All my content and ptohos
Power Macintosh G3 All in one
A rare version of Power Mac G3, made on the known
Gossamer board (see Power Mac G3 Desktop
and Server tower), this time with
display and speakers built-in. This version was made exclusively for
educational market in US when it was too early for an iMac and schools
changed their computers. It has an unusual shape expanding towards top,
while the top cover is not flat. This white, tooth-like casing made it
known among some users as “Molar Mac". It was officially known as Power
Macintosh G3 All-in-one or, for its codename, Artemis. The fast, 233 or
266MHz CPU was able to do most things needed for education and
multimedia. It was possible to expand RAM and hard disk with cheaper,
IDE devices. PCI slots provided extended expandability.
Many editions of this Mac contained Audio/video input to connect camera
or VCR and it was possible to edit video with it. By default, they were
shipped with Mac OS 8.x line, 9.2 can run on them without problems. They
were bought by American schools as good performance machines for
teaching graphics and video editing, it was also possible to connect
them to the Internet using RJ LAN or AUI socket. They were built to
order and probably not available in retail shops.
The biggest problem of these Macs was its monitor electronics made by
LG, as today many of these computers have their flyback transformer
broken. It is visible as screen blinking with a loud click when spark
hits some other part. To prevent further damage as this spark may fry
some electronic components, the transformer needs to be replaced or,
conditionally, insulated.
| Model No: | M4787 |
|
| Year: | 1998 | |
| Discontinued: | 1998 | |
| CPU: | PowerPC G3 266MHz (units offered with 233MHz too) |
|
| RAM: | 192MB (3x64MB) | |
| Max. RAM: | 384MB? (?768?) | |
| RAM Type: | DIMM, PC66 | |
| Hard disk: | 4GB IDE | |
| Floppy drives: | 1 1.4M 3.5" | |
| Other drives: | CD-ROM drive (ATA) IOMega 100MB Zip drive (ATA) |
|
| Graphics: | ATI 3D RAGE PRO, 2MB, OnBoard | |
| Sound: | Typical Apple's Mic+Speakers. 2 speaker outputs |
|
| Display: | Built-in color CRT External Apple's 15-pin |
|
| Dedicated OS: | Mac OS 8.0 | |
| Maximum OS: | Mac OS X 10.2.8 (in my unit: 9.2.2) |
|
| Expansions: |
-
ADB. - 3 DIMMs for RAM Expansion - VRAM SODIMM expansion - 3 PCI slots |
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Peripherals in collection: |
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| Connectors: | - External SCSI port (DB25) - RJ45 network - 2 serial ports (RS-422) for modem and printer) - ADB connector for keyboard and mouse - Sound output - Microphone in - Onboard video (Apple DB15) |
|
I have no idea about origins of my unit. It is certainly
from some graphics studio, but it came well sanitized with German Mac OS
9 installed from scratch.
Disassembly
Removing the logic assembly:
1. Rear, remove 4 Philips screws.
2. Slide the tray halfways. It comes with drives.
3. Disconnect a ribbon cable from expansion board, power cable,
Molex-type cable, 3-wire cable from expansion board too.
4. Press two latches on sides (bottom of drawer) to release the drawer.
Hard drive is on the bottom in right angle to other drives, to remove
it, remove connectors and then unlatch/pull it away from its ribbon
cables.
Getting into CRT/power:
1. Remove two patches on top to reveal 2 Torx screws,
2. Carefully pry the side of front drives panel (there is a visible
space for flat screwdriver there) simultaneously pulling the bottom
latch (use mirror to look how they look like). Do it on both sides and
remove front panel
3. Remove 4 Torx screws on front, 2 Torx screws on top.
4. Open the housing towards rear and upwards.
5. To remove metal shield, remove screws: One is near power socket. One
screw on the rear, two on each side. The one closer to the center is
"coarse"-threaded.
6. Open the shield upwards on rear, now slide it out.
7. Be careful, you have a high-voltage cables for CRT nearby as well as
power supply unit.
The biggest problem with its display is that even if you
connect an external monitor it's not easily possible to turn the
embedded one off.
Mac OS 8.1 will not provide a nice geometry setting out of the box, but
I found that 9.2 works well. I have found some DAU
programs which are claimed to work with 8.x,
but I just installed 9.2 which is compatible with this machine.
Flyback type: 6174Z-1009A - for LG monitors
According to some websites here are replacements, but I'm not sure about
them! If you have access, better check at least with ohmmeter:
1-453-215-11 6174Z-1009A AT2097 FEA435 FSN14A0156133035040, HR 46063 -
ME/0334-06 TLF84007