Technology behaving badly ...

I had a close call this week with my 5+ year-old Mac G5 Tower (running Mac OSX 10.4+). The writing has been on the wall. I've had several issues with the computer suddenly powering down, then just as mysteriously powering right back up again in the space of 10 seconds. No data was ever lost and I could continue along in whatever program I was working. Then, one morning, I went to wake it up, and behold, not a breath of life came from the thing. I would hit the power button on either the tower itself or the monitor, I could hear the hard drive engage, but not a flicker of life on the monitor.


With a heavy sigh, I left it alone for a few days. My initial thought was, "5 years, needs replacing, but not possible in this economy." My second thought was: "Google."


Not having the luxury of living within driving distance of an Apple Genius Bar, I've learned to troubleshoot my own issues. And google has made it so much easier. By simply typing in the main words of my issue, I get pages of links. And at least one has always had the answer I needed.


Amid the numerous entries complaining of Apple's power supply issues (which to me, having my first issue in 5 years that just didn't apply), I found a few discussion threads where geeks-in-the-know advised average users to remove the battery, clean all contact points and reinstall as a remedy for varying power issues. While the success rate seemed sketchy, it was certainly cheaper than replacing the whole computer.


I disassembled the G-5, pulled off the outer door, removed the inner plastic shell, and then stared blankly at the boards and plugs inside. One thought: Google. This was easy. "Remove battery in G5 Tower". This brought up a link with a diagram for locating and removing the battery. After locating the battery, I thoroughly cleaned the entire interior space (5 years of dust inside, ugh), removed the battery, cleaned the contacts on either end, then cleaned the contacts on the battery seat. Replaced everything, powered up the computer, and voila. It's working like a dream! Over the past two years, the fans in my tower would regularly power up very loudly, like an airliner preparing for take-off. Since my major cleaning, that has completely stopped.


It's been working for a week, now. I'm hoping now to get at least two more years of service. Should the problem return in the near future, plan B (also found on google) is buy a $7 replacement battery. A lot cheaper than a new $2,500 machine. Thank you, google!