Help me kill my eMac
August 16, 2012 8:35 PM Subscribe
Help me kill my eMac (snowball)
Need help putting this guy to sleep forever. Old, noisy and erratic, and largely unused for years, I cannot open it. I start it, but all I get is the Apple icon. and have to pull the plug to turn it off. No curser, no commands work. I want to get it open, and retrieve some things, if possible. I work off a MacBook Pro now. Can I get this thing open, pull out some files, wipe it clean (or whatever you call it) and apply a final euthanization? (unless someone has an interesting alternative? a nite-lite? a fishbowl? a looped video? I'd like to keep it for something. Kind of like it.
Need help putting this guy to sleep forever. Old, noisy and erratic, and largely unused for years, I cannot open it. I start it, but all I get is the Apple icon. and have to pull the plug to turn it off. No curser, no commands work. I want to get it open, and retrieve some things, if possible. I work off a MacBook Pro now. Can I get this thing open, pull out some files, wipe it clean (or whatever you call it) and apply a final euthanization? (unless someone has an interesting alternative? a nite-lite? a fishbowl? a looped video? I'd like to keep it for something. Kind of like it.
I've no advice for the gutting portion of this project, but I do suggest that if you have any housemates of the feline variety, the eMac cat bed is the way to go. :)
See here for details.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 9:55 PM on August 16, 2012
See here for details.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 9:55 PM on August 16, 2012
If you're still getting an Apple logo, and you have another Mac that has a FireWire port, you might try using Target Disk Mode instead- essentially turning your entire computer into an external hard drive. More on Target Disk Mode here.
posted by aaronbeekay at 10:30 PM on August 16, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by aaronbeekay at 10:30 PM on August 16, 2012 [2 favorites]
They're not too tricky to get into - an appropiate alan key and a phillips screw driver is all that's needed. (though google "how to discharge a CRT" just to be safe)
posted by Packed Lunch at 12:43 AM on August 17, 2012
posted by Packed Lunch at 12:43 AM on August 17, 2012
Response by poster: is there a way to retrieve my files, and wipe it clean, w/out actually opening it?
posted by ebesan at 4:41 AM on August 17, 2012
posted by ebesan at 4:41 AM on August 17, 2012
is there a way to retrieve my files, and wipe it clean, w/out actually opening it?
That's what aaronbeekay's comment about Firewire Target Disk Mode is recommending. It will let you connect the eMac to another computer as if it were just a gigantic external hard drive. Then you can make copies of whatever you want.
posted by bcwinters at 5:03 AM on August 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
That's what aaronbeekay's comment about Firewire Target Disk Mode is recommending. It will let you connect the eMac to another computer as if it were just a gigantic external hard drive. Then you can make copies of whatever you want.
posted by bcwinters at 5:03 AM on August 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:41 PM on August 16, 2012