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PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 12:52 pm 
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Greetings, first post here!

I have had 9 years of active service from my old Power Mac G5 but I think it may have bit the dust. I have recent backups of most files but some older software may only run under OS9. It would be nice to get it running again. I have reviewed some of the Apple support articles and read a number of posts from various Mac forums.

Machine Name: Power Mac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac7,2
CPU Type: PowerPC 970 (2.2)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.6 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 3 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.1.5f0
Serial Number: XB4140YCNVQ

For about a month or so the computer would freeze unexpectedly when I was moving the mouse. I would restart and things would be OK for a few day. Then one day there was a roaring sound like the fan was on overdrive and then a freeze up. This event occurred a few times in recent years. I would restart and things would be OK. Now the power light flashes 3 times which apparently is a symptom of inoperable Ram. The 4 available Ram slots are fully loaded (a pair of 512mb, a pair of 1gb) for a total of 3gb Ram.

Based on my readings, here are a few things I've tried :

- I tried exchanging the Simms to different parallel slots. No luck.
- I tried removing one pair of Simms, leaving the other pair installed. No luck.
- I replaced the battery with a brand new one
- I tried running the Apple Hardware Test but it froze up during the process.
- I was able to get some data reported by the System Profiler including an Error Log
- I read about the "hair dryer trick" but have not tried it yet. It seemed that many found this a temporary fix.

Occasionally the computer will start up and run like nothing is wrong but as soon as I shut it down I get the 3 flashing lights again. I have not been able to get it running again after many attempts.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 1:12 pm 
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Welcome aboard hotdiggity ! :welcome:

Can you count the beeps or flashes?

1 beep = no RAM installed
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types
3 beeps = no good banks
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block)
5 beeps = processor is not usable

In addition to the beeps, on some computers the power LED will flash a corresponding number of times plus one. The LED will repeat the sequence after approximately a 5-second pause. The tones are only played once.

Note: In this case, a flash is considered to be 1/4 second or 250 ms or greater in length.

If you're sure the RAM is good, try the Hair Dryer trick...

http://discussions.apple.com/message.js ... 7#13240047

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15223603#15223603

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15499912#15499912

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15613068#15613068

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3270112

https://discussions.apple.com/message/16053892#16053892

No power light at all...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3692775?tstart=0

It can show on any G5, and even many other computers & electronic devices of the period.

http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/pmg5.html
 
 http://lowendmac.com/ppc/power-macintosh-g5.html

And see this last one in particular...
 
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16781690#16781690

Heat gun better...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3916312?tstart=0


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:56 am 
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Thanks! It looks like the heat gun may be the way to go. Do you think I should leave the Simms installed when applying heat?


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:17 am 
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hotdiggity wrote:
Thanks! It looks like the heat gun may be the way to go. Do you think I should leave the Simms installed when applying heat?
I wouldn't.

The last thing you'd want is a "heavy" dimm causing the dimm socket to shift.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:42 am 
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Agree with MB, easy enough to pull the RAM. :)


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:32 am 
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Would you think that I should I be targeting the heat onto the Ram sockets only or also the entire board surrounding them? There is about a 4" space on the board between the socket pairs.

Should I try to shield any other components when applying the heat and if so is there a shielding devise for this?


Last edited by hotdiggity on Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:50 am 
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Shielding is a good idea for any thing like wires close enough to be affected by the gun.

Generally the area that needs heat is between the inner slots, & that U3? chip underneath the center.

In fact, I've seen cases where skipping putting RAM in the inner slots at all worked, though it isn't supposed to from what I've read, & in a couple of cases I've seen putting mismatched,bad RAM in the inner slots made the OS ignore the inner slots! Go figure???


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:14 am 
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Great! This will be worth a try for sure! I will post the results.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:16 am 
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OK, good luck, hope to hear good news! :)


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:26 am 
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In general, anything that's soldered to the board will tolerate the heat gun pretty well.

- Anonymous


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 5:59 am 
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I found a heat gun at Home Depot. It only has 2 settings 750 and 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is this too hot? I could probably find a less intense one somewhere else.

Thanks, hotdiggity


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:09 am 
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I think I read 450°F. was what was needed.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:12 pm 
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Just hold it from a bit farther back (good idea anyway since you don't want to blast fragile surface mount components off the board); let distance regulate the temperature.

- Anonymous


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:45 pm 
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I've heard of people setting their ovens to 450' and letting the board sit and bake for a time, then turn off the heat, open the door, don't move the board, and let it cool for an even longer time. I've heard of this method being used for automotive parts and XBox 360s, though never for a G5. The problem is the entire board could reflow at that point, which is why you want to be very careful not to disturb anything until it's cooled and resolidified.


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 5:34 am 
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Thanks! I will look for a heat gun with a lower temperature setting so I do not overheat the exact RAM area where the problem is.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 12:51 pm 
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Its been a year now and I am revisiting my problem on the PowerPC G5. I have transitioned to a new Mac but I still need to use the old one occasionally.

After using the heat gun, I was able to get the G5 to start up last year. Fast forward to now and I had to give the G5 another blast of hot air. It seems to boot OK (Gray Apple logo & spinning wheel) but stalls on a blue screen. I can see a cursor when I move my mouse but thats it. I used to use dual monitors on the G5 so I rigged it up that way to no avail - just a blue screen at the end of the boot procedure.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 1:34 pm 
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Has it been without power for a long time?

Might be time to replace the PRAM Battery, 4 years is close to their lifespan, far less if ever without AC power, & can cause strange startup problems...

See which one your G5 has...

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20 ... gy/CR2032/  

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20 ... AA36VPRAM/  

Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), does that work?

Have you done a PRAM reset, CMD+Option+p+r...

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

In fact, do 3 in a row, takes a bit of time.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:06 pm 
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Ahoy Matey!
When I was troubleshooting last year I replaced the battery:
http://www.amazon.com/Saft-LS-14250-Lit ... B002GJSQPO
However, the G5 has been unplugged for months…

I have never tried a Safe Boot. I did it, but after the Gray Apple logo & spinning wheel the computer shut down.
Should I try the PRAM reset anyway ?


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:13 pm 
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Yes, try it, I don't think it can hurt... & months of unplugged could easily drain the battery.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:41 pm 
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I did it once and it got to the Gray Apple logo & spinning wheel, then the spinning wheel stopped.

I tried to start it up and it went back to the light blinking 3 times. I may have to blast it with heat again to get it starting again.

What now?


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:51 pm 
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Sounds like the heat gun is needed.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 6:29 pm 
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After another hot blast, she started and I reset PRAM and let it ring 3x. It got me back to the blue screen with moveable mouse cursor. It purred along in blue screen mode for about 3 minutes. Then it proceeded to roar loudly and the mouse cursor froze so I shut her down.

Is there an option for shutting down other than holding the start button?


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:49 pm 
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That's about the only option other than pulling the plug.

Sounds like you made a little headway & more time/heat is needed.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:52 am 
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About half the time after I blast it with the heat gun the G5 get to various phases of the startup process before freezing up or roaring. I've tried moving the ram around in different slots. Since I did the PRAM it seems to lock up even sooner. The results are erratic and frankly I am losing patience with it. I would be willing to try things more radical things if they would not cost $ or too much time.

Thanks for your help.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 10:34 am 
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As a test, not sure if it'll work, but try it without RAM in the 2 inner slots.


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