Family Medicine Notes

Well . perhaps it was the OS 10.4 reviews (generally good) and the
trouble we had with editing movies with the crappy Windows software ...
or I just wanted to see how the other side lived again (my 1st
computers were Macs .. and I lived over there on the "light side" for
!0 years before defecting in about 1995.

So far, the next Mac decade isn't going so well.

The imac arrived today and Sam set it up in the family room. All
was going OK until he called me in and suggested that I should help get
it to go on.

Everything was hooked together right, but it just wouldn't go on.

He said that it had powered up once and then "fell asleep." after about 30 seconds.

Subsequent efforts to get it on were unsuccessful.

That was about 10:00 PM

Apple Support is closed .. but they have "24 x 7 chat support" and an online troubleshooter.

I tried the troubleshooter while waiting for the online chat to
respond. The troubleshooter was good, but I hit a dead end when
it told me to push a button that doesn't exist on my model.

So far - it looks like we are victims of the well-documented G5 imac
power supply issues. But I think we have a world record for how
long the machine lasted. (under 1 minute!)

Here's the transcript of my chat session with Apple -- after waiting in their cue for 2 hrs:

-------------------

Jacob:

Hello.

Agent:

Thank you for contacting Apple Chat support. My name is kaushik.Please give me a moment while i pull up your records.

Jacob:

Received brand new imac today

Agent:

Jacob:

powered up for 30 seconds

Jacob:

went dead

Jacob:

now won't power up

Jacob:

followed online troubleshooter ...

Agent:

Please give me a moment while i pull up your records.

Jacob:

LED #1 os on .. but pressing internal power button does nothing

Jacob:

online troubleshooter says to push ?SMU button but none there on this model

Agent:

are you getting the chime?

Jacob:

nothing at all

Jacob:

Is thsi Mac just DOA or is there somethgin else I should try?

Jacob:

Hello?

Agent:

i am here

Agent:

checking your issue

Agent:

let me put you to the product specialist and he will be in a better position to assist you with

Jacob:

Agent:

Has transferred you to:

Jacob:

Agent:

My name is Mike one moment while I review your previoius chat

Jacob:

uuuh .. still here?

Jacob:

it wasn't exactly Moby Dick ..

Jacob:

;-)

Agent:

To
reset the SMU, do the following steps:Unplug all cables from the
computer, including the power cord.Wait 10 seconds.Plug in the power
cord while simultaneously pressing and holding the power button on the
back of the computer.Let go of the power button.Press the power button
once more to start up your iMac G5.

Jacob:

tried this. No luck

Agent:

Your notes indicate you tried to reset SMU but could not find the button. This computer does not have an SMU button

Jacob:

yes .. i see that ..

Agent:

Have you tried these exact steps ?

Jacob:

the steps you outlined above?

Jacob:

Yes

Agent:

yes

Jacob:

and repeated just now again

Jacob:

as well as the steps outlined in the online troubleshooter. I noticed
that there are four solder joints in the position that the SMU button
is in the picture .. so it is clear that this model has no SMU button

Agent:

Do you get a boot chime ? Do the fans turn on ?

Jacob:

no chime .. but when I press the "internal" power button as instructed in the online troubleshooter, the fans turn for about 1/10 second

Jacob:

about 1/30 revolution .. and a tiny squeak comes out of the computer from somewhere .. and LED #2 comes on .. ever so briefly .. less than a second.. then it goes off.

Jacob:

then silence

Agent:

Please contact our support center at 800-275-2273 between 6A to 6P for your issue.

Jacob:

you are kidding, right?

Jacob:

I waited 2 hrs for you to tell me to call in the AM?

Agent:

You will need to call for this issue

Jacob:

and they are closed on the weekend?

Agent:

Open 7 days a week

Jacob:

website says M-F

Jacob:

if I bring it to the local apple store .. can you authorize a swap or somthing?

Jacob:

are you agreeing at least that this is DOA?

Agent:

I am not agreeing this is DOA or that it will be swapped. I am advising you to call our call center. You will be transferred to a product specialist

Jacob:

YOu are not a product specialist? kaushik said you were a product specialist! pls understand this is frustrating to wait 2 weeks for new machine .. spend 1 hrs troubleshooting on my own .. wait 2 hrs to talk with you .. and now you tell me call in AM!?

Agent:

I understand but for this issue you need to call

Jacob:

what exactly do you think "this issue" is?

Agent:

I aplogize but there is nothing else we can do for this problem by chat

Jacob:

thanks, Mike.

Agent:

Thanks for using AppleCare chat support

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well - clearly Mike is instucted to avoid saying anything in writing to acknowledge that this is DOA or that it has a problem that Apple has yet to publicly acknowledge is very-bad-indeed as many of the discussion boards will confirm.

I really am questioning this purchase. Hmm ..

We'll see if tomorrow goes any better.

I'll call at 6 AM Pacific ...

Comments

Well, at the Apple Store they will be able to figure this out. I would just do that. Or they will fix it right away, you never know. Anyhow your machine is under warranty. It is a pain to wait anxiously for this and get a problematic machine. I always get that feeling "it always happens to me" kind of thing, but I guess that's not really true. I had to exchange 2 dead iPods by mail and they were very helpful and sent me the new ones even before I sent the ones in. best regards, Leo

Posted by: Leo F | June 13, 2005 06:35 PM

Jacob, I'm sorry to hear you're having so much trouble with your new iMac. It does sound like a DOA. Hopefully it's working by now or you got a replacement? As a long-time Mac owner, I've had mostly good luck with Apple Tech Support, although I've never tried getting help by chat (sounds as painful as getting a root canal). A wonderful Mac resource is Macintouch.com. They have a thread on iMac G5 problems here: http://www.macintouch.com/imacg5part10.html#jun07. They and it's readers/contributors have saved my bacon countless times. Other helpful online resources are the Apple Support Forums where bands of Mac citizens patrol the forums for problems to solve, and Macfixit. You can also e-mail me if you have any Mac questions. I can't promise I'll know the answer, but I'll know where you can find one. So don't give up on the Mac yet. I'm sure once you get past this, it'll be a better experience. akifox (running a solo family practice on a PowerBook G4)

Posted by: akifox | June 8, 2005 12:20 PM

Family Medicine Notes

Docnotes - Occasional Notes from a family physician - since 1999

Apple iMac G5 - DOA & service troubles

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