I recently performed a frontal lobotomy on my G4 (QS early 2002 M8666LL/A by purchasing a very similar parts machine G4 on Ebay that had dual 1 Ghz processors on the daughter board (M8667LL/A). Grounded myself, never touched the RAM sticks in either machine, and swapped the daughter board and heatsink in the 'parts Mac' for the same parts in my G4. At first my G4 came down with a case of silicon lockjaw... froze on startup, time bombs, etc. Showed an extension conflict with MacPortrait driver, which I disabled. Zapped PRAM, ran Disk First Aid. Still freezing on startup. Ran DIMM First Aid which showed that my "DIMM checks out okay," but that the "SPD data revision is old or incorrect" on both RAM sticks. Prior to the double lobotomy day, I had no performance problems at all. What seems odd is that the problem is gradually getting better. Is it possible that the SPD modules (chips) on my RAM are learning how to behave from the new processors? Still getting the "Built in memory test has detected a problem" error on startup, so I turned off the startup memory test (it is annoying). Other symptoms like crashes and freezing have cleared, and performance is great aside from the memory test error. Everything looks normal in System Profiler. Anybody have any idea what "SPD data revision is old or incorrect" means, or how it will effect life as I know it? I have also turned off the startup memory test (yet the annoying error message will not go away), and installed all new fresh RAM 1.5 Ghz, so it is not a RAM problem at all, actually. Anybody know how to change the SPD data revision (firmware?) on the Daughterboard?
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G4 Lobotomy with SPD and memory test errors
- Thread starter MelTupper
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Hi,
Do you have another good known processor available to test ? It maybe the dual processor you have has an issue and causing the memory to go crazy. Try with a good know processor if you have another one to test. I am thinking it’s the processor at this point, as you mention the logic board is working.
Do you have another good known processor available to test ? It maybe the dual processor you have has an issue and causing the memory to go crazy. Try with a good know processor if you have another one to test. I am thinking it’s the processor at this point, as you mention the logic board is working.
Thanks for the replies. I have given up on that daughterboard (the criminal brain). Decided that the L3 chips on it are toast. The Mac works beautifully with its original single processor board installed. Everything is clean and in good condition. I am the original owner of this early 2002 G4 Qs. New problem is I tried installing a different daughterboard that I got from a friend. It is supposed to be a dual 1 Ghz, from a similar Mac (see attached). Again, working beautifully before I put this board in (using ESD precautions), then on first boot it went into Open Firmware with this error:
Default catch. code fffffff6 at %SRRO FF848148 %SRR1:0000B030
Welcome to Open Firmware
system time and date 00:3352 01/01/1904
To continue booting type "Mac-boot" and press return
To shut down type "shut-down" and press return
The problem was, I had NO mouse function and NO keyboard function, so unable to enter any commands at all. Restarted using the power button on the front, and now I also have NO monitor. Screen is black. Pretty much dead in the water. Can someone decipher the error above, tell me what it means?
Since I do not know the whole history of this new DB, I wonder if someone might have messed around with the clock speed... maybe tried to set it above 1 Ghz? Also wonder if both the MB and the DB have to have similar version serial numbers, like both SNs ending in 'A' or ending in 'B'? Seems to be a basic compatibility issue of some kind to me.
I was expecting a 'plug and play' scenario. I mean, the 'criminal brain' booted right up no problem, and functioned pretty normally except for having no L3 cache. Thanks in advance.
Default catch. code fffffff6 at %SRRO FF848148 %SRR1:0000B030
Welcome to Open Firmware
system time and date 00:3352 01/01/1904
To continue booting type "Mac-boot" and press return
To shut down type "shut-down" and press return
The problem was, I had NO mouse function and NO keyboard function, so unable to enter any commands at all. Restarted using the power button on the front, and now I also have NO monitor. Screen is black. Pretty much dead in the water. Can someone decipher the error above, tell me what it means?
Since I do not know the whole history of this new DB, I wonder if someone might have messed around with the clock speed... maybe tried to set it above 1 Ghz? Also wonder if both the MB and the DB have to have similar version serial numbers, like both SNs ending in 'A' or ending in 'B'? Seems to be a basic compatibility issue of some kind to me.
I was expecting a 'plug and play' scenario. I mean, the 'criminal brain' booted right up no problem, and functioned pretty normally except for having no L3 cache. Thanks in advance.
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That error looks like one of the CPUs crashed while booting. You could try disabling one in open firmware just to see if it boots. Is that picture the actual CPU? There is also a dual 800MHz version that looks similar, and is known for compatibility problems.
Again, is the 4th screw installed? This screw provides power, and if the board is just resting on the post the power input could be glitchy.
Are the silicon dies making good contact with the heat sink? If not, the CPUs will quickly overheat and crash. Does the machine get further in the boot process if you start it from stone cold, vs a few sequential attempts? The dual G4 CPUs use a different heat sink than the singles, so you need the dual heatsink or else a custom one that cools both CPUs.
Again, is the 4th screw installed? This screw provides power, and if the board is just resting on the post the power input could be glitchy.
Are the silicon dies making good contact with the heat sink? If not, the CPUs will quickly overheat and crash. Does the machine get further in the boot process if you start it from stone cold, vs a few sequential attempts? The dual G4 CPUs use a different heat sink than the singles, so you need the dual heatsink or else a custom one that cools both CPUs.
Thank you for your help! Afraid I can't disable anything because I have no keyboard, mouse, or monitor function. Any idea how to get those back? The image shows the actual DB that I installed, and my friend told me it was a dual 1 Ghz. Your comment about the dual 800 is interesting. However, it does not look exactly like the last dual 1 Ghz DB I tried (the one that had bad L3 chips). There was no chance of it overheating because it immediately went into that default catch error before it even got warm. All screws were nice and tight... I double checked. I have the correct heatsink for a dual processor.
That is a dual 1GHz then. Do you have a volt meter? The OEM duals use a lot of power, and maybe the power supply is not cutting it? Check the 12v line...
You say that it works on the original CPU? I guess you could change back to that to make sure everything else is working. Also, if the "parts machine" functional you could always start swapping parts until you find the culprit. Good luck.
I purchased a 3rd dual 1 Ghz DB from DV Warehouse. When I removed the 'default catch' DB today and started to clean it, I noticed that the paste (MX-4) on one of the chips was fresh and soft... it basically just wiped off. The paste on the second CPU chip was baked on hard. So, that means that one chip was functioning, and the other was not. I think Ervus was right. One was crashing. Anyway, I installed the new dual 1 Ghz DB today and all systems are 'Go.' Went off without a hitch. It was basically just plug 'n' play. So, I had the bad luck of getting two bad daughterboards. Can someone recommend someone who can test and repair board #1, the Criminal Brain? I am assuming that it needs the L3 chips replaced. I don't want to pay an arm and a leg. Thnx!