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Computer does not see modem. Help!

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by daniel, Oct 10, 2009.

  1. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    The iMac is like a laptop with a huge screen that sits on a stand and has a separate keyboard. :madgrin:
     
  2. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    My hunch would be a hardware issue. How old is the computer? The link light on ethernet ports isn't software controlled - it lights up when it detects a link to another machine, regardless of what software is on the machine.

    In the past, i've seen a lot of odd problems crop up with computers - not defective hardware, but environmental issues that cause problems. A capacitor or resistor gets overheated and pops, and something won't work right anymore. I once had a chip overheat so badly it left scorch marks on the motherboard about an inch out. The only thing that was damaged, luckily, was that single USB port. Another time, a voltage regulator on the motherboard blew, and took the rest of the board with it. A friend of mine lost his entire computer one night when a build up of dust in the machine allowed a spark to arc between the processor and a stick of RAM - both them and the mother board were toast.
     
  3. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Boy, oh, boy, Apple-haters are going to love this!

    I phoned MacXprts in Post Falls, the nearest one to me (around 20 minutes away) and they talked me through a software check and then told me it's probably hardware. But the Mac does not have an ethernet card. It's all on the logic board (which in a PC would be called the motherboard). Cost of replacement: $1,200. Cost of a new iMac: $1,195). :mad:

    For $60 they'll diagnose the computer to see if this is really the problem. Guess I'll be taking it in.

    Grump!

    FWIW, if I had purchased Applecare extended warranty it would have expired about a month ago.
     
  4. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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  5. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    No slots in an iMac. It really does have the architecture of a laptop.

    Daniel, does your iMac have Airport (wireless) built in? I think they have all come with wireless for several years now. Another option might be the adapter above. I know its not ideal, but it would be much cheaper than another puter.
     
  6. mojo

    mojo Senior Member

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    Daniel get some sage and smolder it near your Porsche and your Mac.Then make a spaghetti shrine and pray to it.
    The wireless and USB suggestions sound like good ideas.
     
  7. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    That did it! (Actually it's a Linksys because the local Office Depot didn't have the Apple brand.) Thanks, Jayman. I owe you a couple of beers if our paths ever cross.

    I considered a wireless router. I could not get my little travel router to work, and was pondering getting a regular wireless router when Jayman posted the above. Problem solved. Speedtest.net and auditmypc.com tell me I have not lost any noticeable amount of speed.
     
  8. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    $1200?!?!?!?! They're trying to rip you off with that... replacing a motherboard (and i've done it on plenty of PC's, Mac's really aren't that different) is maybe a few hundred bucks, most of that for the actual board, because the labor involved is easy and quick.
     
  9. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Only a couple? That would barely even wet my mouth

    Just kidding!

    Kokanee is good. Lowenbrau is good. Oh hell, they're ALL good

    And don't be shy about asking questions. The only "dumb" question is the one not asked at all
     
  10. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    I'm never shy about asking questions.

    I just figured it was because the logic board is practically the whole computer.

    Anybody with iMac experience know what a logic board for an iMac costs???

    (This is academic at this point, since the $30 ethernet-to-USB adapter and a long phone call to Comcast solved the problem. --Most of the call was him asking me about my Asus Eee netbook, and then reminiscing about pre-DOS operating systems.--)
     
  11. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    I used the pcmslot-to-ethernet trick on a Toshiba laptop around 3 years ago. For some reason, the RJ-45 went dead, and that cheap solution worked fine. At least until I got the new laptop
     
  12. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    all apple repairs are ridiculously expensive. i have a powerbook which is pushing 5 years and the screen is going out. started with few lines, now have an inch wide blank vertical bar a few inches from left side which causes the screen to repeat itself. (glad i got 17"!) checked on price and it was like $ 1700 for new screen when the thing was only $2700 brand new.

    so i live with it. only use it when downstairs and too lazy to go to den upstairs anyway. i have converted all but one i-pod to windows machine so good on that.
     
  13. Betelgeuse

    Betelgeuse Active Member

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    It's not surprising to me that a logic board would be that much. In something like the iMac (or a laptop) it is basically all of the solid-state parts (including the video card, sound card, networking etc.). Add to that the cost of the labor and $1200 seems in the right ballpark. Apple is really good at fixing things under warranty, but it's really expensive after your warranty expires.

    I fully support the USB solution. When the sound card went out on my (barely out of warranty) iMac, I got a ~$20 USB sound card and haven't looked back.