I have a Bondi Blue 233 MHz rev B iMac running Mac OS 8.6. Recently it started to make an (infrequent) cracking noise which visibly affected the screen. Then one day, whilst I was making a cup of tea (frequent), it shut itself down. Any attempt to start failed - the thing would fire up and clunk away until the power button turned green (5-8sec), at which point it shut down. I tried every Mac troubleshooting trick I knew.

Finally I sent it to a professional, who said it was a mother(logic?)board problem and expensive to repair! I replaced the logic board with a working 333 MHz iMac board, bought through eBay. It still wouldn’t start. Then, I started reading forums, including this one, and got hold of the service manuals.

Next I tried disconnecting the RGB Cable from the logic board chassis. IT STARTED!!!!!!!! But I couldn’t see anything on the screen (obviously!) to check how successfully it had started - the power button remained amber. I remembered I had set it to automatically play audio CD’s, so in went the nearest CD which played - all the way through because I couldn’t remember how to switch it off blind!

OK history lesson over (thanks for sticking with me!).

Where do I go from here? I have seen several posts of a similar nature, but I am unsure of the next step to take. I am determined to fix this thing. My budget is limited, as is my experience inside computers, however, I am able to turn my hand, competently, to most things. I am fond of the blasted thing and it has become a challenge.

Any thoughts, tips or hints are greatly appreciated.

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Sysops
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