doesn't offer to just customers. I got one of them to order a bluetooth module for my sisters iBook.

 

[cnakeitaro]

You know, it could be alot worse than the PSU. We have no idea how extensive the damage is since we can't even turn it on. If that amount of power was running thru through the Power Supply, it probably cycled through every component.

 

[hcuar]

You know, it could be alot worse than the PSU. We have no idea how extensive the damage is since we can't even turn it on. If that amount of power was running thru through the Power Supply, it probably cycled through every component.

I was going to just post this. I was running a PC that I built for a guy without the cover. I usually do this in order to make sure the fans are operating properly. I went to put the cover back on the computer, and pushed the power supply line into the case. I fried the power supply, processor, motherboard, graphics card, and all the PCI cards. The only things that still worked were the memory and the drives.

I'd bet that you have far more than just a faulty power supply now. With the screen being integrated, you could have also fried the LCD portion of the iMac. I have no intention on lecturing why you worked on the machine while plugged in. I've intentionally done that with PC's for years, and have only fried one.

At this point, I think your friend's only choice is to step up and take responsibility for the mistake. Take the machine into Apple, and see how much it's gonna cost to fix it. Apple shouldn't be responsible.

 

[toneloco2881]

Yeah, I feel for your friend but WTH was he thinking working on a computers innards while being plugged in. Im glad the psu was the only thing hurt. Hope everything works out anyhow. If you go to a local apple repair center and talk to one of the techs there, they may order a part for you, that normally apple doesn't offer to just customers. I got one of them to order a bluetooth module for my sisters iBook.

 

[Vlade]

My friend took it to the apple store today and they are going to fix it for about $200 in labor. The guy that helped us out went to the same school as me and my friends so somehow he saved us about $100 and got us the replacement PSU for free but had to charge for labor. It should be back in about 2-3 days once they get the part in.

Thanks for all the input