Problems with my new iMac-Stress Test

[jared_kipe]

Well my imac has come back from getting its' screen replaced. And now has a new problem, it will just turn itself off and back on at random times.

Call up apple, they can't figure it out have me do the "unplug" and replug back in holding the powerbutton. This causes my fans to become stuck on. They say I have to take it BACK to the apple store to get something about the fan control board replaced. When asked for it to be DOA'ed and get a replacement, they say I should have done that before it went in for its first repair. (remember I've had this in my position for all of 4 days now and only had it 1 before going to get the screen fixed)

They think its overheating, is there a way to stress test the cpu/gpu to test this hypothesis? (I have since gotten the fans to turn back off.)

 

[superbovine]

you try zapping your pram?

 

[jared_kipe]

My understanding is that there is no pram on intel imacs. Guess I should say I have a new 20" with 256mb. They said what I did should have fixed that sort of problem.

 

[superbovine]

My understanding is that there is no pram on intel imacs. Guess I should say I have a new 20" with 256mb. They said what I did should have fixed that sort of problem.

heh, probably should have asked too

 

[jared_kipe]

Yeah, I just figured nobody would be buying G5 iMac's these day I guess.

 

[jared_kipe]

Well I let it play a bot match for ~1 hour in unreal 2004. The fans barely came on and started blowing reasonably hot air, but its nowhere near the full blast on and obviously not overheating. Could apple's diagnosis be correct?

 

[mrichmon]

My understanding is that there is no pram on intel imacs.

The new iMacs have an equivalent of pram and the process of disconnecting the power cable for a minute then holding in the power button while reconnecting the power cable is the new way of zapping the hardware settings. This process is the same as used on the mac mini.

 

[superbovine]

it could still be correct it could still be overheating. in generally most computer that overheat don't exhibit problems all the time and could function correctly 90% this is why they are hard to diagnose.

 

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Well my imac has come back from getting its' screen replaced. And now has a new problem, it will just turn itself off and back on at random times.

Call up apple, they can't figure it out have me do the "unplug" and replug back in holding the powerbutton. This causes my fans to become stuck on. They say I have to take it BACK to the apple store to get something about the fan control board replaced. When asked for it to be DOA'ed and get a replacement, they say I should have done that before it went in for its first repair. (remember I've had this in my position for all of 4 days now and only had it 1 before going to get the screen fixed)

They think its overheating, is there a way to stress test the cpu/gpu to test this hypothesis? (I have since gotten the fans to turn back off.)

They also had me do the unplug/replug thing for a video card issue I'm having, and I had the same thing happen with my fans. Even with a reboot the fans would not shut off, and were incredibly loud.

She told me I should bring it back to the store (which there isn't one near me for hundreds of miles) - but after I got off the phone I just unplugged it for about 5 minutes and then plugged it back in - no more loud fans.

So... I'm not having a random shut-off issue, but I still had the same fan thing happen. I guess what I'm saying is maybe that's just an all around issue with these machines.

 

[jared_kipe]

They also had me do the unplug/replug thing for a video card issue I'm having, and I had the same thing happen with my fans. Even with a reboot the fans would not shut off, and were incredibly loud.

She told me I should bring it back to the store (which there isn't one near me for hundreds of miles) - but after I got off the phone I just unplugged it for about 5 minutes and then plugged it back in - no more loud fans.

So... I'm not having a random shut-off issue, but I still had the same fan thing happen. I guess what I'm saying is maybe that's just an all around issue with these machines.

What is your video issue? Thats how I got my fans to turn off too. I'm going to use my computer for a week or so and if it doesn't die again I'm not going to be taking it in. If it does, then I'll take it in pronto.

So stress testing won't make the problem show up? And what exactly are they going to replace?

 

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

What is your video issue? Thats how I got my fans to turn off too. I'm going to use my computer for a week or so and if it doesn't die again I'm not going to be taking it in. If it does, then I'll take it in pronto.

So stress testing won't make the problem show up? And what exactly are they going to replace?

Something is screwy with my video card...

Pics Here

After reseting the PMU and PRAM, however, it hasn't popped up again yet. I think it's just luck though, so I'll probably be taking mine in soon as well.

 

[Peace]

Something is screwy with my video card...

Pics Here

After reseting the PMU and PRAM, however, it hasn't popped up again yet. I think it's just luck though, so I'll probably be taking mine in soon as well.

Man..After seeing those pics I would say take that thing back ASAP!!
Call Apple and DEMAND they send you a return slip..

 

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Man..After seeing those pics I would say take that thing back ASAP!!
Call Apple and DEMAND they send you a return slip..

I called them and they said I had to bring it into an Apple Store for service.

I don't have a service center within probably 250 miles of me.

 

[tivoboy]

how to reset

how to reset the NVRAM on the intelimac?

I tried the old method, and the fans just keep on running even after startup.

 

[yankeefan24]

I called them and they said I had to bring it into an Apple Store for service.

I don't have a service center within probably 250 miles of me.

where do you live? Isn't compusa a service center? There must be a european equivelent.

 

[Spectrum]

They think its overheating, is there a way to stress test the cpu/gpu to test this hypothesis? (I have since gotten the fans to turn back off.)

Something like the photoshop blur test in this thread should be good, no?

Perhaps resize it REALLY big first

 

[Revlimit Punk]

I don't think it's overheating. If it is, why would it restart itself? Shouldn't it just turn off and stay that way?

Could it be a bad ram module? I heard of some machines restarting because of that before (never got to see stuff like that happening with my eyes though).
Maybe, if it's not too much of an hassle, as a last resort, you could try swapping memory modules and see if it changes something.

 

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

where do you live? Isn't compusa a service center? There must be a european equivelent.

There is a CompUSA about 2 miles from my house. After I got off the phone with Apple I called them up.

"We currently do not have an Apple technician on staff and cannot provide service for Apple computers."

 

[spencecb]

There is a CompUSA about 2 miles from my house. After I got off the phone with Apple I called them up.

"We currently do not have an Apple technician on staff and cannot provide service for Apple computers."

I thought I had posted a reply to your video card issue already, but I will post it again. You are experiencing the beginning stages of video card failure. This will result in not being able to boot into OS X and Apple will have to replace your logic board, essentially replacing the inside of your iMac....

DO NOT LET THEM DO THIS!!! Demand that they give you a replacement iMac, not repair the one you have. I had to deal with this when I got my original iMac G5, and they replaced the logic board twice for the same problem, and once the video card failed for a third time, I demanded a new iMac and they gave me a Rev. C.

You will be able to ship your computer from your house, once you have demanded that Apple replace your computer. They will send you a shipping label via e-mail for FedEx. Simply schedule a pickup with FedEx by calling them, and don't take Apple's advice of taking the computer to a FedEx store to have them ship it out. It is free for FedEx to come and get it from your house, whereas you will be charged $50 for taking it to a FedEx store.

PLEASE do yourself a favor and take my advice and don't go through the headache that I had to go through to get my iMac replaced. It will be worth it for you to demand this replacement, as the problem will most likely strike again, as it did three times for me.

 

[superbovine]

I thought I had posted a reply to your video card issue already, but I will post it again. You are experiencing the beginning stages of video card failure. This will result in not being able to boot into OS X and Apple will have to replace your logic board, essentially replacing the inside of your iMac....

DO NOT LET THEM DO THIS!!! Demand that they give you a replacement iMac, not repair the one you have. I had to deal with this when I got my original iMac G5, and they replaced the logic board twice for the same problem, and once the video card failed for a third time, I demanded a new iMac and they gave me a Rev. C.

You will be able to ship your computer from your house, once you have demanded that Apple replace your computer. They will send you a shipping label via e-mail for FedEx. Simply schedule a pickup with FedEx by calling them, and don't take Apple's advice of taking the computer to a FedEx store to have them ship it out. It is free for FedEx to come and get it from your house, whereas you will be charged $50 for taking it to a FedEx store.

PLEASE do yourself a favor and take my advice and don't go through the headache that I had to go through to get my iMac replaced. It will be worth it for you to demand this replacement, as the problem will most likely strike again, as it did three times for me.

you act like they will replace the unit before trying to fix it the cheapest way possible.

 

[budugu]

you act like they will replace the unit before trying to fix it the cheapest way possible.

Depends on how you present your case! You can get your stuff replaced or even refunded! i bought a imac G5 refurb (rev A) before knowing what kinding of things they are! First day i start it no OS (boot into some test partition), hence had to install OS, installation would hang, Screen starts flashing and lound screetching sound, power button was not working since it was not a CRT (that could blow the building!) i was relatively calm and yanked the plug out. Then i was with apple care guys for 5 hours and finally then gave me a refund. Stay on the line be calm but firm. Explain exactly what your problem is, most of the time it works. I had a mic problem on my notebook and they asked me to send it to be fixed though.

 

[spencecb]

you act like they will replace the unit before trying to fix it the cheapest way possible.

Well, in a situation like this, it helps to actually be informed about the history of problems that have plagued the iMac G5. If you go in there knowing what you are talking about, they will see that you mean business. It's not our job, as customers, to let Apple get their way by trying to fix something the cheapest way possible. We're the ones that spend the money buying their product, and it is their job to make it right.

 

[jared_kipe]

Yeah thats bunk, if someone at apple SEES those pictures they're not gonna say to take it to a store. DEMAND a new unit. WTF is with apple not taking back defective merchandise. I don't care you've attempted repair once, take it back this time. It should be illegal to refuse a refund/replacement for a defective product. I can't belive Apple is going about it like this, just take the comptuers, fix them, and when they are ready to be sold sell them as referbs like you're supposed to. Plus the apple staff scuffed up my bezel.

 

[mrichmon]

Plus the apple staff scuffed up my bezel.

Then it is simple. Call AppleCare. Politely explain what has already happened. Point out that you are extremely unhappy with your iMac experience thus far. Explain that given the problems you have had since receiving the machine makes you doubt that a repair will resolve the issue and request that the machine be replaced. If you do not get anywhere with the service representative on the phone politely ask to speak to their manager.

Explain the story to the manager. Ultimately customer service representatives are not high in the corporate structure and do no know you so they are not out to get you. If you are rude to them then they have no motivation to help you.

 

[jared_kipe]

Then it is simple. Call AppleCare. Politely explain what has already happened. Point out that you are extremely unhappy with your iMac experience thus far. Explain that given the problems you have had since receiving the machine makes you doubt that a repair will resolve the issue and request that the machine be replaced. If you do not get anywhere with the service representative on the phone politely ask to speak to their manager.

Explain the story to the manager. Ultimately customer service representatives are not high in the corporate structure and do no know you so they are not out to get you. If you are rude to them then they have no motivation to help you.

I did this, I had to speak to an iMac product specialist or some such rubbish. Thats whey they told me they couldn't DOA it if it already went for repairs. But that they could if it had one more problem. But so far it hasn't crashed again, when it does I'm gonna go and see what my options are.