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Tucom

Cancelled
Original poster
Jul 29, 2006
1,252
312
Well, I'll start by saying that my very first Mac that I ever so enjoyably owned was a B&W Yosemite G3 that my brother who owns Avatar Labs (did animation work for Harry Potter and The Matrix - Macs out the wazoo) bought and set up for me back in the day with OS X 10.3 Panther. Loved it.


Fast forward and I've been through G5's, Intel Mac Minis, and now my main machine is a PowerBook G4 1.67Ghz laptop that runs great for what I need.


So I've been really digging the thought of getting this dual 1Ghz G4 Quicksilver I acquired up and running.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM -

I bought it with the knowledge that it was "for parts" - but the seemingly honest and respectable seller and fellow Mac enthusiast said that it chimed last time he turned it on.

It does NOT chime and the power button only remains lit when it's pushed in. The hard drive does not spin up when the ATA cable is plugged in, but WILL SPIN UP when the PATA/ATA cable is UNPLUGGED from the machine - as if the motherboard/Mac is telling the HDD to remain still and NOT spin up.

I've already tried resetting the PRAM, bought a new $15-20 battery (I'm next to positive it's the right one), tried reseating the memory in different slots, reseating the GPU, unplugging the HDD and DVD drive and plugging in one and then just the other.

No results.


I've read of other people encountering this situation. Some seemed to have resolved it with a CUDA reset and new battery. Others a new power supply and one or two by RESEATING THE PROCESSORS. Yikes. I've completely rebuilt and reseated a G5 machine's processor but I'm not familiar with the G4 socket and all that, should be doable, but would like to hear thoughts first.


It's in incredibly good condition and is a nice dual 1 Ghz machine that I'd like to use as my daily driver.


tl;dr - read below "HERE'S THE PROBLEM"
 
I'm thinking it's just a dead power supply. That would probably be the cheapest test next to replacing the whole machine.

Anyone else have any potential insight?
 
I'm thinking it's just a dead power supply. That would probably be the cheapest test next to replacing the whole machine.

Anyone else have any potential insight?

I Bought the same mac as you with the same symptoms for $20 Last summer. Your CPU card has gone bad:(. When i got mine i thought it was the PSU as well so i tested it with my multimeter and it was dead, so i went and bought a new (Used original) PSU for $50 and when i pluged it in the PSU Made a POP and would not turn on. So then Not thinking i put the Dual 1 GHz CPU Card in my 733MHz QS Pluged it in and "POP" it took out the motherboard,HD,PSU. I Had to rebuild the computer by getting a new motherboard,HD,PSU. If i Wear you i would just get a new Mac or if you like the Quicksilver look get the 933MHz Model i will never buy a dual 1Ghz QS agen.:)
 
I Bought the same mac as you with the same symptoms for $20 Last summer. Your CPU card has gone bad:(. When i got mine i thought it was the PSU as well so i tested it with my multimeter and it was dead, so i went and bought a new (Used original) PSU for $50 and when i pluged it in the PSU Made a POP and would not turn on. So then Not thinking i put the Dual 1 GHz CPU Card in my 733MHz QS Pluged it in and "POP" it took out the motherboard,HD,PSU. I Had to rebuild the computer by getting a new motherboard,HD,PSU. If i Wear you i would just get a new Mac or if you like the Quicksilver look get the 933MHz Model i will never buy a dual 1Ghz QS agen.:)

Damnit...this sucks - but hell it really may just BE the PSU with mine. I think there are still tons of good working dual 1Ghz Quicksilvers out there fully functioning reliably to this day - so maybe I'll just get lucky.


I can't stand a single processor machine if I can get a dual. So it's either this or a MDD - or a G5 maybe.

Your info is much appreciated :)
 
Damnit...this sucks - but hell it really may just BE the PSU with mine. I think there are still tons of good working dual 1Ghz Quicksilvers out there fully functioning reliably to this day - so maybe I'll just get lucky.


I can't stand a single processor machine if I can get a dual. So it's either this or a MDD - or a G5 maybe.

Your info is much appreciated :)

You may get lucky It may just be your psu has gone bad:). I just wanted to share what happened to me. if you do get a new psu you may not want to spend too much for it because if it is a Bad CPU card it may blow your New PSU. But if you can find one cheep or you really like the mac it is worth a try:D
 
HERE'S THE PROBLEM -

I had an identical problem with a powermac G4 Digital audio 733. After disconnecting everything, cleaning the motherboard and components with air, different ram, reconnected everything. Two days later when I finally got around to hooking it up to try it worked perfectly. It has worked ever since. Sorry I don't have a better diagnosis but I would give that a try.
 
Thanks for the heads up AWallen - gives me hope yet :D
 
i had the same problem on my 867 quicksilver (single cpu)


the problem started when i tried to use a g5's video card with taped pins in the machine

pretty sure some kind of voltage fried the cpu card
because i press power, the light stays on if u hold it but if u let go of the power button it immediately switches off the cpu fan, followed by the chassis fan and refuses to start..

the wierd thing is that i had it up and running for a bit after taking it all apart - replacing the motherboard with a brand new replacement given to me from a friend - and putting it back together and then the problem returned -- was working fine 100% i ran benchmarks and everything (seen here http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/2454399) after shutting down it simply will not boot up again (and hasnt since)

so.. i have no other recourse but to conclude that it is indeed the 867 cpu that is damaged in some way and failing some type of check when it attempts to boot

so.. if u are having this problem with an old qs.. dont overlook the possibility that somehow your cpu card has died a grizzly death :mad: :apple:

and i would also reccommend not messing around with sticking 8x agp cards into the machine at all. stick to 2x or 4x - for those interested the card that i suspect fried it was an OEM radeon 96xx something from a G5 that i bought on ebay... i believe it may have been the 9600 XT
- it was passive cooled.. no fan... white connectors.. maybe i botched the pin tape job
but if u are considering doing such a thing for extra video performance.. just stop yourself.
its not worth ruining the machine over.

given my own experience.. and having replaced ram/motherboard and still stuck in the same boat..
i really beleive the "mystery" of this one is that it is caused by the CPU module itself... also given the cost of a used CPU vs a used motherboard.. i would reccomend STARTING with trying to replace the cpu itself before the mobo or ram... word to the wise.. my loss is your gain;)
 
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Unless you greatly overclocked the G4 or ran it without proper cooling, they're rather hard to kill. Your problem likely resulted in not properly taping pins 3 and 11. If those pins are not fuly covered, they will cause the problem as you've experienced. Modifying a G5 ATI 9600 for use in a AGP 4x G4 is a simple task and has great gains with little problems.
 
Unless you greatly overclocked the G4 or ran it without proper cooling, they're rather hard to kill. Your problem likely resulted in not properly taping pins 3 and 11. If those pins are not fuly covered, they will cause the problem as you've experienced. Modifying a G5 ATI 9600 for use in a AGP 4x G4 is a simple task and has great gains with little problems.


i wouldnt call it a little problem to fry your cpu;) but i guess in this day and age it doesnt really matter when u can order a new one on ebay for under 20$

lets put it this way. i wont be trying any agp 8x cards in a g4 anytime soon besides, if u want real performance + agp 2x/4x compatibility just get a radeon 9800 pro.. no pin taping required.

i agree the cpus are hard to kill but i managed to do it, ill be getting a replacement cpu very soon and well see the old gal fire up once again
:apple:
 
It is very, very unlikely that a modified G5 ATI 9600 killed your G4. Many others have do it and not a single problem as yours, expect when pins 3 and 11 were not properly taped. Once taped properly, the card worked and the CPU was not killed. In your case, it is either user error or a coincidence.
 
It is very, very unlikely that a modified G5 ATI 9600 killed your G4. Many others have do it and not a single problem as yours, expect when pins 3 and 11 were not properly taped. Once taped properly, the card worked and the CPU was not killed. In your case, it is either user error or a coincidence.

well to be honest i didnt tape it. i tried to cut the traces..
obviously unsuccessfully

do u consistantly + intentionally respond with no more then 3 sentences?:) im just guessing the guy named intell in a powerpc forum is the neighbourhood troll antagonist.. lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8RCQDDsMpU
 
If you're labeling me as a troll of the PowerPC subforum, you must not peruse this subforum very much. My previous post had four sentences, this one will have two.
 
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well to be honest i didnt tape it. i tried to cut the traces..
obviously unsuccessfully

do u consistantly + intentionally respond with no more then 3 sentences?:) im just guessing the guy named intell in a powerpc forum is the neighbourhood troll antagonist.. lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8RCQDDsMpU

In fact, Intell is one of the most knowledgable and top contributors to this forum. He is far from a troll.
 
im sure intell will survive :apple:

i did not come here to discuss him, i came to share my experience for the benefit of others.. so that others struggling to deal with this mystery problem might have some idea what to do. rather then feel the way i felt when i was trying to deal with figuring out what the problem + solution was.

im really not interested in debating .. my comments about "intel" in powerpc forum weren meant as a light hearted joke.. onward + upwards gentelmen
 
the problem started when i tried to use a g5's video card with taped pins in the machine

pretty sure some kind of voltage fried the cpu card
because i press power, the light stays on if u hold it but if u let go of the power button it immediately switches off the cpu fan, followed by the chassis fan and refuses to start..

You probably killed your PSU. These MDD PSUs are notorious for just going out without a warning. The problem you explained with the power light not staying lit happened to me too when I got my MDD from a recyclers. I had it stripped to the point where all it had was one stick of RAM. All the drives were unplugged. Same issue.

A generous memeber on the forums here gave me (for the cost of shipping) an OEM ATX PSU from a PC. I wired it up and it worked great. Unfortunately, the 12v rail required to drive an ADC display is not there on an ATX PSU, same with FireWire. So I loose those two, but the PSU should last a long time. The only one regret I have is doing the mod on the PSUs built in cable and not an ATX extension cable. If I had used the extension, replacing the PSU would be much easier in the future. Oh well. Next time.

Back on point, the PSU I have has a lower maximum wattage then the official Apple PSU, however I have a USB 2.0 card along with an ATI 9650 pulled from a G5 and it has given me no issues. Sounds to me like the better video card was pulling more power causing your PSU to bite the dust. More then likely everything else is fine too.
 
In fact, Intell is one of the most knowledgable and top contributors to this forum. He is far from a troll.

Intell is just very wise. He really doesn't have the time or energy to respond with a paragraph answer, which is totally understandable. When it comes to G5 graphics cards in G4 machines, no one knows more than him.
 
Hello! I'm new here so pardon me if I make any 'beginner mistakes'.

I found a PowerMac G4 at the supermarket garbage disposal the other day. After may Google searches I'm certain it's a 733MHz G4.

I connected it to power and got the same symptoms. It turns on for usually 5-10 seconds, then shuts down. No chime. I don't have a monitor so I dunno if it displays anything on the screen in the meantime.

When I brought it to the Apple Store yesterday, it just booted as if there was nothing. The Genuis tried everything to reproduce the problem but nothing worked, it just booted as if it just had been unboxed. The chime also sounded. When I arrived at home, it stopped working again. Same symptoms.

PS: The Genius once booted into OS 9, which he had never seen before, and couldn't figure out how to turn it off.
 
Hello! I'm new here so pardon me if I make any 'beginner mistakes'.



I found a PowerMac G4 at the supermarket garbage disposal the other day. After may Google searches I'm certain it's a 733MHz G4.



I connected it to power and got the same symptoms. It turns on for usually 5-10 seconds, then shuts down. No chime. I don't have a monitor so I dunno if it displays anything on the screen in the meantime.



When I brought it to the Apple Store yesterday, it just booted as if there was nothing. The Genuis tried everything to reproduce the problem but nothing worked, it just booted as if it just had been unboxed. The chime also sounded. When I arrived at home, it stopped working again. Same symptoms.



PS: The Genius once booted into OS 9, which he had never seen before, and couldn't figure out how to turn it off.


Does it show a flashing Finder/? screen at all?
 
It's alive (?)

Does it show a flashing Finder/? screen at all?

I don't have a monitor at home so I cannot tell. I'll be getting one soon. At the Apple Store it did the same thing my iBook always did: A folder with the Finder icon flashes once for a very very short time, then disappears and boots normally.

I left my PowerMac plugged in last night before I cleaned the motherboard, CPU and that big fan on the lower right side. It booted up, out of nowhere, at around 4 o'clock in the morning with a really loud 'BEEEEEP' sonud. I immediately grabbed my watch and measured the time: it stayed on for 5 minutes. I connect speakers and a keyboard. When I pressed volume up or down, that 'plop' sound came. The one that comes when changing the volume. Then shut off on its own. Oh, I also had disconnected the optical drives before I went to bed. Only the hard drive was connected.

UPDATE:
This morning I plugged the power cable back in since I had removed it because I didn't want it to boot up again in the middle of the night. So I plugged it in and then something got in-between, a 30-min phone call. I never had my PowerMac connected to power for more than 5 minutes because it always turned itself off. The only time it was connected to power that long was the Apple Store, that's why it worked there. It booted and stayed so for 15 minues and counting, no chime, no beep, only the plop from the volume change.

I have no monitor, but I had to find a way to proove myself that it is alive. I grabbed a CD, I think it was JT - 20/20 Experience. Only problem: the opical drive was still disconnected. I pressed the 'ctrl+option+cmd+eject' buttons. The machine shut off in a controlled manor. It was running its 20th minute. Without disconnecting power, I plugged in both optical drives and booted. No chime, no beep. After running for 10 minutes, I decided to press eject on the keyboard and insert the CD. I hoped that iTunes would recognize the CD and auto-play it, and it DID! I'm listening to track 4. Since I have no monitor yet, I dunno what it displays while starting up.
 
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I don't have a monitor at home so I cannot tell. I'll be getting one soon. At the Apple Store it did the same thing my iBook always did: A folder with the Finder icon flashes once for a very very short time, then disappears and boots normally.


The Finder/? screen means it is searching for a bootable volume. You probably don't have a start up volume selected in System Preferences which is why it appears briefly. I wonder if the previous owner had "Restart After A Power Failure" or a start up schedule checked.
 
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