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omahasSo, this past weekend was a bit of a nuisance as far as work was concerned. I got the new power supply for the G4 Quicksilver that we got in the ad swap, so on Saturday I decided to install it. Now, I've replaced a power supply before, so it's no biggie. Or at least I didn't think it would be.
You'd've thunk that Apple, eversouserfriendly Apple, would have set up the inside of their desktops so that replacing a power supply would be a simple thing. You'd've thunk. So, I opened up the side of the Quicksilver and unscrewed about seven screws all told, then unplugged the power cords to each power draining unit inside (harddrive, CD-ROM drive, ZIP drive, logic board). That wasn't easy, btw. These suckers were stuck in there tight in places.
Then it was time to remove the power supply box itself. That would have been reasonably easy, if it weren't for the fact that the multitude of rainbow colored wires leading away from the supply unit to the drain units were all trapped behind this metal inset. It was meant, I'm sure, to keep the multitude of rainbow colored wires neat and tidy within a box that the majority of Mac users are never going to see. What it resulted in was an aggravating experience in pulling these wires out through the inset without breaking anything, since the cords were actually run through the inset behind where the power supply unit was located. It was gymnastics for the fingers. Bleah.
Inserting the new one was just as much fun. But the most fun was trying to get those stupid screws back in. All but two had no problems. But those last two (screwing the power supply unit to the side of the box, of course) were a bitch to get in. Every time I got a screw back there, it kept falling down. Eventually one of the screws disappeared, and I was convinced that there was some kind of curse on this box, eating up my screws. I just knew that I'd turn the box on, and eventually the thing would blow up when that damn screw dropped onto the logic board or something.
Anyway,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elfs started helping me around this time, and we eventually got both screws in (after the second one dropped out of thin air into our laps). It took longer to get those two damn screws in than to do all of the rest of the work! I feel so screwed! ;P
You'd've thunk that Apple, eversouserfriendly Apple, would have set up the inside of their desktops so that replacing a power supply would be a simple thing. You'd've thunk. So, I opened up the side of the Quicksilver and unscrewed about seven screws all told, then unplugged the power cords to each power draining unit inside (harddrive, CD-ROM drive, ZIP drive, logic board). That wasn't easy, btw. These suckers were stuck in there tight in places.
Then it was time to remove the power supply box itself. That would have been reasonably easy, if it weren't for the fact that the multitude of rainbow colored wires leading away from the supply unit to the drain units were all trapped behind this metal inset. It was meant, I'm sure, to keep the multitude of rainbow colored wires neat and tidy within a box that the majority of Mac users are never going to see. What it resulted in was an aggravating experience in pulling these wires out through the inset without breaking anything, since the cords were actually run through the inset behind where the power supply unit was located. It was gymnastics for the fingers. Bleah.
Inserting the new one was just as much fun. But the most fun was trying to get those stupid screws back in. All but two had no problems. But those last two (screwing the power supply unit to the side of the box, of course) were a bitch to get in. Every time I got a screw back there, it kept falling down. Eventually one of the screws disappeared, and I was convinced that there was some kind of curse on this box, eating up my screws. I just knew that I'd turn the box on, and eventually the thing would blow up when that damn screw dropped onto the logic board or something.
Anyway,
elfs started helping me around this time, and we eventually got both screws in (after the second one dropped out of thin air into our laps). It took longer to get those two damn screws in than to do all of the rest of the work! I feel so screwed! ;P
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Date: 2005-03-15 02:24 am (UTC)Ironically, Compaq, which isn't known for good service or anything, made Jen's little Small Form Factor PC, and it's a total dream to work on. Two buttons on either side, and the case pops off, and the componentage just folds out; the drives then just slide out; there are special screws that enable this, but the heads are a standard #2 Phillips... just transfer the screws to the new drive, slide in, connect power and data, and presto! you're done. Haven't tried changing the PSU, but if it's as easy as the rest, it should be a no-brainer.
But, yeah, you'd think that Apple would have a better way of doing that... *sigh* I assume it *worked* after all those gyrations?
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Date: 2005-03-15 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-24 05:53 pm (UTC)Thought not. ;)
That being said, I love my Quicksilver, (just as I loved my iMac and *cough*loved*cough* my 7200/90.) But getting inside it is the modern-day equivalent of zapping the p-ram. Gymnastics for the fingers indeed.