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Keda · Feb 24, 2004, 08:16 AM

I was recently given an old Beige DT, with a G3 from a B&W Mac and a Radeon running 10.2.8. Things were going fine, then last Friday, I tried to add some new components (add: 80GB ATA drive, SCSI CDRW; Remove: ATAPI CDROM). Now the machine won't boot.

I have reset the PRAM, pushed the 'reset' button on the motherboard, cursed at it, and tired booting of both OS9 and OSX CDs. The best I can get is an old-style Happy Mac for a few seconds before it reboots. This happens most consistently of an OS9 CD, but I was able to get the same result after reseting the PRAM a few times.

The 80GB ATA drive replaced a ATAPI CDROM. Since the CD was set to Master, I also set the drive to Master. The SCSI CDRW is terminated and set to 4( I think).

Any idea why this Machine won't boot? Where can I start testing?

I don't see any reason why these changes would have affected booting.

Help!

djohnson · Feb 24, 2004, 09:06 AM

Can a beige G3 work with an 80GB drive? I have a 40GB in mine.... Oh and you might want to double check the scsi termination and make sure that the IDE drive is set to master. OS X is very picky about this!

-Q- · Feb 24, 2004, 10:02 AM

Is the 80 GB ATA the only drive in the machine? If not, you might want to try setting it to slave and see what happens. And I don't think the beige can 'see' all 80 GBs on that drive but it should be able to use some of it. I always forget what the cutoff is for that particular IDE bus.

You may also want to try removing the new components one at a time and see if the machine will boot then. That might help narrow it down.

Keda · Feb 24, 2004, 10:31 AM

Thanks.

The 80GB drive is set to master (as the CDROM it replaced was) on its own ATA bus. The original 4GB HD is also set to master on the other ATA bus. As this is a revA Beige, no slave devices are supported. OSX is installed on the original 4GB unit.

The SCSI CDRW is terminated and I think its set to ID4 (not my the machine now). I have removed the new equipment, but the Mac is still dead in the water. I've worked w/Macs for a long time at home and work. I've never seen this before. Could firmware have been corrupted? Is the a way to reset this?

I'm at a loss.

-Q- · Feb 24, 2004, 11:11 AM

What happens when you press the power key? Does it try to start up at all? Could be the power supply is A) hosed or B) doesn't have enough watts to fire up two HDDs (I've only really seen that happen in PCs with cheap cases but it's a possibility). But if you've put everything back and you're getting no power, it makes me think it's the power supply. Do you have an extra power cable lying around?

You might also make sure everything is seated correctly (RAM, processor, etc.).

-Q- · Feb 24, 2004, 11:14 AM

Couple other quick thoughts:

You could remove the PRAM battery for about 5 minutes to see what happens. It could be dead/dying.

You could also press the CUDA reset switch on the mobo. That'll reset everything.

Keda · Feb 24, 2004, 11:15 AM

I held the CUDA switch for about 30 seconds. I there a procedure I could be sacrewing up in doing this?

I'll try the battery thing. too. Thanks.

-Q- · Feb 24, 2004, 11:27 AM

Originally posted by Keda:
I held the CUDA switch for about 30 seconds. I there a procedure I could be sacrewing up in doing this?

I'll try the battery thing. too. Thanks.

I've only heard rumors that if you press the CUDA switch twice within 10-15 seconds of pressing it the first time would you have any troubles. But I've never seen it actually happen.

djohnson · Feb 24, 2004, 12:23 PM

The power supply is 230W I think, no problem running the 2 HD's. I had 2HD's, zip, cdrom at once and now have 1HD, cdrw, cdrom, zip in mine. Oh and a faster cpu.

Try removing the battery. Better yet, try this. When you plug it in and hit the power button on the front of the machine, does the power supply make any noise? If not then it might be a fried ps.

Keda · Feb 24, 2004, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the replies. I won't get home tonight until after 11, so I don't think I can try anything tonight. I will as soon as I get a chance.

Keda · Feb 28, 2004, 09:21 PM

Now that the weekend has come, I've had some time to work on the Mac again. I pulled the battery and returned the machine to stock. Still no luck.

I read on another forum about using 'init-nvram' in the firm ware. Does anyone know anything about this?

Keda · Feb 28, 2004, 09:53 PM

Oh, one more thing. If I try to boot from an OS9 CD, it will get to a Happy Mac screen and then reboot. What is this? It seems that the mother boards and RAM is good or it wouldn't get this far. Why the reboot? Is there a was to reset this?

David Lee · Mar 1, 2004, 02:36 AM

Try removing one varible at a time. First unhook the SCSI completely. same problem? then the new HD, etc one by one. That should narrow the problem down a little but I woud bet it is the SCSI or the ATA controller. Try a PCI ATA 66 controller? My beige G3 has two HD, 40 and 60GB on one PCI 66 ATA Acard and nothing attached to the on-board ATA except a CDROM-CDRW drive.Works great even with Jaguar.
Good Luck