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Jadey · Apr 14, 2001, 04:06 PM

I have a PowerMac 6100 with a Sonnet G3 upgrade card in it that refuses to boot. We can't even get as far as the MacOS chime. Can't boot from any drive, or CD.

The Mac started to act flaky a couple months ago. It would disconnect from the net after about 10 minutes, then it got down to 5, then we couldn't use the net for 2 minutes on it without gettting disconnected. (Not the ISP as other machines did not get this problem) Now the machine just does not start up.

We've tried getting it to boot with and without the upgrade card.

Could this be an evil power supply problem?

Tristrami · Apr 15, 2001, 12:44 PM

I had the SAME problem installing a G3 car into my 6115 a few months ago. It worked fine w/o and then the card popped in and...nothing. No chime, no boot, nothing. I don't think it is Sonnet, per se, since I've got an upgrade 5400 L2 cache card w/no problems, and the g4 upgrade to my 7300 at work is similarly trouble-free. How much RAM do you have in? What Os are you using?

Jadey · Apr 15, 2001, 04:09 PM

It's using system 8.1 and has 24mb ram.

Tristrami · Apr 17, 2001, 02:35 PM

I would try upgrading the memory to at least 40mb and try again. Did you remove the L2 cache card? Your G3 upgrade won't work if you leave it in. Also, if you have RamDoubler, you must remove it. Hope this helps!

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PM 5400/G3 400
Performa 6116CD

Jadey · Apr 18, 2001, 09:11 PM

I don't think you understand. The computer was working- for months with the G3 upgrade. It just won't boot all of a sudden. It has nothing to do with the RAM, or the system, L2 cache (which is out) because it was all working fine before. Something else is amiss.

Apr 19, 2001, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by Jadey:
I don't think you understand. The computer was working- for months with the G3 upgrade. It just won't boot all of a sudden. It has nothing to do with the RAM, or the system, L2 cache (which is out) because it was all working fine before. Something else is amiss.

Have you checked the battery. When the 6100 clock battery expires the computer will not boot.
I also have a problem with the sonnet card as it sometimes stalls on start up. I can boot with extensions off which unfortuneately disables the upgrade card. The only sure fire way I have found that resets it is to pull the upgrade card and then plug it back in, then it boots up fine.

I hope this helps.

TheDoctor · Apr 19, 2001, 03:53 PM

Here's a quick way to tell if the battery is bad. Make sure everything is plugged in and turn on the power. Then, quickly turn the switch off and back on. This should boot it up even with a dead battery. If it does boot and the battery is dead, the date will be wrong. It'll either be a date in the 1950's or the 1980's.

Hope that helps.

Jadey · Apr 19, 2001, 10:54 PM

Yes we've already tried this. The machine has a brand new battery in it. The old one went dead about a month ago (before the no-boot problem occured).

Tristrami · Apr 26, 2001, 10:49 AM

I've never gotten my Sonnet Fortissimo nubus card to work either on my machine. I am going to upgrade the ram to 136mb (!) and see what happens. Everthing else checks out on my computer but my feeble RAM supply. The extra 128 can be had for under $100 (check ramseeker.com for more info). I will let you know what happens. Good luck in the meantime!

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PM 5400/G3 400
Performa 6116CD

Tristrami · Apr 26, 2001, 10:55 AM

Okay, I just read your "I don't think you understand reply" and you're right, I didn't. For some reason I thought you were installing the G3 card. Now that we're straight, are you sure it is the upgrade card and not something more dire? Another suggestion might be your power strip. Lately I've read a few things that suggest that interruption and fading power can wreak terrible havoc with compters, but are v. hard to detect. Perhaps an uniterruptable Power Strip is the thing. Borrow one to test from somebody or they usually are on sale at CompUSA.

Cipher13 · Apr 26, 2001, 10:59 AM

Unplug the power from the machine, totally. Take out the PRAM battery etc - leave it all out for at least an hour.

Plug it all back and power her up.

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etphonehome · May 8, 2001, 06:48 PM

I have a 6100 with an upgrade card and I have been using it for about 2 months with no battery in it. Since it doesn't start up normally, nobody else in my family can use it without me knowing about it. This is good because I have a very nosy family.

Sure, it takes longer to start up, but I'm saving about $5, plus the added security which is worth much more.

If anyone out there is worried about other people prying into private files, here's a simple solution: take out the clock battery!

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"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people?"

redeew · May 9, 2001, 12:21 AM

Have you checked out LowEndMac for info ??

Jadey · May 13, 2001, 12:40 AM

No I haven't. I will take a look there and see if there are any solutions.