Wie man einen iMac Intel in einen Externen Monitor umwandelt

Afraid I have no experience with the newer iMac models

These are the posts I used in 9.5mm height - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162113127488 but any self-adhesive posts around 9.5mm would work.

For insulation underneath it and other areas, I used plain black insulation tape. For any EM shielding repair, I used some aluminium foil tape.

Tips? Just follow the instructions carefully, and be delicate with the LVDS cable, it is delicate. As it is a larger monitor, it is possible you might need to position components slightly differently to ensure cables reach.

Good luck! :-)

It would probably be possible, but would not make sense to do so - the LCD driver boards normally come with an inverter.

To use the original inverter, you would need some way to power it - maybe the driver board could do this, but if it has different power requirements, you will need a separate power supply for the inverter. And a way to control it. And a way to power it on and off...

I can think of no reason for wanting to do this.

If it lights up, it sounds like the inverter is working fine,

Is the OSD appearing on the screen “saying no signal” or anything if you press the buttons on the driver?

If not, I would check the LVDS connection:

- is it in the correct way round at the screen and / or the driver side? (Normally fits in either way, but should be marked with a dot to indicate)

- check it for any damage to the cable - the pins at the monitor side on my cable were actually bent and I needed a replacement cable initially.

Hope this helps!

Mike

Hi Luis,

This build is a 20”, not 24”. Well done on getting the original inverter to work, it isn’t something I looked into much as seemed problematic to get working right - and my kit came with an inverter, but I see your kit seems different and doesn’t - does it look something like this - http://www.b2cqshop.com/yourqshop/Q06215... ?

I presume you have been referring to the service manual for pin outs and such? http://www.beyondinfinite.com/lcd/Librar...

Seems to be someone with a similar problem maybe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3LGwZq_... ?

Sorry I can’t be of any further help, good luck!

Important Tips:

If you want to use DVI, you can, but the wire is too big to fit through the hole for the power cord or the back cooling grate so you will need to shove it through the RAM slot on the bottom of the machine. HDMI will fit so you’re better off using that if possible.

Hardest part of disassembling this thing is getting the front white panel and monitor off. There are videos on YouTube that show you how to do it. After that it’s a matter of unscrewing literally every screw you see and removing most of the tape (but be careful not to unscrew the back stand).

Instead of cutting holes, I used the RAM slot to fit the buttons (in addition to the DVI cable). The buttons don’t seem to do anything for me though — the green light lights up but the only way to turn off my monitor is literally just to unplug the power supply. If anyone knows how to use the button panel, let me know.

This thing actually makes a great external monitor once it’s freed from the ancient components inside

Good luck!!!

There is actually way less space available than it would appear and the whole structure of the MacBook is based around its unibody frame - without that, you would need a whole lot of mounting posts etc, need sufficient cooling etc - not worth the effort when all I wanted was a cheap fix - I also use the screenless MacBook with other monitors at times too.

I can imagine standard components to make a Hackintosh inside an iMac case would be easier, especially if using a 24” case - check our this epic build https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/erste...

Just search on eBay! Many for sale from China - you may need to change the “Item location” filter to “Worldwide”.

Please note that I note that that probably isn’t your screen’s full model number - it should be suffixed with four characters like (SL)(C1) or (SL)(A3) - make sure to note this and order the correct controller board. Good luck!

Hi there,

Sounds like a gamma profile issue - have you tried different profiles?

Or calibrating manually? http://osxdaily.com/2015/10/14/access-ex...

The brightness is something never managed to adjust properly, but find using Shades as a passable alternative http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/shades

Hope this helps!

Thanks Michael! I’ll give that a try!

Not sure tbh! It is quite a tight fit inside, the output ports of the H170n might be too deep - the iMac MB is obv designed to specifically fit the space. Potentially the existing PSU might power the MB? Good luck!

Given the cheapness of monitors these days, I wouldn’t say this is necessarily the most economical option - I just liked the quality of colour rendering my iMac screen gave, so seemed worth it :-)

The yellow part is the LCD backlight inverter board - used to power the CCFL backlight tubes within the monitor - my kit came with the controller board and backlight inverter board together, and I would recommend looking for a similar kit :-)

Looking further, it seems the way for connecting up your monitor is quite different - this image which comes with a converter kit seems to show using the existing iMac power supply / inverter - https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAxWDgwMQ==/... - rather than the kit coming with it included - it might be worth asking this seller for more advice http://stores.ebay.co.uk/eqstore/

My kit was just powered by a single 12V DC 4A external PSU.

Thanks and good luck!

Only thing I can think of is connecting with a different cable (so if using VGA cable, try DVI or HDMI etc)?

If still no luck sounds like that is the max res the controller board OR the graphics card on your computer supports…

Ok, so the process for your monitor is different - the backlight cannot be driven by the controller board + new inverter like it is with my setup.

You will be using the existing inverter attached to the monitor, and to drive that you need a separate 24v power supply.

The second eBay item you have listed includes a power supply (the black square object to the bottom right) and this will drive both the inverter / backlight as well as the controller board (so you will not need a separate supply for the controller board).

See this page for someone you has done this - https://pbase.com/brucemac/2019octdispla... and have a look at the comments / links on the photo.

I think the second eBay item should get you completely sorted with all parts you need - but looking at the price, a new 24” monitor probably wouldn’t cost a huge amount more…

So depends if you are just trying to save money / recycle or looking for a project to work on and have hopefully have a cool monitor at the end!?

This page seems to have a manual with pin outs http://www.datasheet39.com/download.php?... (scroll down to and click “Download[ LM240WU2-SLB2.PDF Datasheet ]”

It is probably not impossible, but probably tricky - don’t believe the iSight camera is USB - it has separate video and microphone cables.

I just removed the camera, as never used it - how times change!

Maybe try commenting on the camera replacement page? Might be simpler to try and find another webcam that would fit in that space.

Hi Franchesco, your comment prompted me thinking and I found the iSight camera I had taken out - turn out it is pretty simple - the camera cables are standard USB colours (red, green, white, black), so a quick splice together and it works!

I have not got the microphone working (it is an analogue output, so would need to be input into a microphone socket) and my screen less MacBook’s internal microphone picks up my speech fine, but might try this further before I solder the wires and mount back inside the iMac case - thanks for the inspiration!

All possible, but make the build a lot trickier;

- The PATA (not SATA) optical drive fills the space the main driver board and cables connectors sit, so would need to find an alternative location for the driver board. At the point I did this, the included drive was almost dead, and couldn’t remember last time actually used a CD/DVD.

- The screw mounts holding the speakers in place were actually on the logic board, so you would need to add new suitable mounts. Also have a power supply for an amp (probably usb). Lastly, I never actually used the internal speakers as they were pretty poor.

- Not keeping the iSight in place was a regret especially since I have lost the mount for it, although I have now mounted the iSight in a small external box which sits on top of the screen. Also need to wire the analogue microphone to a 3.5mm output (and use with a male 3.5mmTRRS (4 pole) to 2x female 3.5mm adaptor if using with a MacBook). This unfortunately isn’t supported via Bootcamp.

Let me know if you try this though!

Hi there, I can’t say for sure - CCFL backlight tubes do tend to dim over time, but if it was working brightly prior to this, that seems less likely.

Are you using it connected to a Mac? My screen was overall very dark when I first used it (not the backlight as such, just all the colours etc) and to correct this, I needed to calibrate the screen (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/ma...) so I would try this if you have not yet.

The controller I have does not have controllable backlight, but there is a noticeable brightness between colour modes - I would try all the different settings when pressing the menu button.

Lastly, if none of that helps, it could be the inverter supplied or your power supply is underpowered?

Hi Michael and everyone else who might find this useful. I figured out the issue, I was using a lower power adapter which left my display dim. I got a 12v 4amp adapter that was advised in the ebay listing and it works perfectly.

Thanks for letting us know and glad you got it fixed :-)

Ciao Valter, spero che questo abbia senso dato che sto usando Google Translate! Per quanto ne so, il processo che ho delineato dovrebbe essere lo stesso per gli iMac 2006 da 24" - se trovi il numero di modello dello schermo all'interno del tuo iMac (e ognuno potrebbe essere diverso) dovresti essere in grado di trovare un adattatore su eBay per consentirti di collegarti HDMI / DVI come descrive la mia guida. Buona fortuna!

Hi Culley, glad to hear you have found it interesting! And I am glad this guide is still getting comments / views six years later! I am still using this monitor I pulled together - 15 years and 4 months after the iMac was purchased!

I am presuming you know about Target Display Mode on the 2010 27” iMacs - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204592

Its usage is quite limited however, and is no good if your iMac is actually broken, but I have found a video of someone doing the same process with a 27” 2011 iMac, which is the same physical design as your one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWoc59OR... - hope this helps / encourages you!

Hi Andrew, so I think the display may show in the display control panel even if the a panel is not connected to the LCD driver board (so the Mac may be successfully be connected to the LCD driver board, but the LCD driver board may not be successfully connected to the panel) - I would suggest carefully checking the video cable from the LCD driver board to the panel for any damage, check inserted firmly and correct orientation on both sides. Also, I am presuming the LCD driver board you have has multiple video inputs, and a controller board with buttons - could it be set to the wrong input? Lastly, please check the PSU is of sufficient amperage.

Hope this helps!

Hi Kamal,

I’m afraid I can’t really, as it was a 2006 iMac with a very different design that I converted and created this guide on.

Maybe this video could help you (if the 2013 design is the same as the 2011 design) - https://youtu.be/wWoc59ORRlA

Good luck!