[NTLK] Almost off-topic: Looking for Intel Mac Mini mainboard

[Frank Gruendel]

Hi folks,

this is not absolutely Newton-related and hence marked off-topic just in case, but it is
Einstein-related.

I have come into posession of a Mac Mini that has been struck by lightning and is dead as a
doornail. The lightning has found its way inside via an antenna that was connected to a receiver
that was connected to an USB port.

I found that the southbridge chip (which these days does almost everything in the Mac Mini except
for what the processor does) is getting very hot within seconds as soon as the power adapter is
connected. This is to be expected, since this chip contains, among many other things, the USB
controller. The power adapter, by the way, is perfectly OK since it wasn't connected when the
lightning struck.

Replacing the southbridge chip is not possible even with the soldering equipment I have. And it is
unlikely that this would fix things, since when a lightning finds its way to the 3.3V and 5V power
plane, it usually kills almost every chip on the board instantaneously.

So now I'm in the market for an Intel Mac Mini mainboard. If you have one that you could live
without, or if you have a dead Mac Mini with a working mainboard, please get in touch off-list. I am
also interested in dead mainboards. I could trade for Newton / eMate stuff, Newton / eMate repairs,
or for cash.

Thanks for reading

Frank

-- Newton software and hardware at http://www.pda-soft.de