I have an imac problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pete
  • Start date Start date
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Pete

My iMac 400mhz G3 DV SE graphite keeps saying the date is 24th March 2001 on
boot up. I suspect the PRAM battery is dead, but it seems like an odd date.

I believe this machine has not been used for a very long time. Is the PRAM
battery rechargable and could it correct itselft (by recharging) if left
on the mains for a long time?

It only seems to happen after I have turned the machiine off at the mains.
Is the pram battery only used when the mains is off?

I have updated to the latest firmware but I still get the date error. No
other problems as far as I am aware. Could this be something else and not
battery?

Anyone know a cheap supplier of these batteries in the UK?

Thanks

Pete
 
My iMac 400mhz G3 DV SE graphite keeps saying the date is 24th March 2001 on
boot up. I suspect the PRAM battery is dead, but it seems like an odd date.

I believe this machine has not been used for a very long time. Is the PRAM
battery rechargable and could it correct itselft (by recharging) if left
on the mains for a long time?
Click to expand...

Yes it's rechargeable. But it would have corrected itself by now if it
was going to.
It only seems to happen after I have turned the machiine off at the mains.
Is the pram battery only used when the mains is off?
Click to expand...

No, it's all the time.
I have updated to the latest firmware but I still get the date error. No
other problems as far as I am aware. Could this be something else and not
battery?

Anyone know a cheap supplier of these batteries in the UK?
Click to expand...
Any place that sells macs ought to have them. Not as cheap as the coin
cells used in pcs, though (even in bulk).
Thanks

Pete
Click to expand...

It's the battery. G3s almost universally need new batteries by now.
 
Yes it's rechargeable. But it would have corrected itself by now if it
was going to.

No, it's all the time.
Any place that sells macs ought to have them. Not as cheap as the coin
cells used in pcs, though (even in bulk).


It's the battery. G3s almost universally need new batteries by now.
Click to expand...
thanks

I'll change the battery. Only seems to happen if I disconnect the power
completely though.
 
Pete said:
thanks

I'll change the battery. Only seems to happen if I disconnect the power
completely though.
Click to expand...

I tried to find a manual for it, but I guess the Apple site has long
since forgotten its customers.

If you cannot find the right battery locally, this site might have it.
Or try a search on "PRAM battery".

http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Search.cfm?Criteria=pram+battery&Manufacturer=&x=9&y=9

There are many battery technologies that are not rechargable. For example,
the coin cell in PCs, has a diode on purpose in the battery path, to
prevent current from going backwards into the battery. That diode
prevents the battery from being charged. (Tracking down tech info
from the battery manufacturer, may give some info on how rechargable
a battery is, or whether it is a candidate to explode.)

Power consumption from a battery like that, is measured in microamps,
and the battery is only called on, if the power supply is no longer
providing power. On a PC, the standby power prevents battery power
from being drawn, for example. But on a PC, if you switch off at the
back or unplug, then the battery is being used.

This web page has a disassembly procedure for an Imac, which may be
the same as yours.

http://www.r3uk.co.uk/content/view/45/61/

Paul
 
Paul said:
I tried to find a manual for it, but I guess the Apple site has long
since forgotten its customers.

If you cannot find the right battery locally, this site might have it.
Or try a search on "PRAM battery".

http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Search.cfm?Criteria=pram+battery&Manufacturer=&x=9&y=9

There are many battery technologies that are not rechargable. For example,
the coin cell in PCs, has a diode on purpose in the battery path, to
prevent current from going backwards into the battery. That diode
prevents the battery from being charged. (Tracking down tech info
from the battery manufacturer, may give some info on how rechargable
a battery is, or whether it is a candidate to explode.)

Power consumption from a battery like that, is measured in microamps,
and the battery is only called on, if the power supply is no longer
providing power. On a PC, the standby power prevents battery power
from being drawn, for example. But on a PC, if you switch off at the
back or unplug, then the battery is being used.

This web page has a disassembly procedure for an Imac, which may be
the same as yours.

http://www.r3uk.co.uk/content/view/45/61/

Paul
Click to expand...

thanks Paul
 
You are in the WRONG newsgroup. Go visit the apple newsgroups. This is a
PC newsgroup, thus we know little about Macs.
 
And Dave, you are an ASS... and WRONG as usual.

"alt.comp.hardware" <--- Where does it say PC?

DaveW said:
You are in the WRONG newsgroup. Go visit the apple newsgroups. This is a
PC newsgroup, thus we know little about Macs.
Click to expand...

Pete, I'm not familiar with how the date is stored in an iMac, but this does
sound like a bad battery.

Pop it open and pull out the battery. Once you know the battery type you're
looking for (or if the battery can even be removed) it makes it a lot easier
to Google for a replacement.
 
DaveW said:
You are in the WRONG newsgroup. Go visit the apple newsgroups.
This is a PC newsgroup, thus we know little about Macs.
Click to expand...

Wrong, according to the newsgroup name. If you can point to a
charter specifying that do so. Meanwhile hardware is hardware.

--
<http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.txt>
<http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/423>

"A man who is right every time is not likely to do very much."
-- Francis Crick, co-discover of DNA
"There is nothing more amazing than stupidity in action."
-- Thomas Matthews
 
You are in the WRONG newsgroup. Go visit the apple newsgroups. This is a
PC newsgroup, thus we know little about Macs.
Click to expand...

This is alt.comp.hardware. Not alt.comp.hardware.pc-clone.

For all Apple would wish otherwise, Macs have the same points of
failure that PCs do. And even the same basic symptoms as far as system
stability is concerned. They use the same dirt-cheap low bidder parts
as everybody else, but they charge more for them. And Apple has as
many bone-headed design problems everybody else has, especially on the
first revision of any new product. Rev 1 blue and white g3s are
basically unstable POS computers, while the second revision actually
works decent. There are plenty more examples of that kind of thing.
 
This is alt.comp.hardware. Not alt.comp.hardware.pc-clone.

For all Apple would wish otherwise, Macs have the same points of
failure that PCs do. And even the same basic symptoms as far as system
stability is concerned. They use the same dirt-cheap low bidder parts
as everybody else, but they charge more for them. And Apple has as
many bone-headed design problems everybody else has, especially on the
first revision of any new product. Rev 1 blue and white g3s are
basically unstable POS computers, while the second revision actually
works decent. There are plenty more examples of that kind of thing.
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone for all the help. I will change the battery.
 
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