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iMac G5...HELP!

V

volntitan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 4, 2005
374
0
Hey Folks...

So my iMac suddenly started running verrrrry slow. Move the mouse and the Spinning Beach Ball of Death appeared. So I went to Disk Utility to run a repair on the disk, but the button was greyed out. So instead, I ran "verify disk" and came up with this error, "the underlying task reported failure on exit". So did some searching and got the suggestion of running the fsck (or whatever it was, don't have the post in front of me) function in terminal mode. So I went to teminal mode and it didn't work, but what did happen was as soon as I went to terminal mode, the fans suddenly started running high and now everytime I turn on the computer they run and don't stop. Any suggestions on what it could be?

Thanks....
 
This happened to me with a Rev. A last summer. I ended up having the logic board replaced twice, neither time did it work. A week or two later I was given a brand new Rev. B. Best of luck.
 
The only thing I added recently was an iSight camera. This is a stupid question (actually 2), but how do I know what "Rev." I have and how do I know when the computer was registered with Apple. I can't remember if it is still under warranty or not. Or if I can still get Apple Care.
 
Any thoughts? I am really in a pickle. I have a copy of Disk Warrior, but I don't know how to boot up with it. Should I do a rebuild? Also, again, is there a way to see when you registered your mac so I can tell if it is still under warranty?

Thanks
 
Is it under warranty or did you use applecare for the extended? if so, use it.

First try:

Reboot onto original disks, and then run Disk Utility when the operating system install options pop up. Repair the disk with that tool. What happened is you couldn't repair a mounted drive, and running fsck should have told you that I thought.

Second try:

Re-install the OS, with the 'don't screw with my home directories' option

If you're out of warranty, find a local apple repair shop and see what they say, or call Apple and see what they'll charge you to talk to you.
 
Thanks for replying. I know it sounds stupid, but I can't remember when I registered the iMac. I don't have apple care (I know, stupid) but not sure if I am still in the window of where I could still purchase Apple Care. When I did fsck and it did tell me I couldn't repair it. But what concerned me is when I went into the mode to do the fsck, the fans started running really high and loud and now won't turn off unless I power down.

I will get a Tiger Disk and do what you suggest. Will it get rid of my installed programs or just mess with the OS? Thanks again for your advice....
 
as long as you pick the 'don't mess with me' option it should not affect any applications except possibly a few iLife ones if you've upgraded to iLife '06 I believe.
 
It should, the fan issue is nothing more than the OS not being able to tell the various pieces what temp they're at so to be safe the fans go ape
 
volntitan said:
I know it sounds stupid, but I can't remember when I registered the iMac. I don't have apple care (I know, stupid) but not sure if I am still in the window of where I could still purchase Apple Care.
Click to expand...

Put the serial number of you iMac (open "About This Mac" to get it) in the box provided on the main Apple Support page and it will tell you your warranty status.

"About Your Support Coverage
To find out how many days remain on your warranty or AppleCare Protection Plan, please enter your serial number below:


Where do I find my serial number?
Support Coverage Help & Information"
 
The same thing happened to my iMac in actual fact...Diskwarrior will fix it....took about 6 hours though so you have to leave it do it's thing.

Restart holding down the 'C' key.
 
OK.....I found out I needed the latest version of Diskwarrior and updated Diskwarrior for it to work with Tiger. So I got that and then had it do it's thing, and it froze up during it. SO, I did and erase and reinstall and it went fine. But, the fans are still running really high. So did the whole Diskwarrior deal. Still the fans are running high. Any suggestions?
 
turn it off for a while, then go to the support site, find all the reset firmware key combinations and try that, also depending on the age of the system you could reset the PMMU as well. Don't remember how to do that, should be on the support site.
 
I'd run the Apple Hardware Test. Pop in the CD, restart the computer, and hold down "c" to boot to the hardware test cd.

If you have a hardware problem, this will find it. That's how I got warranty service on my Rev A iMac G5. If it doesn't find any problems, we can be confident it is a software problem.
 
OK...Stupid question alert. Which disk has the hardware test? The Tiger disk? My wife filed away all my disks and of course she can't remember where. I have a Tiger disk and a Install disk from my daughters Mac Book Pro. Will either of those work?
 
Oh no.....

OK...now I am really bummed. I ran the Apple Hardware test and during the Logic Board test, I got the following Error Code, "2fan/5/8". Now, just over a year ago, I had to have the Logic Board replaced. Does it have to be replaced again? I know if it does, it will be very expensive, but would think they should be expect to last for more than a year. Am I basically screwed? Any help folks would be greatly appreciated.
 
Oy vey...If they say I have to replace the logic board, then it might as well be a boat anchor. I love using Macs, but in reality, a computer should last more than a year before you have to spend $1000 to fix it. Should I call or just take it down to the Apple Store?
 
Call them and see what they can do for you, if you live in the UK you can remind them about the Sales of Goods Act (Specifically the linked document).

If the logic board has failed they should be able to send you a new logic board which you can get fitted in the computer, as it was replaced over a year ago they will probably charge for it, and it should cost about $200 (not sure on the exact amount, this is just a guess could be more or less than this.), you can either replace it yourself or pay someone else to fit it for you (which will cost another $100-$200 probably), this service should also be able to be carried out at an Apple Store.

Regarding Rev's it is a Rev A if the mac didn't originally come with Tiger, if it came with Tiger and doesn't have a built in iSight it is Rev B, if it has a built in iSight it is Rev C.
 
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