Have you ever seen an iMac with the skin off?
3 minute read
November 30, 2007, 9:21 PM
Well, you soon will. I had the opportunity to do a memory upgrade on a first-generation iMac G5 today at work, and so I got to open one of those puppies up. So this is what the iMac looks like with the skin off:
And here’s the memory, where I did my work:
The iMac is definitely a different beast than what I’m used to rummaging around inside: PC’s in a tower configuration. In other words, there’s lots of room, and lots of wires everywhere. On the iMac, everything is just packed into this little tiny case, and so it definitely looks different than what I’m used to. There’s also a lot less open space in there.
On the later versions of the iMac G5, there’s a small access door that you use to access the memory. On the earlier G5 model, the case is different, necessitating removal of the entire back.
So to do this, I had to loosen three little screws, and then lift the back off. I found the RAM, and stuck in the new sticks. So far, so good. The part of it that’s a real pain is getting the cover back on. Of course, that task is a beast in many computers of all different makes throughout the ages – getting the blasted cover back on. In this case, there are some hooks that have to be hooked at the top of the cover to get it to go on right, or else the cover sticks out and isn’t on securely. After a few tries, I got it on, and then re-secured the little screws.
Then of course, all you have to do is sit it back up on that little foot that the iMacs have, plug it up, hit the power switch, and keep your ears open for the little chime. That little chime is something that PCs need – in one little burst of sound, it tells us that all is well in the hardware. And I got the chime. Success! My first time sticking my hands in a Mac and changing things around was a resounding success.
And even better – the coworker whose Mac it was that I was servicing was telling everyone else how much better the thing worked after I worked on it. After all, they got a big performance boost from the work. And to think that a mere six months ago, I was like, ummmmmmmmm when it came to Macs. Now, I can speak Mac fairly well.
Oh, and by the way, I found this kind of amusing looking:
That’s the back of the iMac while I was working on the rest of it, sitting next to “Tangerine Dreams”, my office Mac. A few coworkers saw the back without the computer on it, and were like, “Where’s the rest of it?”
Song: Hyakugojyuuichi!!!
Quote: Then meanwhile, since I can't put Mac OS X on my Dells at home, I'm going to be doing the next best thing before too long: Linux. God, I hate Vista.