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2 X PowerMac G5 with the same symptoms

G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
I have 2 computers with the same startup issues. Both of them hang up upon booting. The Apple logo shows up on the screen, and that's all (folks). If i wait a minute or two, the fans start speeding up to their maximum rpm, but nothing happens. I've tested all the memory modules, the hdd, the optical drive. I've even replaced the videocards. Nothing wrong with any of them.
One of the machines is a dual cpu 2.0 GHz and the other one is a dual cpu 2.3 GHz (dual cpu, not dual core, my 2.3 dual core still kicks butt).
I have taken the 2.0 apart, to take a look at the power supply, since this is the only easy serviceable thing left in the machine that i haven't checked. It's in mint condition. It had a lot of dust bunnies, but no bad capacitors or any other problems.
I have the feeling that the motherboards might be the troublemakers. It hangs when i boot from the optical drive, or the hdd.
Funny thing is that the 2.3 passes the AHT. I used the AHT from the original disk that came with the 2.0 since i don't have its original disks. The 2.0 hangs when i do the AHT.
Any sugestions? Maybe someone had the same problem and found a solution because, to be honest, it's quite a big coincidence that they both died the same way a few weeks apart.
 
Last edited:
Nameci

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
12
The Philippines...
Graveyard said:
I have 2 computers with the same startup issues. Both of them hang up upon booting. The Apple logo shows up on the screen, and that's all (folks). If i wait a minute or two, the fans start speeding up to their maximum rpm, but nothing happens. I've tested all the memory modules, the hdd, the optical drive. I've even replaced the videocards. Nothing wrong with any of them.
One of the machines is a dual cpu 2.0 GHz and the other one is a dual cpu 2.3 GHz (dual cpu, not dual core, my 2.3 dual core still kicks butt).
I have taken the 2.0 apart, to take a look at the power supply, since this is the only easy serviceable thing left in the machine that i haven't checked. It's in mint condition. It had a lot of dust bunnies, but no bad capacitors or any other problems.
I have the feeling that the motherboards might be the troublemakers. It hangs when i boot from the optical drive, or the hdd.
Funny thing is that the 2.3 passes the AHT. I used the AHT from the original disk that came with the 2.0 since i don't have its original disks. The 2.0 hangs when i do the AHT.
Any sugestions? Maybe someone had the same problem and found a solution because, to be honest, it's quite a big coincidence that they both died the same way a few weeks apart.
Click to expand...

try to make a clone of your OS on the DC and put in one of the troubled DP G5. I might be wrong but it seems that it is a symptom of a corrupt boot drive. If the optical drive is dirty of some sorts it will not boot either from your ODD.

my 0.02.
 
G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
I have already cleaned both optical drives, replaced them, changed the leopard discs, replaced the hard drives. Symptoms persist. I've even tried tiger server and ubuntu ppc. Both hang during the boot sequence.
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
Graveyard said:
I have already cleaned both optical drives, replaced them, changed the leopard discs, replaced the hard drives. Symptoms persist. I've even tried tiger server and ubuntu ppc. Both hang during the boot sequence.
Click to expand...

If you hadn't tested it, I'd say bad RAM, but you have. It's odd that 2 machines exhibit the same symptoms...You've tried everything I can think of and I guess it's a coincidence but the LB's could have gone at the same time...It's pretty much the only thing left.
 
G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
Yeah, i know. I was hoping to find more than this dumb coincidence. I'd hate to let both machines go to waste. They look like new, never been dropped, kicked or scratched. All that i found so far leads me to dead logic boards. If that's the case, i don't know when i'll get the time to take them out and se what's going on...
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
Graveyard said:
Yeah, i know. I was hoping to find more than this dumb coincidence. I'd hate to let both machines go to waste. They look like new, never been dropped, kicked or scratched. All that i found so far leads me to dead logic boards. If that's the case, i don't know when i'll get the time to take them out and se what's going on...
Click to expand...

Can you get them to an Apple store? They will at least diagnose the issue for free, and you will know what's defective....I notice you are in Romania though? Not sure if you have an Apple store?
 
G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
We don't have an Apple Store here. I have been working with and on Apple computers since '92. I have more than 20 years in electronics and it wouldn't be a wonder to get the logic boards back to life once i get them on the table. I'm trying to eliminate all logical options before i go and tear both machines to bits. I have found in a lot of cases, that the problem is so simple and silly, it just blows me away. That is why i am consulting you guys. Maybe i've missed something :)
 
S

skinniezinho

Suspended
Jan 1, 2009
1,084
91
Portugal
Graveyard said:
We don't have an Apple Store here. I have been working with and on Apple computers since '92. I have more than 20 years in electronics and it wouldn't be a wonder to get the logic boards back to life once i get them on the table. I'm trying to eliminate all logical options before i go and tear both machines to bits. I have found in a lot of cases, that the problem is so simple and silly, it just blows me away. That is why i am consulting you guys. Maybe i've missed something :)
Click to expand...

Bad ram?
I once had a power mac that wouldn't boot and it wasn't the ram but the shelves that take it!
We were ready to give to waste thinking it was a bad motherboard, turned out to be that shelves
 
Nameci

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
12
The Philippines...
skinniezinho said:
Bad ram?
I once had a power mac that wouldn't boot and it wasn't the ram but the shelves that take it!
We were ready to give to waste thinking it was a bad motherboard, turned out to be that shelves
Click to expand...

Do you mean the slots?

I have encountered the same symptoms as well. And I was able to trace it back to bad RAM as well. It would boot to apple logo and hang, and all fans would turn on at high speeds.

But you have performed an AHT and it came out fine. That is confusing.

I guess try the RAM first, I did like just put 2 sticks out of the 4 pairs and traced everything to 3 pairs of RAM.
 
S

skinniezinho

Suspended
Jan 1, 2009
1,084
91
Portugal
Nameci said:
Do you mean the slots?

I have encountered the same symptoms as well. And I was able to trace it back to bad RAM as well. It would boot to apple logo and hang, and all fans would turn on at high speeds.

But you have performed an ASD and it came out fine. That is confusing.
Click to expand...

Yes the slots.
ASD sometimes isn't enough. Although for about 99% of the times it is nice, others it fails completely to return any error (sometimes when clearly there is a problem)
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
^^


I have to agree that bad Ram, even though the OP has tested it would seem to be the culprit...Buying a few sticks won't cost much and is way better than tearing the Macs down, or buying new LB's.
 
G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
Both machines have been tested with 8 pairs of matching 512 MB kingston modules. All slots, all modules all possible combinations. Don't tell me that even after that, i still have memory issues. I even tested with 2x256 modules and another pair of 512MB from different manufacturers. Same results. On both of them.
 
S

skinniezinho

Suspended
Jan 1, 2009
1,084
91
Portugal
Graveyard said:
Both machines have been tested with 8 pairs of matching 512 MB kingston modules. All slots, all modules all possible combinations. Don't tell me that even after that, i still have memory issues. I even tested with 2x256 modules and another pair of 512MB from different manufacturers. Same results. On both of them.
Click to expand...

how about hdd cables?
 
G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
Nobody ever pulled on those cables to cause any problems. Besides, the optical drive uses ide and the hdd is sata. And both cables are mounted correctly on the logic boards in both machines.
 
666sheep

666sheep

macrumors 68040
Dec 7, 2009
3,686
291
Poland
Not much of hardware left to test. CPUs and logic boards.
Logic board could be tested with hairdryer trick. You need to heat up well area where Northbridge is located. If it would boot after that, you have the culprit. If it won't, proceed to CPUs. G5 DP could run with only one CPU in upper socket. Try this as well.
 
G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
Both PRAM and NVRAM reset. It won't get to the point where i can go in verbose mode. The funny thing is that the 2.3 displayed an error before going belly up. I was in verbose mode and it kept trying to load some library related to apple intel power management or temperature management. I didn't have the inspiration to write it down. That happened after i did a clean install of Leopard. It worked like a charm untill i updated via software update. That's when it started acting up. It froze upon reboot. I powered it off, powered it on again and went straight to verbose mode. That's where i saw it hanging at that library related to intel. And that's it. Nothing after that.
 
Nameci

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
12
The Philippines...
Could it be that it's a CPU thermal runaway? If it shows the apple logo then I would think that the CPU is still fine. Probably a reapplication of the thermal paste would do the trick?
 
G

Graveyard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
110
1
Romania
Nameci said:
Could it be that it's a CPU thermal runaway? If it shows the apple logo then I would think that the CPU is still fine. Probably a reapplication of the thermal paste would do the trick?
Click to expand...

I thought of that, but i guess i was thinking it couldn't be such a simple thing as the thermal paste. I guess this will be the first thing i'll do over the weekend to the already dissassembled 2.0. I'll let you guys know how it went.
 
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