Ok, I have turned to this forum for help in a problem that has been ongoing for about 3 years now. I desperately need help, I am on the verge of giving this Mac away because I just cant get it to do anything.
MY GOAL: To run Logic Pro 6 and Reason 4 on this machine, with Motu 828 mkii audio interface, and emagic amt8 midi interface.
MY MAC:
AGP Graphics
originally 450mhz, upgraded with Sonnet 1.4ghz processor
1.5 gigs ram (max for this machine) 2 256 chips, 2 512 chips, all PC100
Radeon 8500 graphics card.
I dont know what other details you experts might need, please advise if any.
MY PROBLEMS AND ATTEMPTS AT SOLUTIONS:
Originally I had a scsi drive installed (in addition to a western digital for my main drive) with an adaptec scsi pci card. But the scsi drive kept disappearing off the desktop, and had to be re-initiated with disk utility over and over. So I took it out, at least for now. (I heard adaptec scsi pci cards are not compatible with OS X, dont know if thats true but took it out just in case. It did WORK, just didnt STAY working.)
Bought a brand new hard drive recently, western digital again. Reinstalled MAC OSPanther (10.3.5 I believe) from the REAL DISKS (originally was installed from copied disks given to me).
When I put the new hard drive in, I took out all my PCI cards except the graphics card obviously. Just in case any of the PCI cards were causing a problem or one of the problems. So right now, its just the ONE hard drive, the Radeon card, and the RAM.
RAM is 4 chips.... 2 512mb and 2 256mb, all PC100. In the process now of testing each ram chip indicidually, using "Memtest" (http://www.command-tab.com/2008/01/11/how-to-test-ram-under-mac-os-x/).
The reason I have 2 and 2 is that the ram only goes to 1.5 gig. So my options are either the above, or 3 512mb chips. Ive been told to run efficiently, all slots need to be full. Ive also been told to run efficiently, all chips must be same MB. These contradict each other though, because I have 4 slots and only 1.5 gigs max ram allowance. I dont know who to listen to.
After I put in the new hard drive, I was FINALLY able to properly install Logic and Reason and OPEN them at least. But not able to actually get any SOUND out of them. The audio interface (motu 828 mkii) is a firewire device. I suppose my firewire ports could be bad now, but they did work once upon a time. (I originally had an M-Audio audio interface that did yield sound.... but didnt work properly. Come to find out that particular M-Audio midi interface was not compatible with my 3rd party processor upgrade. So I got rid of it and got a new audio interface).
And my other problem is this.... the driver for my midi interface (emagic amt8) just absolutely will NOT install. I know it SHOULD work, because it WAS installed before I put this new hard drive in. Its like, most of the problems went away, but then this new problem surfaced. I have tried it a zillion times/ways, and the emagic driver simply will NOT install. What happens is.... when I click on the .pkg or whatever it is to install it, and it pops up the list of hard drives, instead of the green down arrow on the hard drive that you normally see when installing something, I get the red X. It tells me I cannot install on this drive (null). I have the drive partitioned into 2, and it gives me the red X on both drive partitions. This is just bizarre to me, because like I said... it WAS installed on the old setup (which didnt work either, but for different reasons).
My last possible option of why this could be is the RAM. I mean, what else IS there?? So here's what I did next... I ran 4 tests. Took out 3 ram chips, testing each one individually (in the first slot of course)... to see if the midi driver would install. Tried all 4 chips individually, midi driver would not install all 4 times.
Last but not least this leads me to the RAM test I am running now on each chip. I didnt realize it was going to take 35 freakin hours to test. So Im just somewhere in the 1st of 2 tests for the 1st of 4 chips.
I know there is SOMETHING wrong with the RAM for the following reason. I was going to try to just wipe the computer again, so I tried to burn a CD of some stuff on the Mac that I wanted to save before wiping it. I tried 3 times to burn a data CD, and 3 times the Mac froze up... giving me the gray box that says "your computer needs to be restarted... blah blah blah blah blah". The burning failed and froze the computer up every time.... UNTIL..... I again took out 3 ram chips, leaving only 1 of the 512 chips in. And NOW the CD burned successfully. So there is definitely SOMETHING going on with the ram, but I dont know that it is whats causing the midi driver to not install. For the record, the computer has always read out to me that there were in fact 1.5 gigs of RAM.
Yeah, I could go buy new ram, or even try yet another hard drive..... but frankly Ive invested SOOOOO MUCH time and effort into this only to hit dead end after dead end after dead end, that Im ready to just give up and chuck the thing out the window or give it to a friend (after all its virtually worthless dollar-wise). And if I did that, I would go buy a brand new PC... not because I WANT to, but because I cant afford to buy a brand new mac. What I would need Mac-Wise would cost me $3500.... the PC equivalent would run about $900. I just cant afford to get a new Mac. And I DONT want to buy a used G5 off ebay, because I bought this G4 used off ebay and look where its gotten me. So IF Im going to get another computer, it IS going to be a brand new one.
Ok, thats it. Thats where Im at. If somebody can solve my problem, I will freakin PAY you MONEY. If youve even read this far, I very much appreciate it..... personally if I were YOU, I would have given up on ME 4 or 5 paragraphs ago! I wouldve said "sorry buddy, sounds like youre screwed!" Haha, just kidding, well kind of.
If someone can fix this problem for me, I will be forever in your debt. Because like I said, Im ready to give up.
This situation has literally been going on for 3 years now. I have a bunch of gear and used to make music using just gear.... then I wanted to switch to the computer and this is what happened. Meanwhile I sold the big mixing console I had that I used to use all my gear with (to buy the computer stuff).... so now I cant even go back to making music the way I used to! Im stuck in electronic music maker's limbo!!!! So Ive been making music on Reason alone on my crappy PC for the last 3 years!!!! Its sad really, I have an entire recording studio here, and I dont use any of it, just Reason on a crap old PC.
Thank you a million times over for even reading all of this.
Yours Truly,
Rob aka "Desperate for Help"
MY GOAL: To run Logic Pro 6 and Reason 4 on this machine, with Motu 828 mkii audio interface, and emagic amt8 midi interface.
MY MAC:
AGP Graphics
originally 450mhz, upgraded with Sonnet 1.4ghz processor
1.5 gigs ram (max for this machine) 2 256 chips, 2 512 chips, all PC100
Radeon 8500 graphics card.
I dont know what other details you experts might need, please advise if any.
MY PROBLEMS AND ATTEMPTS AT SOLUTIONS:
Originally I had a scsi drive installed (in addition to a western digital for my main drive) with an adaptec scsi pci card. But the scsi drive kept disappearing off the desktop, and had to be re-initiated with disk utility over and over. So I took it out, at least for now. (I heard adaptec scsi pci cards are not compatible with OS X, dont know if thats true but took it out just in case. It did WORK, just didnt STAY working.)
Bought a brand new hard drive recently, western digital again. Reinstalled MAC OSPanther (10.3.5 I believe) from the REAL DISKS (originally was installed from copied disks given to me).
When I put the new hard drive in, I took out all my PCI cards except the graphics card obviously. Just in case any of the PCI cards were causing a problem or one of the problems. So right now, its just the ONE hard drive, the Radeon card, and the RAM.
RAM is 4 chips.... 2 512mb and 2 256mb, all PC100. In the process now of testing each ram chip indicidually, using "Memtest" (http://www.command-tab.com/2008/01/11/how-to-test-ram-under-mac-os-x/).
The reason I have 2 and 2 is that the ram only goes to 1.5 gig. So my options are either the above, or 3 512mb chips. Ive been told to run efficiently, all slots need to be full. Ive also been told to run efficiently, all chips must be same MB. These contradict each other though, because I have 4 slots and only 1.5 gigs max ram allowance. I dont know who to listen to.
After I put in the new hard drive, I was FINALLY able to properly install Logic and Reason and OPEN them at least. But not able to actually get any SOUND out of them. The audio interface (motu 828 mkii) is a firewire device. I suppose my firewire ports could be bad now, but they did work once upon a time. (I originally had an M-Audio audio interface that did yield sound.... but didnt work properly. Come to find out that particular M-Audio midi interface was not compatible with my 3rd party processor upgrade. So I got rid of it and got a new audio interface).
And my other problem is this.... the driver for my midi interface (emagic amt8) just absolutely will NOT install. I know it SHOULD work, because it WAS installed before I put this new hard drive in. Its like, most of the problems went away, but then this new problem surfaced. I have tried it a zillion times/ways, and the emagic driver simply will NOT install. What happens is.... when I click on the .pkg or whatever it is to install it, and it pops up the list of hard drives, instead of the green down arrow on the hard drive that you normally see when installing something, I get the red X. It tells me I cannot install on this drive (null). I have the drive partitioned into 2, and it gives me the red X on both drive partitions. This is just bizarre to me, because like I said... it WAS installed on the old setup (which didnt work either, but for different reasons).
My last possible option of why this could be is the RAM. I mean, what else IS there?? So here's what I did next... I ran 4 tests. Took out 3 ram chips, testing each one individually (in the first slot of course)... to see if the midi driver would install. Tried all 4 chips individually, midi driver would not install all 4 times.
Last but not least this leads me to the RAM test I am running now on each chip. I didnt realize it was going to take 35 freakin hours to test. So Im just somewhere in the 1st of 2 tests for the 1st of 4 chips.
I know there is SOMETHING wrong with the RAM for the following reason. I was going to try to just wipe the computer again, so I tried to burn a CD of some stuff on the Mac that I wanted to save before wiping it. I tried 3 times to burn a data CD, and 3 times the Mac froze up... giving me the gray box that says "your computer needs to be restarted... blah blah blah blah blah". The burning failed and froze the computer up every time.... UNTIL..... I again took out 3 ram chips, leaving only 1 of the 512 chips in. And NOW the CD burned successfully. So there is definitely SOMETHING going on with the ram, but I dont know that it is whats causing the midi driver to not install. For the record, the computer has always read out to me that there were in fact 1.5 gigs of RAM.
Yeah, I could go buy new ram, or even try yet another hard drive..... but frankly Ive invested SOOOOO MUCH time and effort into this only to hit dead end after dead end after dead end, that Im ready to just give up and chuck the thing out the window or give it to a friend (after all its virtually worthless dollar-wise). And if I did that, I would go buy a brand new PC... not because I WANT to, but because I cant afford to buy a brand new mac. What I would need Mac-Wise would cost me $3500.... the PC equivalent would run about $900. I just cant afford to get a new Mac. And I DONT want to buy a used G5 off ebay, because I bought this G4 used off ebay and look where its gotten me. So IF Im going to get another computer, it IS going to be a brand new one.
Ok, thats it. Thats where Im at. If somebody can solve my problem, I will freakin PAY you MONEY. If youve even read this far, I very much appreciate it..... personally if I were YOU, I would have given up on ME 4 or 5 paragraphs ago! I wouldve said "sorry buddy, sounds like youre screwed!" Haha, just kidding, well kind of.
If someone can fix this problem for me, I will be forever in your debt. Because like I said, Im ready to give up. This situation has literally been going on for 3 years now. I have a bunch of gear and used to make music using just gear.... then I wanted to switch to the computer and this is what happened. Meanwhile I sold the big mixing console I had that I used to use all my gear with (to buy the computer stuff).... so now I cant even go back to making music the way I used to! Im stuck in electronic music maker's limbo!!!! So Ive been making music on Reason alone on my crappy PC for the last 3 years!!!! Its sad really, I have an entire recording studio here, and I dont use any of it, just Reason on a crap old PC.
Thank you a million times over for even reading all of this.
Yours Truly,
Rob aka "Desperate for Help"
