Hi Macster,
It's all right to be a bit frightened -- it just means that you have good self-preservation instincts. But even if you don't think you could fix these things, I'm sure that you could. And an AIO compact is a great vehicle for learning how to troubleshoot and repair simple problems. You don't need any special or expensive tools in most cases -- aside from the longggg Torx driver needed to open them up. A cheapo soldering iron will go a long ways toward repairing the most commonly encountered problems.
Dan Knight at LEM was kind enough to reprint an updated version of an old applefritter article I wrote on the CRT discharge question. If you're interested, you can find it at http://lowendmac.com/tech/crt_danger.html. But the short version is:
1) A zap from an AIO won't kill you, but it can hurt, just as any other static zap on a dry day.
2) It's easy to avoid even that unpleasant zap.
3) Most repairs don't require touching the HV bits, so don't touch them, and you can sidestep the whole zappage issue.
The AIOs are really as harmless as they are cute. Just let them sit unpowered for a day or two, and the biggest danger they'll present is allergic reactions from the dust that's inside.
It's all right to be a bit frightened -- it just means that you have good self-preservation instincts. But even if you don't think you could fix these things, I'm sure that you could. And an AIO compact is a great vehicle for learning how to troubleshoot and repair simple problems. You don't need any special or expensive tools in most cases -- aside from the longggg Torx driver needed to open them up. A cheapo soldering iron will go a long ways toward repairing the most commonly encountered problems.
Dan Knight at LEM was kind enough to reprint an updated version of an old applefritter article I wrote on the CRT discharge question. If you're interested, you can find it at http://lowendmac.com/tech/crt_danger.html. But the short version is:
1) A zap from an AIO won't kill you, but it can hurt, just as any other static zap on a dry day.
2) It's easy to avoid even that unpleasant zap.
3) Most repairs don't require touching the HV bits, so don't touch them, and you can sidestep the whole zappage issue.
The AIOs are really as harmless as they are cute. Just let them sit unpowered for a day or two, and the biggest danger they'll present is allergic reactions from the dust that's inside.