The whacked out whacky world of PowerPC Mac!

[eyoungren]

So…my service to my new church is utilizing my design skills (such as they may be). But, until just a week or two ago I've been down to the iMac G5.

I've futzed with the QS a bit once in a while ever since it just stopped booting way back in July or so. That GigaDesigns dual processor is nice, but tempermental.

So, cutting my losses short I decided to put the Sonnet 1.2 single back in (the processor that came with the Mac) and…same thing. Chime, but no boot.

Futz around some more. Now, back in July (or whenever it happened) I also removed the fan off the ATI card and put in a fanless cooler borrowed from another identical card. This is an ATI 9800 Pro.

I KNOW the Sonnet is good, so I decided to bang a bit on the ATI card.

Low and behold! Boot!!!!

So. NOW, the plan is to do what I need to do. I know the Sonnett is stable. Once that's done I'll probably try the GigaDesigns again and see what happens.

For those that were following, the fan I stuck in the bottom seems to be doing a pretty decent job. The IDE drive in the ZIP bay is around 108º as is the boot 1TB SATA drive and the WD Green 1TB drive is around 99º.

Going to have to look at the USB card though as I don't think it's playing nice. My two external 500GB Time Machine drives are not being recognized (they are USB).

But it's nice to have the QS back up at least!

Now if Dropbox would just finish hurrying up and updating files!

 

[poiihy]

haha powerbook mounted on wall

 

[eyoungren]

haha powerbook mounted on wall

Nope!

Thanks for playing, please try again some time.
That's the back cover of my old LCD which was replaced. Just the cover. Going to eventually turn it into a backlit lamp.

 

[Jessica Lares]

I had a keyboard case on my wall for awhile too. It's just so conveniently designed to do that when you don't need it at that very moment!

I got to take it easier on the coffee. I'm starting to see things!

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I notice that cool, blue light underneath the PowerMac---do you have some kind of LED light or something? I mounted LEDs underneath my MDD when I used to use it. Currently I have color-changing ones inside my G5. It's a wonder what they can do to make a computer look even more eye-popping!

As for 'futzing' around, I have some thoughts swarming around in my head of making a Hackintosh G5 with my brother. The hard part is physically transforming the case and spending the money on a whole new computer parts... IDK if I am going to want to do that. I also feel as if the moment of getting a BRAND NEW computer for the first time since 2004 has to be more 'grand' than purchasing computer parts, last-minute, over winter break.

 

[bunnspecial]

Glad to see the Quicksilver running again!

How are you getting 4 monitors? Are you using a PCI video card or two in addition to an AGP card?

 

[eyoungren]

I notice that cool, blue light underneath the PowerMac---do you have some kind of LED light or something? I mounted LEDs underneath my MDD when I used to use it. Currently I have color-changing ones inside my G5. It's a wonder what they can do to make a computer look even more eye-popping!

As for 'futzing' around, I have some thoughts swarming around in my head of making a Hackintosh G5 with my brother. The hard part is physically transforming the case and spending the money on a whole new computer parts... IDK if I am going to want to do that. I also feel as if the moment of getting a BRAND NEW computer for the first time since 2004 has to be more 'grand' than purchasing computer parts, last-minute, over winter break.

I got the Mac in November 2013. Been working on it since then. Early this year I bought a fan for the dual cpus. It was the only color Radio Shack had and I wasn't paying attention. It had a blue LED.

When I swapped out the case fan I went with a blue LED because of that. But that's not the LED you're seeing here.

Over the summer to combat the heat I drilled out a center hole in the bottom of the case and mounted a fan (with a blue LED).

I don't know where that thread went, but the fan that's in the center is the one you're seeing the light coming from.

 

[Altemose]

I got the Mac in November 2013. Been working on it since then. Early this year I bought a fan for the dual cpus. It was the only color Radio Shack had and I wasn't paying attention. It had a blue LED.

When I swapped out the case fan I went with a blue LED because of that. But that's not the LED you're seeing here.

Over the summer to combat the heat I drilled out a center hole in the bottom of the case and mounted a fan (with a blue LED).

I don't know where that thread went, but the fan that's in the center is the one you're seeing the light coming from.

Glad it is booting again. What card are you looking to purchase when the time comes to buy new parts?

 

[eyoungren]

Glad to see the Quicksilver running again!

How are you getting 4 monitors? Are you using a PCI video card or two in addition to an AGP card?

Yes.

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (AGP) is driving the Cinema Display (A1006 DVI/ADC converter, a gift from a member here) and the HD monitor (VGA).

ATI Radeon 7000 that I picked up in an eBay auction for $15 (only bidder) is driving the two FPD1810 Gateway monitors DVI/VGA.

I have an ATI Rage 128 as well and have driven 5 monitors before (I posted proof) but right now I want my USB card more.

Eventually, once I get all of this ironed out there will be three dual display cards in there for 6 displays.

----------

Glad it is booting again. What card are you looking to purchase when the time comes to buy new parts?

Another ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. Only it won't be from the Amazon vendor I dealt with the last time.

Crap refurb, I'm having to run the card at 14% reduction because of the shoddy refurb work.

 

[Intell]

Did you ever get that PCI GeForce 5200 working in a Mac?

 

[eyoungren]

Did you ever get that PCI GeForce 5200 working in a Mac?

No, I did not. Haven't given up on it, but there's been a ton of other issues, mainly dealing with the GigaDesigns cpus. If I can't get the Mac stable enough then trying to get other things working is difficult.

I'm thinking of switching tactics with our tax refund this year and seeing if I can pick up a Sonnett Duet. Someone scored big the last time I checked eBay. They paid $89 for a working 1.6 dual.

Sonnett seems to be rock solid and GigaDesigns does not.

 

[Altemose]

Another ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. Only it won't be from the Amazon vendor I dealt with the last time.

Crap refurb, I'm having to run the card at 14% reduction because of the shoddy refurb work.

I will keep my eyes peeled for some good 9800 Pros for you...

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I got the Mac in November 2013. Been working on it since then. Early this year I bought a fan for the dual cpus. It was the only color Radio Shack had and I wasn't paying attention. It had a blue LED.

When I swapped out the case fan I went with a blue LED because of that. But that's not the LED you're seeing here.

Over the summer to combat the heat I drilled out a center hole in the bottom of the case and mounted a fan (with a blue LED).

I don't know where that thread went, but the fan that's in the center is the one you're seeing the light coming from.

Ah, yeah, I was suspecting something like that. I know I've seen people do that to their G4 cases when making a Hackintosh out of them. (or hacking 'em in some way )

 

[eyoungren]

Ah, yeah, I was suspecting something like that. I know I've seen people do that to their G4 cases when making a Hackintosh out of them. (or hacking 'em in some way )

LOL, well it wasn't intentional when I bought the first fan. I just decided I liked it.

And now…just try and find a quality fan without a LED.

There's a brand out there that someone else uses that does not use LEDs (their color is a sandy brown) but my local retalier does not carry them.

 

[Altemose]

LOL, well it wasn't intentional when I bought the first fan. I just decided I liked it.

And now…just try and find a quality fan without a LED.

There's a brand out there that someone else uses that does not use LEDs (their color is a sandy brown) but my local retalier does not carry them.

If you want to try cleaning existing fans and getting them like new I am happy to make a guide!

 

[eyoungren]

If you want to try cleaning existing fans and getting them like new I am happy to make a guide!

Oh, no, all of THAT has been done. PSU fan, case fan and the small intake fan by the CPU (although the Sonnett does not use it).

Thanks by the way for keeping an eye out. I won't be able to move on anything until mid-January or so though.

 

[ctmpkmlec4]

eyoungren, any tips on silencing the Quicksilver? It was originally a 933 MHz machine, but I have added an OWC Mercury processor upgrade. The CPU fan is quiet enough, and since the original CPU fan is no longer needed, I removed it. The only remaining fan(s) would be in the power supply, right? Mine is nearly as loud as an MDD.

 

[eyoungren]

eyoungren, any tips on silencing the Quicksilver? It was originally a 933 MHz machine, but I have added an OWC Mercury processor upgrade. The CPU fan is quiet enough, and since the original CPU fan is no longer needed, I removed it. The only remaining fan(s) would be in the power supply, right? Mine is nearly as loud as an MDD.

Well, yes, but I'd be certain you want to replace the PSU fan before you do that.

The most likely cuprit is the case fan (I'd start there first). It's a big 120mm fan mounted on the inside side of the case. I replaced mine with a Cooler Master Jetflo 120 which does 95cfm. Better than the stock fan.

The one problem you may run into is the connector Apple uses for the case fan. You may have to splice wires or get creative. My case fan is connected to one of the molex connectors from the PSU.

If you do replace the PSU fan just be certain all the power is drained. I spliced the wires in mine because I couldn't get the connector off the board in there without damaging it.

 

[eyoungren]

I notice that cool, blue light underneath the PowerMac---do you have some kind of LED light or something? I mounted LEDs underneath my MDD when I used to use it. Currently I have color-changing ones inside my G5. It's a wonder what they can do to make a computer look even more eye-popping!

I'm not even really trying to find the thread on what I did. However, I just went and located my pics.

So…here you are. This should explain why you see the LED on the bottom.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I'm not even really trying to find the thread on what I did. However, I just went and located my pics.

So…here you are. This should explain why you see the LED on the bottom.

Haha, pretty nice!

I have actually been toying with my AGP G4 lately, in the hopes of maybe making it a hub for all of my files. I put a second HD (500GB IDE) in the second slot of the main bay. I am aware of the 128GB limit (without any drivers or hacks to enable 128GB+), but this 500GB HD isn't going to be a boot drive.

Do these things make okay servers? It won't be on all the time, as I will enable it to wake up if I connect to it, but I am hoping it doesn't use much power. It does, obviously, have an external GPU, but other than that, a 450Mhz single-G4 CPU shouldn't be too power-hungry, eh? I wouldn't put money into it AT ALL, but it would be nice to have quieter fans... luckily this G4 isn't THAT loud to begin with. It's nothing compared to my MDD and QS. (my QS is actually around as loud as my MDD, which is pretty annoying).

 

[128keaton]

Haha, pretty nice!

I have actually been toying with my AGP G4 lately, in the hopes of maybe making it a hub for all of my files. I put a second HD (500GB IDE) in the second slot of the main bay. I am aware of the 128GB limit (without any drivers or hacks to enable 128GB+), but this 500GB HD isn't going to be a boot drive.

Do these things make okay servers? It won't be on all the time, as I will enable it to wake up if I connect to it, but I am hoping it doesn't use much power. It does, obviously, have an external GPU, but other than that, a 450Mhz single-G4 CPU shouldn't be too power-hungry, eh? I wouldn't put money into it AT ALL, but it would be nice to have quieter fans... luckily this G4 isn't THAT loud to begin with. It's nothing compared to my MDD and QS. (my QS is actually around as loud as my MDD, which is pretty annoying).

Congrats on your 6502a rank! Now, think about this, you can make a MUCH better file server with a Raspberry Pi and a 2TB HDD, or, even simpler, a WD MyCloud. I guarantee you dad will not let you have this running 24/7. At my house, we use a MyCloud, which has an ARM based board with a 3TB 7200 RPM drive. Reliable, fast, and cheap for the storage it offers. It has a WebUI, iTunes library, media streaming, and SSH access to the linux system.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Congrats on your 6502a rank! Now, think about this, you can make a MUCH better file server with a Raspberry Pi and a 2TB HDD, or, even simpler, a WD MyCloud. I guarantee you dad will not let you have this running 24/7. At my house, we use a MyCloud, which has an ARM based board with a 3TB 7200 RPM drive. Reliable, fast, and cheap for the storage it offers. It has a WebUI, iTunes library, media streaming, and SSH access to the linux system.

I wouldn't get anything extra for this, but yes, that would be nice. My G4 doesn't HAVE to run all the time either. I want to have all my files from my main computers on ONE computer. I know I can just leave stuff on a big hard drive, but I want to be able to update it. Hmm, I COULD attach a hard drive to one of my iBook G4s.

And thanks for congratulating me on achieving 6052a! I am still trying to think of a good avatar.

 

[Altemose]

I wouldn't get anything extra for this, but yes, that would be nice. My G4 doesn't HAVE to run all the time either. I want to have all my files from my main computers on ONE computer. I know I can just leave stuff on a big hard drive, but I want to be able to update it. Hmm, I COULD attach a hard drive to one of my iBook G4s.

We use a USB 2.0 hard drive attached to the AirPort Extreme here. It works really well provided your expectations are not those of a full blown NAS.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

We use a USB 2.0 hard drive attached to the AirPort Extreme here. It works really well provided your expectations are not those of a full blown NAS.

Ah, I remember you mentioning this before. Hmm... I could actually attach a USB HD I have to my ol' Airport Extreme. I'd like to copy all my current documents to that HD and also update it with new ones as I go along---doing so from any of my computers. I use several computers, so I have important documents spread all over the place. (and I guess pictures).

What extent do I have to go to in order to set this up? And does it work fine for dragging-and-dropping files to its HD, or is this more of a Time Machine back-up sort of thing?

 

[Altemose]

Ah, I remember you mentioning this before. Hmm... I could actually attach a USB HD I have to my ol' Airport Extreme. I'd like to copy all my current documents to that HD and also update it with new ones as I go along---doing so from any of my computers. I use several computers, so I have important documents spread all over the place. (and I guess pictures).

What extent do I have to go to in order to set this up? And does it work fine for dragging-and-dropping files to its HD, or is this more of a Time Machine back-up sort of thing?

Well... you could do drag and drop or open the files (depending on type) right off of the drive. I would recommend using the "Accounts" setting when doing this however. What generation Extreme is it?