[TATungseth]

If anyone knows what the problem could be here, PLEASE help me with this one.

I finally talked my father in law -- a long-time PC user -- into upgrading to a Mac. A bit reluctant, but after promising to take care of any problems that it may have, I finally got him to get a G4/450.

The machine has worked wonderfully for a week now. Then, just today, it started doing something that I've never seen before. After being shut down for perhaps 15 - 30 seconds, it SPONTANEOUSLY comes back to life. It does this 100% of the time. The darn thing just won't stay shut off.

Other than that, it works great. It has none of the other power problems that I've seen reported, such as not waking from sleep, etc. It's the strangest thing to watch. It will be off, and when you go to leave the room, you'll hear the chime and see it starting up.

I've been on Macs for quite a while, but this is a new one to me. I've checked the obvious, like the sleeping settings, automatic wakeup times, etc. Nothing is unusual there.

The only thing that has changed is that we spent the afternoon fiddling with dialup and DSL internet settings. They now work fine, but I can't think of any connection there. But nothing was installed, nothing major was changed, etc.

Thanks! My father in law is getting new computer jitters, and has mentioned sending the thing back, as a $2,500 machine that is acting quirky out of the box is a bad omen. And I'd hate to lose a new convert to Mac back to the wintel world. . . .

[P]

Try resetting the PRAM by holding command-option-P-R just when you start the machine. You will now hear the startup sound several times - release the keys when you've heard it a few times.

You might also try Techtool, free from http://www.micromat.com/ , which does the same thing from the desktop.

[Damien]

Do you have a PaperPort on this machine?

There is a known problem with the PaperPort and the G4. If you plug the PaperPort (USB) directly into the CPU, it will cause this behavior. If you plug it into the keyboard, the problem goes away.

You can also try resetting the logic board. If you need directions on doing this, email me.

------------------
Damien Barrett
http://www.mrbarrett.com

[dlindsay17]

I wonder if there could be a fault in the keyboard (if you are using the Apple keyboard) that would send teh signal to startup the computer. Just a guess, but if you could switch the keyboards on the machine, that would test this teory out.
PRAM is a good thing to zap also...

There is a known problem with the Apple 21" Studio Displays where it will restart your machine. If you are using one of these monitors try a different monitor on the system to see if that is the problem. If it is the known workaround are making the USB go through a hub or the keyboard. It is very similar to this problem in the apple Til: http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n58214

[This message has been edited by wlonh (edited 05-19-2000).]

You don't by chance have an iMate (a USB to ADB adapter)? I noticed that as soon as I had that plugged in the machine would reboot after I told it to shut down. If I unplugged it before shutting down, it would shut down just fine. The funny thing is, that if I wanted to turn the machine on, I can just plug it in.

Kind of wierd, but if you have one of these, that may be your problem. I needed one because I had a couple ADB Dongles for ElectricImage and FormZ I had to use until I got the USB replacements.

Good luck.

Cameron Gull
Computer Animator
SeraNova, Inc.

For what it's worth: I had a similar problem with my iMac DV. I had been starting it up with the button on the keyboard without difficulties. Then after I started using the button on the monitor, the machine began turning itself on and off spontaneously. Someone suggested that the start button itself was the culprit. On examining it, I found it was not sitting straight in its hole. I straightened it out as best as I could (with the machine disconnected) and went back to using the keyboard button. Voila! No more problems with a machine leading a life of its own.

[Forbodium]

Congratulations clgraves, on being the the first person to spell "voila" correctly on the entire internet.

Try unplugging the keyboard after shutdown. I have the SAME problem with a new G4/400 with a MacAlly iKey keyboard. If I unplug the iKey keyboard, the computer will stay shut down.

Where I work we have a bunch of these keyboards and, IMHO, they're junk. They suffer problems ranging from rows of keys no longer functioning, dropping the mouse connection, auto-restarting computers, etc., and it's getting tiring. I hope their "fix" they're saying is now due in July will fix all this, or else we're demanding money back and going with someone elses keyboards.

I don't think this is a bug at all. I had a similar issue with a Quadra (remember those?). It had a switch (more like a button that could be turned and locked "on") on the back that was for "auto restart after power failure" it also had similar poltergeist behavior as described.

Though I am unfamiliar with the G4, I'd imagine there is something similar on the back [for server use.] If not look for a software based "switch" that performs the same function. Good luck.

I had a very similar problem with an iMacDV SE, a Macally keyboard, and a USB Zip drive connected through the keyboard. When I shut the computer down, within a few seconds it would spring back to life. I stopped it by either unpluging the Zip's power supply or by connecting the Zip's USB cable directly to the computer instead of going through the keyboard. Do you have anything connected to your keyboard's USB port?

Originally posted by matt poje:
[...] I had a similar issue with a Quadra [which] had a switch on the back that [could also produce a] similar poltergeist behavior as described.

[...] I'd imagine there is something similar on the back [of G4's]. If not look for a software based "switch" that performs the same function. Good luck.

No such physical switch on G4's. But, it's not a bad thought. Try looking at your Energy Saver settings again. The "Server Settings" menu option (I think that's the name) has an option for "auto restart after power failure". It's easy to overlook it since it's not in the main interface window.

[ginoledesma]

I have the same problem/feature with an LC 575. The Mac LC 575 has a power switch at the back, but it requires the power key on the keyboard to really start-up...

I tried resetting the PRAM and it seemed to work for me. If it doesn't, then something must be sending a signal to the Mac to start it up, perhaps the keyboard. I suggest you post this in Apple's TIL. They might be able to help you. It's at http://til.info.apple.com/ .

[TATungseth]

Thanks everyone for the input! I also posted the issue on Apple's TIL discussion, and I was lucky enough to find someone who had the exact same issue.

The solution will probably make someone's head spin, but the problem occurred due to simply having the mouse plugged into the USB port on the monitor (16" flat screen, Apple) instead of on the keyboard of through a USB hub.

Now, I don't know if there is a "problem" with the mouse or with the flat monitor, but simply unplugging the mouse from the USB port in the monitor and plugging it back into the keyboard worked, and the G4 is once again happy and working perfectly.

Thanks for all of the input! Thank God I didn't have to reformat the hard drive, or even zap the PRAM, as were the most common suggestions. Also, there were no additional devices attached, so I don't know why people might think that it was a Keyspan adapter or MacAlly keyboard. It was a no-frills, out of the box G4, as I first indicated.

Thanks again for the advice, and I just wanted to post a follow-up for anyone else who may be having the same problem.