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redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
Hi Guys,

This may be nothing to you Westerners, but as an Asian.... for me to get hold of a CUBE is yeeeeeehah..... yaaahooooo!!

It took a month to reach me. Got hold of it today. It didn't matter that it can't boot, i knew of it, thus now i bug you guys for some solutions!!

It came with the puck mouse, a model of apple keyboard, which i never knew that it existed !, the see-through CRT, power supply and the CUBE.

...ok it does not chime, but appears to emit a short sound which sound like the word "geek" and it gives a grey screen on the CRT. I tried connecting it to another display and it was still a blank screen.

I tried to boot from a 10.3 disk but nothing happened, still the blank screen.

...thoughts and trouble shooting will be much appreciated.
 

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redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
....the plastic packaging from the factory is still on the top of the cube. So it the plastic shield protecting the Apple logo... Note the protective strip at the bottom where the model is described.... It make me feel as if its a new set ..woohoo. K i should control my self.

and i love this keyboard way more that the Pro Keyboard
 

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Last edited:

gooser

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2013
514
51
i'm just curious to see what you're going to get next. i like that monitor.
 

bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,310
6,313
Kentucky
Nice find, although I'm afraid that I can't be much help with your problems.

That keyboard(along with the Hockey Puck mouse) was introduced alongside the iMac G3, and as far as I know came with pretty much all the USB Macs until it was replaced by the Pro Keyboard.

I like the power button on the keyboard-especially on computers that can use it fully(some iMac G3s, the Powermac G3 B&W, and Powermac G4s through the Quicksilver). Even on computers as new as my Macbook Pro, pressing the power button will bring up the sleep/shutdown menu. I do miss some of the buttons that are all full size keyboards, though-specifically the volume buttons, media eject key, and forward delete.
 

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
Cube's will only chime when connected to their USB speakers. Your Cube could be passing its boot tests, but we wouldn't know. Have you tried another display? Have you tried reseating the video card and video card riser?
 

PowerMac G4 MDD

macrumors 68000
Jul 13, 2014
1,900
277
You are lucky to get that Apple monitor; they weren't in production for long. BTW, you've never seen a graphite Apple USB keyboard before? That aren't uncommon.
 

redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
i'm just curious to see what you're going to get next. i like that monitor.

Haha, i am just as curious as u gooser, though ive received the look from my GF.....which suggests "k, its about time u stop this!"

----------

Nice find, although I'm afraid that I can't be much help with your problems.

That keyboard(along with the Hockey Puck mouse) was introduced alongside the iMac G3, and as far as I know came with pretty much all the USB Macs until it was replaced by the Pro Keyboard.

I like the power button on the keyboard-especially on computers that can use it fully(some iMac G3s, the Powermac G3 B&W, and Powermac G4s through the Quicksilver). Even on computers as new as my Macbook Pro, pressing the power button will bring up the sleep/shutdown menu. I do miss some of the buttons that are all full size keyboards, though-specifically the volume buttons, media eject key, and forward delete.

Hah, no kidding, the button works on your MBP, i ought to try it.

----------

Cube's will only chime when connected to their USB speakers. Your Cube could be passing its boot tests, but we wouldn't know. Have you tried another display? Have you tried reseating the video card and video card riser?

Thx intell, thats some good info, which means there are no built in speakers for the cube.
I did try anoter display, i had uploaded the pic too. It was the same with the other dispaly which i connected.

When you say"passing its boot test" what does it mean and what should i do....thanks.

----------

Could the odd "geek" sound be the hard drive trying to spin and failing? Maybe boot in Target Disk mode and attach another Mac if you can. Then you can get into the HDD (if it is good) and at least verify the drive is good.

Dude, your sopt was a good one, it could be the Hdd.... I will try your suggestion. Thanks.

----------

You are lucky to get that Apple monitor; they weren't in production for long. BTW, you've never seen a graphite Apple USB keyboard before? That aren't uncommon.

Yeah lucky, and to get it from this part of the world......it really means something to me, as the k/b number are very few over here.

Maybe ive never noticed the didference even if i had seen the graphite kb, as i said, over this part of the world, these are very rare.
 
Last edited:

bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,310
6,313
Kentucky
Hah, no kidding, the button works on your MBP, i ought to try it.


Just to be clear, the button won't power the computer up from being shut off, it's just recognized as a "shut down" key command when the computer is on.

Apple phased out the ability to use the button to power up the computer when they started using the Pro keyboard in the 2000s. As I said, it works on my Quicksilver G4 although not my MDD (interestingly enough, it won't power up the Quicksilver when connected to the USB ports on an ADC display, despite the fact that the ADC display power buttons will power up the computer). It also doesn't work on my late model slot loading iMac G3.

There was a long precedent for the power button on the keyboard as most(maybe all?) ADB keyboards had a power button somewhere. With the brittle plastic used on 90s Macs, on several of my computers the button on the keyboard is the only way to power up the computer :)
 

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
What I mean is the Cube could be sending the signal to chime, but you won't hear it because of no speakers. The chime means it passes the boot tests. Things like checking the ROM, CPU, RAM, and other components of the machine.
 

redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
What I mean is the Cube could be sending the signal to chime, but you won't hear it because of no speakers. The chime means it passes the boot tests. Things like checking the ROM, CPU, RAM, and other components of the machine.

Thank you, crystal !

----------

With the brittle plastic used on 90s Macs, on several of my computers the button on the keyboard is the only way to power up the computer :)

That's interesting.
 

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
Just to be clear, the button won't power the computer up from being shut off, it's just recognized as a "shut down" key command when the computer is on.

Apple phased out the ability to use the button to power up the computer when they started using the Pro keyboard in the 2000s. As I said, it works on my Quicksilver G4 although not my MDD (interestingly enough, it won't power up the Quicksilver when connected to the USB ports on an ADC display, despite the fact that the ADC display power buttons will power up the computer). It also doesn't work on my late model slot loading iMac G3.

There was a long precedent for the power button on the keyboard as most(maybe all?) ADB keyboards had a power button somewhere. With the brittle plastic used on 90s Macs, on several of my computers the button on the keyboard is the only way to power up the computer :)

I had a Cube once that had a bad power button and used this keyboard to power it up. Nice to have it with the Cube. The Cube speakers suck and need to be amplified...
!

----------



That's interesting.


----------

....the plastic packaging from the factory is still on the top of the cube. So it the plastic shield protecting the Apple logo... Note the protective strip at the bottom where the model is described.... It make me feel as if its a new set ..woohoo. K

If that really is the packaging from the original Apple shipper (btw, is this a 450mhz or a 500mhz Cube? The 500mhz only came direct from Apple mail order.)

But if this is the original plastic over the top of the Cube, it could be you have an actual working CD drive. Or if you are lucky, maybe a CDRW drive. Or if you are fantastically lucky -- a DVD/CD combo drive (but not sure if that was even a BTO on the Cube...)

Finally, Cube's take forever to boot if you are trying a firewire boot. Figure out if the internal hard drive is dead or not.

On another old time PPC, a friend of mine had a 2nd gen G3 iBook 14" that had a failing hard drive from DAY one. But no one back then was computer literate enough to explain to him that Apple would of course replace the hard drive for free within the first year. So the machine sat around unused for five or six years. He used it until last year.

Maybe a failing hard drive is also the reason your Cube looks like it has been sitting around unused.
 
Last edited:

redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
I had a Cube once that had a bad power button and used this keyboard to power it up. Nice to have it with the Cube. The Cube speakers suck and need to be amplified...

----------



If that really is the packaging from the original Apple shipper (btw, is this a 450mhz or a 500mhz Cube? The 500mhz only came direct from Apple mail order.)

But if this is the original plastic over the top of the Cube, it could be you have an actual working CD drive. Or if you are lucky, maybe a CDRW drive. Or if you are fantastically lucky -- a DVD/CD combo drive (but not sure if that was even a BTO on the Cube...)

Finally, Cube's take forever to boot if you are trying a firewire boot. Figure out if the internal hard drive is dead or not.

On another old time PPC, a friend of mine had a 2nd gen G3 iBook 14" that had a failing hard drive from DAY one. But no one back then was computer literate enough to explain to him that Apple would of course replace the hard drive for free within the first year. So the machine sat around unused for five or six years. He used it until last year.

Maybe a failing hard drive is also the reason your Cube looks like it has been sitting around unused.

It pretty much looks like the original packcaging, stuck on the the Cube perfectly, further, when i look at the protective strip at the bottom, i am more inclined to believe so.

True, thr 500mhz comes directlly from Apple. I still havent had the time to even check out the serial! I obtained this Cube from a recycle shop in my part of the world. I dont know how it actually got there, but it came from an island where the British had once set their base in historical times.

I just cant wait to look up its specs and whether it was feom a reseller or otherwise.
I hope its the hdd, coz if its something else, then obtaining parts locally is going to be a nightmare.

I dnt quite get what you mean by this,

"But if this is the original plastic over the top of the Cube, it could be you have an actual working CD drive. Or if you are lucky, maybe a CDRW drive. Or if you are fantastically lucky -- a DVD/CD combo drive (but not sure if that was even a BTO on the Cube...)"

i just assume that if it was a500mhz then the drive would be an upgraded version.
Thanks for sharing the info.
 

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
It pretty much looks like the original packcaging, stuck on the the Cube perfectly, further, when i look at the protective strip at the bottom, i am more inclined to believe so.

True, thr 500mhz comes directlly from Apple. I still havent had the time to even check out the serial! I obtained this Cube from a recycle shop in my part of the world. I dont know how it actually got there, but it came from an island where the British had once set their base in historical times.

I just cant wait to look up its specs and whether it was feom a reseller or otherwise.
I hope its the hdd, coz if its something else, then obtaining parts locally is going to be a nightmare.

I dnt quite get what you mean by this,

"But if this is the original plastic over the top of the Cube, it could be you have an actual working CD drive. Or if you are lucky, maybe a CDRW drive. Or if you are fantastically lucky -- a DVD/CD combo drive (but not sure if that was even a BTO on the Cube...)"

i just assume that if it was a500mhz then the drive would be an upgraded version.
Thanks for sharing the info.

The Cube's oddly spec'd and overlarge optical drive was notorious for failing. It shared the same size drive with the slot load iMac G3s

They only came in three versions: CD rom, CDRW, or a CD/DVD rom read only combo drive. I was just noting that your drive might be unused after fourteen years.

I owned a couple of 500mhz but I think they were CDRW drives. The DVD combo drive of course is the most desirable.
 

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
Why would the DVD Cube be the most desirable? That was the default option and in production for the entire life of the Cube. The CD-RW drive was only a BTO option for about five months.
 

redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
The Cube's oddly spec'd and overlarge optical drive was notorious for failing. It shared the same size drive with the slot load iMac G3s

They only came in three versions: CD rom, CDRW, or a CD/DVD rom read only combo drive. I was just noting that your drive might be unused after fourteen years.

I owned a couple of 500mhz but I think they were CDRW drives. The DVD combo drive of course is the most desirable.

K, nw i feel the urge to run the serial asap!

----------

Why would the DVD Cube be the most desirable? That was the default option and in production for the entire life of the Cube. The CD-RW drive was only a BTO option for about five months.

How much do you think the reatail peice for a Cube would have been....for the basic 450mhz...
 

redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
A stock base Cube cost US$1,799.

thx, as such, in the year 2000 this Cube would have roughly cost RM7196.00. i obtained it for RM250.00 (US75.00) after 14yrs, of course partly faulty, still it is considered quite a steal in this part of the world.

thanks for the info.
 

havokalien

macrumors 6502a
Apr 27, 2006
649
51
Kelso, Wa
add a fan

Its probably not too faulty. Probably a dead hard drive. The cd drives on all 14 year old auto injects start to act up, plus its working against gravity. There are some mods to put in apple dvd rw slot loading drives. The only real issue is finding a way to mount it correctly. i got some mounts made and its very nice. I added a fan, maxed the ram, put in a 120 gig hard drive and now its a sweet ride.
 

redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur
For some reason I had never thought of this... but what did the Cube's original packaging look like? I could sort of imagine it, but I'd like to know. Gonna search this and see what I find. I wonder if anyone has one with the box.

EDIT: Scratch that; check out this guy's boxed Cube:

http://appletothecore.me/files/power_mac_g4_cube.php

Dude, that's awesome.....that guy is damn lucky to get hold of such an intact set. It looks as good as new. Treasures like this still exists...
 

PowerMac G4 MDD

macrumors 68000
Jul 13, 2014
1,900
277
Dude, that's awesome.....that guy is damn lucky to get hold of such an intact set. It looks as good as new. Treasures like this still exists...

Yeah, this guy is very lucky... Did I miss it or did he not say where he got it? I don't know where a guy can find something like that!
 

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
Why would the DVD Cube be the most desirable? That was the default option and in production for the entire life of the Cube. The CD-RW drive was only a BTO option for about five months.

I just remember owning a couple of Cubes with a CD only drives when I had Tiger on DVD -- not CDs. I liked playing movies on my iMac G3s and Cubes on DVD back in the day.

So you are saying the Combo DVD drive was the default? Wish that had been so with the iMac G3s.
 

redhatcode29

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2014
471
49
Kuala Lumpur

iamMacPerson

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2011
3,488
1,927
AZ/10.0.1.1
This makes me really want to pull out my Cube and get it running again. For whatever reason it kept shutting itself off when I tried booting it about 6 months ago. I thought it might be touch button so I tried taping a piece of anti-static bag on the inside of the case and that didn't work.

I'd also like to stock pile a few Cubes for spare parts. I'd also love to get a new case for it, but considering I paid $20 for mine (I needed to buy all new electronics which totaled to $70 though).

Very nice job OP! Enjoy that Cube it looks awesome!
 
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