Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Save my G5

T

thedoor1

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
46
0
I'm trying to hold out for one more version of the iMac, but my G5 has taken a turn for the worse. any suggestions for a self repair would be appreciated.

Symptoms (all are sporadic):
-Shut down when trying to wake from sleep
-Failure to boot, makes it to the gray screen with the apple icon and spinner
-poor performance (partially alleviated at this point)
-issues started after a move (could have been jostled)
-failure to boot off TechTool Deluxe DVD
-Popping sound on shut down.
-Starts up eventually, by the 5th attempt.

Mac Details:
Nov 2004 iMac G5, non-iSight, PowerMac8,1, 1.8ghz, 2GB RAM, 600mhz bus, Leopard 10.5.8, Western Digital 500gb NEW Green HD.

On Nov 2005 Logic Board and Power Supply failed and were replaced under Apple Care. thank you AppleCare.


Attempted Repairs:
  1. Ran TechTool Deluxe and Apple Hardware tests, both came up clean.
  2. Repaired Permissions via disk utility and off original OS CD w/ Apple Tests
  3. Downloaded "SMART Utility" from apple downloads. Diagnosis was that about 11 sectors were 'caution, near failure'
  4. Replaced Hard Drive with new WD 500g (performance issue improved)
  5. Reset SMU by plugging in while holding Power Button
  6. Reset PRAM on boot up
  7. Checked logicboard LED's per Apple's checklist for diagnosing failure to power up. All LEDs checked out fine (LED 1 on, LED 2 stays on),and starting the computer off the onboard button worked everytime.
  8. Reset SMU with the small button
  9. Visual Check of Capacitors - appear OK. I have not disassembled the Power Supply to check the Caps there. The serial number of both the new and the old Logic Board fall within the numbers that received the bad Caps; however the current logic board is at the high end of those, and therefore may not be effected per the documentation.


My next step is to take it in, but if this is for another large replacement, I'll probably just buy the current iMac instead of waiting. However... as long as I don't power down or sleep its not much of an issue.

:(
 
thedoor1 said:
However... as long as I don't power down or sleep its not much of an issue.

:(
Click to expand...
this seems like it could be an indication of a psu problem. startup (and wake from sleep?) normally draws more power than steady state.
 
This sounds all too familiar to when my HDD was on it's way out.
All the symptoms match except the power up from sleep issue.
How old is the HDD?
 
I replaced the Hard Drive as part of my attempt to solve the issue, so it is brand new. Built from a Time Machine backup.
 
Shake 'n' Bake said:
iMac G5s were notorious for PSU problems. Take it to an Apple Store. See what they can do.
Click to expand...

Apparently they have capacitor issues too. :(

You should take it in to get diagnosed, but it will probably cost an arm and a leg to have them fix any of it.
 
zmttoxics said:
Apparently they have capacitor issues too. :(

You should take it in to get diagnosed, but it will probably cost an arm and a leg to have them fix any of it.
Click to expand...

Didn't Apple acknowledge the PSU and capacitor issues? If so, that could mean new Mac mini or refurb iMac.
 
Shake 'n' Bake said:
Didn't Apple acknowledge the PSU and capacitor issues? If so, that could mean new Mac mini or refurb iMac.
Click to expand...

I have no idea. One would have to check the Apple support page (or phone Apple). I do know there are DIY kits for replacing the bad caps in the g5s.
 
Apple extended the warranty period, however that time extension has already expired as well.

Having Apple or an Authorized Reseller do the repair is costly because their only repair method is "Remove & Replace."

If the issue can be isolated to the generic "capacitor" issues of the logic board or PSU, then it is a relatively easy repair via a few dollars in parts and labor. Knowledge and the tools to solder simple electronic components is necessary. Any good tv/radio repair shop (dying breed) can do the job pretty easily if you provide the disassembly instructions, or do the disassembly yourself.
 
Sounds familiar . . . :^(

thedoor1 said:
I'm trying to hold out for one more version of the iMac, but my G5 has taken a turn for the worse. any suggestions for a self repair would be appreciated.

Symptoms (all are sporadic):
-Shut down when trying to wake from sleep
-Failure to boot, makes it to the gray screen with the apple icon and spinner
-poor performance (partially alleviated at this point)
-issues started after a move (could have been jostled)
-failure to boot off TechTool Deluxe DVD
-Popping sound on shut down.
-Starts up eventually, by the 5th attempt.

Mac Details:
Nov 2004 iMac G5, non-iSight, PowerMac8,1, 1.8ghz, 2GB RAM, 600mhz bus, Leopard 10.5.8, Western Digital 500gb NEW Green HD.

On Nov 2005 Logic Board and Power Supply failed and were replaced under Apple Care. thank you AppleCare.


Attempted Repairs:
  1. Ran TechTool Deluxe and Apple Hardware tests, both came up clean.
  2. Repaired Permissions via disk utility and off original OS CD w/ Apple Tests
  3. Downloaded "SMART Utility" from apple downloads. Diagnosis was that about 11 sectors were 'caution, near failure'
  4. Replaced Hard Drive with new WD 500g (performance issue improved)
  5. Reset SMU by plugging in while holding Power Button
  6. Reset PRAM on boot up
  7. Checked logicboard LED's per Apple's checklist for diagnosing failure to power up. All LEDs checked out fine (LED 1 on, LED 2 stays on),and starting the computer off the onboard button worked everytime.
  8. Reset SMU with the small button
  9. Visual Check of Capacitors - appear OK. I have not disassembled the Power Supply to check the Caps there. The serial number of both the new and the old Logic Board fall within the numbers that received the bad Caps; however the current logic board is at the high end of those, and therefore may not be effected per the documentation.


My next step is to take it in, but if this is for another large replacement, I'll probably just buy the current iMac instead of waiting. However... as long as I don't power down or sleep its not much of an issue.

:(
Click to expand...

I had a 20" 2GHz G5 until earlier this year. What you describe sounds like
what I went through. I had the HD fail about 2 months before the end of
AppleCare and Apple replaced it, so got lucky there.

However, I did experience the capacitor problem about a year later, and had
it repaired at a local Mac-oriented shop. It was about $150, so not totally
out of control. Note that I bought this G5 as a refurb, so hopefully they had
replaced some of the earlier known component problems before I got it.

Admittedly a bit biased, an Apple Genius thought that trying to run Leopard
on a G5 was not recommended - "you're trying to run a 64-bit OS on a
32-bit machine." I did run Leopard on my G5, and had a lot of fan noise as
it tried to keep up with things (like TimeMachine). I have a friend who has
an identical G5, but I advised him to keep Tiger on it (more than a year ago,
partly due to needing some VPN s/w), and he has none of the slowness you
describe. It performs very well, and no fan noise.

My $0.02 . . .

And for what it's worth, the new C2D iMacs are so much better than the G5,
which is to be expected. So if you indeed have to say goodbye to the G5,
its replacement is well worth it. You could save a few bucks by buying a
2008 3.06GHz 24" as a refurb - only $1599 vs $2199 for a new one. It's
got the nVidia 8800GS with 512MB, which is fully supported in Snow
Leopard. I love mine . . . ;^)

Mugwumper
 
Thanks all. Sounds like I've tried everything but taking it in. I'll give that a shot now.

I agree on the slow down upon migration to Leopard. I think it actually took a few follow on updates until it really started to hang up a bit, but I agree it used to be faster on Tiger.
 
try reinstalling stalling leopard as it did wonders for my intel white imac speed wise but idk what to say about the other problems other than to take it into apple
 
I went to the Apple Store. Our Genius turned it on, the G5 crashed at the gray screen (interestingly it booted fine 5 times today when I was just checking it out). Started on the second attempt. Video stuttered a bit during both the successful and failed start ups.

Our Genius concludes it is the video card and I need a new logic board, Apple cost about $400 (seems not so bad, except for an old G5). Our Genius surmises that if it was the PSU it wouldn't start at all.

Genius recommends I take it to a Apple licensed repair center around the corner b/c a full diagnostic would be $85 at Apple and they'd tell me to replace the logic board, but the repair center might be cheaper.

I think the conclusion is BS, but may as well try the licensed repair shop for a full diagnostic review.
 
bumzo1 said:
try reinstalling stalling leopard as it did wonders for my intel white imac speed wise but idk what to say about the other problems other than to take it into apple
Click to expand...

I did do that at one point on the old hard drive, I could give that another shot. When I installed it on the new Hard Drive, that is done of the leopard install disk with a Time Machine Install, so I thought I'd have that covered.
 
OrangeSVTguy said:
G5 cap replacement kits are available on ebay for <$20. Are you any good with a soldering iron? :D
Click to expand...

The Caps on the Logic board all look brand new and super clean. That was replaced in late '05 so I think the board replacement took care of that issue.

I have not checked the PSU caps. That could be a next step.. sounds like a 'be very careful' step.

Our Genius said it couldn't be the PSU Caps, as they are big & strong to protect from power surges; implied a little that since the Logic Board caps are fine, the PSU Caps are necessarily fine.

I'm Ok with a soldering iron, though I've never tried to have a surgeons accuracy on a circuit board. There actually is a small electronics repair shop nearby I could presumably hand a bad PSU to with the Caps in hand and instruct them to do some soldering.

Next Step choices:
1- Carefully check PSU Caps, or,
2- Take to Apple Licensed Repair shop
 
The PSU unclips and unscrews from the chassis, easy as cake. Opening the PSU requires the security torx bit (hollow torx). That's all you need to do the visual inspection of the the unit.
 
bumzo1 said:
try reinstalling stalling leopard as it did wonders for my intel white imac speed wise but idk what to say about the other problems other than to take it into apple
Click to expand...

I'm eating my words a bit here. I decided to do the archive and install; as stated I figured the rebuild on a new HD from a Time Machine backup probably took care of a reinstall, and I believe I had done it at some point. Clearly I'm wrong.

Reinstall #1 - starts up, no shut down issues, but Finder won't launch and I'm stuck with a beachball. Other programs sort of work (mail, safari - partially) but Finder locks up with the beachball, the menubar isn't showing and it won't successfully relaunch, no matter what user I chose.

Reinstall #2 - before reinstalling I re-ran Disk Utility from the Leopard disk, but I ended up with the same result. However, given the new symptoms I researched the Finder lock up issue on Macforums and notice a post about an app named FontNuke that empties Font caches and addresses Finder lockups. It took some work to get it to download and install given Finder wasn't working (I had to change my default browser to safari from firefox, wiat for spotlight to index so I could point to the app, etc). I ran Font Nuke including the spotlight reset & repair permissions options and downloaded the OS updates.

upon reboot, it has worked fine. No shutdown after sleep, and it has started on the first try every time! Fingers crossed the repair sticks. :)

It is still pokey with youtube stuttering, webpage loading, etc, but that has been the case since a few versions ago of Leopard.

The G5 is getting left behind, but I think this will get me to the next iMac.
:eek:

Thanks to all for the pointers. Saves me about $450 on a new logic board (current quoted price at the Apple Store).
 
Well that lasted awhile, but it didn't stick.

Still runs faster than before the FontNuke, but the sporadic crash from sleep or fail to start on boot is back.

Shoulda known that was too good to be true.
 
thedoor1 said:
I have not checked the PSU caps. That could be a next step.. sounds like a 'be very careful' step.

Our Genius said it couldn't be the PSU Caps, as they are big & strong to protect from power surges; implied a little that since the Logic Board caps are fine, the PSU Caps are necessarily fine. <snip>..
Click to expand...

Yes, do check the PSU caps if you haven't yet. The bulging can detected just by peaking into the vent holes. My iMag G5 has had some of the start-up issues you mentioned so I finally inspected the caps after ruling out the power switch. All the logic board capacitors look great, but 6 out of 9 low-power caps in the PSU were bulging or had burst! A replacement cap kit is in the mail - hopefully I'll resolve this next week.
 
scmavl said:
I had many of those symptoms and had to replace the power supply.
Click to expand...

Bingo. PSU Replaced by Techsuperpowers, the local Authorized dealer the Apple Store referred me to. Cost $200. Probably could have done this repair myself and saved a little, or a lot if it was just the Caps. I failed to ask whether or not the Caps appeared damaged.

What keyed them into the PSU was the Pop sound it would make upon crash (not consistent but sometimes) and they could hear a very faint buzz while it started up. I hadn't noticed or had just become accustom to it.

So far so good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back