PowerMac G4 Cube USB not functioning

[Reason7]

Hi all, I recently got donated a G4 cube with a Studio CRT display. am so excited to have this beautiful machine, however the USB ports are not functioning for some reason. Both ports on the cube and the ADC connected display. I asked the owner if that was an issue, but she said that USB was working fine before stroring it for nearly 17 years.. Any idea what could be the issue? Where should I begin looking? Thank you

 

[swamprock]

I had the same issue, but it turned out my USB controller konked out, most likely due to my speaker amp (the H/K speakers that came with it) shorting. I'm still hunting for a new main board for mine.

 

[Mark.g4]

Run Hardware test and see what happened, in alternative a new installation of SO....
If you don't resolve this problema, probably a faulty mainboard.

 

[Reason7]

Run Hardware test and see what happened, in alternative a new installation of SO....
If you don't resolve this problema, probably a faulty mainboard.

How can I do that without a mouse and Kybrd?

 

[Mark.g4]

Use an Apple Cinema Display or apple studio display with integrated usb port on the back.

 

[Reason7]

Use an Apple Cinema Display or apple studio display with integrated usb port on the back.

Yes I said that I have the ADC connected Apple studio display with dual usbs .. also not working

 

[Mark.g4]

Yes I said that I have the ADC connected Apple studio display with dual usbs .. also not working

Ok, you can try to put out your hdd and do a fresh install of OS, with another PPC Mac.
it is very strange that the ports behind the monitor also don't work.

 

[Reason7]

It’s booting os 9.2. Not sure if OS X installed. You think that might be an issue? Software? also can old battery cause such issues? Although I’ve tested it and it looks fine.

 

[Mark.g4]

Cube G4 can operate in target disk mode for diagnosis but you must press T key until the FireWire icon appears on the display, but it is a road we cannot travel.
Of course it could also be hardware damage, but the simplest way is to go by exclusion, so try to do a clean installation of the OS to see if it solves the problem.

 

[Brandon42]

Have you tried plugging in a USB device that draws power only? If the port is getting power I’d think it is more likely to be a software issue.

Your FireWire ports may also still work. I don’t know if there are any driverless FireWire to USB adapters though.

 

[retta283]

I am leaning towards software issue in this case. I agree strongly with trying the suggestion above by @Brandon42, this will narrow things down quite a bit. The fact that the USB ports through ADC don't work either suggests something software-related, as there is obviously no relation between the AGP interface and the mainboard's USBs, unless your mainboard is having some extremely bizarre problems. If the display turns on, I see no hardware reason the USB should go unpowered.

Stuff like this was always annoying due to the lack of legacy interface for peripherals. Since there is no Bluetooth, and no ADB or PS/2, you're hosed if the USB ports die. Inoperable computer.

Another thing to try is hold the Option key as the computer boots. This should bring you to a selection of bootable drives. It should still come to this screen, since you are not booting into OS 9 this way.

 

[Intell]

FireWire to USB adapters do not exist for this.

 

[dan_cooper]

I also just got a cube and was struggling to get it to boot. Finally it it into Open Firmware and it wouldn't recognize any input from an old Apple Pro Keyboard I use with my iMac G4. Tried an older Apple USB keyboard and still no response, so I assumed something wrong with the USB. I saw @Brandon42's comment and tried a buck converter in each of the ports and they both were giving power, so on a whim I tried a wireless keyboard with a Logitech Unifying Receiver and it worked. 🤷‍♂️