Power Mac G5 Boot Issues

[Lithium91]

Hey, I'm new here so forgive me if I make some sort of mistake in this post.

I've been looking to get a Mac for awhile now, but being unemployed at the moment has really hampered that. My friend picked me up a "cannibalized" Power Mac G5 Dual Core 2.0 ghz. They removed the RAM, Hard Drive, and Disc Drive from the computer, everything else was left intact.

I had a Hard Drive and Disc Drive that were compatible with this computer, so we installed them following Apple's online instructions. I had two sticks of 256 MB RAM, PC 3200 laying around so we installed those and hooked the computer up. I'm using a standard keyboard (non-Apple) and a Microsoft laser mouse. In order to hook up my Dell monitor to it I used a cheap VGA to DVI adapter.

When I turn the computer on, the fans start spinning like normal (I assume, anyway) and the power light comes on, also like normal. The screen stays black and when I pop in a Leopard install disc and turn it off then back on, the drive begins to spin the disc but the still stays black.

One thing I should mention is I do not know the order in which the RAM needs to be installed into this computer. There's eight slots, but I really don't know where the two sticks I have go (I was told there was specific slots each stick needs to be in), but I don't know the order.

I also noticed that when I turn on the computer, the mouse does not light up as if there's power to it and the keyboard does not light up either.

If there's anyone that can make sense of this all, I'd really like to know if this is an easy fix or something as larger as a bad logic board. Thanks!

 

[XaPHER]

It is a powermac g5 with the 970MP or a dual 2ghz one?

 

[VanneDC]

there should be 2 sections of 4 slots for the ram... if i remeber right...(stuff it , ill look for ya..) yep, they go from the middle outwards...

they MUST be matching sticks....

and make sure its not ecc reg ram, its gotta be normal crappy ram

 

[666sheep]

PM G5 RAM How to - you can pass last paragraph

If this PC 3200 memory fits in slots, so this must be 2.0 Dual Processor, not Dual Core.

 

[Lithium91]

Well, I got the RAM in right and I got it to boot from my OS X Tiger DVD. The installation went perfectly and everything ran great. I went to shut it down after I assumed all was well and when I went to turn it back on again, it turned on but there was no startup chime, the screen stayed black, and the power light came on when I pressed the button but instantly went back out and stayed out. I reseated the RAM and reset the PMU/SMU (don't remember which I have off hand) and went to turn it on again, this time nothing. It did absolutely nothing when I pressed the power button.

I left it unplugged for a few hours and went to plug it back in. As soon as I did that the power light came on and stayed on, but the computer itself was not running (no fans, HD, disc drive), just nothing.

And that's where I'm at now. The internal battery is dated December 2004, so I have one on order.

 

[666sheep]

Thats why this machine has been "cannibalized"

Measure battery voltage (should have 3.6V) and (or) replace it if needed. It won't harm but there is a chance (very small IMO) that it could help.

TBH, it looks like PSU or logic board malfunction. See attachment how to verify PSU.

 

[Lithium91]

I haven't tested it yet, but I am wondering why it worked when I ran the install disc and continued to run after the installation was complete and it restarted. Given that it was running, does that leave any hope for it?

 

[666sheep]

I haven't tested it yet, but I am wondering why it worked when I ran the install disc and continued to run after the installation was complete and it restarted. Given that it was running, does that leave any hope for it?

That's indicates logic board/PSU problem IMO. You can also test front panel module (see previous attachment).