PowerMac G4 keeps going to sleep

[Betula]

I just received a used PowerMac G4 a few days ago and had problems installing OS X due to installation errors and the fact that it kept randomly going to sleep.

Well, I finally got it installed, but it's still continuing to go to sleep on me, even while I'm using it. Sometimes I can use it for five minutes, sometimes only a few seconds. It never freezes up, it only sleeps and I can always wake it back up. Any ideas about what could be going on?

 

[catachip]

I just received a used PowerMac G4 a few days ago and had problems installing OS X due to installation errors and the fact that it kept randomly going to sleep.

Well, I finally got it installed, but it's still continuing to go to sleep on me, even while I'm using it. Sometimes I can use it for five minutes, sometimes only a few seconds. It never freezes up, it only sleeps and I can always wake it back up. Any ideas about what could be going on?

Interesting problem.

Did you perform an "Erase and Install" when you reinstalled OS X? If not, I would HIGHLY recommend you go back and reinstall it again. This time, look for an "Options" button in the lower, left-hand corner (during the "Choose the Destination" window). From the options listed choose "Erase and Install". Leave the disk format as is. This will erase everything on the drive and reinstall OS X.

You could also try the following...

Go to "Energy Saver" under "System Preferences". Make sure that both "put the computer..." and "put the display..." to sleep are set to "NEVER". Try setting them to a certain time, closing "System Preferences" then going back in and setting them to "Never". Restart the computer after doing all this.

Repair Permissions. Go to your "Applications" folder in the Finder. Then to "Utilities" then to "Disk Utility". Click on your "Macintosh HD" on the left and select "Repair Permissions" from the main window. Restart the computer after this is complete.

If none of those works (including the erase and install) it sounds like a hardware fault. You may need to take it to an Apple-authorized repair center to be looked at. You can also reset the Power Management Unit (PMU) as per these instructions ( http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86760 ); however, these instructions are rather complex and depend on your specific PowerMac. I wouldn't recommend you go poking around the inside of your PowerMac.

 

[Betula]

When I installed OS X, I installed it on a hard drive that I had erased/reformatted. I can't remember if I did an Erase and Install...does it matter if I installed on a clean hard drive?

I tried the other three suggestions (changing energy saver options, repair permissions, reset PMU) and it's still going to sleep on me.

I talked to a friend the other day whose friend had a similar problem with her iMac...she had to get the logic board replaced. I'm guessing it's probably not worth it to have that done, but I don't know.