New G4 Acting Quirky

jove

Member
Hello,

My neighbor just purchased a Dual Proc. G4 with GIG RAM, SuperDrive and a 21" Cinema Display.

Sigh

We had two issues that resolved themselves.

In order to install the latest version of Illustrator, we had to boot into 9 and install her old version (pain in the butt). We set the startup disk, rebooted and got the question disk. No amount of key combinations, and resets would allow any OS (including CD) to load. We had to physically unplug (and plug back in) the machine from the wall to get it to work. Everything was fine for a while. We eventually went back into X.

After spending 4 hours setting up her computer, I was showing her how you can burn CDs from the desktop. The blank CD caused the Finder to lock-up (doing network copies at the same time). Three force quits later and another physical unplug, we were able to actually get the machine turned off. It wouldn't turn back on. The little on button would happily glow when pressed but do nothing more. We tried all combinations of devices plugged in, etc.

After 6 hours of periodic on-button tries, it turned on at 12:30AM.

I do not like problems that resolve themselves. Has anybody experienced similar problems?
 
Yes. I've had a similar problem with my Power Mac. I think they get confused logicboard wise very easily when they are unplugged. I had to take mine to the AppleStore because it would randomly not come on. When we got it there, it was completly dead. So they had to reset the PRAM (took them 4 days) but now it's working great and I am sure to keep it plugged into a battery backup. I'm not sure what the cause of the problem was as they didn't go into great detail, but I think zapping the PRAM if possible will usually fix it. Wouldn't be a bad idea to run Disk First Aid after it starts back up, too.
 
Hello,

Unfortuantely we couldn't even get to the reset PRAM phase. It was just dead. We couldn't boot from any device.

My neighbor is taking the attitude that "it is fixed." I'll have her run all the diagnostics.
 
You can always try pressing the little button on the motherboard. I'm not sure where it is on the new G4s, but it's a small button about 2-3 mm square.

That's supposed to reset the PRAM as well as some other stuff as well.

If this doesn't work, you can take out the battery from the motherboard, and leave it out for about 15-20 mins. The PRAM will loose it's state, and hopefully it'll be fixed.
 
This same thing happened to my friend, and resetting the motherboard did, in fact, fix the problem.
 
With the little button on the motherboard like I said.:p

If you can't find that then take out the battery for a while.
 
Well, I'd love to try and reset the motherboard on my iMac lol! I'm just hoping I never have to, seeing as I have NO idea how to get into the iMac lol! Hammer and chisel comes to mind, although that would hurt it.

And how do I zap the PRAM and what does it do?
 
Be careful, people. Resetting the PRAM and resetting the motherboard (which is actually resetting the PMU) are two COMPLETELY different things. While one (zap PRAM) is relatively harmless, the other (zap PMU) can render your entire computer useless.

It's best not to go pressing that little button unless you know exactly how to do it. On the new iMacs, pressing it more than once can permanently kill the machine. On the G4s, you may or may not have to press it more than once.
 
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