Mac G4 Will Not Startup

[ramus]

My Mac G4 OS 10.2.5 will not startup. When I hit the power button the fan goes on but it will not boot up. One thing I noticed is the light from the power button goes when I power-up on then off when I let go, even though the fan stays on.

 

[bobw]

Do you get the boot chime?

 

[ramus]

Yes I do. After holding the power button down it beeps once, then I get the startup chime.

 

[bobw]

Put an OS CD in and boot while holding the C key and see if it boots.

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

One beep indicates that no RAM is present or found:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95050

 

[ramus]

I understand that, but I have 3 RAM cards in place.

 

[ramus]

RE: Put an OS CD in and boot while holding the C key and see if it boots.

I do not have the original keyboard. I have an older one without the right hand side number pad. Does this prevent me from issueing keyboard commands to the computer? The "C" key does not do anything....

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

As long as the keyboard isn't "adapted" (like a PS2-to-USB adaptor) or isn't a wireless keyboard it should work.

Did you follow the steps in the tech note I linked to? It says to reseat the RAM, and if that doesn't work, then remove sticks and add one known good stick and try different combinations.

It then goes on to suggest reseating the processor, as it could be a processor problem.

Did you try those things? A hardware beep at startup is usually pretty accurate at diagnosing the problem, and that tech note outlines the parts of the system that could be causing the problem. My suggestion is to follow the tech note, with the addition of resetting the CUDA/PMU motherboard switch first.