Does anyone else's Powermac G4 HATE being opened?

[Ryan T.]

I have a Gigabit G4 Dual CPU, and it runs great, except for the fact that everytime I open it to perform an upgrade it absolutely freaks out. I often have to reset the PROM or something along those lines just to get it to boot afterwards. I first turn off the machine, unplug the power cable then unplug the peripherals. Does anyone have any tips on what I might be doing wrong? Should I wait a specific amount of time for the motherboard to lose charge after I unplug the power cable? Thanks for any help.

 

[ASP272]

Ryan,
I've seen this behavior before in a Dual 867mhz mirrored drive door machine. I can't remember specifically what the problem was, but opening the door shouldn't cause you any problems at all. In fact, I've opened the door on many Powermac G4s while the computer is running (not that I suggest doing that yourself). If I remember correctly, the problem was with a cable that ran from the motherboard to the inside of the machine. It was either a loose connection or the cable was being crimped in the door when it was opened. Check all the cables that run along the bottom edge of the door to see if any are loose or are being caught up in the door when it's opened. It could be a power cable, ATA cable, etc. I've also seen this problem with the door on the G4 being shut, and that was caused by a PCI card hitting into one of the optical drives or a hard drive. Make sure everything inside the machine, especially any cards you've installed, are not hitting one another when the machine is closed (they may be brushing together when opened). Good luck! Aaron

 

[Ryan T.]

Ryan,
I've seen this behavior before in a Dual 867mhz mirrored drive door machine. I can't remember specifically what the problem was, but opening the door shouldn't cause you any problems at all. In fact, I've opened the door on many Powermac G4s while the computer is running (not that I suggest doing that yourself). If I remember correctly, the problem was with a cable that ran from the motherboard to the inside of the machine. It was either a loose connection or the cable was being crimped in the door when it was opened. Check all the cables that run along the bottom edge of the door to see if any are loose or are being caught up in the door when it's opened. It could be a power cable, ATA cable, etc. I've also seen this problem with the door on the G4 being shut, and that was caused by a PCI card hitting into one of the optical drives or a hard drive. Make sure everything inside the machine, especially any cards you've installed, are not hitting one another when the machine is closed (they may be brushing together when opened). Good luck! Aaron

Aaron, great advice, thanks! I'm definately going to check all of that out when I get home. I know it has to be a hardware issue since it's happening pre-boot, but it's so hard to narrow down with this type of problem.

 

[stevey500]

I often open up my Digital/Audio G4 800mhz(overclocked) about once or twice a day to do a few tweaks... while its running and I dont have any problems at all... I have been betting more problems lately because of software ( TIGER ) but thats about it...

 

[savar]

I have a Gigabit G4 Dual CPU, and it runs great, except for the fact that everytime I open it to perform an upgrade it absolutely freaks out. I often have to reset the PROM or something along those lines just to get it to boot afterwards. I first turn off the machine, unplug the power cable then unplug the peripherals. Does anyone have any tips on what I might be doing wrong? Should I wait a specific amount of time for the motherboard to lose charge after I unplug the power cable? Thanks for any help.

You shouldn't unplug the power cable at all. Leaving it plugged in keeps the entire chassis grounded. When working on the inside of your mac, you should touch the metal chassis every 15-30 seconds to make sure you don't build up static charge, especially if the air is dry, you're wearing wool, standing on carpet, etc. etc. etc.

Generally you don't have to unplug anything, unless you have to pull the machine out of some enclosure in order to have space to open it and work on it.

Anyway, that wouldn't cause the problems you're seeing. You don't say why you're opening the case. Are you swapping DIMMs or something? I think in general its a good idea to always push the logic board reset switch before you close up the machine if you've just finished installing something. Its a round, black, push-button switch. On my G4, if I'm looking at the side that's open, its in the front, left corner of the motherboard.

 

[solvs]

My Sister has had issues with her dual 8.67GHz G4 when you open the door. I think that's why they went with the cleaner design for the G5 (that and the heat). You might want to clean out all of the dust (carefully, like with a can of air used to clean keyboards) and check all of the cables and whatever else is in there. There could be something loose.

 

[krimson]

You shouldn't unplug the power cable at all. Leaving it plugged in keeps the entire chassis grounded. When working on the inside of your mac, you should touch the metal chassis every 15-30 seconds to make sure you don't build up static charge, especially if the air is dry, you're wearing wool, standing on carpet, etc. etc. etc.

You shouldn't be opening your computer at all if you can generate enough static in 30 seconds.

I work on my pc's all the time with and without the power plugged in.

edit: *knock on wood*