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G5 Quad - Cannot Install OS X - Red LED 806

Sepultura said:
Well I don't have either of the tools required to proceed to the next step anyway.

Looks like they go for $60-80 and have to be long-handled with a magnet... I could put that money towards a new computer.

I am going to try to borrow one but these look like uncommon tools.
Click to expand...

60-80$ for a screwdriver? :eek:

This one is a long enough Hex screwdriver. 5.74$ + shipping. Don't know if it will fit (it needs to be thin) but it looks like it will, although I can't say it for sure. However, it was a 30 second search in eBay. Sure you can find one for cheap. Much less than 80$...
 
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Sepultura said:
Ok now I am not so sure if it's worth removing this whole liquid cooler seeing how I could damage the CPU pins.

I really don't see any signs of damage.
Click to expand...

You will not damage any pins if you are not a careless idi0t.

Amd pin:

CPU
||||||
\/\/\/
motherboard

Intel pin

CPU
/\/\/\
||||||
motherboard

IBM:

CPU
===
motherboard

Freescale:
CPU
/\/\/\
/\/\/\
motherboard

I have reseated many processors many times, you will not bend a pin. If you don't check the LCS it might be leaking right now.
 
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Oh I have never bent a pin on Intel motherboards or AMD cpus. It's just with this IBM chip it's attached to the whole block which is very awkward.

Also that one you linked me is not the one I need.

The Late G5 guide that was linked says I need...

3mm Flathead Hex Driver
4mm Ballhead Hex Driver

They have to be long because I can't get my hands in there. Magnetic as well otherwise the screws are going to get lost.
 
Well here's an update for you guys.

My Uncle had the tools to remove them. I am not sure why people are saying these screws are magnetized because they aren't. We used magnetic tools. It's really not easy getting in there.

There is no damage at all on the logic board. It is extremely clean, it wasn't even dusty under there.

The radiator itself looks free of any corrosion.

Now what?

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Well, now you'll need a 2mm hex screwdriver to unscrew the CPU cards from the LCS module. All the black and silver screws from the bottom must be removed, AFAIK. Don't worry, the coolant won't start to sprinkle from the LCS. Believe me, I did the same thing with my own Quad today.

Just remember to apply new thermal compound before you reassemble that thing together....
 
No, in the third. There are 15 screws on each CPU card (11 black and 4 silver with a spring underneath) which you need to remove in order to take it apart. Maybe some of the screws holding the copper block can remain in place, but I removed them all anyway just for good measure... You'll see.
 
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The black ones doesn't need to be removed. The silver screws hold the liquid cooling system in place, while the black screws hold another heatsink which isn't part of the cooling system, so you don't need to remove it.
 
Andropov said:
The black ones doesn't need to be removed. The silver screws hold the liquid cooling system in place, while the black screws hold another heatsink which isn't part of the cooling system, so you don't need to remove it.
Click to expand...

The silver screws hold the LCS unit above the 970MP cover, the black ones are securing the rest of the processor card. So if you want to separate the CPU card from the rest of the assembly, you'll need to remove the black ones too. Removing only the silver ones wouldn't help.

g5cpu4.jpg


Unfortunately I put my Quad back together only several minutes ago, otherwise I would take some pictures to prove my point... I am too lazy to take it apart again, sorry.
 
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I really don't think the CPU is the problem.

I have removed one an it's in excellent condition. Here are some pictures.

I will remove the other one and see if there's any leaks but I doubt it. This computer was used 24/7 from the day it was purchased and then for a good amount of years. Other than some scratches on the outside and a ton of dust, everything is looking good. Why won't it boot!

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Second CPU. Everything looks good except one thing...

Is that black thing a wire or just a cable holding down the metal plate? Because this one is broken off and I noticed on the other CPU they have hairline fractures.

It looks to me just like a cable to hold down the plate.

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Well I spent the afternoon cleaning every part so it's pretty much dust free now.

Cleaned off the old thermal paste and I will apply Arctic Silver 5.

I want to hear about this wire or cable thing though before I put it back together.
 
Let's go back to RAM. When you were testing each pair of DIMMs, did you test them all in slot pair 1? It might be that the slot itself is damaged. Try each pair of slots. It doesn't matter which slots you're using, as long as you're filling both slots in a pair.

Try one matched pair of DIMMs in slot pair 2, then a separate pair of DIMMs in slot pair 3, then a separate pair of DIMMs in slot pair 4. Each pair of DIMMs/pair of slots tested separately.
 
Well I will test them again when everything is reassembled. No one responded to my question. Is that just a cable holding the plate down or is it a wire? Because it's broken and the others have cracks.

The old thermal paste came off super easy.
 
Ok I put the computer back together. Red light persists...

I tried slot 1-1 with 2gb in each
Slot 2-2 with different 2gb in each
Slot 3-3 with 512mb in each
Slot 4 with 2 different pairs of 2gb...

THEN I put known WORKING ddr2 Kingston from an old PC. Red light still remains.

So I assume ram slot's are dead.

Hold option goes to start up manager. Fans go loud.

Hold c stays at gray screen fan's go loud.

Now what?
 
Anxiously awaiting the verdict...

This just happend to my G5 except its only a dual core so i have no liquid cooling (I think) but i turned it off the other night, and when i tried turning it on, blank screen, NO chime, red 806 LED stays lit after about 5 seconds and then fans start going crazy after about a minute.

So i think we have the same issue, but i have no liquid cooling which leads me to believe its either the processor or RAM banks, based on what i've read on forums
 
I do have the chime though. It takes a few seconds for the monitor to turn on but it does.

Red LED comes on when computer boots, then goes off, which is normal. Then it is back on again for good. The fans don't go loud immediately.

So what are my options?

If the logic board is damaged then the whole computer is useless.

I heard you can try a blow dryer on the ram sockets for 5 minutes to see if it re-flows the solder.
 
Sepultura said:
I do have the chime though. It takes a few seconds for the monitor to turn on but it does.

Red LED comes on when computer boots, then goes off, which is normal. Then it is back on again for good. The fans don't go loud immediately.

So what are my options?

If the logic board is damaged then the whole computer is useless.

I heard you can try a blow dryer on the ram sockets for 5 minutes to see if it re-flows the solder.
Click to expand...

Is the air deflector in?
 
Another possibility you didn't check is bad CPU. Any DP G5 (including Quad) will work with one CPU, if it's installed in upper socket. Remove lower CPU and see if it will boot normally. If it will - you have the answer, if it won't - swap CPUs and try this second one.
BTW, your Quad's innards looks like new, very nice.
 
Thanks! The computer is in good condition besides some scuffs on the bottom an on one of the side panels. Dusting it helped big time.

It was my Uncle's computer. He bought it new, upgraded it, and used it for a long time. It's mine now so it would be nice to get working.

No one told me that it could run with one CPU. Like I said though, the computer BOOTS. Are you saying if one CPU was fried it would prevent the computer from seeing OS X Leopard in startup manager and then fans go loud?

I am going to try the blow dryer on the ram sockets tomorrow.
 
Sepultura said:
Are you saying if one CPU was fried it would prevent the computer from seeing OS X Leopard in startup manager and then fans go loud?

I am going to try the blow dryer on the ram sockets tomorrow.
Click to expand...

It could give various symptoms. In your case nothing is perfectly clear. You need to rule suspected parts out one by one when troubleshooting.
 
Tried the blow dryer... It did nothing. 5 minutes on both dimm's. Maybe it wasn't hot enough who knows.

Booted up again tried to go to startup manager. At the beginning I can move the mouse and it has the little clock, no discs show up though. After a few minutes the mouse freezes and the fans ramp up. Left it for over 5 minutes and no change, just frozen. Not even a kernal panic.

Let the computer boot up normally and you just see the happy mac folder.

This is getting annoying.
 
I couldn't eject the CD tray holding down the keyboard eject key, so I plugged in my mouse and held the mouse down. It ejected some disk warrior CD my Uncle must have left in there. Before I was using my external 2.0 drive.

I put in my Leopard disk, but same thing. Gets to startup manager, but I can see it. I can move the mouse but then it freezes. Fans ramp up and I just have to turn it off.

I put in my eMac Disk 1 Panther disk which has the Apple Hardware Test. Same thing again. I get to Startup Manager - OS X Install and AHT appear but it freezes before I can do anything.

So I cannot test the ram if it's good or bad. All I am doing here is guessing.

No one anywhere online seems to have the same problem as me.

The DDR2 ram that I know works is PC2-6400, whereas the OWC G5 ram is PC2-4200. So maybe it wasn't compatible so I still got the red LED.

Maybe the ram is dead. All the 2GB sticks are from OWC. They are old but they should have a Lifetime warranty unless that is something new with OWC.
 
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