"Vintage" G5 gets no support at Apple Store anymore

[aristobrat]

As I stated earlier, I pretty much went in there knowing what I wanted, the System Diagnostic Disc. And until June 16, 2009, they probably would have been able to help me.

Depends. If you wanted them to run the disc while you waited, then yes. If you were looking to obtain a disc for your own use, then no. Genius Bar doesn't stock discs for customers, ... you have to call AppleCare for that.

No, you can't. They prompts on the automated line state that in order to speak to a "genius", you need to get an appointment. I'm not sure which store you shop at but the Farmington, CT store, they're a little short on that kind of service.

The basic phone menu of all of the US stores is the same. Press 5 to talk to someone in the store. You are correct that you can't phone up and ask a lengthy technical question. You could, however, phone up and say "I have an old PowerMac G5 that's having problems and want to know if I made a Genius Bar appointment, could they get me a diagnostic disc". Whoever answered the phone would put you on old, stick their head in the Genius Room, ask the question to one of the Geniuses working the bench, and relay the answer back to you. You don't get to talk to the Genius, but you do get the answer you needed.

I don't disagree that it would be cool if the online Concierge system could flag you in advance if you had vintage equipment. Apple makes regular updates to the Concierge system. The more folks in your situation that make your dissatisfaction known via a method that Apple tracks (i.e. fill out the email survey if you received it, or simply call the store and talk to a manger), the more likely your suggestion is to be implemented.

 

[300D]

I'm looking for a System Diagnostic disc.

Google "Apple Service Diagnostic 2.5.8". Its the disc you need and you'll find many places to get it.

 

[zmttoxics]

As stated, they don't have to look at it if they don't want to. The serial number tells all.

 

[gugucom]

Customers as always will vote with their pocket book and their feet. I loved the Power Macs until Apple decided that SL was not for PMs. I sold my 2,3 GHz DC G5 Power Mac and bought a Mac Pro. I will never forgive Apple that they forced me to do that. I had every intention to keep that system for years to come.

 

[Eidorian]

Customers as always will vote with their pocket book and their feet. I loved the Power Macs until Apple decided that SL was not for PMs. I sold my 2,3 GHz DC G5 Power Mac and bought a Mac Pro. I will never forgive Apple that they forced me to do that. I had every intention to keep that system for years to come.

I thought you wouldn't have bought another Mac after that.

 

[PenguinPower]

The first applescript file is always free.

 

[gugucom]

I thought you wouldn't have bought another Mac after that.

No, but I will always try to buy used machines and upgrade them. Apple will not force me to buy a new machine by their crappy policies.

 

[PenguinPower]

Drop of the hat change is a feature.

 

[Eidorian]

No, but I will always try to buy used machines and upgrade them. Apple will not force me to buy a new machine by their crappy policies.

I see your point with the Mac Pro 1,1.

Drop of the hat change is a feature.

I don't think it's as bad as the OS X era change to get users to switch to other operating systems but it's hurting quite a few G5 users.

 

[r.j.s]

No, but I will always try to buy used machines and upgrade them. Apple will not force me to buy a new machine by their crappy policies.

Apple did not force you to buy a new machine, you choose to. Your machine would not have stopped working the moment SL was released, it would have kept on running for quite a bit longer.

SL release ≠ PPC stops working or Leopard stops getting updated.

 

[Lukeyboy01]

a video cable came loose on my powerbook once they fixed it for free.

 

[gugucom]

....Your machine would not have stopped working the moment SL was released, it would have kept on running for quite a bit longer.

SL release ≠ PPC stops working or Leopard stops getting updated.

I was not interested in a 64-Bit machine running 32-Bit OS only. I had been using XP 64-Bit Edition since 2006 on a Shuttle and all my Macs run Vista 64-Bit now. On top Apple do not update the firmware to run modern graphics on a machine with PCIe that could easily use HD3870 or HD4870 with a minimum of effort. ATI does more for the Apple customers than Apple does. Apple's after sales service is the worst I have ever seen in the industry.

 

[California]

The machine is over 5 years old and as such it is declared Vintage by Apple. Replacement parts can no longer be ordered and as such there is nothing that can be done through the official channels.

A scan of the serial number will show that the machine is vintage. If it says that then there is nothing they can do.

Simple as that. Your machine can no longer be repaired through the official channels.

Just want to add that Apple fixed my late 2004 2.5ghz PM G5 last month.

Took it to an independent Apple Certified Tech, tho.

It's under the five year period.

 

[California]

On top Apple do not update the firmware to run modern graphics on a machine with PCIe that could easily use HD3870 or HD4870 with a minimum of effort. ATI does more for the Apple customers than Apple does. Apple's after sales service is the worst I have ever seen in the industry.

Does this apply to Powermac G5s with PCIe as well as Mac Pros?

 

[300D]

Apple's after sales service is the worst I have ever seen in the industry.

There is nothing forcing you to buy from them.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

To the OP.

Set your processor performance to Maximum and the fans should stay quiet. There were many G5s that had this problem, I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it here.

And your Mac is not vintage, it's old! Like mine!

 

[yamabushi]

G5 heat problems

Some early model G5s had a known issue with their heat sensors. Erratic fans was reported as a symptom of this problem. The cause appears to have been a combination of factors including the way the sensors were mounted, excessive heat from some hard drives, and the logic used to control the fans.

There were quiet software and hardware updates that addressed this problem. Changing performance to highest instead of automatic was a common workaround.

In your case I would suggest having a knowledgeable service technician take a look at the heat sensors and the overall heat management. I recall one user who corrected the problem by relocating the sensors. Another user addressed the heat issues with slight case modifications to improve airflow to the hard drive and used some arctic silver under some heat sinks.

 

[gugucom]

Does this apply to Powermac G5s with PCIe as well as Mac Pros?

Yep, EFI32 or Open Firmware makes no difference to the shoddy support of Apple firmware. It is equally bad. Just look at the history between 2004 - 2008.

2004 Open Firmware, AGP graphics
2005 Open Firmware, PCIe graphics
2006 EFI32, PCIe graphics
2007 EFI32, PCIe graphics
2008 EFI64, PCIe graphics

Except for 2007 Apple had different dedicated graphic solutions each year and nothing was ever updated to increase customer choice of graphics.

I have a 2006 MP which is upgraded to 2007 spec processor wise. I run a graphic card that ATI designed for the after market because Apple could not be assed to provide anything for their customers. Sadly there is nothing adequate in terms of graphics to run in a 2005 Power Mac that will give you H.264 support as the HD3000 or HD4000 series will do. It was another nail in the Power Mac coffin.

What you expect from a company like Apple is firmware support for all compatible hardware that is supported by Leopard drivers. So HD4870 should really run in every machine down to a 2005 Power Mac.

 

[aarcarr]

Thats no good. The Apple Store near me ran ASD, removed my bad RAM asked me to come back in an hour and reinstalled Leopard on my PowerBook without a charge. It wasn't very long ago either. Some of these stores are horrible and others are incredibly generous.

 

[goMac]

I was not interested in a 64-Bit machine running 32-Bit OS only. I had been using XP 64-Bit Edition since 2006 on a Shuttle and all my Macs run Vista 64-Bit now. On top Apple do not update the firmware to run modern graphics on a machine with PCIe that could easily use HD3870 or HD4870 with a minimum of effort. ATI does more for the Apple customers than Apple does. Apple's after sales service is the worst I have ever seen in the industry.

Leopard is 64 bit, it just doesn't have a 64 bit kernel, which shouldn't make a difference to you. It can still run 64 bit applications just fine.

EFI only runs on Intel. You can't upgrade a PowerPC to run on EFI. ATI would have to release a card that ran with Open Firmware on the Mac, which they could do, but so far they've chosen not to.

 

[gugucom]

EFI only runs on Intel. You can't upgrade a PowerPC to run on EFI.

Gosh, do you think I didn't know that? Apple could and should update their firmware on all PCIe machines to accept the hardware which has drivers in Leopard. That would be the after market support appropriate to a high end modular tower machine.

ATI would have to release a card that ran with Open Firmware on the Mac, which they could do, but so far they've chosen not to.

ATI should not be required to do such a thing on their own. Apple is supposed to support their machines in the market.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

To the OP.

Set your processor performance to Maximum and the fans should stay quiet. There were many G5s that had this problem, I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it here.

And your Mac is not vintage, it's old! Like mine!

Sure it was....

Post #14
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/8117430/

 

[goMac]

Gosh, do you think I didn't know that? Apple could and should update their firmware on all PCIe machines to accept the hardware which has drivers in Leopard. That would be the after market support appropriate to a high end modular tower machine.

What you are asking is technically impossible. This is what I am telling you.

ATI should not be required to do such a thing on their own. Apple is supposed to support their machines in the market.

But ATI is required to do such a thing on their own. ATI has likely decided there aren't enough G5 owners to make it worth their while.

ATI has always supported existing machines after new machines have been released. This is how it has always been, ATI could have supported the G5 with the 3870, they decided not to.

Ask ATI why the 3870 doesn't support the G5.

 

[gugucom]

What you are asking is technically impossible. This is what I am telling you.

I hear you but I fail to believe it. Tell me why a HD3870 cannot have an open firmware EEPROM. After all you can give it a BIOS that will work in a four year old PC.

 

[zer0tails]

Thats no good. The Apple Store near me ran ASD, removed my bad RAM asked me to come back in an hour and reinstalled Leopard on my PowerBook without a charge. It wasn't very long ago either. Some of these stores are horrible and others are incredibly generous.

Yeah you're right. I've had the same experience. My mac pro was giving me problems and tech support made me bring it in. The Apple genius said GEEZ, the problem is only the graphics card without even looking at it. He placed an order for a replacement right away and at the same time gave me a graphics card from the backroom so I wouldn't have to deal with the annoying problems any longer. A week later the new graphics card came and now i have 2. Really depends on the store you go to and if you get a nice Apple genius