Forums | MacLife

VegasACF · 2008-02-23 9:18 am

Greetings,

My Dad's G4 (model M8570) went to sleep as ordered on Thursday night. On Friday morning it was not turned on. And it would not turn on.

My first thought was to reset the PMU. Did so, in compliance with Apple's instructions. Nothing. So I wondered if the battery was dead. Got a replacement. Followed replacement procedure. Nothing.

I also tried resetting the lone PCI card in it. Nothing. I also tried it with various configurations of the RAM that was in it. Nothing.

I'm thinking maybe the power supply has died. Is this a correct assumption?

If so, my only recourse is to take it into the shop, right? My Dad knows next to nothing about computers, so this has fallen to me to repair. I'm hoping I can just convince him to go out and get a new iMac, as that would more than fulfill his meager computing needs. Either that or a mini, since he already has keyboard, mouse and monitor.

Any thoughts on anything else I could check before undertaking repair or replacement? Thanks in advance.

adamjg · 2008-02-23 10:14 am

Have you tried pressing the INTERNAL buttons also? There should be a CUDA (round button) and maybe an internal power button too. try that for a few seconds.

VegasACF · 2008-02-23 12:06 pm

adamjg wrote:
Have you tried pressing the INTERNAL buttons also? There should be a CUDA (round button) and maybe an internal power button too. try that for a few seconds.

I should have been more clear, and for that I apologize. This computer will not even blink at you when you depress the power button on its face. Ergo, the only means of resetting the PMU is by depressing the CUDA reset button (though it's merely labelled "PMU Reset" on the motherboard). Depressing any combinations of keys on the keyboard does nothing when the computer doesn't let you get that far!

If only it would...

*sigh*

Thanks for the suggestion. I again apologize for not having made it more clear that I had already done what was suggested, as that was the only option that presented itself.

pottymouth · 2008-02-23 12:40 pm

Sounds like a bad power supply but I'd test the actual power outlet before going any farther.

VegasACF · 2008-02-23 1:21 pm

Yeah, did that too. And then tested both the batteries (the old one and the new one). Both read 3.59 to 3.63 volts.

I'm thinking power supply. Drat. Any ideas what that'll cost to replace (before I pay a bench fee)? If it's exorbitant, I can likely convince him to get an iMac and not have to worry about all this stuff. Then I can scavenge the dead computer for parts for my old MDD Mac, whenever the need arises.

adamjg · 2008-02-23 1:39 pm

Sometimes I've been able to get a dysfunctional Mac working by pressing and holding the internal Power button and Reset buttons, when the external buttons (front panel and keyboard) don't work.

Freakout Jackson · 2008-02-23 2:08 pm

I'll put 2¢ in here but I wouldn't put a penny in a G4

adamjg · 2008-02-23 10:33 pm

apple power supplies can be pricey to replace; check ebay. Which model is it BTW?

VegasACF · 2008-02-23 11:29 pm

adamjg wrote:
apple power supplies can be pricey to replace; check ebay. Which model is it BTW?

VegasACF wrote:
My Dad's G4 (model M8570)...

Freakout Jackson wrote:
I'll put 2¢ in here but I wouldn't put a penny in a G4

In this case, I wouldn't either.

However, in my personal case with my MDD G4 (which, God willing, is a loooooong time off), where I've got tens of thousands invested in a Pro Tools system (hard and software) that won't work in OS X, I'll do whatever I must to keep it running (unless the cost approaches replacement of everything I've got running therein). Even an antiquated TDM system such as mine will run circles around a native system, and I can't even begin to be able to justify the expense of a Pro Tools | HD system. Recording is a hobby now. I can't see spending that much money on a hobby, at least as an employee of the State.

I am going to try to convince him to get an iMac or a mini. Either would more than suffice, given his needs. I reckon the mini would cost less than repair would.

ScifiterX · 2008-02-23 11:47 pm

My C2D Mini's a real champ. The other day I gave it a decent workout (Surfing & chatting while downloading one anime fansub using azureus, ripping a MKV fansub to AVI, and transcoding a xvid AVI which was acting touchy in my DivX player to DivX) and it hit all of 90% processor load and it had finished 2 out of 3 of those more intensive tasks within about 20-30 minutes

dv · 2008-02-24 1:21 am

A quick look at eBay would seem to indicate you can get a new power supply for 1/4th what a mini would cost you.

As much as I love my G4 mini, (and an intel mini would just be obscenely awesome by comparison) I think that might be a better option - at least if it really is the power supply.

pkmgarf · 2008-02-25 1:39 pm

As a person that has sunk about $500 in upgrades into my G4, and knowing the price of G4 power supplies, you will probably be better off with a Mini or iMac. I hate to say it. I love my tower, but it just isn't very economical to fix if the power supply is bad.

user · 2008-02-25 3:02 pm

I'm puzzled....wouldn't that power supply be a fairly standard item? Is the G4 supply so oddly sized that a generic wouldn't fit?

I can see a problem with the G5s...

dv · 2008-02-25 3:15 pm

user wrote:
I'm puzzled....wouldn't that power supply be a fairly standard item? Is the G4 supply so oddly sized that a generic wouldn't fit?

I can see a problem with the G5s...

MDD G4 Power Supplies are not standard ATX units in terms of form factor. They also include a +28v line for the ADC power which an ATX unit wouldn't even have circuitry for.

dv · 2008-02-25 3:15 pm

pkmgarf wrote:
As a person that has sunk about $500 in upgrades into my G4, and knowing the price of G4 power supplies, you will probably be better off with a Mini or iMac. I hate to say it. I love my tower, but it just isn't very economical to fix if the power supply is bad.

How much do you think a power supply costs?

Freakout Jackson · 2008-02-25 3:36 pm

VegasACF wrote:
adamjg wrote:
apple power supplies can be pricey to replace; check ebay. Which model is it BTW?
VegasACF wrote:
My Dad's G4 (model M8570)...
Freakout Jackson wrote:
I'll put 2¢ in here but I wouldn't put a penny in a G4
In this case, I wouldn't either.

However, in my personal case with my MDD G4 (which, God willing, is a loooooong time off), where I've got tens of thousands invested in a Pro Tools system (hard and software) that won't work in OS X, I'll do whatever I must to keep it running (unless the cost approaches replacement of everything I've got running therein). Even an antiquated TDM system such as mine will run circles around a native system, and I can't even begin to be able to justify the expense of a Pro Tools | HD system. Recording is a hobby now. I can't see spending that much money on a hobby, at least as an employee of the State.

I am going to try to convince him to get an iMac or a mini. Either would more than suffice, given his needs. I reckon the mini would cost less than repair would.

Well sure but what you're talking about is mac as appliance. (It does pretty much 1 thing and does it so well short of hardware failure there's no need to touch it)
My brother in law runs his studio on a 400mhz G4 Pro Tools rig running OS9.
It's a fantastic rig.

Forums | MacLife

#1 2008-02-23 9:18 am

Dead G4

#2 2008-02-23 10:14 am

Re: Dead G4

#3 2008-02-23 12:06 pm

Re: Dead G4

adamjg wrote:

#4 2008-02-23 12:40 pm

Re: Dead G4

#5 2008-02-23 1:21 pm

Re: Dead G4

#6 2008-02-23 1:39 pm

Re: Dead G4

#7 2008-02-23 2:08 pm

Re: Dead G4

#8 2008-02-23 10:33 pm

Re: Dead G4

#9 2008-02-23 11:29 pm

Re: Dead G4

adamjg wrote:

VegasACF wrote:

Freakout Jackson wrote:

#10 2008-02-23 11:47 pm

Re: Dead G4

#11 2008-02-24 1:21 am

Re: Dead G4

#12 2008-02-25 1:39 pm

Re: Dead G4

#13 2008-02-25 3:02 pm

Re: Dead G4

#14 2008-02-25 3:15 pm

Re: Dead G4

user wrote:

#15 2008-02-25 3:15 pm

Re: Dead G4

pkmgarf wrote:

#16 2008-02-25 3:36 pm

Re: Dead G4

VegasACF wrote:

adamjg wrote:

VegasACF wrote:

Freakout Jackson wrote:

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