[Keith Wicks]

I note that one suggestion from LaCie Support was to try a different power supply. You report that this resulted in no change.

As I wrote in this forum on Mar 12, 2011 (Re: LaCie drive won’t stay mounted / Error copying files), PSU problems are common with some LaCie drives. Even the PSUs supplied with LaCie drives may not be able to provide sufficient peak current.

So if you just tried another PSU of the same type, try powering instead from a heavy duty model. I used a PSU from an old computer to power my LaCie drives and all the problems disappeared.

If this does not work, some of the other comments in the March 2011 discussion might prove useful.

Keith Wicks

[Keith Wicks]

Does the question mark eventually disappear, or does the G5 remain in that state?
If you can’t get past the question mark, then reinstall the operating system (while retaining all the other items on the hard drive).

If the question mark disappears after a while and the G5 then boots, you could try to speed up the G5. Download the free utility AppleJack from

https://sourceforge.net/projects/applejack/

This will run various tests, dump unwanted cache files and correct some problems. Just start up the G5 with Command-S pressed, type

applejack auto restart

and then press the Return key.

It’s a good idea to run AppleJack regularly – even on a Mac that appears to be working perfectly – as it can deal with problems before they cause noticeable trouble.

Another useful program for keeping the Mac in trim is Macaroni. It will run automatically to carry out daily, weekly and monthly maintenance tasks. After installation, it is recommended to “Run Job Now” to “Remove Localized Files”. This typically removes an astonishing number of unwanted foreign-language files. Over 50,000 files removed is not uncommon, and the disc space saved may be more than 1 GB.

Removing unnecessary files should speed up operations, but defragmentation may further improve matters. Disc maintenance software is available to do this, or you could use backup software to backup your hard drive and then use the same software to reinstate the files on the hard drive. This will result in the files being stored in an orderly fashion, rather than as fragments scattered over various parts of the hard drive.

Keith Wicks

[Keith Wicks]

Like others, I suspect a power supply problem. Although the current taken by a hard drive might be moderate during use, some drives take heavy current pulses for a brief period after switch-on. These pulses may be several times the advertised current requirement, and some PSUs – even the ones sold with the drives – just can’t tolerate this for long. Some users have had a succession of failures of the specified PSUs, especially ones supplied for use with LaCie drives.

I have an external LaCie dual hard drive enclosure that was thrown out by a design company, presumably because of apparent failure. No PSU came with the enclosure. I connected one that I thought would be OK, but the LaCie unit refused to power up. I found that high current pulses taken by the two hard drives at switch-on were causing the PSU to shut down. So then I substituted a heavy duty PSU from an old computer, and the drives have worked perfectly ever since. Alternatively, you might provide power from an unused connector inside your main computer.

Some failed PSUs provide about the right voltages when on no load, so check voltages using dummy loads or with the disk unit attached. And check the manufacturer’s data on the hard drives to see what current to expect at startup.

For example, the Barracuda 7200.10 SATA Product Manual shows that their 500 GB drives takes a typical peak current of 2.8 A from the 12 V supply for a few seconds during spinup – nearly 4 times the current taken during normal operations. So that’s a peak current of 5.6 A for a twin drive unit. And the enclosure’s electronics need current too.

Keith Wicks