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powermac g5 not booting infinite blink

S

stvpls

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 5, 2020
9
0
Italy
hi i have got a 2003 powermac g5 wich doesnt boot and sits blinking non stop
of course ive cleaned it reseated the ram gpu and reset the "cmos" in apple terminology im not experienced at all with apple stuff.
i cant know what blink code is because it simply wont stop blinking
any solution?
 
Is this what you're seeing?

hqdefault.jpg


If so, this means that the Mac cannot find a system folder to boot from. THAT could mean a few things.

It could mean the hard drive is bad, it could mean there is no hard drive. It could mean that there is no system installed on the hard drive, or that the system was wiped from the hard drive. It could also mean that the system was installed improperly.

Did you just get this Mac?

PS, Apple does not use 'CMOS'. The semi-equivalent would be Open Firmware, which is a really a base level OS all it's own, not CMOS or BIOS. I am going to assume you meant you reset the PRAM (Parameter RAM).
 
no i have the white power led blinking, the machine does not pass the post and does not chime and does not display.
the fan thermal control seem to work since as i leave it on for some time fan speed increases slightly
also it does sense if the air guide is removed so at least some part sould work
the hdd is present and should have a mac os install but im not sure.
the blinking doesnt match any blink codes for it since it doesnt stop
actually i got it a year ago but set it aside because of that.
 
timidpimpin said:
It's likely some type of logic board issue.
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking, but I've pushed that diagnosis a few times and turned out to be wrong in the majority of cases, LOL. :D

I did experience one G5 that exhibited this behavior and it was an LB issue though.
 
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eyoungren said:
That's what I was thinking, but I've pushed that diagnosis a few times and turned out to be wrong in the majority of cases, LOL. :D

I did experience one G5 that exhibited this behavior and it was an LB issue though.
Click to expand...
It makes sense, because if the board goes, then the system loses its ability to diagnose issues. Hence the constant blinking.
 
i dont know about getting annother one as here in italy and even in near countries they re overpriced af, someone even asks 300€ for one, and i cant find one under 100€ boards seem to be going for under 50€ but i need to be sure if replacing that would fix it since idk nothing about apple pcs
and also if i can just pick the cheapest working one or i need a particular mb
 
stvpls said:
i dont know about getting annother one as here in italy and even in near countries they re overpriced af, someone even asks 300€ for one, and i cant find one under 100€ boards seem to be going for under 50€ but i need to be sure if replacing that would fix it since idk nothing about apple pcs
and also if i can just pick the cheapest working one or i need a particular mb
Click to expand...
But wait for others to weigh in first. Other people like @z970mp might have a better idea what's wrong. I have little experience with G5's, but did used to be a certified Mac tech, and my guess is the board.
 
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So as I understand it, the status LED blinks in a continuous frequency without any prolonged pause? As in, (blink) - 1 sec pause - (blink) - 1 sec pause - (blink) - 1 sec pause - (blink) - 1 sec pause ...

I will admit that I have never heard this happen, and only know of the following scenarios:

• 2 Flashes: No RAM is installed or detected.
• 3 Flashes: Incompatible RAM types are installed.
• 4 Flashes: No RAM banks passed memory testing.
• 5 Flashes: No good boot images are detected in the boot ROM (and/or there is a bad
sys config block).
• 6 Flashes: The processor is not usable.

Does it still sound more akin to what I described, or does it match up with one of the outlined occurrences? Exactly how soon into boot up does it start blinking?
 
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Peculiar...

What are the specs and slot configuration of the RAM currently installed?
 
@stvpls RAM must be installed in pairs in corresponding slots, from the inside out. See what happens if you install another 256 MB stick in an equivalent slot in the second bank. 2003 / 2004 G5s take non-ECC PC-3200U DDR RAM, with each slot accepting a maximum of 1 GB RAM. I believe CL 2.5 types are best, although other timings should work as well.
 
tried but no difference, if its capcitators i better replace the board or may be the psu?
 
stvpls said:
tried but no difference, if its capcitators i better replace the board or may be the psu?
Click to expand...
If it is capacitors, then you can just replace those in most cases. It's a pretty low skill solder job. Even I can do it, and I'm horrible at soldering.
 
stvpls said:
i know but the caps are those tiny ones and how can i know what is bad
Click to expand...
The point is to replace them all with better quality caps. I have seen full sets for G5 systems on ebay. Many capacitors made in the mid 2000's have had issues, and not just on Macs. There was something off in the manufacturing process then which caused them to fail.

Plus if you only replace the bad ones, then you're leaving a bunch of others there that will only be a matter of time before some of them fail.
 
@timidpimpin I have never heard of a Power Mac G5 with bad caps. The iMac is another story, but even then, the caps would need to exhibit something physically wrong with them (leaking, bulging, etc.) before you have justification for undergoing such a procedure. Otherwise, I would sooner expect bad solder joints, which are known to happen on these models.

@stvpls Could you be more specific? When you say "tried but no difference", you made sure that both modules were not only of the correct specification, but installed in the innermost slot 1 in both top and bottom banks? If that is the case, I would try a different pair, if you have any.

Before you resort to any drastic measures, I would also try seeing what happens without any RAM, and reseating the processor, and seeing what happens without the processor. If there are no changes without installed RAM or CPU, then I would definitely lean more toward the logic board being bad, likely of disconnected solder joints somewhere.
 
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