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PowerMac G5 Dieing?

R

Ravernomina

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2009
43
0
Hey all. I have a PowerMac G5 Duel Processor im trying to fix. Its been freezing up A lot and to the point ware their i no start-up chime and it just stays their. I think its a RAM problem but im not sure. I did a Fresh install of 10.4 and to no anvil. I try Removing some RAM strips to try to trouble shoot it. It seemed to work for a little while now it has died again... I removed more and it wont even boot to the start up Chime... Any ideas? Thanks! Im Totally used to working with PC's and Intel Macs but not PowerPC... i need some help
Ravernomina

PowerMac 7,3
 
Pressure

Pressure

macrumors 603
May 30, 2006
5,045
1,384
Denmark
Have you tried booting up with the Mac OS X installation DVD while holding C down to enter the diagnostic tool?
 
Spanky Deluxe

Spanky Deluxe

macrumors demi-god
Mar 17, 2005
5,282
1,745
London, UK
Please don't keep bumping your thread.

It sounds like your logic board's failing. Since you didn't mention what dual processor machine you have, you may have one of the liquid cooled dual G5s. If that's the case then it could also be that your liquid cooling is leaking and has either messed up your logic board or your CPUs are failing.

At this point, you'd be better off cutting your losses and selling it as faulty - luckily Macs still retain a reasonable chunk of value when faulty. If you want to stay with Macs and only have a minimal budget then I'd recommend you have a look at a second hand Mac Mini. Pretty much any dual core Mac Mini (not the Core Solo) will be faster than pretty much any dual G5 and you'd probably be halfway there or more towards the cost of a second hand Core Duo mini after the sale of the faulty G5.
 
L

Little Endian

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2003
753
204
Honolulu
What are the exact specs of said Power Mac G5? Is it liquid cooled? How old is it? Have you tried a clean install? Have you tried running tech tool? Sounds like it may be a Power Supply issue.... let us know if you find the culprit. I doubt its a bad ram chip though.
 
rickvanr

rickvanr

macrumors 68040
Apr 10, 2002
3,259
12
Brockville
If it's liquid cooled, and that's the problem. Call Apple, they'll repair it for free even if it's out of warranty. If repairing it doesn't work they'll give you a mac pro. So if it's leaking, don't sell it! Call Apple.

At least that's what they did with me. So look into that. Some of the G5s also have power supply problems, check the Apple website for the recall notice.
 
R

Ravernomina

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2009
43
0
Spanky Deluxe said:
Please don't keep bumping your thread.

It sounds like your logic board's failing. Since you didn't mention what dual processor machine you have, you may have one of the liquid cooled dual G5s. If that's the case then it could also be that your liquid cooling is leaking and has either messed up your logic board or your CPUs are failing.

At this point, you'd be better off cutting your losses and selling it as faulty - luckily Macs still retain a reasonable chunk of value when faulty. If you want to stay with Macs and only have a minimal budget then I'd recommend you have a look at a second hand Mac Mini. Pretty much any dual core Mac Mini (not the Core Solo) will be faster than pretty much any dual G5 and you'd probably be halfway there or more towards the cost of a second hand Core Duo mini after the sale of the faulty G5.
Click to expand...

Its a PowerMac 7,3, Clean install has been done as said above....
 
Spanky Deluxe

Spanky Deluxe

macrumors demi-god
Mar 17, 2005
5,282
1,745
London, UK
Ravernomina said:
Its a PowerMac 7,3, Clean install has been done as said above....
Click to expand...

So it is either a G5 2.3 Dual Processor or a G5 2.7 Dual Processor. If it's 2.3GHz then it is air cooled and won't be caused by a liquid leak, in which case you're pretty much buggered. If it's a 2.7GHz then it is liquid cooled so the damage could be caused by a liquid leak. Although Apple hasn't got an extended repair program in place for such leaks, if you are nice enough to an Apple Genius in a store, they may repair it for you. Your mileage will vary though. If they won't repair it for free (go on about it being a safety risk - liquid cooling into electronics etc could cause risk of a fatal shock etc) then you're buggered again.

So if it's a 2.7GHz G5 then take it to an Apple Store and hope (pray) for the best. If it's a 2.3GHz G5 then give up now.
 
R

Ravernomina

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2009
43
0
Spanky Deluxe said:
So it is either a G5 2.3 Dual Processor or a G5 2.7 Dual Processor. If it's 2.3GHz then it is air cooled and won't be caused by a liquid leak, in which case you're pretty much buggered. If it's a 2.7GHz then it is liquid cooled so the damage could be caused by a liquid leak. Although Apple hasn't got an extended repair program in place for such leaks, if you are nice enough to an Apple Genius in a store, they may repair it for you. Your mileage will vary though. If they won't repair it for free (go on about it being a safety risk - liquid cooling into electronics etc could cause risk of a fatal shock etc) then you're buggered again.

So if it's a 2.7GHz G5 then take it to an Apple Store and hope (pray) for the best. If it's a 2.3GHz G5 then give up now.
Click to expand...

System Profiler is saying its only 2.0 GHZ but it is a PowerMac 7,3

Says its a PowerMac G5 (2.2)
 
Spanky Deluxe

Spanky Deluxe

macrumors demi-god
Mar 17, 2005
5,282
1,745
London, UK
Ravernomina said:
System Profiler is saying its only 2.0 GHZ but it is a PowerMac 7,3

Says its a PowerMac G5 (2.2)
Click to expand...

Ah yeah, 7,3s could be 1.8DP, 2.0DP, 2.5DP, 2.3DP or 2.7DP. The 2.5DP and the 2.7DP (the top end models of their respective line ups) both have liquid cooling. Unfortunately, that means that your machine does *not* have liquid cooling and as such there's no hope that Apple will replace it.

The link rickvanr posted talks about extending the warranty related to the power supply of various G5 machines by three years from the purchase date regardless as to whether Applecare was purchased or not. Unfortunately, the newest machines covered by this were made in August 2006 and as such the repair extension would have expired on all supported machines in August 2009.
 
rickvanr

rickvanr

macrumors 68040
Apr 10, 2002
3,259
12
Brockville
Spanky Deluxe said:
The link rickvanr posted talks about extending the warranty related to the power supply of various G5 machines by three years from the purchase date regardless as to whether Applecare was purchased or not. Unfortunately, the newest machines covered by this were made in August 2006 and as such the repair extension would have expired on all supported machines in August 2009.
Click to expand...

True, but

This program extends repair coverage on the specific component failure for up to 3 years from the date of purchase, however, Apple will continue to evaluate the repair data and will provide further repair extensions as needed.
Click to expand...

So if that is the issue and you get a decent AppleCare rep you may be in luck
 
N

NIPRING

macrumors 6502
Jan 19, 2008
271
1
Waukesha WI
You really need to run the apple diagnostics disc. I bought a g5 that frequently kernel panicked for the previous owner. It was one bad stick of ram after i ran the diagnostic test. Replaced it and it runs like a champ now.
 
lPHONE

lPHONE

macrumors 6502a
Nov 17, 2009
671
1
go ahead and open the side panel.
inspect the capacitors just above the ram slots and the ones on your video card.
ensure that none of them are bulging or cracked.
They should have a "k" symbol on the top of each cap.

the good news is that logic boards (if that's your problem) are significantly cheaper now than they were a few years ago when they were $800 and up.
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=g5...id=m270&_odkw=g5+logic+board&_osacat=0&bkBtn=
 
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