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Resolved PowerBook G4 Boot issues...

Gamer9430

Gamer9430

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 22, 2014
2,248
1,405
USA
So i got my PowerBook G4 "12 today (1GB RAM, 80GB HDD, 1.5GHz). However, it simply wont boot. I have run through every troubleshooting suggestion from @LightBulbFun to no avail. So far i have done the following;

Boot off the HDD
Reset PRAM
Boot off a disk
Boot off a computer in TDM
Reset PMU
Boot into Verbose
Run Reset-all in Open Firmware
Remove RAM
Remove Battery
Fully Charged the laptop
Boot into Verbose from boot menu upon selecting a different boot method than the internal HDD

Each of these has sadly failed. What happens is, i turn the computer on, and without pressing anything, a few seconds after the apple Logo appears, the screen shuts off (not goes blank, fully shuts off). If i try to boot into a disk or TDM HDD, it will KP. Before I reset the PRAM, just letting it boot resulted in KPing. Booting into Verbose has a few lines of text appear, then the screen shuts off, regardless from me booting into Verbose from the HDD or from the Boot menu after pressing on a different boot device. Booting into a disk (leopard install disk to be exact), also resulted in KP. Removing the RAM had no affect, running Reset-all in O F did nothing, and reseting both PRAM and PMU did nothing as well. When the battery had nearly no charge at all, upon pressing the power button, it would bong, but the HDD wouldn't spin up, or if it did, the monitor wouldn't turn on.

I have absolutely no clue at this point, so if anyone has any suggestion i did not try yet, please comment it, regardless if its a very simple thing like not having something done correctly, to whatever it will take to get it running.

Thanks in advance (and a big thanks to @LightBulbFun for being a huge help!)
 
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Gamer9430 said:
is there some way it could have been damaged in shipping? Because according to @gavinstubbs09 it worked fine prior to shipping it...
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It's possible. It's also possible that shipping made a hidden fault appear.

If the Mac was booting from a DVD without an issue that to me would point to the hard drive. But since you're getting a KP no matter what you do that suggests the logicboard.

Possibly the HD connector is loose, possibly there's some connection that is loose. At this point opening it up to look around is probably your only option.

But I've seen these symptoms before with a TiBook (twice).

However, I've been wrong before.
 
eyoungren said:
It's possible. It's also possible that shipping made a hidden fault appear.

If the Mac was booting from a DVD without an issue that to me would point to the hard drive. But since you're getting a KP no matter what you do that suggests the logicboard.

Possibly the HD connector is loose, possibly there's some connection that is loose. At this point opening it up to look around is probably your only option.

But I've seen these symptoms before with a TiBook (twice).

However, I've been wrong before.
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I had this problem on one of my G4 DAs. It chimed and booted as far as the Apple logo, then kernel panicked and shut down. A common problem with G4s perhaps? It had successfully booted once a few months earlier.

My solution was to swap the logic board, which leaves me with one working G4 DA (although I haven't yet finished the swap, so not completely sure).
 
From what you've detailed, it sounds like a power problem either with supply to the board or power distribution on the board. With the psu plugged in and a battery in place, does it appear to be charging? As already suggested, the next thing I would do would be to open it up and strip it out. The first place to look would be the DC in connection but as it's under the logic board, everything has to come out first. Once all the bits are out of the case, connect the DC in board and with the heatsink secured to the logic board by the two sprung screws, and an external monitor via the mini-Dvi port, try starting by shorting the two pins which the power button connects to. Good luck!
 
4550bbd1fc1a024e44cebc3b9e6eabdb.jpg


Everything look ok?
 
Gamer9430 said:
4550bbd1fc1a024e44cebc3b9e6eabdb.jpg


Everything look ok?
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Looks really clean. Unfortunately that's no indication if how good the electrical connections are. Really sorry to hear about this - it's gutting when it happens. Does it charge the battery? If not it could be the battery board.
 
redheeler said:
What was the problem?
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I have no clue. I opened it, unplugged the mic, power button, keyboard/mouse, HDD, and Optical. I then re-plugged them in, sealed up the computer, and just for the hell of it I turned it on expecting no change, sure enough I saw the spinning wheel. Beyond that, there was a lot of quiet screaming! I can't tell any of you how bewildered and excited I am right now. I'm just so happy that it started working.
 
Gamer9430 said:
I have no clue. I opened it, unplugged the mic, power button, keyboard/mouse, HDD, and Optical. I then re-plugged them in, sealed up the computer, and just for the hell of it I turned it on expecting no change, sure enough I saw the spinning wheel. Beyond that, there was a lot of quiet screaming! I can't tell any of you how bewildered and excited I am right now. I'm just so happy that it started working.
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MacCubed said:
He said in the group chat that he basically unplugged everything, my money is on the optical drive, it caused , my G3 to kernel panic a few times
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Hmm... I'll have to see how my logic board swap goes then. Perhaps I can get the "bad" logic board working as it did boot up once.
 
redheeler said:
I had this problem on one of my G4 DAs. It chimed and booted as far as the Apple logo, then kernel panicked and shut down. A common problem with G4s perhaps? It had successfully booted once a few months earlier.
Click to expand...

Not saying logic board failures don't happen, but the only "bad" one I've had was on dual 1ghz MDD. I've changed a few others, but they've been my own stupid fault(like ripping the display connector off an iMac G4 logic board).

Usually anecdotal evidence doesn't mean anything I realize, but I would hope that my saying that about G4s would mean something.
 
bunnspecial said:
Not saying logic board failures don't happen, but the only "bad" one I've had was on dual 1ghz MDD. I've changed a few others, but they've been my own stupid fault(like ripping the display connector off an iMac G4 logic board).

Usually anecdotal evidence doesn't mean anything I realize, but I would hope that my saying that about G4s would mean something.
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It's the only G4 fault of this kind I've had as well, except for... guess what.. a display connector I ripped off an iMac G4 logic board, and some bent pins in a different connector on the very same one. So I get what you're saying entirely :)

I will eventually see if I can get it working, as mentioned above.
 
SecretSquirrel said:
Glad you got it sorted. Stripping out a 12" is not fun. Enjoy!
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Taking off the lid was extremely hard with taking out the power button and mic plugs... I can't imagine taking the whole thing apart. Although it's easier than an iBook. @eyoungren can tell you all about how fun iBooks are to take apart ;)
 
Gamer9430 said:
Taking off the lid was extremely hard with taking out the power button and mic plugs... I can't imagine taking the whole thing apart. Although it's easier than an iBook. @eyoungren can tell you all about how fun iBooks are to take apart ;)
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Actually, that would be @RedCroissant.

I only own an iBook because it was a good size for my daughter and the ones I had in the past were gifts.

I can tell you about the inside of the 12" PB though as I broke some stuff replacing my wife's screen as well as doing test runs without a heat sink. :D
 
eyoungren said:
Actually, that would be @RedCroissant.

I only own an iBook because it was a good size for my daughter and the ones I had in the past were gifts.

I can tell you about the inside of the 12" PB though as I broke some stuff replacing my wife's screen as well as doing test runs without a heat sink. :D
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I actually didn't find it super hard. It was just tedious. If you want hard, try a chromebook or macbook air.
 
128keaton said:
I actually didn't find it super hard. It was just tedious. If you want hard, try a chromebook or macbook air.
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It isn't hard - once you get the top case off.

But getting the connector off the logicboard through that very small square hole in the top case is the big problem. I don't do well with tools in confined spaces.
 
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eyoungren said:
It isn't hard - once you get the top case off.

But getting the connector off the logicboard through that very small square hole in the top case is the big problem. I don't do well with tools in confined spaces.
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Ah, I don't either. I used tweezers. I was super nervous, but I've done it alot of times now just for cleaning, fun, etc.
 
eyoungren said:
I don't do well with tools in confined spaces.
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Don't ever take up watchmaking :)

(If I have time this evening, I'm going to replace the balance staff on my New South Wales Gov't Railways watch-a balance staff is about the length of the date on a penny).

IMG_1750.jpg
 
bunnspecial said:
Don't ever take up watchmaking :)

(If I have time this evening, I'm going to replace the balance staff on my New South Wales Gov't Railways watch-a balance staff is about the length of the date on a penny).

View attachment 574050
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Oh no. I know my limits and the 12" PowerBook is as small as I will go. I won't touch my iPhones. I've completely ruined other small stuff in my past so no way. :D
 
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