IMac G3 LCD Conversion

19/11/2021 00:08 iMac G3 LCD Conversion | MacRumors Forums
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iMac G3 LCD Conversion

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maxshanly
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Mar 8, 2008
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maxshanly
M macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 8, 2008 󰒗 #1
My friend is giving me an old iMac G3, I thought it might be a good idea to do an LCD conversion.
I was just wondering if anyone had a detailed diagram of the wiring that I need to do for video and
power adapters?
I shall await a reply.
forgottensoft
F macrumors regular
Mar 10, 2008 󰒗 #2
The iMac G3 has an internal VGA connector to the Motherboard. That means this hack is very self
explanatory.
cherry su
macrumors 65816
Mar 10, 2008 󰒗 #3
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/imac-g3-lcd-conversion.450143/ 1/13
Open up a 15" flat panel, connect it with the iMac's internal VGA port, toss the CRT crap (be
careful!) and voilà! (probably)
ktbubster
macrumors 6502a
Mar 10, 2008 󰒗 #4
Does this mean the imacs current CRT screen is connected to the motherboard with an internal
vga? In theory could you take a mac minis guys and use a dvi-vgi converter and plug the crt into
the mini? Just curious. I think that would be sorta neat.
Then again i could just take a case and put the mini in there and a new LCD or something, but i
think the original crt would be sort neat to have in there with different guts...
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maxshanly
M macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #5
I have finally got the iMac, I am going to try it out tonight. Does anyone know exactly where on the
motherboard is the VGA port and once I plug in the LCD will it work right out of the box?
Is there any hackadackery required?
Wotan31
macrumors 6502
W
Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #6
cherry su said: 󰕍
Open up a 15" flat panel, connect it with the iMac's internal VGA port, toss the CRT crap (be
careful!) and voilà! (probably)
You mean *recycle* the CRT crap. It is now illegal in all 50 states to throw a CRT in the trash. The
average CRT contains 9 pounds of lead, some mercury, some arsenic, and some other nasty things.
Don't be a bonehead - take it to a recycling center.
maxshanly
M macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #7
Will the iMac G3 (350 MHz Slot Loading) take PC133 RAM?
maxshanly
M macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #8
maxshanly said: 󰕍
Will the iMac G3 (350 MHz Slot Loading) take PC133 RAM?
Looks like it does. I have installed 1 GB of RAM into the iMac (2 x 512 MB), it is running rather
snappy. I've booted into the Mac OS X Tiger CDs that I got from work (I do own a family pack for
Tiger but this Mac doesn't have a DVD Drive so I needed CDs to install from). It hasn't made a fuss
over the fact that the Mac is unsupported (it doesn't have a FireWire port) and I am not using
XPostFacto so it looks like it is going to work just fine.
I'll make another post once the install is finished, I've just got to run downstairs and get some
toothpaste to fix the scratch on the glass. I shan't be putting in the LCD for a while, not until I've
got another iMac to test the method on.
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MonksMac
macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #9
The 350 MHz Blueberry slot loading iMacs are the same as all of the other ones except for the
Firewire port and no DVD drive, so that is why Tiger still works fine.
Double check the connecter inside the computer. It may not be a regular VGA connecter. Some iMac
G3's internal connecter is the old style Macintosh Monitor connecter. I'm not totally sure so don't
automatically assume I'm right...
applefan1997
A macrumors 6502
Jun 23, 2008 󰒗 #10
This will not work that easily. The G3 will not function properly unless it's fooled into thinking the
internal screen is connected. It is possible though, and can be seen here:
http://www.macmod.com/content/view/414/193/
CooperBox
macrumors 65816
Sep 11, 2015 󰒗 #11
Yes. What you are proposing is possible (G3 iMac rebuild with LCD flat screen). BUT it's not just the
screen that would need changing, you'd have to gut the G3 and add compatible hardware -
certainly not just a compatible power adapter! One could even add a Mac Mini inside, but even that
mod to connect up to an LCD screen requires some serious engineering. Don't let anyone tell you
otherwise. There are one or two clever guys who have accomplished this, but it's a serious mod - it
ain't no weekend project! If it was, I would have done it with one of my iMac G3's......
eyoungren
macrumors Penryn
Sep 11, 2015 󰒗 #12
Uhm…thread is over seven years old. OP has probably long ago moved on.
Although the info in your post is appreciated.
CooperBox
macrumors 65816
Sep 11, 2015 󰒗 #13
eyoungren said: 󰕍
Uhm…thread is over seven years old. OP has probably long ago moved on.
Although the info in your post is appreciated.
Whoops, you're right. I'll be more vigilant with posted dates next time.

eyoungren
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Wiebenor
macrumors newbie
Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #14
I know this is old, so don't flame me, but I'm thinking of doing something like this eventually, with
the twist being that I will take everything MAC related out, and put modern components in it, and
then yes, run...
**Drumroll please** Windows!!!
I know, it's a mac at heart, but I love my Windows 10, and other versions as well, and love the
iMac look, so I decided to try and put the two together... to be clear, even though I found a 1
minute clip of exactly that on youtube, I had the idea way before the video I found was even
posted, I forget exactly, but I think my last iMac was green??? Or was it blue... My current one's
color is whatever the last one I took apart wasn't, and honestly, It's also a little brown in a few
spots, because I accidentally dripped a little wood stain on the case while it was in storage... My
only problem is going to be what kind of cd/dvd drive to replace it with...
Project Alice
macrumors 68000
Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #15
Wiebenor said: 󰕍
I know this is old, so don't flame me, but I'm thinking of doing something like this eventually, with the
twist being that I will take everything MAC related out, and put modern components in it, and then
yes, run...
**Drumroll please** Windows!!!
I know, it's a mac at heart, but I love my Windows 10, and other versions as well, and love the iMac
look, so I decided to try and put the two together... to be clear, even though I found a 1 minute clip of
exactly that on youtube, I had the idea wayClick
before the video I found was even posted, I forget
to expand...
This has actually been done several times. If you go this route I hope you find a non working iMac.
Fyi, a “[?] blinking folder or disk” is not none working. (Just because I see that a lot on craigslist or
eBay as not working)
I found these on google:
iMac G3 Case Mod Gaming Computer. "Mac setup?"

:P
r/macsetups • relliMmoT • 6y ago

86 points • 19 comments
iMac G3 Casemod
I've been wanting to build this pc for more than 10 years and I've decided now is
the time to make it happen. With my 3D-printer, ****** cad skills, lots of money
and even more time, I will try to create a fully working iMac G3 that is perfectly
customized for me. Using 3D printing I will make a...
hackaday.io
Obviously this would be a PC in a case so you could run whatever OS you wanted. Including
Windows. Windows 10 is spyware and bloatware loaded, which is fact, and also extremely ugly and
non-user intuitive which I guess you could say is an opinion. I run it too, but only for games. It’s
useless for everything else. Just my .02¢ on that.
Wiebenor
macrumors newbie
Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #16
Project Alice said: 󰕍
This has actually been done several times. If you go this route I hope you find a non working iMac.
Fyi, a “[?] blinking folder or disk” is not none working. (Just because I see that a lot on craigslist or
eBay as not working)
I found these on google:
Click to expand...
I get that, but I hope you realize that it's not as close to spyware as you think, especially with so
many scripts out there to lock down the "spyware" as you call it, although the settings app can
disable or cripple a bunch of it by itself if you ask it to... In it's original release I'll agree that it WAS
nothing but spyware, but in my opinion they have done a good job listening to people, and give
users a lot more freedom to disable stuff, on first boot even, in recent years...
Also, the iMac really doesn't boot, and the cd/dvd drive doesn't work, so since I only get the
spinning wheel, and it absolutely refuses to boot from ANY usb operating system flash drives I have
created, I decided that I would find a more modern usage for it... Sorry if I'm commiting a vintage
iMac sin, by wanting to repurpose the case, but there you go...
Last edited: Feb 13, 2021

Amethyst1
Project Alice
macrumors 68000
󰒗 #17
Feb 13, 2021
Wiebenor said: 󰕍
I get that, but I hope you realize that it's not as close to spyware as you think, especially with so
many scripts out there to lock down the "spyware" as you call it, although the settings app can disable
or cripple a bunch of it by itself if you ask it to... In it's original release I'll agree that it WAS nothing
but spyware, but in my opinion they have done a good job listening to people, and give users a lot
more freedom to disable stuff, on first boot even, in recent years...
Also, the iMac really doesn't boot, and the cd/dvd drive doesn't work, so since I only get the spinning
wheel, and it absolutely refuses to boot from ANY
Click to usb operating system flash drives I have created, I
expand...
That sounds like a bad drive, or just bad installation.
Also PowerPC macs don’t boot off USB the way you think. It requires manually pointing it in open
firmware and it doesn’t always work properly. If you just hold option it won’t show anything.
FireWire is what is officially supported for booting on iMac G3s Sounds like the iMac works to me.
Not booting and dead are two different things.
The drive is extremely easy to get to, so you could either put a new one in, or take out the hard
drive and use another mac to install the OS.
See the article here about Windows 10 (it’s closer to the bottom of the page) It is also still pretty
bad when using scripts and disabling most of it.

Amethyst1
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Wiebenor
macrumors newbie
Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #18
Project Alice said: 󰕍
That sounds like a bad drive, or just bad installation.
Also PowerPC macs don’t boot off USB the way you think. It requires manually pointing it in open
firmware and it doesn’t always work properly. If you just hold option it won’t show anything. FireWire
is what is officially supported for booting on iMac G3s Sounds like the iMac works to me. Not booting
and dead are two different things.
The drive is extremely easy to get to, so you could either put a new one in, or take out the hard drive
and use another mac to install the OS.
Click to expand...
Ok, I won't argue about whether Windows is crappy, because I'm used to it, and have my ways of
ensuring the privacy my tinfoil hat loving self deserves, while being okay with a certain amount of
intrusiveness, however, I would like to respond on the topic of booting from flash drives, and I will
say this... I know just hitting the certain key isn't enough, and I know it's actually 2 or 3 keys
according to a few tutorials I followed, to the letter, including burning a mac OSx install disk to to a
flash drive, so believe me, I have tried everything, short of spending buttloads of money on
accessories for an old system, when I could just upgrade it to be a somewhat unique design, by
making the airflow work in such a way that I can truly put a Windows system in there, and have it
work without getting too hot, besides...
Note that I honestly don't have anything against old apple devices like this, it's just the fact that to
me, this Mac as it is, isn't very appealing to me because the hardware is old... (Note that I only
took it because otherwise it would go to the landfill, and I wanted to save the case and speakers at
the very least) Now if it had dos and not mac that's different, because I like playing around with
dos, but alas, it's an old slow Mac... Now why I won't buy a new mac is another thing entirely,
because I don't like their idea of right to repair, or lack thereof, and price gouging, but I won't get
into that or my other issues where I disagree with their practices

Amethyst1
Project Alice
macrumors 68000
Feb 14, 2021 󰒗 #19
Wiebenor said: 󰕍
Ok, I won't argue about whether Windows is crappy, because I'm used to it, and have my ways of
ensuring the privacy my tinfoil hat loving self deserves, while being okay with a certain amount of
intrusiveness,
Oh yes, I understand that completely. I do still boot into for games, but that’s it.
Wiebenor said: 󰕍
I would like to respond on the topic of booting from flash drives, and I will say this... I know just
hitting the certain key isn't enough, and I know it's actually 2 or 3 keys according to a few tutorials I
followed, to the letter, including burning a mac OSx install disk to to a flash drive, so believe me, I
have tried everything
Including this?
Wiebenor said: 󰕍
it's just the fact that to me, this Mac as it is, isn't very appealing to me because the hardware is old...
(Note that I only took it because otherwise it would go to the landfill, and I wanted to save the case
and speakers at the very least) Now if it had dos and not mac that's different, because I like playing
around with dos, but alas, it's an old slow Mac... Now why I won't buy a new mac is another thing
entirely, because I don't like their idea of right to repair, or lack thereof, and price gouging, but I won't
get into that or my other issues where I disagree with their practices
I am not particularly into new Macs either, I agree with you on most those topics. Though I am
slightly interested in the in-house ARM models.
As far as the rest... I mean to each their own. My opinion isn’t anymore right or wrong than yours.
I grew up using DOS, and Windows 98. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t now. I used some Macs in
elementary school that predate your iMac (at the time I didn’t know what they were🤦)
My first ever Mac that was mine was a grape tray loading iMac G3 running 8.6. This was probably
around 2006. I was older and knew a bit more, and my main machine was an AMD Athlon XP that
had just died (the iMac was cheap and I just needed something)
Even though it was old and slow even for 2006 standards I fell in love with it and the OS, at least
over Windows 98 which is what would’ve been the competitor. I even found it more intuitive than
Windows XP despite the obvious lack of true multitasking.
Basically what I’m saying is, if you enjoy DOS of all things, you might enjoy fiddling around with
classic Mac OS. There’s quite a lot of old games if you’re into that.
This is your iMac and do you’re free to do what you want with it obviously. Just from my experience
from what you’ve described, it doesn’t sound like a dead Mac. It sounds like you’re inexperienced in
how to get a Mac like this to boot USB (also what version of Mac OS did you attempt to put on it? It
will absolutely not work with anything above 10.4) If all you have is a PC, that can be pretty
challenging to even get the proper USB formatted for the Mac. A CD is ideal (it probably doesn’t
have a DVD drive either), I’m assuming you tried that first as you said it’s a dead drive. None of
these iMacs usually read CD-RWs. Only the older CD-Rs.
If you’re dead set on no longer investigating the Mac, I did link to some case mods for what you
describe in my first post. I have looked into it myself and I know I’ve seen more than those ones. I
just found those on a quick google.
If you do decide to investigate the iMac more and get it to work; I have seen plenty of empty iMacs
being sold as “cat beds” that would be more than perfect for putting a PC into.
I also failed to ask you which particular iMac it is... there’s a difference between the tray loaders
and slot loaders. Tray loaders being a bit more valuable. If you do gut it, perhaps put the parts up
on eBay or something.

Amethyst1
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I shall await a reply.

Mar 10, 2008 󰒗 #2

Mar 10, 2008 󰒗 #3

Mar 10, 2008 󰒗 #4

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SERVIÇO ESSENCIAL | Matteus Freitas, coordenador do Núcleo

Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #5

Is there any hackadackery required?

Don't be a bonehead - take it to a recycling center.

Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #7

Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #8

O Safra Invest é o Safra ao seu lado.

Jun 19, 2008 󰒗 #9

Jun 23, 2008 󰒗 #10

Sep 11, 2015 󰒗 #11

Sep 11, 2015 󰒗 #12

Although the info in your post is appreciated.

Sep 11, 2015 󰒗 #13

Although the info in your post is appreciated.

Sponsored by Magazine Luiza

Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #14

**Drumroll please** Windows!!!

Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #15

**Drumroll please** Windows!!!

I found these on google:

iMac G3 Case Mod Gaming Computer. "Mac setup?"

r/macsetups • relliMmoT • 6y ago

Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #16

Project Alice said: 󰕍

I found these on google:

Last edited: Feb 13, 2021

That sounds like a bad drive, or just bad installation.

Watch the video: Securing Covid Vaccine Tracking Apps - for

Feb 13, 2021 󰒗 #18

Project Alice said: 󰕍

That sounds like a bad drive, or just bad installation.

Feb 14, 2021 󰒗 #19

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Drumroll please Windows!!!

Drumroll please Windows!!!