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Today I worked on a dual CPU MacPro4,1 and did the firmware upgrade to 5,1. Quite the process now. Started with El Capitan, and followed this guide to get it done (then another update through High Sierra). Had to swap out my HD 5770 original GPU for a Quadro K4200 (I only had a single power...

Cameron's world? OMG, my eyes hurt!!! All those 1990's animated GIFs is crazy! That page must have taken forever to load on a slow connection.. and the sheer power of a CPU/GPU to keep all of them moving at the same time? Oof-da!

Yesterday, I worked on a "dead" MacPro4,1 that was upgraded to 5,1. Could not get a boot chime or video out. Tried different drives, RAM assortments, different video cards. Still nothing. So I pulled the CPU tray (single) and removed the heatsink. I did a little cleaning of dust and since I...

This is not an accurate model, but shows my idea. Just make a 1/2" high ring to fit in between the top and bottom shells. Original: Lifted: The ring: Of course you have to add some holes in the back for exhaust, depending on what fans you will utilize. The four main screws to attach the...

I don't know how much something like a base would help with air draw from the bottom like this UFO HUB. I would think that you could 3D print a nice ring the same size and give the top and bottom a nice 1/4 or 1/2 inch gap to install a taller heatsink on the motherboard and a couple fans for...

That looks to me like a threaded on nut, that probably requires a special spanner tool. You can use a needle nose pliers opened up to fit the notches, or maybe a lock ring type pliers. Or use a single flathead and a tool to tap/strike the flat-head to unscrew it. But since its a hard drive, I...

For some unknown reason Free Geek was closed today. I stopped by the University of MN ReUse warehouse to see what treasures I could find. I picked up a couple Mac USB keyboards for parts, and three laptops for parts: iBook 12" utterly destroyed, but the lid was intact and I think the screen...

If you can't repair the stock PSU, you may be able to fit any other PSU inside the cage, so you retain the original look. Just following up on the 150W 24V PSU I converted. I disassembled the end connection (It is a nightmare). With all the wires so tightly shrink wrapped in there, I did not...

I picked up a B&W G3 with a sonnet G4 in it and it did not boot. But that G4 CPU worked fine in a beige G3. I thought I had tried the patching, but I don't recall. Lot of jumper settings to play with.

I don't have an Apple CRT to test with. My current only working Cube is a modified version: GeForce 6200 AGP flashed to mac, same power consumption as a Rage 128 Pro 16MB, but no ADC port. SSD to replace the spinner SATA thin slot load optical drive from an intel iMac (with PATA adapter)...

Day 32: Wrapup My latest acquisition of the G5 Dual 2.0GHz kept giving me issues. I replaced thermal compound on CPUs, replaced power supply... but I still could not get anything but a safe boot (or this goofy glitch). I figured maybe the repaired X800 XT was actually faulty. I swapped out a...

Great find! It does work slowly, but it does WORK.

Day 31 finalizing Unit F PSU after a blowout. Still ticking and hissing. Pulled the PSU from Unit B, dust bunnies in the bottom of the case. So maybe that's why Unit B is flaky. Cleaned it up, installed in Unit F. I can get 10.4 and 10.5 to load under safe mode, but the ASD will not run...

Likely from the damaged donor card. It had been poorly handled, and had lots of missing components on the back side. This was just a visual inspection without a microscope. The previous owner obviously thought there was something wrong with the thermal compound, and they replaced it extra thick.

Day 31 The final countdown! New to me, a G5 Dual 2.0GHz from Free Geek Minneapolis, sold as-is for $10. This will be Unit F. It did have a graphics card, so I popped it open to install a HD, and it was rather dusty. It is listed as a Radeon 9800, but it was actually an X800 XT 256MB. I...

Check this thread for the disassembly and pinout. I had no problem powering a Cube or Dr. Bott DVIator with an HP/Dell 19v laptop PSU and a BUC converter to get it up to 28V. Make sure you are using at least a 150W laptop PSU.

Day 26-30 I was a little under the weather, so I didn't make a lot of progress. I picked up a $10 Project Dual G5 2.0GHz from Free Geek Minneapolis. I picked up some perf-board from Micro Center. I pulled a couple PWM fan headers from a donor broken PC motherboard. I did manage to solder...

Here is a thread on active cooling mods on an iMac G3.

In years past, the PPC Challenge has always dragged on an extra week... keep posting!

An iMac G4 lamp? It can only go on one way with how short the monitor and drive cables are.... you should apply thermal paste between the dome and lower logic board where the two metal pieces align (small area near the center bottom in this photo).