How do I run Hardware test on my 20" iMac G5?

On my older iMac FP G4, it came with a "Hardware Test" disc. For my G5, there appear to be 2 Install disks. I want to test my RAM memory.

Please advise.

Thanks

iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3, Mac OS X (10.6.5), - 20" iMac G5 (iSight) - 17" iMac G4 FP - 2 iPods - iPhone 3g 16GB

Posted on Dec 13, 2010 7:32 PM

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9 replies

Dec 14, 2010 6:47 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

If the Hardware test is on your second disc, boot from it holding down the D key.

If it's on the first disc, use the instructions below. In either case remove all peripherals


Disconnect all external devices from your computer except the keyboard and mouse. If you have an Ethernet cable connected, disconnect it.
Insert the Mac OS X Install Disc 1 that came with your computer.
Restart your computer and hold down the Option key as it starts up.
Click Apple Hardware Test when the list of available startup volumes appears.
Click the right arrow.
When the Apple Hardware Test main screen appears (after about 45 seconds), follow the onscreen instructions.
If Apple Hardware Test detects a problem, it displays an error code. Make a note of the error code before pursuing support options. If Apple Hardware Test does not detect a hardware failure, the problem may be software-related.




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Dec 14, 2010 9:39 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

want to check memory prior to starting an Install of 10.5.

Do you just want to know how much memory you have, or do you want to actually test the RAM?

I don't think I have ever actually tested RAM (nor read about anybody who has) before installing an OS. I doubt installing an OS is going to discover anything you wouldn't already have encountered, unless you've been running System 7 on a computer with 16 GB RAM. 🙂

[http://guides.macrumors.com/Testing_RAM]

There's pre-Leopard versions of Rember at [http://www.kelleycomputing.net/rember>

Dec 14, 2010 10:09 AM in response to Limnos

Limnos wrote:
Do you just want to know how much memory you have, or do you want to actually test the RAM?


I can figure that out using About Mac. Normally I wouldn't bother doing any HW tests before upgrading, but I tried upgrading an older iMac FP G4 (as a test) and it failed with an error The installer could not validate the contents of the "BaseSystem" package. The problem turned out to be a RAM error. It left my machine in a shell prompt and I had to re-install Tiger to get things back. I'm trying to avoid that on my iMac G5. That's why I want to first test the memory.

There's pre-Leopard versions of Rember at [ http://www.kelleycomputing.net/rember >


I will check that out. Funny thing, when I ran the hw tests on the G4 using Tech Tools Deluxe, there were no errors found. Booting up in the HW test CD, found the error right away... That's why I'm looking for an Apple HW test on the original install discs.

Thanks for the suggestions...

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How do I run Hardware test on my 20" iMac G5?

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