PowerMac G4 takes forever to boot...

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Level 1

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PowerMac G4 takes forever to boot...

My Mac G4 is taking an insufferably long time to boot up at start-up. The white screen with the grey apple and spinning loading icon and then the blue screen both last way longer than they should. The problem started yesterday. I tried solving it by reinstalling Leopard again and reinstalling all the updates to the apps as that had fixed a similar problem in the past. Other than that the computer has not been upgraded or new software added in any way. I've only visited the same websites that I always do and no other applications have been affected. The computer will boot up eventually, but it's taking an unusually long time to do it. Any suggestions? I'm at the end of my rope trying to figure out a problem that manifested itself without any evident cause.

Power Mac PC G4, Mac OS X (10.5.6), Dual 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 1 GB Memory

Posted on May 11, 2009 11:17 PM

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Answer 1

May 12, 2009 12:09 AM in response to sikth81

Hi! I would unhook any external devices to rule them out first. An external hard drive will often slow the process dramatically especially if it is having drive problems. If that's not the case I'd be concerned with the hard drive. Did you zero the drive to lock out any bad blocks before the new install? Tom

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Answer 2

sikth81 Author

Level 1

10 points

May 12, 2009 7:15 AM in response to sikth81

I read somewhere about doing something as simple as unhooking the power cord from the outlet and, lo and behold, I did that this morning before I left and now the computer is back to it's normal start-up. I don't get it. My computer is like the turtle whose on his shell and manages to right itself: rarely will I have a problem, but they don't seem to last past a day.

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Answer 3

May 12, 2009 9:32 AM in response to sikth81

That solution often points to a failing PRAM Backup battery, the small 1/2-AA size 3.6 Volt battery that maintains your configuration information. Pulling the AC power cord with a dead battery does a reset, because the "always-on" trickle power is interrupted.

Replacement batteries can be had from online dealers for as little as US$8 delivered, or from Radio Shack for US$20.

After you replace the battery, be sure to do a Reset, and don't forget to set the Startup Disk again.

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Answer 4

May 12, 2009 10:02 AM in response to sikth81

Check this site for battery part numbers and sources. Mac PRAM, NVRAM, CUDA/PMU & Battery Tutorial

 Cheers, Tom 😉

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