[mRacic]

Well, 2 days ago my dual 2.0 G5 died!
I had some problems during DVD burning when 2 or 3 times it happened that the machine completely froze and all the fans worked at full speed. Those "incidents" happened randomly and as I couldn't take the machine to authorized service to check it because of loads of work I had to do, one day the machine just wouldn't turn on!

Symptoms: when I turn the machine on, the fans work, DVD spins, but the keyboard and mouse are without power, so I couldn't boot the system from a DVD or go into target mode to retreive data from the hard drive.

Authorized service dept hooked some diagnostics tools and said that it's either motherboard or one of the cpus that's broke... they'll know more on Monday!

Anyone had similar problems or has anyone's G5 been sent for repairs?

I had 10.3.2 installed with firmware updated and stock 512 MB RAM.

Please comment...

[-Q-]

No problems at all with my Dual 2. Hope yours comes back good as new.

[Todd Madson]

At least yours is still under warranty (or should be). Hope it gets fixed soon.

[i_wolf]

no probs with ours. agains sorry to hear your trouble. hope it comes back good as new

[driven]

At least it died in it's sleep without pain. That's all any of us can hope for.

[glyph]

i bought a new dual 1.8 g5 with similar problems.

right out of the box, my video cards blue channel was inoperative....was replaced.....it worked fine for the evening that i brought it home....the next day, the box wouldn't power up. it just turned the fans on and as time went by the fans powered up until they were going full speed. i took it back and it turned out that the logic board was fried.

it seems to be working fine now. the technitian put the machine through a series of tests, so i hope this is the last of my troubles.

[mRacic]

Well, finally they diagnosed what was wrong - they SUPPOSE it's motherboard so they'll replace it. The problem is that I live in Croatia and it's a big problem to get some decent service done here, despite the authorized resellers and service!

Who knows, maybe they'll send the machine to The Netherlands into central Apple European Service... :-(

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by Todd Madson:
At least yours is still under warranty (or should be). Hope it gets fixed soon.

How could it NOT be under warranty?!!

[Hemi425]

Case modding voids most warrenties.

Sounds like a MB to me.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by Hemi425:
Case modding voids most warrenties.

I hear taking it in the shower does also!

[mRacic]

G5 dualie was repaired on Monday - they replaced the motherboard and now everything works fine, except for those damn noises! Chirping and full-speed fan blowing occasionally... :-(

[Mike Pither]

If the machine has to go to the Netherlands it's not necessarily a disaster. I had a problem with my powerbook here in Italy. UPS picked it up Tuesday, Wednesday morning the repair centre had, in the Afternoon they had fixed and sent it back. 3pm Thursday and I had my pb back and fixed with a new logic board.

[opheim]

AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh......

Ok, after a 6 week wait, I finally got my G5 on tuesday. On the first boot, it kinda froze on the white-screen-with-apple-logo, and all the fans went into turbo-mode and started sounding like a rather big airplane... Well, I reset the computer, and it booted just fine. Installed all the software I needed and copied all my stuff into the computer.

Since then, the computer has been on, only interrupted by a couple of reboots after certain installations and system updates.

So on friday, I switched the computer off for the first time, in order to watch a movie (my fiance doesn't fancy any noice in the living room...). The weather seemed to get out of hand, so I also pulled out all the plugs and powercords for the entire "office" (a couple of computers, monitors, printers and stuff). I put the stuff back in yesterday evening, in order to get my wlan up and running again.

This morning, I pushed the power button of the G5. The result was a small clicking-sound, like some sort of "power relay" or something, and then a small "poff", followed by the smell of something burnt inside the G5... When pushing the power-button, a small red light comes on at the motherboard just behind the power switch. The smell seems to come from underneath one of the heatsinks. (It's a dual 2ghz)

Needless to say, it has not booted since...

Anyone have any bright ideas? Should I take it back to the dealer, or just call Apple and send it on its way? Also, I have some sensitive data on the hard drive, would Apple care if I just pulled out the hard drive before delivering the computer?

[rhogue islander]

My guess is that something in the power supply blew. It is located below the horizontal divider underneath the cpu heatsinks.

You've already been through too much trouble. It's time to call Apple and insist on a new machine, firmly but politely. So far you've had nothing but grief.

Just out of curiosity, are you using an uninterruptible power supply or power conditioner with your G5? If not, you should really consider getting one.

[opheim]

Originally posted by rhogue islander:
My guess is that something in the power supply blew. It is located below the horizontal divider underneath the cpu heatsinks.

Ok, should I take a look at it, or just leave it alone? If so, how do I take the box apart?

You've already been through too much trouble. It's time to call Apple and insist on a new machine, firmly but politely. So far you've had nothing but grief.

Well, I haven't really had that much trouble, since I technically haven't had the opportunity since the dealer spent 6 weeks delivering the computer...

Just out of curiosity, are you using an uninterruptible power supply or power conditioner with your G5? If not, you should really consider getting one.

I haven't used it so far, but I do have a 500VA UPS sitting beneath my desk. It isn't Apple-compatible (using a RS232 connector for controlling it), but I can always use it just as a conditioner, I guess...

A couple of years ago I did a lot of PC repair work at a shop I used to work for, and if I didn't know better, I'd say this was a case of power-variation. (I don't know the correct word in english, but you know the problem with lightnings and stuff... ) But since I took extra care and pulled all the plugs and stuff, there is just no way that would have caused it...

When I get the computer fixed, I'll use the UPS just in case...

[rhogue islander]

I remember seeing instructions on how to remove the power supply from a G5 (without pictures, unfortunately) but I can't remember where. Try doing a search of these forums and also go to www.xlr8yourmac.com They may have an article there on how to do it (many useful user articles on that site). It is rather involved, in that you'll have to remove the cpu heatsinks in order to do it.

Since you have previous experience doing computer repairs, you may be able to talk Apple into sending you a new power supply. I know that others have done so, after complaining about fan noise, etc, from their dual power supplies.

Personally, I would make the pitch for a whole new machine to Apple directly. I bet they could get you a new one very quickly.

I would most definitely utilise that UPS sitting under your desk. They do an excellent job of delivering steady voltage to your computer.

[Yose]

Originally posted by rhogue islander:

Personally, I would make the pitch for a whole new machine to Apple directly. I bet they could get you a new one very quickly.

That's not going to happen. Best bet is to take it back to the dealer who might swap it for a machine they have in stock and then just have that machine repaired. In Canada Apple won't replace broken machines, it's policy to have them repaired until they work... and if a problem keeps arising after 3 or 4 attempts Apple **might** be open to replacing the unit.

Service Tech's don't usually care what is on a drive Opheim; if replacing a powersupply all they will do is power it up, give it a nod and maybe let it sit on for 12 hours.. etc.

[opheim]

Originally posted by Yose:
Service Tech's don't usually care what is on a drive Opheim; if replacing a powersupply all they will do is power it up, give it a nod and maybe let it sit on for 12 hours.. etc.

I know, but better safe than sorry, right... Back when I did repairs on PC's, we often got cases where lawyers and similar came in with their laptops, and we had to disassemble them and take out the harddrives before they would let them out of their sight...

I was more concerned that if they swapped the computer, I wouldn't mind hanging on to my drive just to spare me the trouble of reinstalling everything... In particular all the server stuff for my web development, where I have several different local virtualhosts running of a custom Apache installation. I have a fully functional backup of the content and sql databases, but it's still a shitty job doing the installations all over again...

Well, I'll take the stiff down to the dealer in the morning and see what they say. I noticed they are also certified as apple service providers, so they might for all I know have a workshop facility down there...

I'll report back tomorrow when I know more.

[opheim]

Ok, I left the computer at my dealer, they have a certified workshop, so they took a look at it today. So far they've concluded that the PSU is history. They didn't have that in stock (gee... what a shock), but they're gonna order one in tomorrow. Afterwards, they'll test it and see if we were lucky... Personally I think the computer sounded like there was more damage than just the PSU, but alright, if so they'll probably find out eventually...

Anyway, I'm looking at a minimum of three days, if I'm lucky...

One might wonder what I have done to the universe in order to deserve this crap, but ok, I'll just have to live with it. Probably some planets that are out of place or something...

*frustrated as hell*

[sbjordal]

Originally posted by opheim:
Ok, I left the computer at my dealer, they have a certified workshop, so they took a look at it today. So far they've concluded that the PSU is history. They didn't have that in stock (gee... what a shock), but they're gonna order one in tomorrow. Afterwards, they'll test it and see if we were lucky... Personally I think the computer sounded like there was more damage than just the PSU, but alright, if so they'll probably find out eventually...

Anyway, I'm looking at a minimum of three days, if I'm lucky...

One might wonder what I have done to the universe in order to deserve this crap, but ok, I'll just have to live with it. Probably some planets that are out of place or something...

*frustrated as hell*

Parts are overnighted, so it should be in first thing tmw. Call Officeline and get a statuscheck. What concerns me is the red light on the motherboard. It should be green to pass POST if your mobo was ok. IM me and Ill send you the take-apart manual.

[opheim]

Originally posted by sbjordal:
Parts are overnighted, so it should be in first thing tmw. Call Officeline and get a statuscheck. What concerns me is the red light on the motherboard. It should be green to pass POST if your mobo was ok. IM me and Ill send you the take-apart manual.

If overnighted, the PSU should be there on wednesday I guess. The red light is definately not a good sign, but I'm guessing it never has time to turn green, since the PSU is busted anyway.

Personally, based on sound, smell, visual inspection and relatively long pc-repair experience, my guess is a busted PSU, MoBo and at least one of the CPU's. But hey, that's just me... Frankly, as long as the harddrive is intact, I don't give a crap. I just want a working computer...

I'm not unrealistic though... Or unfair... I'll give them until the end of the week before nagging the hell out of them...


By the way, anyone know of a OSX supported UPS with 220-240V that can run the dual G5 and two Samsung flat screens for at least 10 minutes, and then shutting them down gracefully? And that also takes care of power conditioning?

[djohnson]

I am guessing you need 230V input. I couldnt find anything on APC's website. I did find this: http://www.apcc.com/resource/include...basket=4605,3c But it is 120V. Hope this helps!

Oh here is the selector page: http://www.apcc.com/template/size/ap...pe=workstation

[Maharaja]

Originally posted by mRacic:
Well, 2 days ago my dual 2.0 G5 died!
I had some problems during DVD burning when 2 or 3 times it happened that the machine completely froze and all the fans worked at full speed. Those "incidents" happened randomly and as I couldn't take the machine to authorized service to check it because of loads of work I had to do, one day the machine just wouldn't turn on!

Symptoms: when I turn the machine on, the fans work, DVD spins, but the keyboard and mouse are without power, so I couldn't boot the system from a DVD or go into target mode to retreive data from the hard drive.

Authorized service dept hooked some diagnostics tools and said that it's either motherboard or one of the cpus that's broke... they'll know more on Monday!

Anyone had similar problems or has anyone's G5 been sent for repairs?

I had 10.3.2 installed with firmware updated and stock 512 MB RAM.

Please comment...

I encountered this one aswell twice on my G5 dual 2.0G. When it happened, my G5 became a wind blower machine and i restarted my computer (powerbutton) and so far it runs OK. So it is really a hardware error? Should i send in mine for a check up??

[opheim]

Quick update; The workshop now concluded the MoBo had seen better days... New MoBo ordered today, should be there tomorrow...

...to be continued...

[freakboy2]

EDIT: I guess i should read the whole thread...

did you have a good quality power strip or UPS? If I were you i'd invest in one, just to save the headache.

it's possible that the G5 uses enough juice that you're not getting an even flow over your lines and a UPS might help save your hardware down the line.

just my .02$

fb2

[jbob]

My PBG4 power supply died 7 days out of warranty, apparently due to not getting 'clean' power. I read up on power supplies failing ...

Computers draw lots of power .. if they are on powerstrips, you can damage the power supply module over a period as the unit tries to deal with fluctuations etc

My advice to anyone with a PBG4 or any other Mac is to avoid multiplugs

[jagededge]

I had a problem with my Dual 1.8GHz G5. Fans would blow at full speed, and then it would just freeze. Turns out the CPUs were bad. They're replaced now and it's fine.

[Alex Dawson]

The G5's have protections built in to stop the CPU's frying.

The motherboard polls the operating system to see how fast the fans should be running. If it can't talk to the operating system, it runs them at full speed.

So if it crashes, they run at full speed.. also if the G5 is running Linux, they run at full speed. I think it's a reasonable trade-off

[heavyboots]

The first G5 2x2ghz I received was DOA. Install RAM in any other slot and it would all go boom... including the RAM that came with the machine. After that experience, I would sort of recommend trying a pair of known good RAM chips for a couple of Hardware Test cycles in each of the pair slots just to make sure you're not going to get an unpleasant surprise down the road.

Luckily, I had bought it from the Developer store and called them within an hour of receiving the machine via FedEx. They were very solicitous and overnighted me a new machine immediately. (That was a pleasant surprise!)

The new one has worked flawlessly with two exceptions. It took my RAM vendor a couple tries to get me compatible RAM--basically he got me working stuff after I read him all the numbers for Apple's factory RAM from Hardware Profiler.

Secondly, the Ethernet port is a bit twitchy on this box. If you bump the cable, you may get a network disconnect. But an unplug/replug always resolves the issue, so I haven't felt like taking it in for service yet.

As with *any* machine running OS X, if you're getting kernel panics or total machine comas (where the fans accelerate to full honk) on a G5, you're probably experiencing some form of hardware trouble. 10.3 also seems to have uncovered some vulnerabilities in hardware that previously seemed to work well.

My home G4 has a GigaDesigns accelerator that I had overclocked from 1.25ghz to 1.33ghz. After installing 10.3, I noticed apps crashing randomly with something about "buckets" always popping up in the crash log. Finally decided to see if it was overclock related and sure enough, after stepping the chip back down to 1.25ghz, I haven't had a single random crash in months.

[olePigeon]

And the moral of the story is?

Wait for Rev B before purchasing a new product.

[pooka]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
And the moral of the story is?

Wait for Rev B before purchasing a new product.

Gawd, listen to this man. We're on G5 number freakin' 3 since last Thursday. 2 dual 1.8s have died so far. Picked up another dual 2.0 this evening. We're going to wait till morning to fire it up. Going to stop on my way to the office and pick up a few nuns to be present during the boot sequence.

[bojangles]

When pushing the power-button, a small red light comes on at the motherboard just behind the power switch.

If I remember correctly, that red light means your Mac doesn�t think the air deflector shield (the clear panel behind the outer, right-side panel) is in place. I discussed this in another thread several months ago.

That having been said, your problem seems more severe than mine was.

[squalls]

Originally posted by pooka:
Gawd, listen to this man. We're on G5 number freakin' 3 since last Thursday. 2 dual 1.8s have died so far. Picked up another dual 2.0 this evening. We're going to wait till morning to fire it up. Going to stop on my way to the office and pick up a few nuns to be present during the boot sequence.

I'm with that guy. Get a rev B. I work on these boxes day in day out. If you use a computer for "serious" production...do not ever get a rev a..always be patient and wait for the second rev..it's only logical..

[ericdano]

Originally posted by squalls:
I'm with that guy. Get a rev B. I work on these boxes day in day out. If you use a computer for "serious" production...do not ever get a rev a..always be patient and wait for the second rev..it's only logical..

So, that being said, what about the last revisions of the G4 Powermacs? Are those good to get? I'm serious about getting a new G4 or G5 for some audio production. Apple has Dual 1.8 G5s refurbished for $1699. I bought a G4 Cube this way and the thing has been solid. So, should one wait for Rev B? Or get a refurbished G5 or get a last revision G4 power mac?

I'm confused.....:-)

[mobiusxtal]

One of the best UPS makers in business (use them for my more sensitive low-amp home theater components) is Tripp-Lite; 220V UPS/Conditioners *and* a dealer in Zagreb:

http://www.tripplite.com/worldwide

The only problem I see for you is that they do not appear to have updated the 220V models with USB connections; their site still brags of their DB9 connectors; I see no reason why a passive DB9-USB adapter should not work, as certainly the UPS does not draw its power from the serial line.

Their configurator recommends at least a 500VA supply for a 10-minute safe full-load run time with a dual-monitor G4 (G5 not listed); I'd go a step or two higher, but think their endurance quote is more believable than the more consumer-oriented APC, etc.

Tell us how things turn out, and good luck!\

(waiting for 2.6GHZ G5-dual and 30" LCD said to be released "any day now"...800MHZ-upgraded G3 getting awfully long in the tooth!)

[gurman]

We have two 2 x 2 GHz G5's and a single-CPU 1.8 at work. The 2 x 2's have been trouble-free so far, but about 5 weeks ago, the nVidia video card in the 1.8 went haywire (bizarre, colored patterns). We brought it to the local Apple Store after AppleCare phone support tried troubleshooting and said, "Take it to an authorized service dealer." It's been fine since we got it back, though we had to wait over two weeks (admittedly, over the holidays) for the card swap.

[h_m_c]

ok.... THE G5 EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR:javascript:smilie('')

rev C in this case... I heard from someone very credible.... and anyone who buys anything rev a or b will always be SLAMMED by a rev C machine!

oh well - you bet I will be waiting patiently! A dual 3.0 G5!!!! oh yeah!


also the that lightning thingy someone brought up.... the word is Voltage SPIKE.... very very dangerous!! only a fuse can prevent that!!javascript:smilie('')

Power Surge lasts for more that a few miliseconds.... critical times!

ENOUGH SAID!

[bryanrowland]

I unpacked my brand new Dual 2g G5 less than a week ago. Yesterday it froze up & when I tried to reboot it would now restart. After calling apple they said I had to take it to get fixed. Drives me crazy. My Dual 1.24 G4 just crapped out on me a few weeks ago...

[squalls]

Originally posted by ericdano:
So, that being said, what about the last revisions of the G4 Powermacs? Are those good to get? I'm serious about getting a new G4 or G5 for some audio production. Apple has Dual 1.8 G5s refurbished for $1699. I bought a G4 Cube this way and the thing has been solid. So, should one wait for Rev B? Or get a refurbished G5 or get a last revision G4 power mac?

I'm confused.....:-)

The last rev G4's are excellent DP 1.42 as well as the 1.25s...if needed asap..I would go with G4 DP 1.42. If you can wait...a rev b anouncement has to be right around the corner...of course with the usual 6-8 week ship time. Hope that helps.

[spirochete]

Hi m8s......

Just for completeness - EXACTLY the same story - occasional freezes, fans running flat out - more and more restarts -and today?????? - it dropped dead!

Something is in point of fact still alive because touching the power on on the flat screen gets a response for 2 or 3 secs and then the light goes out.

fans tick over slowly but build slowly up to flat out over 2 or 3 minutes.

This one is only 3 weeks old and I doubt if its got more than 30 hours on it.

Sounds / feels like a PSU problem 2 me but the dealer is getting it straight back .

It back to the single 1.8 for the time being - glad I hadn't moved it on yet!

Regards,

Spirochete

[Detrius]

Hard freezes generally mean CPU, Logic Board, or RAM. Simple enough.

The fans are software controlled, so when the software stops controlling them, they go full blast.

[misc]

What's up with Apple and their machines these days?

My 7200/90 still runs beautifully after almost ten years of dedicated service. My almost five year old iMac is good as always.

They don't make them like they used to, I guess.

[Person Man]

Originally posted by misc:
What's up with Apple and their machines these days?

My 7200/90 still runs beautifully after almost ten years of dedicated service. My almost five year old iMac is good as always.

They don't make them like they used to, I guess.

Nothing wrong with my G5, here.

There are probably more people without problems with their machines than people with problems, except that you hear more about the problems in places like this. For every person with a "problem machine" I bet you could find at least 100 others (very low estimate) WITHOUT a single problem. And this is on Revision A machines, too.