G4 Cube GPU Upgrade - Will the ddr2 6200 work?

[AC910]

So I picked up a xfx 6200 256mb ddr2 a while back and only now have I gotten around to flashing it.

I didn't have a windows agp computer around, so I programmed the flash chip directly via SPI. I cut pins 3 and 11 on the back as instructed and put it in. Nothing. No boot.

I tested the cuts via multi-meter, and they seem fine. I verified the flash I wrote, and the bits match. So last thing I can think of is the ddr2 version won't work. Either that or the card is DOA.

Does anyone have any experience with this upgrade?

 

[LightBulbFun]

Yes DDR2 is the version you want

it should have "WANG" somewhere in the part number string (insert Joke WANG joke here )

what I would do is enable screen sharing on the G4 cube and see if OS X is booting still and if it is, screen share in and check Graphics and Displays/PCI cards and see what shows up.

also finally which ROM image did you use exactly?

 

[AC910]

Thanks for the response.

I plugged the stock GPU back in and it won't boot either. Power LED gives 4 flashes.

I'll have to put this on hold until this weekend. :-/

 

[LightBulbFun]

4 LED flashes

thats not good, thats a corrupted BootROM im afraid...

 

[AC910]

Can that be reflashed or replaced without swapping the whole logic board?

 

[LightBulbFun]

Can that be reflashed or replaced without swapping the whole logic board?

I would verify that you are getting 4 flashes,

G4 cubes are known for having their touch sensitive power button going extra sensitive to the point where it think its being held down and that would put the machine into firmware update mode, when that happens the LED blinks rapidly. (there is a fix for this but I cant recall the exact specifics as i dont own a G4 cube however I know a few people here have fixed cubes with such issues)

but if its 4 flashes, then the only way to fix the machine without swapping Logic-boards around is to get someone to dump their good BootROM and flash it to a suitable EEPROM and solder/install that in place of the old EEPROM (if the BootROM Randomly just went corrupt id be weary of re-using the original EEPROM it could well be going bad)

or you could possibly find a broken logic-board and use the EEPROM off of that logic-board

but both of these fixes require fairly advanced soldering skills however...

 

[bunnspecial]

G4 cubes are known for having their touch sensitive power button going extra sensitive to the point where it think its being held down and that would put the machine into firmware update mode, when that happens the LED blinks rapidly. (there is a fix for this but I cant recall the exact specifics as i dont own a G4 cube however I know a few people here have fixed cubes with such issues)

The first line fix is usually to put a piece of Scotch tape over top of the power button-that is to say the power button on the chassis itself, not the marked spot on top of the case.

 

[AC910]

I'm fairly sure it's 4 flashes, as I specifically tried to count them several times. Although, they go really fast so I could be wrong

I was able to pick up a replacement logic board for a reasonable price.

I'll have to try that scotch tape idea though.

 

[AC910]

Well, you were correct. I took a slowmo vid of the flashes and it's more than 4. I removed the led/switch panel and without it I'm able to boot into osx with the new flashed gpu.

So everything works, except the power button. Any suggestions on how to clean/repair it?

 

[CooperBox]

Well, you were correct. I took a slowmo vid of the flashes and it's more than 4. I removed the led/switch panel and without it I'm able to boot into osx with the new flashed gpu.

So everything works, except the power button. Any suggestions on how to clean/repair it?

HERE's a link to the Cube Service Manual.
Not much there though regarding cleaning/repair of the switch.
I've found on several occasions that the Scotch tape (internally) over top of the power button works a treat.