Got a "new" G4 PMac, couple of quirks!

[Mr. Gumby]

I recently purchased a dual CPU Powermac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) as a second computer and for running some programs in Classic. There are 2 issues that are quite annoying and I'd greatly appreciate some insight on:

1) On start-up (whether cold start or reboot) the computer opens the cd/dvd tray. This makes it nearly impossible to boot from the optical drive because by the time you can get the tray back in, the computer is already starting up (it took me many attempts to install a fresh copy of Panther on the machine). It did this with the stock Apple cd/dvd drive and the DL superdrive I've installed.

2) If I want to boot into OS 9 or OS X I hold "option" down. It brings me to a screen with all the OS versions as buttons, however I cannot click on any of them. My mouse moves but only the 3rd button (scroll wheel) will click, but the click doesn't "stick", it just highlights the button. The only key on the KB that works is the "return." So I cannot choose which OS I want, meaning I have to go into start-up items and manually set it there.

I'm not new to Macs, I've been using them since having a Classic II, but I skipped from the early G3s to Intel, so there's a lot I've missed in-between, so in a way I guess I'm a newbie.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Makosuke]

First: Had that exact tower myself a few years back. Very nice computer, still entirely serviceable, and those are not "standard" problems.

Second: I'm willing to bet, based on some other posts I've read, that your mouse is causing both problems.

Try unplugging the mouse when you restart--if the drive opening problem goes away, that's what's causing it.

As for WHY... no idea. Although I know for a fact that a bad keyboard or mouse can prevent the computer from starting up at all, making a minor problem look like a major one.

If that's not it, check the jumpers on the optical drive--might be jumpered wrong, or maybe the cable is funky.

If it's the mouse causing the drive problem, the reason it won't work on that startup screen is the same--whatever the mouse is doing is confusing the computer until its driver loads. I thought you could use the keyboard to select things on the option-boot screen, but there are two alternatives:

One, just select the boot drive you want from the control panel/system pref before the restart, so you don't have to use the option-boot. Or, two, go to a secondhand store or something and find any old Apple mouse--a puck, maybe, or one of the pill ones if you're lucky. Just plug it in when necessary, and switch back to whatever your preferred mouse is after you're done with it.

Also, if you hold down the C key while booting, I think it'll wait until the drive is closed to start booting, which will make it easier to get it to startup from an optical drive.

 

[Mr. Gumby]

...Also, if you hold down the C key while booting, I think it'll wait until the drive is closed to start booting, which will make it easier to get it to startup from an optical drive.

The drive always opens on start-up, even when holding down "c". I even restarted the computer by running the restore DVD and clicking on the "restart" button when prompted and the dvd still ejects!

I'm using a Macally iKeySlim keyboard and a Labtec mouse. I'll try swapping those with a different set and seeing if that works.

Thanks for the reply!