G5 1.8 Freezes, losses screen display

[maclamb]

I just got a refurb G5 1.8 (olde rmodel) from apple and I notice it seems too freeze alot and often does not reactive the main screen via the adc-dvi port when waking from sleep (i have two screens - the dvi port seems to work ok).
Anyone have this behaviour? any ideas? I have updated all software, inlcuding firmware update.
Of course, this is intermitment and i have not had a chance to call apple care yet.

 

[Sun Baked]

Have you added any memory?

If so, you may want to check to see which Apple memory you have.

The Hynix Apple memory at one point didn't play well with 3rd party memory, so running with just the Apple memory or the 3rd party memory may be worth a look.

Also.. the video cards and PMU did create some problems like you describe -- so a remove and replace may be worth a shot, along with a PMU reset.

Resetting G5 Motherboard when it won't boot-up <-- #3 does say unplug the machine

 

[maclamb]

thanks - I'll give it a try.

 

[oingoboingo]

I just got a refurb G5 1.8 (olde rmodel) from apple and I notice it seems too freeze alot and often does not reactive the main screen via the adc-dvi port when waking from sleep (i have two screens - the dvi port seems to work ok).
Anyone have this behaviour? any ideas? I have updated all software, inlcuding firmware update.
Of course, this is intermitment and i have not had a chance to call apple care yet.

What video card to you have? Is it a Radeon 9600 by any chance? My 1.6GHz G5 PowerMac suffered from a black screen upon cold boots and awakening from sleep. This turned out to be a common issue (search the Apple Discussion boards for the phrase 'Black Screen of Death'). The problem is due to a faulty graphics card, and can only be remedied by having the video card replaced. I had my original Radeon 9600 replaced under warranty by an Apple dealer, and have never had the problem since.

The freezing problem may or may not be related. I had a terrible time with my 1.6GHz G5 when it first arrived...it would completely freeze up (no mouse movement, no system activity, couldn't connect via network...total lockup) several times a day. After running through a troubleshooting procedure with an Apple tech over the phone, the only solution Apple suggested was to return it to them for inspection. About a week later they declared it 'Dead On Arrival', and shipped me a completely new 1.6GHz G5 about 2 weeks later (of course this second G5 then went on to have the 'Black Screen of Death' problem with the video card...I didn't have much luck with my G5 in the early days).

So...your best bet is to call Apple as soon as you can, and get them to take a look at the problem. It is almost certainly a hardware problem (and a common one at that). The sooner you can get them to repair it under warranty, the better.

 

[maclamb]

I have refurb 1.8 g5/512/160
it has the FX 5200 graphics card.
I have tried resetting the PMU, PRM and NVRAM
I just got it and it has a year warranty - but I'm ging to call apple about it tomorrow anyway - there maybe a problem, even though it's a refurb.

j

 

[maclamb]

Called apple and they had me create a new user - this may have fixed it. I may be the culprit here - when I moved my account over from my backed up Powerbpook files to the Powermac, I may have brought some preferences that were "bad" - I noticed that the battery and airport icons appeared in the top menu bar, even though the powermac doesn' have these. my bad.


thanks for the tips

 

[maclamb]

or not.
created new user, still freezes.
Apple tech said to erase the drive and reinstall the OS.
oh joy.
if it still freezes, then i guess it goes back...

 

[oingoboingo]

or not.
created new user, still freezes.
Apple tech said to erase the drive and reinstall the OS.
oh joy.
if it still freezes, then i guess it goes back...

Sounds like Apple is just taking you through the standard troubleshooting procedure. They had me re-install the OS, perform a reformat and fdisk, and reset the motherboard among other things before they accepted that my original system had something seriously wrong hardware-wise and accepted it back. Just be persistent...eventually Apple will be satisfied that it's not a software problem and they'll authorise a repair.