Intel Imac with bad logic board.

The logic board on my 20" Intel Imac failed(according to the diagnosis form the tech at the Apple Store) and will require a $900+ dollar repair....a tad bit high considering it's age, the cost of the machine in late 2006 and the going prices of the new Imacs! Anyone know of a lower priced repair option or a way to salvage the machine, or is it now a very large paperweight?
I know that I apparently should've gotten Apple Care, but I've never had such a catastrophic Mac failure in the 12 years I've been dealing with the machines. Judging by the lines/wait for service at the Apple store maybe it's a good idea next time...although with all the problems the new machines seem to be having it seems a bit like extortion and maybe they should just raise the prices and include it.

I have a similar problem that I'll describe hoping that it will contribute to this discussion and I'll ask a couple of questions. In December 2007 I bought an iMac 24 inch maxed out for speed and RAM and with the 750 gig hard drive. I had no problems until about three weeks ago when on startup I got grey hash marks all over the screen. When I selected the entire screen the grey hash disappeared and the computer seemed to run normally. I thought the problem was software related and began the long process of trying to find the culprit. Then two days ago I connected a video camera to the iMac to test the camera for the first time. It's a loaner from my school and is five years old. It seemed to be working fine. I then turned off the camera but left it connected to the computer by the firewire cable and put the computer to sleep. THAT was probably a mistake. When I tried to wake the computer it would not respond. There was a DVD in the machine and when I pushed the power button I could hear the DVD player makes it startup sounds and could hear the CD spin. Also I could hear the fans come on but the startup BONG never sounded. I disconnected all cables, pulled out the power cord for various lengths of time from 30 seconds to ten hours but nothing changed. I called Apple this morning and was told it sounds like a blown logic board which is what I was thinking. They will pick up the iMac day after tomorrow. When I talked to the Apple person this morning it didn't occur to me to ask about my chances of getting this repair done for free since I'm still within the one-year warranty period. I'll call when they open tomorrow morning but what are my chances of getting the repair done free? I've been using Macs since the Mac Plus came out but have never had a failure within one year so have no experience with the warranty. I did not buy Apple Care for this computer and never have but I will the next time. Thanks in advance for any comments.

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IMac 21.5 diagnosed with bad logic board

mid-2011 21.5" iMac with i7, 2TB HD, 12GB RAM Yosemite 10.10.2
Hey everyone an Apple Tech here in Montana just diagnosed my iMac has having a bad circuit on the logic board which is causing the hard drive fan to lose power and not spin properly. This then causes heat sink errors and kernel panics which shut my computer down. I ran Apple hardware test on my own and came up with errors indicating problems with the hard drive fan and the fan sensors. The kernel panics I experienced always happened when I was using Lightroom or Aperture but never happen any other time. He also indicated there may be some corrupt data on the hard drive. Cost of repairs = $1000 for new logic board and hard drive. I asked about using 3rd party software to control the hard drive fan but the tech told me because it couldn't get power from the logic board that wouldn't work. Does this sound like a correct diagnoses? They were real eager to sell me a new iMac so I am not sure I trust the tech. Any 2nd opinions would be very helpful. Please let me know if I need to post more in depth info. Thanks!
michelle

I understand your position and frustration, however IMHO the alternatives presented are the most viable. AFAIK your experience has been the exception rather than the rule. Given the alternatives (Dell, HP, Lenovo) I would choose an Apple every time. However in order to keep your peace of mind if you do choose to replace it (I would) with another iMac this time get AppleCare to protect your investment. If cost is an issue, I would strongly recommend visiting Apple's online refurbished store, those machines are discounted and come with the same warranty as a new machine, you can also add AppleCare and they are virtually identical to a new machine. If you don't find the configuration you want continue checking because inventory changes very quickly. In the US the link to the refurbished store is:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals

Erase Imac g5 ALS With bad Logic Board?

I'm finally getting around to selling my old 20" Imac Power PC 2.0Ghz Ambient Light sensor. I'd like to do an erase, however I'm afraid it won't stay on through the process. It runs for 10-20 minutes and then dies. Sometimes I get over an hours use. I'm guessing the logic board is bad, from what I've read.
Can I boot in target mode and erase it with my new iMac? If I do that, will it erase the OS or is there an option where I can keep the OS on there, but erase everything else?
If I try to use the install CD to do a full reset and erase and my imac crashes during, is that bad?
I've already manually deleted all of my music, videos, pictures and installed applications, but I'm not sure if my credit card info was stored on it. Its been a while since I've used it.
Thanks
J

You can use Target Disk mode and then Disk Utility to erase it and then install an OS, but if it won't stay on for very long, it might not stay on in TDM either. Give it a try from your install disc, do a simple erase, then reinstall the OS.
Please post back with results,

Intel iMac with failed LogicBoard - can I use it as display for my MacMini?

I have a Intel iMac with failed logic board (the display comes up while booting sometimes and sometimes, it doesn't). I bought a Mac Mini afterwards. I connected it to a Dell monitor with HDMI and the results aren't great. I experience interminttent video losses (Grains on screen every 1 minute or so).
So, I am now thinking about using my failed intel Imac as a display. Will it work?

No, the failed imac is dead until you replace the logic board.

How can you transfer files from an iMac with a bad logic board?

This is in reference to my "Nothing but a blue screen at startup!" post. He took his iMac to an Apple authorized repair shop and he was told that the logic board was shot. He has decided to get a new iMac but he's wondering about all the photos and other files he has on the old hard drive. What are the ways that he can get files from the old hard drive on to his new one when he gets it? Thanks in advance for your help with this!
Eric

Hi Eric!
roam's method is a very good one!
I don't know if this will work because of the bad Logic Board, but another way, may be to use Firewire Target Disk Mode.
The ailing iMac would have to be Firewire enabled, and you would need access to another Firewire Mac.
Good Luck!
ali b

Help! I have had my iMac G5 fitted with new Logic Board but it doesn't work

Help! I have had my iMac G5 fitted with new Logic Board but it doesn't work
I have just had my iMac G5 First Gen 1.8Ghz fitted with a new Logic Board under the Apple Repair Extension Programme for iMacs.
I got the iMac home from the repairers and switched it on and everything was working fine for about 2 hours and then all of a sudden the Error Page came up on the Screen (with a big On/Off Switch Logo) and it said I had to shut down.
So I shut it down waited a few minutes and then tried to re-boot it but nothing happened. All that happended was the Power Light in the Right hand corner came on..but nothing else....
Help! Any ideas what to do please?

If you have an external firewire drive (it has to be firewire, USB won't boot on a Rev A), plug it in to the firewire port and turn it on, then boot your iMac and see if it shows on the screen.
Have you tried to hit the eject (up arrow, the last button on the top row of the keyboard) button when you boot, perhaps the repairers left a disc in the drive? Then try and put your install disc in.
Miriam

Using external monitor with a bad logic board???

Can you use an external monitor on your ibook, if you have a bad logic board, to use it? Or is the only solution to use the shim, or get it fixed. Thanks.

Hi, and welcome to Apple Discussions.
If the graphics chip on the logic board has come loose, it won't drive the graphics to an external display, either. Sorry.

Is a bad logic board due to a bad power supply?

Computer specs:
iMac G5 20", 2.0 ghz, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive
Back in October of 2008 my iMac G5 Power PC shutdown intermittently and then when I went to go to start it back up, it booted to the blue screen and hanged there forever. So, I did a hard shutdown and then waited and then booted again and it still hanged at the blue screen. I tried booting in Safe Mode, and that worked, so I had a chance to backup everything that I needed to. Then, I took the computer to my local Apple Store to speak to a "genius". They could not diagnose my computer while I was there, so they needed to take it overnight and let me know over the phone what the issue was. The next day they called to tell me that it was a Logic Board issue and that it would cost $900 to fix it. I obviously was blown away at the cost for the problem, and I could not afford that charge so I seeked out other options. I found a shop in my neighborhood that offered me a used 1.8 ghz logic board for half of what Apple was quoting me, so I went with it. Then, 9 months later (which brings us to present) my iMac completely shutdown on its own and would not start up. I ran it through some tests (LED lights on the interior) and confirmed that it was a Logic Board issue again. So, I took it back to the shop in my neighborhood and they told me that the warranty for the part they replaced had expired. So, I called Apple Customer Relations to talk to them about the issue. They confirmed, using my serial number, that I could get my issues fixed for free. They then told me about the "iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Power Supply Issues" which was news to me. This Program ended in December of 08, meaning I would have qualified in October of 08... the time I initially brought in my computer. So, I brought my computer to the Apple Store to drop it off for repairs, and when going over the history of the machine they confirmed that because there was a used 1.8 ghz part in my machine installed from a non-authorized Apple place that they COULD NOT fix my issues now.
My question is:
Back in October of 2008 when I brought in my computer to the Apple Store and they diagnosed it with a bad Logic Board, could that have been because of a bad power supply? If that was the case, does a bad power supply cause a Logic Board to go bad?

Welcome to Apple Discussions.
The short answer is no, but it's actually more complicated than that. The original iMac G5 17 and 20 inch models were plagued by two problems: defective capacitors which affected the logic board, and an unrelated set of defective capacitors which affected the power supply. Rarely were both conditions present at the same time, but Apple decided—when they issued the repair extension authorization—that replacement of both components was a more cost effective approach. By far, the most common of the two problems involved the logic boards.
The REA covered machines for a period of three years from first sale, and ended in December of last year. Yours likely would not have been covered due to the date of sale provision. On a case by case basis, AppleCare representatives did allow coverage for machines beyond the three year limitation, but not past the end of last year.
It's not likely that you have both a defective logic board and power supply, though you may. The combination of these issues is actually found most frequently in the iMac G5 ALS models, none of which were covered by a repair extension authorization.
Your issue is a difficult one, as Apple authorized dealers and service providers have every right—and, actually, a responsibility under their annual agreements—to reject warranty, AppleCare or REA coverage for parts or labor when compatible but not similar logic boards have been placed in your machine. This is because they must exchange these parts for the part they are requesting from Apple on a like-for-like basis, and that part must be associated with your machine serial number. In trying to resolve your issue, the shop in your neighborhood actually created an additional issue for you which would only be triggered in the event of component failure. I have no idea what period of coverage they typically offer, but Apple provides for 90 days or the balance of any warranty or AppleCare extension in place at the time of the repair, whichever is greater.
Your logic board can be refurbished for $ 189.00 if it in fact exhibits the capacitor issue. That process is covered by a one-year warranty. If you are interested in exploring that option, send a message to the electronic mail address in my Public Profile and I will reply with additional information. To help determine additional information concerning your machine, please include the machine serial number if you elect to do write for more information.

Power Mac G5 DP1.8GHz - Bad Logic Board or Power Management Issue?

I have a Power Mac G5 DP1.8GHz/1.5GB/80GB which I bought non-working. It has not yet been disassembled or examined by a certified tech. This is it's issue (which replicates): the computer powers on. It makes a single warning tone, then the LED flashed at least 15 times (too fast to count). Then the posting chord is heard. Hard drive spins up. Then nothing (no video). Won’t boot from any disk. I have changed the RAM and tested the RAM banks with known-to-be-good RAM from another DP1.8GHz G5. The warning tone stopped once or twice after this switch, but then it didn’t chime. I changed the PRAM battery, but not with as new one. However, after installing the used one and then resetting the PMU, it displayed video briefly for the first time. While installed in the other 1.8GHz G5, the hard drive was formatted, given a clean install of OS X 10.4.11, and then moved into this computer where is never mounts. The computer is not accessible through TDM.
Do I have a bad logic board? Bad CPUs? A power managment issue? A RAM issue?

Through my own trial and error troubleshooting, I have found the CPUs to be in good working order and the logic board passes the Apple Service Diagnostic every time. Despite the installation of numerous pairs of modules that worked in another DP1.8GHz, the computer has a RAM issue-it gives the "no good RAM" tone most of the time when it powers up (after a PMU reset it does not). Also the computer boots from disk or into Open Firmware but the disk utility can't see either hard drive so I may have a bad SATA controller.

Will apple replace a faulty or bad logic board on my 2013 MacBook Pro?

I have a late 2013 13" macbook pro that has been diagnosed, by a non apple provider, with a bad logic board. The place where i took it suggested getting that confirmed with Apple. I have an appointment tomorrow at my local apple dealer...
but am worried that this practically new laptop is toast or going to be very costly since I don't have applecare!! Any help for me????

my late 2013 13" pro also has a bad logic board. The diag said it was a memory failure. I'm 3 months out of warranty and had it sent to the repair center for $280 plus tax. I don't feel like the logic board was defective I just didn't catch it in time. I tried a restore a few months ago and it worked better because i was in Yosemite beta since the developers beta and I thought the issues were because of the betas. It has constant panics and restarts but I was trying to get by until now it wouldn't turn on and disk utility said the hard drive was not mounted and it wouldn't let me restore It. maybe there are a few more people with problems then there should be so soon.

Display problems, bad logic board?

Hi I'm a first timer here! I have a iBook G4 14" 1.33ghz laptop I am fixing for someone. When it boots up, the screen looks like you are watching TV with old rabbit ears. You can make out the mac logo and what not, then the screen goes blue, like the basic blue background, and it looks perfect, then once the desktop comes up, it all fuzzy again. I've replaced the LCD screen, AND the lcd cable that connects to the logic board. Same results. I guess the last part would be the logic board to replace? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Here are some links to the pictures to show you what is going on...
http://www.tylersweb.net/mac/1.jpg
http://www.tylersweb.net/mac/2.jpg
http://www.tylersweb.net/mac/3.jpg

inverter board controls brightness, the lines in your pics look more like the logic
since you have a stick of RAM, try another module or maybe remove it if you have on-board RAM
would be good to connect to the external display if the adapter is available - it would confirm bad logic board if the same lines are on the external display, it wont completely rule out the board though if there are no lines

Can't boot G5, bad logic board?

G5 Dual 2.0 Ghz, 4 GB Ram
Can't get past blue screen unless I boot in safe mode, then I can get in.
Here's what I've tried:
5 different boot volumes, including Tiger and Leopard and a clean install
internal drives only, external drives only
reseated ram
zapped pram
zapped nvram
reset pmu
booted in single user mode, gets stuck at workaround bonjour unknown error 0
pulled out airport card, reseated airport card
tried just about everything, always stops at the blue screen with cursor
does this sound like a bad logic board or is there anything else I can try? thanks

Dear Mr. Jarrett,
Just analyzing: You're not able to boot normally from any installed system on any hard disk, but you can boot in the single user mode, are able to use AHT and the G5 even boots from the TechTool disk.
However, you do not state you installed those five systems mentioned recently, so the question is: How stable is your computer booted from a DVD (grey install disk or the TechTool bootable disk and are you able to do a fresh system install now?
I don't think your RAM chips are bad, but there could be a problem with (one of) the SATA cables connecting the hard drive to the logic board. Did you try both data cables (by using the second drive bay)? As you undoubtedly know a PowerMac cannot boot from an external USB drive, but having a bad internal data cable could also prevent starting up from a FireWire drive. And take a critical look at the four guide screws: are they well fitted?
From your description I understand you own a dual processor and not the late 2005 duo core G5. These computers are very different animals indeed.
Success and best regards,
Robbert
Message was edited by: Mechanic man
Message was edited by: Mechanic man

Microsoft Office 2004 (Word) unable to save files I have been running Office 2004 on my Intel iMac with Snow Leopard for some time and all of a sudden I cannot save a document. Word just stopped responding and I have to force quit. I can open Word and cr

Microsoft Office 2004 (Word) unable to save files
I have been running Office 2004 on my Intel iMac with Snow Leopard for some time and all of a sudden I cannot save a document. Word just stopped responding and I have to force quit. I can open Word and create a new document but I cannot save it. I reinstalled Word but that didn’t help. Then went to the Internet and found at least one other Mac user having the same problem which it suggests is caused by a recent Mac Security Update:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac/forum/macoffice2004-macword/word-2004-wil l-not-open-or-save-documents/b04eb870-9b0d-4f3b-bb47-b122301e36f6
So I check for a new Mac Security Update and sure enough there was one. I downloaded it and now Word seems to be working, as it should. I can both open and save files. The only problem remaining is that when I open Word I get the following error message “An unexpected error occurred while trying to load the Microsoft Framework library”. I contacted Apple but they were unable to help.
How can I get rid of this error message?

Look, I realize you might have to get your machine working, so this is how you revert back.
Restore proceedure to pre-Security Update 2012-001 v 1.0 & v 1.1
#1 Backup your personal data off the machine.
Backup files off the computer (not to TimeMachine). If you don't have a external drive, get one and connect to the USB/Firewire port and simply drag and drop copy your User folder to the external drive, it will copy all your files. It's best to have two backups of your data off the machine when trying to restore.
Disconnect all drives now to prevent any mistakes from occuring.
#2 Reinstall OS X 10.6 from disk
Get out your 10.6 install disk and make sure it's clean and polished (very soft cloth and a bit of rubbing alcohol, no scratches) If your disk is borked, you'll have to order a new one from Apple with your serial number.
Hold c boot off the 10.6 disk (wired keyboard, internal optical drive), use Disk Utility First Aid to >Repair Disk of your internal drive (do not format or erase!!), Quit DU and simply re-install 10.6.
Note: Simply reinstalling 10.6 version from disk (without erasing the drive) only replaces 10.6.8 with 10.6.x and bundled Apple programs, won't touch your files (backup anyway) or most programs, unless they installed a kext file into OS X itself. (only a few on average do this)
#3 Update to 10.6.8 without Security Update 2012-001 v1.0 or v1.1
Reboot and log in, update to 10.6.8 via Software Update, but EXCLUDE THE Security Update 2012-001 by checkinig the details and unchecking the blue check box.
#4 Reinstall any non-working third party programs
When you reboot, make sure to reinstall any programs that require kext files installed into OS X, you'll know, they won't work when you launch them or hang for some reason as they are missing the part they installed into OS X.
If for some freakish reason you get gray screen at any time when booting (possible it might occur when you reinstall older programs), hold the shift key down while booting (Safe Mode, disables kext files) and update your installed third party software so it's compatible with 10.6.8.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
That's it really.

Powerbook G4 titanium bad logic board

HELP, my second computer is a powerbook G4 15" and i have been told i have a bad logic board. is it worth replacing or should i put the $500 toward a new one? Also coould a bad logic board cause other problems in the future? what happens to make a bad logic board? what does a logic board do?
thanks for all the info.
Macbook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi Tour Man,
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Which model TiBook do you have? Especially if it's one of the earlier models (400-667VGA), I would certainly not spend $500 on it, as you would probably not be able to sell the entire machine for that price.
If it's a later model (667DVI-1GHz), consider what you use it for (if you have it fixed, how long is it going to serve your needs?), the capacity of the HD, how much RAM you have, whether there's a wireless card or DVD burner, the condition of the battery, whether USB2 and the many other "updates" a new machine would offer are important to you, etc.
It's not likely that a bad LB would cause other issues.
A LB (same as "motherboard" in PC land), is a circuit board on which most of the essential elements of a PB are soldered (CPU, GPU, RAM slots, etc), so when any one of these has issues, the repair is to replace the entire LB (specialized equipment is needed to work on the micro-circuitry, so it isn't something a repair shop can repair).

Bad logic board VS starting as target drive!

Hello,
if someone has a bad logic board on a G5, can they boot the G5 as a target drive? witht the help of another computer? (not sure if the logic board
Michel

Hi, Michel. I suspect that whether or not Target Disk Mode works will depend on what the logic board's particular problem is. If it doesn't work, be sure to remind the user that removing the hard drive from the faulty Mac will allow her to extract any data she needs from it, by installing it in or connecting it to another Mac. In many models, removing a hard drive is easy.

Intel Imac with bad logic board.

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