G4 MDD Freezing After Sleep

powerpcguy · Nov 12, 2012, 04:30 PM

I apologize if this has been answered before, but I recently acquired a Power Mac G4 and it is freezing after being put to sleep. I put a new PRAM battery in it (which now ensures that it keeps the time and remembers my wi-fi connection passwords), but it is now inevitably freezing about 2-3 minutes after being put to sleep. It's really frustrating! The sleep functionality and ease of use is one of Mac OS's top selling points imo, so I would really like for this to work flawlessly.

What are my options? I've also reset the little PMU button inside the machine, so between resetting the PMU and getting a new PRAM battery, I don't know what could be causing this.... HELP!

havokalien · Nov 12, 2012, 05:08 PM

Well there's that darn power supply, and oh the power supply and if I remember right the power supply. The MDD is prone to power supply issue, the same thing that kills the G4 cube. Small thin power supply and years of 28 volts waiting to be awake. Start out with freezes, then just lock ups, then forced unplugging to reboot then all out failure. Worst power supply next to the macintosh II's. enjoy the Mac while you can. No removing the video card and replacing with one that's not ADC at this point will not help.

Good luck.

powerpcguy · Nov 12, 2012, 05:51 PM

Ugh! This does not sound good. Is it possible to replace the power supply? If so, is it relatively easy?

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

jbarley · Nov 12, 2012, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by havokalien

Well there's that darn power supply, and oh the power supply and if I remember right the power supply. The MDD is prone to power supply issue, the same thing that kills the G4 cube.

This is news to me, I have 3 G4 cubes, 1 stock and 2 CPU upgraded, and I also had for some time a G4 MDD, never have I experienced a power supply problem with any of them.
The MDD served me well until I gutted it and installed a Mac mini plus a bunch of peripherals into the MDD case.

DrakkenWar · Nov 12, 2012, 07:24 PM

It has been awhile since I have owned a MDD. A few things I would try:

1. Reset all your ram. (G4's and 5's are FINKY critters when it comes to ram).

2. If you have another hard drive around, give it an install and see if that changes anything.

I do agree, the PS could be the first culprit, but it is not the only possibility.

wobegong · Nov 13, 2012, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbarley

This is news to me, I have 3 G4 cubes, 1 stock and 2 CPU upgraded, and I also had for some time a G4 MDD, never have I experienced a power supply problem with any of them.
The MDD served me well until I gutted it and installed a Mac mini plus a bunch of peripherals into the MDD case.

If it's news to you then maybe you should Google it, happened to mine also (MDD 1.42 Dual), didn't happen to every machine obviously but as you will see it was a well known fault - PSU issues plagued Apple all through the mid-late PPC years for desktops, it's very well documented.

seveej · Nov 13, 2012, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerpcguy

I apologize if this has been answered before, but I recently acquired a Power Mac G4 and it is freezing after being put to sleep.

it's true that the MDD's are prone to PSU -related issues. Then again, this does not necessarily implicate the PSU in your case. Replacing the PSU is hard, but not impossible and spares are available at eBay (if you go that way, get a 360W unit, the 400W is a lot noisier).

Still, as getting a new PSU is not free, I'd try to debug the sleep issue first:
- try the things already suggested and
- view the system log in the console. Does it note anything between going to sleep and having to start up again? (if you're not log-literate, I'm sure someone here can help)
- do you have any FireWire or USB-devices connected? (except the apple keyboard and mouse) if so, try to cope without them for a while and see if they might be the culprit.

Also, I've heard of one case, where a dust-filled PSU was creating problems (when in sleep, the fans do not turn, but the PSU is still "working", albeit less. Thus it may continue heating even when computer sleeps if ventilation is insufficient.

Rgds,

havokalien · Nov 13, 2012, 03:48 AM

The issue of heat is a side effect of sleep but 28 volt ADC port. The same reason the G4 cubes have issues. I'm glad to see the one cube owner has had no issues, but that is not the norm. The G4 cube was low wattage overall, same reason CPU upgrades must be low power versions and usually need VRM boards with them. One the G4 has a CPU upgrade its common to replace the video card, which removes the ADC port and the need for the 28 volts while sleeping taxing the power supply less. Just remember the cube power supply is just like an iMac, fabless, tight, enclosed with just some holes for vein tinting.

Good. Luck with your MDD, sorry about all the cube conversation. At least it's related info though.

archtopshop · Nov 13, 2012, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerpcguy

Ugh! This does not sound good. Is it possible to replace the power supply? If so, is it relatively easy?

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

If you have a multimeter, it is easy to check the power supply. Instructions are located here:

http://www.jcsenterprises.com/Japama...EB2C04619.html

Replacing an MDD power supply is relatively easy. Ifixit has detailed instructions here:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installi...+Supply/1622/1

The hardest part of replacing an MDD power supply is finding a good one for a decent price. There is a company that rebuilds them and sells them with a warranty, but I don't have the name handy. Maybe someone else can chime in with it. I think the price is around $100 US after sending in your dead power supply. That's certainly not cheap, but at least there is a warranty.

Ebay is another route you can follow. The only problem with eBay is there is no guarantee you'll be buying a power supply that's any better than the one you already have. I know this from experience. YMMV.

Good luck in your quest!

MaxHeap · Nov 13, 2012, 08:00 AM

The PSU's aren't hard at all to fix. Badcaps.net has threads regarding this with step by step instructions on replacing the caps and will walk you through any issues as long a you're trying.

havokalien · Nov 13, 2012, 01:06 PM

When I went to bad caps for the MDD all they lists the ATX conversion. All the other macs they list repair, but since its a slim power supply much like dell mini towers and mostly glued to me they just kinda gave up. Ill have to go take a look.

666sheep · Nov 14, 2012, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrakkenWar

2. If you have another hard drive around, give it an install and see if that changes anything.

I do agree, the PS could be the first culprit, but it is not the only possibility.

Wise advice. Especially if current HDD is old. Dying PSU gives other issues than sleep problems and OP didn't mention any. It's easy to say: "hey, it's PSU" because it was notorious part to fail in MDD. But not always. And not due to bad caps

Nov 12, 2012, 04:30 PM	#1
powerpcguy macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2012	G4 MDD Freezing After Sleep I apologize if this has been answered before, but I recently acquired a Power Mac G4 and it is freezing after being put to sleep. I put a new PRAM battery in it (which now ensures that it keeps the time and remembers my wi-fi connection passwords), but it is now inevitably freezing about 2-3 minutes after being put to sleep. It's really frustrating! The sleep functionality and ease of use is one of Mac OS's top selling points imo, so I would really like for this to work flawlessly. What are my options? I've also reset the little PMU button inside the machine, so between resetting the PMU and getting a new PRAM battery, I don't know what could be causing this.... HELP! __________________ PowerMac G4 MDD (Dual 867 GHz, 2 GB Ram); PowerBook G4 17" (1 GHz, 2 GB Ram); PowerBook G4 12" (1.33 GHz, 1.25 GB Ram). "Trailing edge" computing.
	0

Nov 12, 2012, 05:08 PM	#2
havokalien macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Great Lakes, IL	Power supply Well there's that darn power supply, and oh the power supply and if I remember right the power supply. The MDD is prone to power supply issue, the same thing that kills the G4 cube. Small thin power supply and years of 28 volts waiting to be awake. Start out with freezes, then just lock ups, then forced unplugging to reboot then all out failure. Worst power supply next to the macintosh II's. enjoy the Mac while you can. No removing the video card and replacing with one that's not ADC at this point will not help. Good luck. __________________ Its but a flesh wound. You don't know the power of the Dark Side!
	0

Nov 12, 2012, 05:51 PM	#3
powerpcguy Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2012	Ugh! This does not sound good. Is it possible to replace the power supply? If so, is it relatively easy? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks! __________________ PowerMac G4 MDD (Dual 867 GHz, 2 GB Ram); PowerBook G4 17" (1 GHz, 2 GB Ram); PowerBook G4 12" (1.33 GHz, 1.25 GB Ram). "Trailing edge" computing.
	0

Nov 12, 2012, 07:24 PM	#5
DrakkenWar macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Antonio,Texas	Could be a long shot... It has been awhile since I have owned a MDD. A few things I would try: 1. Reset all your ram. (G4's and 5's are FINKY critters when it comes to ram). 2. If you have another hard drive around, give it an install and see if that changes anything. I do agree, the PS could be the first culprit, but it is not the only possibility. __________________ ~Drake 2011 Mini i7/4GB/1TB/10.7.3PBG4/15"/1.5/320GB/10.5.8iPhone 3GS 16GB
	0

Nov 13, 2012, 03:48 AM	#8
havokalien macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Great Lakes, IL	Sleep heat The issue of heat is a side effect of sleep but 28 volt ADC port. The same reason the G4 cubes have issues. I'm glad to see the one cube owner has had no issues, but that is not the norm. The G4 cube was low wattage overall, same reason CPU upgrades must be low power versions and usually need VRM boards with them. One the G4 has a CPU upgrade its common to replace the video card, which removes the ADC port and the need for the 28 volts while sleeping taxing the power supply less. Just remember the cube power supply is just like an iMac, fabless, tight, enclosed with just some holes for vein tinting. Good. Luck with your MDD, sorry about all the cube conversation. At least it's related info though. __________________ Its but a flesh wound. You don't know the power of the Dark Side!
	0

Nov 13, 2012, 08:00 AM	#10
MaxHeap macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Missouri	The PSU's aren't hard at all to fix. Badcaps.net has threads regarding this with step by step instructions on replacing the caps and will walk you through any issues as long a you're trying. __________________  iMac G3 Tray Loader  1.25 DP MDD  1.42 eMac  2011 Mac Mini  Assorted PPC & 68K Machines 
	0

Nov 13, 2012, 01:06 PM	#11
havokalien macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Great Lakes, IL	Bad caps When I went to bad caps for the MDD all they lists the ATX conversion. All the other macs they list repair, but since its a slim power supply much like dell mini towers and mostly glued to me they just kinda gave up. Ill have to go take a look. __________________ Its but a flesh wound. You don't know the power of the Dark Side!
	0

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