[Don Pickett]

I have a Pismo which has a 900 MHz Powerlogix processor upgrade card in it. The machine has been running pretty well, dual booting 10.4.x and Ubutu Linux. Yesterday the machine wouldn't boot: instead of the startup chime I got four beeps and a blank screen. I did some googling and found out the beeps meant that the boot ROM failed the startup test. Figuring the processor card may have gotten dislodged when I took the machine to work, I removed and reseated the card, and the machine booted. However, I rebooted today and the machine will not boot up. Just the four beeps.

For the record, the reason I got the upgrade card was because I damaged the original card trying to dry the machine out after I spilled a glass of water on it. The machine has been a little flaky since I got the upgrade card, but nothing like this. The middle row of keys on the keyboard don't work, but it works fine with an external keyboard. So. . .

1) Have I diagnosed the problem correctly?
2) If I have, is there a fix short of getting a new processor?
3) If I haven't diagnosed the problem, could this be the result of damage I did to the motherboard which has finally gotten so bad the machine won't boot?

[vinster]

I would go with #3. Since you replaced the processor card after the water spill, I doubt the processor's to blame. If you want to resurrect it, you should be able to find a new logic board relatively cheaply on eBay or a mac repair site. You might think about getting another keyboard as well to bring it back to it's full glory.

[Don Pickett]

Originally Posted by vinster

I would go with #3. Since you replaced the processor card after the water spill, I doubt the processor's to blame. If you want to resurrect it, you should be able to find a new logic board relatively cheaply on eBay or a mac repair site. You might think about getting another keyboard as well to bring it back to it's full glory.

Ah. It is a new keyboard, so I know the motherboard's a little flaky. I was hoping the answer was #2, cause that's cheaper!

[Powerbook]

Acccording to http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58183 this sounds like a ROM (a.k.a. motherboard) problem...


Regards
PB

[Don Pickett]

Originally Posted by Powerbook

Acccording to http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58183 this sounds like a ROM (a.k.a. motherboard) problem...


Regards
PB

So please answer me a dumb question: is the boot ROM on the logic board or on the daughter card which holds the processor. In other words, which do I replace to hopefully fix the problem?

[vinster]

Originally Posted by Don Pickett

So please answer me a dumb question: is the boot ROM on the logic board or on the daughter card which holds the processor. In other words, which do I replace to hopefully fix the problem?

Good point. The pismo's ROM chip is on the daughtercard. That's why they had to be sent in when the G4 upgrade program was announced back in 2003. Powerlogix did not have access to the proprietary ROM to manufacture their own daughtercards.

[Don Pickett]

Originally Posted by vinster

Good point. The pismo's ROM chip is on the daughtercard. That's why they had to be sent in when the G4 upgrade program was announced back in 2003. Powerlogix did not have access to the proprietary ROM to manufacture their own daughtercards.

Thanks. Looking for Pismo daughtercards on eBay. . .