Hi,

I was given an iMac DE SE 500Mhz system this weekend, nice condition and a really nice little unit. It's running 10.3.9 with 640MB RAM/20GB HD.

The problem is that to get it to boot, I need to slap it hard on the right-hand side of the CRT Once this is done, the machine chimes, the screen comes to life, and it boots normally. It works fine after that, but did shut down randomly yesterday - but hasn't done this for a day now. If the iMac isn't given a darn good spanking, "something" on the CRT will emit a "ticking" sound until I slap it, where the iMac will boot happily once more.

I suspect dodgy solder joints somewhere on the PCB, but know full well that this could be a symptom of a faulty analogue board. Kind of an unusual fault, though

Anyone come across a similar problem with their iMac - or know where to check first when I pull it apart?

Thanks,

Jordi

(eagerly awaiting ClockWork's post that will suggest I dress the iMac up in a leather outfit and keep spanking it)

Sounds like cracked solder joints on the analogue board.

Oh and dress it up in leather and keep spanking 3 times a day or as recommended by your doctor

If its any consolation Byrd , I have an Apple 21" Studio Display CRT that boots up but only to about half brightness. I wait until the Mac has fully loaded then give the monitor a whack on the right hand side and up comes full brightness. Not a Hi-Tech solution but it works everytime. I had thought that it may be a faulty connection or solder joint . I took the covers off and had a really good look a while back at all the circuit boards with a magnifying glass and a strong light but could not see anything out of place so left it in the too hard basket.It works fine after the initial spanking so...
Stewie

This morning, it was firing up with it's usual "slap", but was shutting down after a few minutes with a feint "ticking" sound. I tried shaking the iMac when it was on to try and make it turn off, but that didn't do anything.

Seemingly points to a PAV problem, but I've love to hear today if anyone has had similar issues with their iMac DV.

JB

use to happen all the time at uni when they had 400mhz iMacs... My mate use to hit them so bloody hard, it was funny the IT guy on duty was like 'what are you doing', but after he saw the head of IT do the same thing he thought 'hmmm maybe you can do that' :P