My friend is using a Power Mac G5 and it will not shut down. When shut down is selected, it gets to a blue screen with the rotating progress wheel, or whatever, that is seen on start up. It will stick to this screen until the computer is forced off by holding down the power button. Also, occasionally, when the computer is powered on, the fan runs at full speed and nothing happens until it is forced off and turned on again. I'm guessing these two issues might be related. Any suggestions on what to do? We have tried unplugging all USB devices.
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Power Mac G5 won't shut down
- Thread starter swindmill
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Hmm... When did this start happening? Maybe your friend's PowerMac G5 will be covered by the PowerMac G5 Repair Extension Program.
The symptoms described by the op don't seem to be the ones mentioned in apples repair-program info - wouldn't it just be dead or crash in situations with high power demand if the power supply is the problem?
i just had my G5 for some weeks, so i can't provide a lot of help BUT i experienced a similar problem once: after messing with an usb-stick that my G5 would not mount, it took forever to shut down (blue screen + wheel). during the next boot , the G5 did only get to the white screen with the apple sign and just stay like that with the fans raving up after a while.
After a couple of reboots without any luck I zaped pram (cmd-opt-p-r) on startup (3 times just to be sure) - the G5 has been working fine ever since, but don't ask me what actually happened.
Well, those problems that OP's friend is having could be a start of a bigger problem like a power supply issue mentioned in the repair program. Better to be safe than sorry. The OP did mention that his friend had a hard time powering on the PowerMac.
Check this from the repair program:
System will not start up after the power button is pressed.
The OP said his friend needed to force off or turn on again when he turned on his PowerMac G5 and I have a feeling this is the beginning of the problems.
Zapping the PRAM seems to have resolved the issue. The G5 does have a USB device plugged in that occasionally causes problems, so it may be related to that, as it was with localghost's. Thanks for the suggestions, and I'll post back if the problem persists.
SCSI to FireWire converter hangs my machine
If I leave my Belkin F5U541 Firewire to SCSI Converter plugged in to a Firewire port on my Power Mac G5 DP, shutdown "hangs" and the only way to turn off the machine is to depress and hold the power button. Unplugging the Firewire to SCSI Converter cures the problem.
By the way, my Belkin F5U541 Firewire to SCSI Converter works great with older SCSI scanners like my Umax Astra 1220S flatbed scanner and Nikon LS-2000 Film Scanner and VueScan software: Highly recommended!
If I leave my Belkin F5U541 Firewire to SCSI Converter plugged in to a Firewire port on my Power Mac G5 DP, shutdown "hangs" and the only way to turn off the machine is to depress and hold the power button. Unplugging the Firewire to SCSI Converter cures the problem.
By the way, my Belkin F5U541 Firewire to SCSI Converter works great with older SCSI scanners like my Umax Astra 1220S flatbed scanner and Nikon LS-2000 Film Scanner and VueScan software: Highly recommended!
This problem (blue screen + stuck wheel) just happened to me so i looked it up on the internet i found this website. While i was reading (took me 5 min) i didn't touch the computer so after a while it continued its process. What i was doing was updating safari to have itunes compatibility but when it wanted to reboot and finish the instalation the blue screen + wheel appeared. Well, i told you it would reboot after a while but another thing happened: I got the initial gray screen with the apple but without the apple. This also happened to me some days ago when the light went off and te computer turned off, but that time it was mixed with strange noises. This time, the apple didn't appear until some minutes later.
Strange things are happening to my computer during boot processes and i don't know what. Please help me!
Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody!
I'm quite nervous because the computer is not mine, it's borrowed, so i need to sole this.
Strange things are happening to my computer during boot processes and i don't know what. Please help me!
Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody!
I'm quite nervous because the computer is not mine, it's borrowed, so i need to sole this.
Bit confused what you actually say here.
Try what is said above, zap the PRAM, do it by holding control+Alt+P+R all at the same time after pressing the power button.(computer needs to be off), hold it until you hear the startup sound, better even is to hold it as long as you hear it 3 times and then release the buttons.
Report back if you succeed, if it does not work then explain exactly what happened.
I used to have this problem, I think it was caused by a hardware problem with my Alfa AWUS036H USB wireless card. Only ever happened when I had that card connected.
I have almost the same Alfa, mine is AWUS036NH, I think the drivers are poorly written.
It works well when connected directly to computer yet when I use a 5 Meter active USB extension cord the software opens/crashes, this goes on for a while until it eventually sticks.
(I have used that same cable on other devices without any problem)