Can’t boot no matter what!

[13]

[Randall M] “Can anyone tell me what this means? Bad power supply? Logic Board? Or is it time to move on to the G5?”

it sound like it is probably the logic board, will it let you boot from your install disk?

As far as moving to a G5, even they are old now. Apple has not made a G5 for quite some time, Apple is now using Intel processors. Look into the Mac Pro.

[Randall M]

Thanks for replying. I haven’t gone back yet to the original G4 install disk but will try that today. I’ve tried Panther 10.3 and Diskwarrior for osx, as well as tech tool platinum cds but they get about 15 seconds into their process and simply kill the machine.

I did remember the last thing I installed about a week ago was a new 3.6V motherboard battery- which by the way I was having to replace about every 6 months.

I have priced a new mac pro and will go that route if needed, but I’d just like to solve this head scratcher first.

Thanks again for your suggestion.

Randall

[13]

Because it will not boot from any of those other disks it sounds like it is most likely the logic board. To be sure you will need to have it looked at by a genius at the apple store.

[Chuck Reti]

[Randall M] “I did remember the last thing I installed about a week ago was a new 3.6V motherboard battery- which by the way I was having to replace about every 6 months.”

It’s pretty easy to put the battery in the wrong way. Have you checked that as well?
Your battery should not have faililng that frequently. Two to three years is a typical span. Were you unplugging the computer or switching off its AC supply after shutting down? This will cause the life to be sucked out of the logic board batteries.
Have you tried resetting the PMU after the battery replacement – there’s a sequence to doing it right; some other learned person here will have to chime in.

[Randall M]

Thanks Chuck for your feedback as well. Yeah I checked the battery position, and it’s correct. I have had the mac plugged in to a surge protector that does have consistent power throughput- even after turned off- on a couple of outlets. The motherboard battery life very well could have been affected by these outlets.

This evening I tried booting up while holding down apple/option and the O & F keys to reset the firmware, but after accepting the command to reset all, the machine simply gave up powering the ADC connected apple cinema display, as well as the USB keyboard/mouse.

I’m becoming more convinced this is a logic board failure. What a mess.

Debating on buying a duplicate machine to rob parts from or just taking the plunge on a Mac Pro.

[Rich Rubasch]

If budget is your concern there are a few decent G5s out there and they can run the latest. I just bought a Dual 2.7 gig G5 and we are editing HD on it just fine….Final Cut Studio 2 and Adobe CS3. I had a dual 800 do a similar thing last year….really hurt because it was a workhorse for so long. I still run a Dual 1 gig G4 as a print station for making DVD labels etc, and a G4 400 that is souped up with a 1.4 gigahertz processor upgrade that I use at home…I also have a MacBookPro, so I do have some new hardware!

I don’t think I would go the parts route however…if you have some experience with ebay, I would try to sell some of your parts, like RAM, and the power supply if you can verify it is working well. Even the case, if it is in good condition will fetch some money.

Good luck.

Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media