Firmware update failure rendered a G5 non-booting.

[kenny]

I was in the process of building a PowerMac G5 (1x1.6GHz) at work, and SoftwareUpdate came up with the G5 uniprocessor firmware update (5.1.5f2, if memory serves), and I cheerfully let it pull it down and run. The process is to let the installer shut down the machine, and then power it back up while holding down the power button till it blinks or a tone is heard. Then, it's supposed to do the actual firmware upgrade. I've done this on my personal machine before without incident, so I wasn't "afraid" of the process.

Not afraid enough, as it would seem...

No matter how long I held the power button, it wouldn't proceed with the upgrade. If I power-cycled it without holding the button, it stayed on, but without any fan activity, nor any happy start-up chime. I tried PMU reset, and the machine is now in a state that it won't even power up. Pressing the power button just causes the power indicator come on as long as the power button is held, but when released, the indicator goes out. Nothing happens while I'm holding the button - no chime, no drive spin-up, nothing.

At this point, I don't really care about doing the FW upgrade; I just want to be able to boot the machine. Before I left work, I pulled the battery out and left the machine unplugged (overnight). We'll see if that did any good come morning... Anyone have any other ideas how to get it going again?

Thanks

 

[kenny]

Thanks to everyone for your helpful responses....

All kidding aside, I'm happy to report a success with this. Leaving it unpowered like that over night did the trick. Of course, MacOSX was displeased with the date being sometime in 1969 as a result, and SoftwareUpdate insists that there's a firmware update available for this machine (which ain't gonna happen), but it's fine now...

 

[nixgeek]

Sorry for the delay from everyone here...

Here's something you might want to try. i don't guarantee it will work though.

Have you tried zapping the PRAM? Apple-Option-P-R is the key sequence right after the chime. Hold it down for about 5 or six chimes and then let it go.

If this doesn't work, see about getting in touch with Apple.

Good luck.

 

[nixgeek]

Thanks to everyone for your helpful responses....

All kidding aside, I'm happy to report a success with this. Leaving it unpowered like that over night did the trick. Of course, MacOSX was displeased with the date being sometime in 1969 as a result, and SoftwareUpdate insists that there's a firmware update available for this machine (which ain't gonna happen), but it's fine now...

DuH me..

That's what I get for trying to bhe helpful and not reading ahead.

Good to hear things are working for you again.