Tools to Start Computer: Hairdryer

This is funny. My G5 that I bought used from a friend is dying. For the last two days it wouldn't boot up. It was given me three blinks on the power switch and not booting up. I searched the internet and found out three blinks is RAM. So I took out all the RAM, rearranged it, tried every configuration possible and it still wouldn't boot. I cried a little, but not too much. I knew the hard drives were both fine. But I had no idea what the problem could be.

The next day at work (bless work with it's free computer and internet!!!) I read on a forum that using a hairdryer to heat the area around the RAM will allow your computer to start. So tonight I tried the hairdryer trick and it worked. Really. One minute blowing the area around the RAM with the hairdryer and the computer starts right up. Who figures this stuff out? I would have never guessed that heating up my motherboard with a hairdryer would make my MAC run.

So now I'm copying all my files on to external drives and praying the machine lasts for a while. I also read that this only works a couple times for some people so I want to make sure I get everything I need off this machine tonight just in case.

I'm trying not to blame my friend for selling me this machine which also has had a video card die on me. It's a bad machine, not because of my friend, but because of Apple. There's a reason the first generation G5s didn't last long on Apple's lineup. They suck. And now I own one that I have to use a hairdryer to run. Great. I imagine soon I will own a new Apple machine and I can retire the hairdryer. And I won't make my friend feel bad every time the machine does something that pisses me off.

I'm off to backup a few more files.