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Lud DiLettante

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 17, 2015
149
27
Finland
I’ve been having various problems on my G5 that made me get DiskWarrior 4.4. It repairs my disks, thank you. But I’m still getting kernel panics. (If anybody requires more background, see https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/after-erasing-reinstalling-leopard-applications-safari-itunes-not-starting.1945256/ )

I also got the panic trying to boot from the install DVD… only DiskWarrior boots fine.

EDIT: At this point I failed to take into account that my keyboard also had issues... So I think that one was a case of Mac not getting the keyboard signal and thus booting onto the main drive. :END EDIT

Safe mode didn’t get the panic, but neither did it get me anywhere past the Apple logo, with accelerating fans.

Besides booting, I also got panics when moving apps, and when running weekly scripts on Onyx. These were stages in my efforts to get my main disk back to normal. Maybe reinstalling Leopard and using Migration Assistant or Disk Utility to restore from a TimeMachine backup would be needed, as I only restored from within TM which left me to "distribute" all the stuff manually… But if it was only about that, I shouldn’t get a kernel panic when booting from the OXS install DVD, right..?

I can only do a normal boot if I repair the boot disk with DW. After that, the Disk Utility may claim the disk needs repairs anyway – and can’t repair, of course. I also get different info from Onyx, as to which disk needs repairs etc… (I should probably remove the internal backup disk, anyway.)

At one point Onyx said the main disk is not journaled. I noticed that could be changed from within Onyx, and I did. I don’t know much about journaling but I know I always do choose journaling when formatting disks. Apparently a disk can become non-journaled, then…

Supposing I can boot again after another run of DW, what should I check? Can I see the condition of each Dual CPU processor on Activity Monitor for instance? What else should I rule out before moving on to buy a new Mac/CPU or whatever’s required...?
 
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That sounds like a hardware problem. If the KP log doesn't show anything useful, try swapping/reseating ram video cards, cpu, etc. to try and narrow t down. Good luck.
 
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Thanks Flyrod. I'll find out. However, I remembered a stupid little factor that I completely forgot above (there are always so damn many things to consider at the same time... one of them being my brain itself).
My keyboard is a wireless Dinovo with a power switch problem. It often won't stay on... So, it may well be that the boot failures are only with the main drive, where some of the other boot attempts end up leading... I'm now considering an Apple keyboard for my next investment (recommendations welcome). Meanwhile, I'll probably try to repair my old main disk with DiskWarrior, then clone it onto the new one after erasing the latter (I never got to do many new things on the new one anyway).
 
Thanks Flyrod. I'll find out. However, I remembered a stupid little factor that I completely forgot above (there are always so damn many things to consider at the same time... one of them being my brain itself).
My keyboard is a wireless Dinovo with a power switch problem. It often won't stay on... So, it may well be that the boot failures are only with the main drive, where some of the other boot attempts end up leading... I'm now considering an Apple keyboard for my next investment (recommendations welcome). Meanwhile, I'll probably try to repair my old main disk with DiskWarrior, then clone it onto the new one after erasing the latter (I never got to do many new things on the new one anyway).

Have you tried running Apples Hardware Test disk? Check this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-hardware-test-aht-images.1949922/

When I started to set up my G5 I tried using an Apple wireless keyboard
white_wired_keyboard.png

needless to say, that didn't work well. So I grabbed a Microsoft PC keyboard from the pile,

MS_Natural.jpg


it worked with the exception of accessing any of the special start up options such as Startup-Manager or Reset PRAM.

So I stopped by my local e-recycler and bought a wired Apple keyboard.
s-l1000.jpg

There are no more commands / key combinations that won't work - for $5 US my problems were solved.

I should add that now that the G5 is up and running the wireless is my daily use keyboard.
 
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Thanks Hack, no I havent, I never had one... but Ive been wondering how much it might help. Ill try your links whenever I think I can install stuff safely...

I used to have that bottom keyboard years ago..! It stopped working though, cant remember if it was just certain keys or the entire keyboard. I cleaned it inside out but didnt help. I might still have it somewhere, dunno if it could be repaired. I also think I could get a "new" one for less, anyway.
I actually also happen to have a pre-USB era "extended" keyboard but I doubt its worth getting one of those adapters...
 
Thanks Hack, no I havent, I never had one... but Ive been wondering how much it might help. Ill try your links whenever I think I can install stuff safely...

I used to have that bottom keyboard years ago..! It stopped working though, cant remember if it was just certain keys or the entire keyboard. I cleaned it inside out but didnt help. I might still have it somewhere, dunno if it could be repaired. I also think I could get a "new" one for less, anyway.
I actually also happen to have a pre-USB era "extended" keyboard but I doubt its worth getting one of those adapters...

If you have access to a 2nd computer making and running the Apple Hardware Test disk is time well spent. Good luck with your troubleshooting.
 
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OK... I've been through various new twist and turns, but the last ones have been more fortunate as I'm now typing this on the G5, and haven't had kernel panics since I last wrote..!

I took out the second internal drive which I had used for TimeMachine backups (although in the current situation I had TM off) and replaced it with my old damaged main drive in order to repair the latter with DiskWarrior (and potentially clone it to my current main disk).

Well, next I got catapulted onto another frustrating, and entirely unrelated, tangent... When I had installed the old main drive, closed the covers and reconnected the cords, I accidentally pushed the power button too as I was pushing the Mac into its place - and I got a terrible scare because at the same second I was expecting a kernel panic there was an instant fan roar and red light... However, those combined with a perfect boot..! ;D So, I was confused. I did various things while the fan roared on. Including searching for info, of course.
Eventually I found out about the plastic cover sensor sticker... (Located in one of the plastic cover bottom tabs.) Sure enough, the sticker was a little crumpled. First I tried the folded paper trick but I don't think it was until the next day that I simply tried carefully straightening out the sticker and avoiding getting it crumpled again when I put the cover in place. Glory be - no roar, no red light, no kernel panic on next boot..!
But, what an idiotic thing that sticker sensor is... Why the hell couldn't there just be some mechanical lever to ensure the cover is in place, instead of a crumplable sticker that's supposed to reflect some light from some fancy ass sensor board..? I think it's because behind that plastic cover there is the "professional" territory. (Yeah, you don't open the deflector cover when replacing/adding a drive but I guess I'd had a look and done some cleaning because of the panics etc.)
If a non-knowledgeable Apple fan went there he might get the sticker crumpled, as if breaking a secret seal... and, as if he had been asking for it, end up at an authorized Apple service center - these days, perhaps being told he should buy a new, up-to-date Mac. All because of a stupid little hidden sticker..!

OK, back to main story. Why did the panics stop? Because I removed the TimeMachine drive? Could it have been causing the panics just by being there (although TM was off)?

As for other drives, Disk Utility keeps having various gray-outs on them... so, I keep using DiskWarrior which gets them repaired, or so it says even though the graph may actually show more items out of order AFTER the repair, than before...
I wonder if it's as Linc Davis has seemed to suggest, that a kernel panic will compromise a disk for good. (Maybe I should try if the store might once again replace those drives that still have warranty...)
The old main disk now seems almost faultless though... Maybe the new one gets messed because of my manually restored files and I should rather clone the old one over?
Or, could some hardware thing still be affecting the disks..?

So far, I couldn't find the Hardware Test for the G5 7,2 model via Hack's links. Or should some of them work for me..? Help will be appreciated...
 
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So far, I couldn't find the Hardware Test for the G5 7,2 model via Hack's links. Or should some of them work for me..? Help will be appreciated...

Based on my testing the 3 'G5' discs under PowerMac are just revisions, have you tried the last entry? I've had success using it on both single and dual processor G5's.

The other disc you may want to download and burn is the Apple Service Diagnostic disc. A quick google of "ASD 2.5.8.dmg" should work.
 
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Dunno if this is about my brain again, but I only seem to get the "Read me" file from the "last entry" link...
 
Well, I burned it on 2 discs already... I've tried booting with C several times (opt also), maybe it's just the damn keyboard again...

But still, isn't it supposed to show anything but the "Read me" at Finder..?
The info says the burned disc is a 41 MB app, but Finder only shows "Read me". I used 700 MB discs.
I can't access/ change the permissions though so maybe that explains something..?

Or maybe I'm doing something wrong as I really haven't burned discs in years and used to do it on some burner app, now I used Disk Utility and the second time just the Finder File.

I'm again thinking of reinstalling OSX first...
 
Well, I burned it on 2 discs already... I've tried booting with C several times (opt also), maybe it's just the damn keyboard again...

But still, isn't it supposed to show anything but the "Read me" at Finder..?
The info says the burned disc is a 41 MB app, but Finder only shows "Read me". I used 700 MB discs.
I can't access/ change the permissions though so maybe that explains something..?

Or maybe I'm doing something wrong as I really haven't burned discs in years and used to do it on some burner app, now I used Disk Utility and the second time just the Finder File.

I'm again thinking of reinstalling OSX first...

I used cd's not dvd's and burned the dmg on my G5 using disk utility. I'll have to try it tomorrow. Until then download the second file (disc) in my post and try it. For finding hardware issues it will work just fine.
 
I used cd's not dvd's and burned the dmg on my G5 using disk utility. I'll have to try it tomorrow. Until then download the second file (disc) in my post and try it. For finding hardware issues it will work just fine.

Me too. And I also may try ASD tomorrow, unless maybe I can get AHT first. Wonder what the AHT/ASD differences are..?
 
OK, I got ASD from dreamsupport.us - only now I looked closer at the site and looks pretty suspect... a malware site, by any chance? Anyway, I burned it, tried to boot once, no success yet. But, trying to have a look via the main disk I got an alert that the file is corrupt and could damage my computer... Then again, I might have done something wrong again, or my unreliable Mac might do something wrong.

About AHT: Maybe I should've said that the "Read me" was actually "Lue minut", which is finnish - yes, Finland IS my actual location. Not a problem, as finnish is my first language, but if my country/language was instantly detected I wonder if some detector also blocked my access to the app...
 
None of the disk images from http://www.dreamsupport.us/ that I've examined have any malware on them. The corrupt disk message also appears for me if I mount the DMG. Keep in mind the DMG is designed to be burnt to disk and then the computer booted from that disk.

Confirm that when you mount the DMG there are 2 volumes - "Diagnostics (OS)" and "ASD Dual Boot 2.5.8". If you have both then the dmg is good.

Just to be certain, your burning the disc by . . .

1–Launch Disk Copy from the /Applications/Utilities/ folder.
2–Select Burn Image... from the File menu, navigate to the downloaded image, select it, and click Burn.
3–Insert a 700 MB blank CD into the CD burner and close the carrier. After a few seconds the Burn button becomes active.
4-Click Burn and wait until Disc Copy informs you that the burn is complete.

PS: The disc was produced by Apple, so it's not surprising that they respect your default language setting.
 
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Confirm that when you mount the DMG there are 2 volumes - "Diagnostics (OS)" and "ASD Dual Boot 2.5.8". If you have both then the dmg is good.

Yeah I will if I get to boot it... haven't tried again yet but I'll probably try AHT next. This boot bingo is ridiculous, I may have to focus on getting that Apple keyboard :D

1–Launch Disk Copy from the /Applications/Utilities/ folder.
2–Select Burn Image... from the File menu, navigate to the downloaded image, select it, and click Burn.
3–Insert a 700 MB blank CD into the CD burner and close the carrier. After a few seconds the Burn button becomes active.
4-Click Burn and wait until Disc Copy informs you that the burn is complete.

Wow, I don't have a "Disk Copy"...(even in finnish). My Utilities only have Disk Utility for burning, which I've used along with Finder/File/Burn...

PS: The disc was produced by Apple, so it's not surprising that they respect your default language setting.

Yeah, I was just wondering if there could be some control code that keeps the AHT itself invisible for me. But never mind that.

The latest version for the G5 is 2.5.2: http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Hardware_Test/018-2216-A.dmg
Burn this using Disk Utility, and start up using Option key and then select the Apple Hardware Test option.

Thanks Headshot, that's exactly what I did except I've mostly tried with the C key, which usually works when booting DiskWarrior or OSX Install. I don't think I ever managed to boot with Option and now especially I doubt it'll work, as not only do I have problems with the power/connection of my DiNovo wireless, but also at the moment I don't have the Mac-specific software (LCC) for it installed because trying to update it after my latest OSX reinstall got me freezes and panics... (I do have some info as to how I might get it installed smoothly, but all in all I'm wondering which things, and in which order, I should do... including getting a new keyboard, DL'ing/installing things, doing the Hardware Tests, repairing, reinstalling OSX, etc... ;D )
 
This doesn't make sense...... I don't understand why you can boot disk warrior but neither of the diag disks. Help me try to understand a few things.

Your burning the DMG file not a mounted image, correct?
(There isn't anything to install and you can't run the test apps directly - they can only br run from the disk itself after booted from the disc)

Where are you burning the discs, a second MAC or the G5 (with issues)?

What happens when you open the disk you made in the machine where you made it?

Do you have access to a USB keyboard (doesn't need to be Apple) to eliminate potential keyboard issues?

PS: It is Disk Utility, not Disk Copy - oops :oops:
 
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Alright, I knew I'm doing something wrong... :D This was just something I had never done before. I'll get back to the details tomorrow maybe... (Thanks for your patience so far, Hack)
 
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