iMac G3 Model M5521 Repair

While the very first iMac G3s (1998–early 1999) used a mechanical, pop-out CD tray, the M5521 generation switched to a custom, front-facing slot-loading optical drive mechanism. This engineering change allowed Apple to shrink the entire footprint of the clear polycarbonate "egg-shaped" housing, making it notably slimmer, lighter, and more compact than its predecessor.

• Processor: Powered by a 32-bit PowerPC 750 (G3) RISC processor, with clock speeds running from 350 MHz up to 700 MHz depending on the specific revision.
• Display: A built-in, high-contrast 15-inch shadow-mask CRT monitor with a viewable area of 13.8 inches, supporting a maximum native resolution of 1024 x 768 at 75 Hz.
• Graphics: Switched from older S3 graphics to dedicated ATI Rage 128 VR or ATI Rage 128 Pro AGP graphics cards with either 8MB or 16MB of SDRAM VRAM.
• Thermal Management: The M5521 chassis was uniquely engineered to run without an internal cooling fan. It utilized convective cooling (drawing cold air from the bottom mesh slots and venting hot air out the integrated top handle), making the computer completely silent during operation save for the spin of the hard drive.

The iMac DV was a major jump forward in Apple's consumer strategy. Along with all the new features added to the iMac (Slot Loading), the DV also included a DVD-ROM drive, a larger hard drive, 2 FireWire ports (a consumer first), and a VGA out. The iMac DV was convection cooled, and as a result needed no internal fan, making it the quietest mac since the 512k.

The base model iMac DV came in 5 candy colors, with 64 MB of RAM, a 10 GB ATA drive, for $1299. A "Special Edition" was also available in Graphite, with 128 MB of RAM, and a 13 GB drive, for $1499.

In July 2000, a new version of the iMac DV was launched, with a lower price ($999) and a CD-ROM drive (instead of a DVD drive).

Finally, in February 2001 and July 2001, two new iMac model 5521 series are launched, first in the famous and controversial "Blue Dalmatian" series (2 variants) and "Flower Power" (2 variants), with the Graphite model for pro users. In July, the colors were changed back to White and Graphite only. All these new series benefit from new-generation PowerPC G3 processors with clock speeds up to 700 MHz. In 2002-2003, the iMac is gradually replaced by the "sunflower" iMac.

Processor and memory

• 350 or 400MHz G3 processor
• 2 PC100 DIMM Ram slots for max of 512Mb

Ports

• Two USB 1.0
• Two FireWire
• One Ethernet 100mbps
• One VGA
• Storage***
• 6, 10, or 13 GB ATA Hard drive
• 24x CD Drive or DVD Drive

iMac G3 M5521 Apple Repair Manual and Disassembly Guide