JDiggyDawg

Q: Need Help! PowerMac G5 issues!!!

Hey, so I have had a lot of issues with my power mac g5. One day I was on my powermac and then it froze up and stopped working. I tried to turn it on and it started blinking 3 times, so I tried all of the suggested things to fix it but never got it to work. So I left it sitting for a couple months. And then one day i decided to try again. So I tried rearraging the RAM cards to see if there was a bad RAM port and eventually got it to run. So i did updates on it and then decided since i thought i had found the bad RAM port, i decided to arrange the rest of the RAM to make it faster. But, sadly, it went back to the 3 blinky thing. So I have tried over and over again with things and it isnt working, sometimes it blinks 3 times, sometimes it blinks 2 times. I tried resetting the PMU thing, but i pressed it more than once, which i didnt realize that you were only supposed to press it once. Now, the startup light only blinks once like every 5 seconds or so... I need to know if this is still fixable or if it is completley garbage. Also, what happens if you happen to press the PMU reset button more than once? Please, someone help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

PowerMac

Posted on May 16, 2011 7:34 AM

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Q: Need Help! PowerMac G5 issues!!!

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  • by Maik Kaune,

    Maik Kaune Maik Kaune May 16, 2011 8:14 AM in response to JDiggyDawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 16, 2011 8:14 AM in response to JDiggyDawg

    I suffer with you JdiggyGawg. Almost the same problems here: G5 DP 2x2,0 Ghz (Model Nov. 2003 with 8 RAM slots)

     

    Suddenly refuses to start, blinks 3 times. Yes, i know... 3-times should be a RAM issue. But I checked and changed the 6 RAM pairs in different configurations. First it seems to be the two 1GB pieces... and 4 older pieces were o.k.! To be sure i tried the 2 older pairs again... and guess what: No RAM is working anymore. PMU reset does not change anything. Also cleaned-up all related parts from dust. No matter which pair i try now, the startbutton blinks 3-times.

     

    PS: I remember the day I added the last pair of 1GB. I needed serveral attempts to start the G5 with the new RAM. I had to remove all of them, switched the order servearl times... and suddenly it worked for years. Thats why i think, that the machine has no "real" logic board failure. I know "him" well ;-) Any chance to re-animate it? Any other people with the same experiences?

  • by old comm guy,Helpful

    old comm guy old comm guy May 16, 2011 9:46 AM in response to JDiggyDawg
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    May 16, 2011 9:46 AM in response to JDiggyDawg

    Search the discussions for "hair dryer" for more information on this problem.

  • by Maik Kaune,

    Maik Kaune Maik Kaune May 16, 2011 10:38 AM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 16, 2011 10:38 AM in response to old comm guy

    yes, found one thread which mentioned this "heating-trick"... to be honest, my first look went to the posting date for a hint on April-Fools-day ;-) Unfortunately I was wrong. Did they do it one time? Or before every start? If it os the latter then it is not a serious option. @oldcommguy Anyway, thanks for reminding me to the topic!

  • by BDAqua,Solvedanswer

    BDAqua BDAqua May 16, 2011 11:31 AM in response to Maik Kaune
    Level 10 (123,506 points)
    May 16, 2011 11:31 AM in response to Maik Kaune

    Hair Dryer trick...

     

    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13240047#13240047

     

    Rarely one time will be  a permanent fix, mostly if heated properly it'll continue to work if you don't shut down the G5.

     

    Golytronic in Germany says they can reflow the boards with great success.

  • by JDiggyDawg,

    JDiggyDawg JDiggyDawg May 17, 2011 5:16 PM in response to JDiggyDawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 17, 2011 5:16 PM in response to JDiggyDawg

    Awesome!!!! That's insane that it actually worked! Thanks for the help!

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua May 17, 2011 5:43 PM in response to JDiggyDawg
    Level 10 (123,506 points)
    May 17, 2011 5:43 PM in response to JDiggyDawg

    Great news, thanks!