1.67 ghz powerbook g4 issues

[Old Man McGuggins]

I got it for 5 bucks.

It boots to a pure white screen.

I can get in open firmware but it doesn't boot to anything, not even target/cd mode. I don't even get any indication whats happening with it. What's up with my new powerbook, and how do I fix it?

 

[Amethyst1]

Reset the PRAM. Hold [Command]-[Option]-[P]-[R] after powering on until it chimes a second time.

Next, check the hard drive. If it’s not connected properly, “jumpered” incorrectly or dying/dead, it can cause issues like that. As a simple test, remove the hard drive and try entering Target Disk Mode.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

Reset the PRAM. Hold [Command]-[Option]-[P]-[R] after powering on until it chimes a second time.

Next, check the hard drive. If it’s not connected properly, “jumpered” incorrectly or dying/dead, it can cause issues like that. As a simple test, remove the hard drive and try entering Target Disk Mode.

I can't enter target mode. I can't get anything but open firmware. Hard drive used to click rhythmically, but it stopped after one time, so I'd imagine I'd get at least one boot or at least any signs of life from it.

Haven't done pram zap yet, will try in about an hour when I can get back to it.

 

[Amethyst1]

Hard drive used to click rhythmically, but it stopped after one time, so I'd imagine I'd get at least one boot or at least any signs of life from it.

Rhythmical clicking is usually a clear sign of a dead drive. This can prevent CD booting or Target Disk Mode from working as it “confuses” the PATA controller. Remove the drive to check whether it’s the culprit. You’ll probably need a new one anyway.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

Rhythmical clicking is usually a clear sign of a dead drive. This can prevent CD booting or Target Disk Mode from working as it “confuses” the PATA controller. Remove the drive to check whether it’s the culprit. You’ll probably need a new one anyway.

Well where/how do I get a new one? And also can I install over USB or something else? I really don't wanna burn a dozen cds lol.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Well where/how do I get a new one?

I imagine that it's still possible to locate new PATA/IDE HDDs but they're bound to be expensive and a M.2 SATA SSD inside a 2.5" 44-pin PATA/IDE to SATA adapter would be much cheaper and faster. Have a look here for more info. My Mac Mini G4 runs like clockwork with this setup.

And also can I install over USB or something else? I really don't wanna burn a dozen cds lol.

Yes you can install via USB although the ease of this varies throughout the PPC Mac range. I used this method to install Tiger onto an iMac G3 that has a busted optical drive - it has also worked on several other Macs where I couldn't be bothered to oversee the installation and swap CDs: but it wouldn't a dozen. If your PowerBook doesn't detect the USB stick when at boot with the Option key held down, you'll need to fiddle with Open Firmware.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

I imagine that it's still possible to locate new PATA/IDE HDDs but they're bound to be expensive and a M.2 SATA SSD inside a 2.5" 44-pin PATA/IDE to SATA adapter would be much cheaper and faster. Have a look here for more info. My Mac Mini G4 runs like clockwork with this setup.



Yes you can install via USB although the ease of this varies throughout the PPC Mac range. I used this method to install Tiger onto an iMac G3 that has a busted optical drive - it has also worked on several other Macs where I couldn't be bothered to oversee the installation and swap CDs: but it wouldn't a dozen. If your PowerBook doesn't detect the USB stick when at boot with the Option key held down, you'll need to fiddle with Open Firmware.

Sweet! But... uhhh....

Is there like a live cd/usb for these? Of Linux at least? So while parts come rolling in there's a cool use for it.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Sweet! But... uhhh....

Is there like a live cd/usb for these? Of Linux at least? So while parts come rolling in there's a cool use for it.

Fraid not.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

Fraid not.

Awwww....
Was 5 bucks a good deal though?

 

[TheShortTimer]

Awwww....
Was 5 bucks a good deal though?

A damn good deal. In fact, that, was a steal. Perhaps one of the best bargains I've ever read about during my time amongst this community.

Was it purchased via eBay, a flea market or some other scenario?

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

A damn good deal. In fact, that, was a steal. Perhaps one of the best bargains I've ever read about during my time amongst this community.

Was it purchased via eBay, a flea market or some other scenario?

Craigslist. Bought a toughbook. He didn't have a charger so he said "take 2 toughbooks!" 80$ for both. And for 10 bucks he threw in a standard laptop and this beast.

I gave him a 20 extra and not a 10 extra.

 

[AphoticD]

Disconnect the suspect HDD, start it up and if you get to a flashing folder / question mark then I’d say that’s yer problem.

You could live boot an alt OS such as MorphOS: https://morphos-team.net/downloads

Fienix PowerPC 5.1: https://fienixppc.blogspot.com/p/download.html?m=1

Ubuntu MATE 16.04 PowerPC:

https://releases.ubuntu-mate.org/archived/16.04/

There are probably many other Linux Live CD/DVD/USB options, but these are two I’ve run on my G5s - not sure if Fienix will boot on the G4 - I’ll give it a try on my DLSD and report back.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

Disconnect the suspect HDD, start it up and if you get to a flashing folder / question mark then I’d say that’s yer problem.

You could live boot an alt OS such as MorphOS: https://morphos-team.net/downloads

Fienix PowerPC 5.1: https://fienixppc.blogspot.com/p/download.html?m=1

Ubuntu MATE 16.04 PowerPC:

https://releases.ubuntu-mate.org/archived/16.04/

There are probably many other Linux Live CD/DVD/USB options, but these are two I’ve run on my G5s - not sure if Fienix will boot on the G4 - I’ll give it a try on my DLSD and report back.

Sick!
Will Ubuntu run on a USB?

And how do I put the powerbook into usb?

 

[TheShortTimer]

Craigslist. Bought a toughbook. He didn't have a charger so he said "take 2 toughbooks!" 80$ for both. And for 10 bucks he threw in a standard laptop and this beast.

I gave him a 20 extra and not a 10 extra.

$80 USD for a pair of working ToughBooks? You can't even find one for that amount of money. Used TB's are even more expensive than their equivalent Macs. You did very, very well in that transaction.

Congrats and welcome aboard, BTW.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

$80 USD for a pair of working ToughBooks? You can't even find one for that amount of money. Used TB's are even more expensive than their equivalent Macs. You did very, very well in that transaction.

Congrats and welcome aboard, BTW.

Yeah! I came for one.
The guy was SUPER nice.
I kinda felt bad taking them all at this price.
They're cf53s too!

But yeah, I'm excited, because my ibook went boom and the screen died so I figure replace it with this but this one's so much more powerful. I'm excited for the powerbook, because I made some radar software (liveradarppc) which watches sky radar and I figure let's try it! Plus, a laptop form of a g5 is perfect. Love my g5.

 

[headlessmike]

I imagine that it's still possible to locate new PATA/IDE HDDs but they're bound to be expensive and a M.2 SATA SSD inside a 2.5" 44-pin PATA/IDE to SATA adapter would be much cheaper and faster. Have a look here for more info. My Mac Mini G4 runs like clockwork with this setup.

I’ll just add that I tried that specific M.2 adapter in my Power Book G4 (15”, 1.25 GHz) and it did not work. It would boot and install but after a few minutes the performance would drop to reading mere kilobytes per second with the only solution to reformat the drive which would start the cycle over again.

I had much better luck with this adapter that uses mSATA drives, which unfortunately aren’t as easy to come by as M.2 drives anymore. But at least it works well. So now I have a snappy 500 GB SSD in my G4 split into different partitions with different OS versions and software running on them (my machine supports Jaguar through Leopard officially).

 

[TheShortTimer]

I’ll just add that I tried that specific M.2 adapter in my Power Book G4 (15”, 1.25 GHz) and it did not work. It would boot and install but after a few minutes the performance would drop to reading mere kilobytes per second with the only solution to reformat the drive which would start the cycle over again.

Ah, this post explains why you had problems...

Earlier JMicron chips weren't compatible with a number of Macs for some reason although the current JM20330 seems to work absolutely fine.

This is the one that I purchased (Gazechimp brand) from Amazon UK because in the questions section it was described as definitely Mac compatible and has worked for many people in this forum - including myself. It would seem that they belong to the later production run.

I had much better luck with this adapter that uses mSATA drives, which unfortunately aren’t as easy to come by as M.2 drives anymore. But at least it works well. So now I have a snappy 500 GB SSD in my G4 split into different partitions with different OS versions and software running on them (my machine supports Jaguar through Leopard officially).

I use the Manhattan SATA 300 to IDE Converter with other Macs where space isn't an issue.

As with your adapter, it also uses the Marvell 88SA8052 chipset which is widely regarded as problem free with PPC Macs. You can trust in a red PCB.

 

[weckart]

I had much better luck with this adapter that uses mSATA drives, which unfortunately aren’t as easy to come by as M.2 drives anymore. But at least it works well.

Yes. That is the reliable Lycom ST-173-7 adapter, manufactured by Lycom of Taiwan and sold under a plethora of names: Addonics, Ableconn, Aleratec, DeLock, Kuroutoshikou, Lindy, Renkforce and a few others depending upon where you are. Lycom stopped manufacturing these for standard retail while back so whatever you find is probably what you will get until supplies finally run out, unless you put in a special order with Lycom.

 

[AphoticD]

FWIW I was unable to boot Fienix Live USB on my DLSD.

The initial USB boot command via Open Firmware:

boot ud:2,\\yaboot

This got me into the yaboot prompt.

I then tried

Linux

or

Linux radeon.modeset=1 video=offb:off nomodeset

as instructed by the Fienix website but both resulted in an invalid memory access error. This was not the case with my Quad G5, which booted promptly with just `Linux` at the boot prompt.

You might have better luck on your setup though.

 

[headlessmike]

Ah, this post explains why you had problems...



This is the one that I purchased (Gazechimp brand) from Amazon UK because in the questions section it was described as definitely Mac compatible and has worked for many people in this forum - including myself. It would seem that they belong to the later production run.



I use the Manhattan SATA 300 to IDE Converter with other Macs where space isn't an issue.

As with your adapter, it also uses the Marvell 88SA8052 chipset which is widely regarded as problem free with PPC Macs. You can trust in a red PCB.

Yeah, I've read all about the issues I was having. My adapter is pretty new, from late 2022, and still caused problems unfortunately. Instead of risking it I just went with the red PCB and got another SSD to go in it. The M.2 blade runs fine in a USB 3 enclosure, so it wasn't a total loss.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

FWIW I was unable to boot Fienix Live USB on my DLSD.

The initial USB boot command via Open Firmware:

boot ud:2,\\yaboot

This got me into the yaboot prompt.

I then tried

Linux

or

Linux radeon.modeset=1 video=offb:off nomodeset

as instructed by the Fienix website but both resulted in an invalid memory access error. This was not the case with my Quad G5, which booted promptly with just `Linux` at the boot prompt.

You might have better luck on your setup though.

I got Ubuntu mate to go off usb by typing
"boot usb1/disk@1:,\\yaboot", ud didn't work. Ensure it's plugged in on the left side though, because if it's on the right usb1 becomes usb0

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

Ah, this post explains why you had problems...



This is the one that I purchased (Gazechimp brand) from Amazon UK because in the questions section it was described as definitely Mac compatible and has worked for many people in this forum - including myself. It would seem that they belong to the later production run.



I use the Manhattan SATA 300 to IDE Converter with other Macs where space isn't an issue.

As with your adapter, it also uses the Marvell 88SA8052 chipset which is widely regarded as problem free with PPC Macs. You can trust in a red PCB.

Is there any good cf ide adapters or can you (bad idea incoming) jump the pins using wires to the pins of the cf card using solderless breadboard wires?

 

[Amethyst1]

Is there any good cf ide adapters or can you (bad idea incoming) jump the pins using wires to the pins of the cf card using solderless breadboard wires?

CF-to-IDE adapters are simple passive adapters (no bridge chip) because CF cards already use an IDE/PATA interface. I wouldn't advise you to connect 44 pins using breadboard wires, this sounds like way more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

CF-to-IDE adapters are simple passive adapters (no bridge chip) because CF cards already use an IDE/PATA interface. I wouldn't advise you to connect 44 pins using breadboard wires, this sounds like way more trouble than it's worth.

It is more trouble, but it's possible, and I find that nuts. Speaking of which, could you also wire an IDE into a CF using this method?

Not that I would want to.

Are there any issues with cf adapters? Like are there any huge compatibility issues or do all of them work? I see a way around pata-sata fire issues. Those pics above of an ssd on ide make me nervous, lol. Do cf cards need molex power, like could you snap one into the ide bus and not connect a power cable and have it run? If so, this opens up doors in retro computing.

 

[Amethyst1]

Speaking of which, could you also wire an IDE into a CF using this method?

You mean use an IDE hard drive with something that expects a CF card? I think it may be possible. There's an adapter to use mSATA SSDs with cameras that use CFast cards, i.e. CF's successor, so the idea isn't new.

Do cf cards need molex power, like could you snap one into the ide bus and not connect a power cable and have it run?

CF to 40pin (desktop) IDE adapters have a power connector (often 3.5" floppy drive style) on them.
CF to 44pin (laptop) IDE adapters don't because the power is coming from those four extra pins.