G4 Cube freezes after a while

[Wouter3]

I installed the proximity power switch but to no avail. The system now switches of the screen and does not awake after touching the mouse. When I leave it as it is it re-awakes after 10 minutes. The power supply is hardly warm and I have taken the outside box from the Cube. So everything is well cooled.
Just before the screen switches on again I hear a little shuffle sound from inside. I have an SSD so it cannot be a harddrive. Then it works as if nothing has happened. The little shuffle sound is the same sound when booting up the machine. As if it want to access the DVD drive.
In any event, I am still very much puzzled. Before I installed the new proximity switch board, it could run for a few hours before stopping. It just blanks out again and I just wait till it comes up again.
I had a similar problem before were the machine was completely frozen. When I started it up again it did not recognize one of the memory modules anymore. I replaced that and that problem is now over.
I wonder whether it could be one of the other memory modules?

 

[barbu]

yeah I think the shuffle sound must be the DVD. You could check by removing power from the optical drive. I'm pretty sure that sound is the disc injector/ejector checking for a disc.
Certainly doesn't seem like a temp problem. What happens if you remove the prox switch entirely? Am I reading correctly that you have a Cinema Display attached via ACD? If so, you can use the display's button instead and see how that goes.
Memory is a possible culprit and is at least fairly easy to test. Although those old PC-100 memory clips are harder to find now.

 

[Wouter3]

I had bought 3x 500 MB mem modules. One I replaced with and 256 MB module that I still had lying around. I will try to start it up with one more mem module removed.
Funny you can see the switching off coming as the little light on my Cinema Display is flickering before it switches of the machine. As if it wants to go into hybernation mode. I switched off all the energy saving modes so there is not automatic standby mode set. While I am typing, the screen came up again. Strange behaviour

- - Post merged: Jan 21, 2020 - -

BTW, I have got PC133 Dimms. I think they were interchangeable with PC100, or could that be the problem?

 

[Wouter3]

I now have taken one of the 500 PC133 Dimms out and restarted the Cube. After a while it stopped again with a blank screen. The light on the monitor as well as on the Cube is slight alternating with dimming and getting bright again. When I touch the mouse it now switches on again as if it re-awakes from a deep sleep.

What the hell is going on here

 

[Wouter3]

On the Macintosh Repository I found a hardware test program for the Cube. It has the .toast extention. Would you have any idea how to make a bootable CD from this file?

 

[Amethyst1]

On the Macintosh Repository I found a hardware test program for the Cube. It has the .toast extention. Would you have any idea how to make a bootable CD from this file?

It might just be an .iso file with a different extension. Try renaming it to .iso and see if OS X mounts it (if so, you can burn it as usual). If it's a genuine Toast image file, OS X won't mount it and you'll need a copy of Toast to burn it.

 

[hardon]

Download toast from the Macintosh garden or repository, drag and drop burn.

 

[Wouter3]

I have just downloaded a version of Toast but it needs Stuffit to decompress. Downloading Stuffit has a downloading queue for 18 minutes so I will try tomorrow. Thanks for pointing out

 

[barbu]

I believe the Unarchiver can open a StuffIt archive. Recommended utility for all Macs! Should be on the App Store.

 

[Wouter3]

I believe the Unarchiver can open a StuffIt archive. Recommended utility for all Macs! Should be on the App Store.

Yes, I found a Stuffit app in the App store. Thanks

 

[Wouter3]

I unzipped the Toast utility but this runs only in old Macintosh environments. As I do not have a CD burner on my Cube I cannot use it

 

[Amethyst1]

http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/toast-10-titanium will work on OS X.

 

[Wouter3]

http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/toast-10-titanium will work on OS X.

This version does not work on my latest version of Mac OS Catalina. It needs to be reworked by the developer. I executed the updater file, but that made no change. A toaster app is available in the Apple App store but it costs around €25. For a one time use rather expensive.

 

[barbu]

This version does not work on my latest version of Mac OS Catalina. It needs to be reworked by the developer. I executed the updater file, but that made no change. A toaster app is available in the Apple App store but it costs around €25. For a one time use rather expensive.

let me see if I can't extract that image for you later tonight.

 

[Amethyst1]

This version does not work on my latest version of Mac OS Catalina. It needs to be reworked by the developer. I executed the updater file, but that made no change. A toaster app is available in the Apple App store but it costs around €25. For a one time use rather expensive.

Have you tried just opening the .toast file in Disk Utility and converting it to ISO/DMG/burning it? I may have been wrong about Disk Utility not being able to deal with .toast files after all: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20030926134241257

 

[barbu]

I had tried last night and Disk Utility on my Catalina machine would not open the Toast file Wouter3 is referencing.

 

[barbu]

Well Toast would not read that file at all, nor the copy from Macintosh Garden. However, I did find a dmg copy over here, it's the first link on the page.

 

[Wouter3]

I will try that file later when my other problems are sorted. Just had a condensor blew up from my Sonnet processor board, just after a cold start. I will open another thread on this topic to see if people know what sort of condensor it is that I need to replace.
In the mean time, I re-installed my stock 450 MHz processor board again. Fortunately it runs OK, but after a while I have the same freezing problems as before, so this freezing problem can only be caused by some memory modules, the graphics card or the cinema monitor. The first two I will replace shortly. If necessary I will replace the monitor as well. I'll keep you posted

 

[Wouter3]

The dmg copy does not run from the Cube, as you need to turn it into a bootable CD. I don't know how toi do that, and besides my DVD player is currently not working due to a mechanical problem. Also to be sorted out. My Cube is slowly falling apart

 

[Wouter3]

I haver also installed other memory cards and another graphics card. Same problems.

Then it was suggested by CooperBox, to install a different monitor, as I had already replaced all components. This morning arrived a VGA monitor which works great on the Cube, and ... my freezing problems are over.

I am even thinking that the Apple Cinema display has caused my VRM to blow up, taking with it the motherboard and the graphics card. Also recently a capacitor on my Sonnet CPU board blew up directly after switching on the Cube which could have been the cinema display as well. In any event, it will no longer be used.

 

[barbu]

I haver also installed other memory cards and another graphics card. Same problems.

Then it was suggested by CooperBox, to install a different monitor, as I had already replaced all components. This morning arrived a VGA monitor which works great on the Cube, and ... my freezing problems are over.

I am even thinking that the Apple Cinema display has caused my VRM to blow up, taking with it the motherboard and the graphics card. Also recently a capacitor on my Sonnet CPU board blew up directly after switching on the Cube which could have been the cinema display as well. In any event, it will no longer be used.

Wow, well I’m pleased you found the culprit at least. Too bad about the Cinema Display. I hope you can find another one in good working order since they are such a perfect match for the cube.

 

[Wouter3]

That should not be too much of a problem, but for the moment I prefer my 19" NEC monitor. It has a higher resolution and doesn't destroy my system