lorange

Q: Power Mac G5 dirty PSU ;-)

I recently bought a Power Mac G5 (June 2005) 2GHZ. Lovely machine. First thing I did was to dissasemble it to clean it. Well it looked lovely but I just wanted to be sure. Normally few years old computers have dirty fans,, lot of dirt here and there.

Ok I dissasembled the case ,,, that was rather easy to do and not so bad , just normal dust here and there.

Then I removed the PSU , Opened it up, and this is what I saw. HUGE amount of dust, I´m sure it would have given up sooner not later if I hadnt opened it up and cleaned it.

Here are few picts of the PSU BF and AFTER .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55033696@N02/sets/72157626310961921/detail/

a

MacPro 266, 4gb ram, DCP 30, Mac OS X (10.4.8), PowerMac 7100/66, Color Classic

Posted on Apr 5, 2011 10:52 AM

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Q: Power Mac G5 dirty PSU ;-)

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  • by The hatter,

    The hatter The hatter Apr 9, 2011 5:55 AM in response to lorange
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    Apr 9, 2011 5:55 AM in response to lorange
    Mike (Accelerateyourmac) has some early dust-filled G5 photos on the site, as well as of course leaking LCSs.

    "Impacted" comes to mind.

    Pets and carpets = lots of furrr balls where it should not be!

    Not just heat (and lack of any airflow or ventilation) causing fans to over-work (and stop working or self-destruct), what about sparking or electrical hazard?

    I'm sure Mike would be interested (if you haven't already).
    http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

    And as if I needed more chores to add to the whole "spring cleaning" ritual
  • by lorange,

    lorange lorange Apr 9, 2011 4:17 PM in response to lorange
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Apr 9, 2011 4:17 PM in response to lorange
    To clean it I used compressed air, vacum cleaner and BABYWIPES ( Yes you can laugh ) . But its what I normally use when cleaning my computers. I also have a Mac Pro that is now 5 years old, I take it totally apart once every year , clean out the dust ( also the psu ) and put a new thermal paste on on the CPU and the GPU ( there I use Propanol or Alcohol ) . It has been very stable and just continue to run withtout ANY troubles at all.
  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Apr 11, 2011 8:38 PM in response to lorange
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Apr 11, 2011 8:38 PM in response to lorange
    lorange wrote:
    To clean it I used compressed air


    Inspired by this thread, I finally took the cover on the supply I swapped out last year, which yielded an amazing amount of offal when subjected to a compressed-air blast from a 100 PSI source, albeit through an OSHA sissified nozzle. There was very little if any dust revealed when I got the cover off, maybe one or two millimeter dust bunnies were left.

    The benefits of compressed air are quite obvious, then, and annual or biennial blow-outs would probably be very beneficial.
  • by mssims,

    mssims mssims Apr 12, 2011 4:06 AM in response to lorange
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 12, 2011 4:06 AM in response to lorange
    How do you clean it. What do you use?
  • by XEdwardX,

    XEdwardX XEdwardX May 20, 2011 6:37 AM in response to lorange
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2011 6:37 AM in response to lorange

    This is really interesting!

     

    Do you know what the symptoms would be for a real dirty PSU?

     

    I just got a second hand powermac g5 and it shuts down during processor intensive tasks! .... Could this be a dirty PSU at work?

     

    Cheers!

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy May 20, 2011 8:40 AM in response to XEdwardX
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    May 20, 2011 8:40 AM in response to XEdwardX

    XEdwardX wrote:

     

    This is really interesting!

     

    Do you know what the symptoms would be for a real dirty PSU?

     

    I just got a second hand powermac g5 and it shuts down during processor intensive tasks! .... Could this be a dirty PSU at work?

     

    Cheers!

     

    It is a distinct possibility.  Also a distinct possibility is CPU die temperature triggering a shutdown.  To see what is going on, you should get the freeware Temperature Monitor and/or iStat Pro widget and check the temps.  You can put one of the CPU temps on the menu bar with Temperature Monitor and have an instant-feedback situation. 

     

    I believe, for instance, that my CPU dies will cause a shutdown when they hit 64° C, though they never get anywhere near that.

  • by XEdwardX,

    XEdwardX XEdwardX May 20, 2011 9:00 AM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2011 9:00 AM in response to old comm guy

    You know when you say triggering shutdown... do you mean it goes through the shut down process?

    Like the dock hides, then blue screen with the wheel thing?

     

    Mine just goes off! No sequence, just off!

     

    It cant be good for it!!

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM May 20, 2011 10:18 AM in response to lorange
    Level 6 (14,087 points)
    iPad
    May 20, 2011 10:18 AM in response to lorange

    Can't believe the quantity of dust and lint in that G5!

    I am surprised that it did not die before you had a chance to purchase this.

    I never neglect my Mac or any computer like this!

    I clean put my Mac with compressed air once every year or year and a half, or so.

    I just blew all of the dust out of my G4 recently because a thought I had an overheating problem that was shutting down my Mac. Turned out to be a bad APC battery backup power unit.

    Any how, this is just incredible and sort of sad.

    That G5 had to be neglected for years.

    Also, keep computers off the floor. If possible, can sit above the floor underneath a desk or setup the computer atop the desktop. I have observed over the years that keeping the computer away from the floor keeps internal dust and lint down significantly.

    FYI I do not know what kind of vacuum cleaner you use on your computers, but if it's a common vacuum, that is a no-no for use on computers. Especially in and around the internal components. The act of vacuuming can put a static charge into computer components and, basically, fry those components or potentially, fry the motherboard.

    Also, ditto for industrial type air compressors. Industrial air compressors can contain either additional water/moisture from the air tank and or some amount of oil used in lubricating the compressor's motor that can be transmitted through the air hose, itself. Potential contaminating the computers internal components or adding a thin film of lubricating oil that can get on computer components or in places where it will stick and be a source for collecting additional dust and lint inside the computer.

    I just use available canned compressed air that is readily available.

  • by XEdwardX,

    XEdwardX XEdwardX May 20, 2011 10:37 AM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2011 10:37 AM in response to MichelPM

    Hold up!

     

    Bad APC battery back up?

     

    my G5 is plugged into one of those!

     

    Can you elaborate?

     

    My imac is also plugged into it, but that never shuts off! Maybe it is overloaded or something?

     

    I will have to try it plugged in normally and see if that makes a difference.... if so, you are a god!!! =P

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy May 20, 2011 11:00 AM in response to XEdwardX
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    May 20, 2011 11:00 AM in response to XEdwardX

    XEdwardX wrote:

     

    You know when you say triggering shutdown... do you mean it goes through the shut down process?

    Like the dock hides, then blue screen with the wheel thing?

     

    Mine just goes off! No sequence, just off!

     

    It cant be good for it!!

     

     

    Click.  Off.  Could cause directory problems, though with journaled HFS+ that is less of a problem.

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy May 20, 2011 11:09 AM in response to XEdwardX
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    May 20, 2011 11:09 AM in response to XEdwardX

    XEdwardX wrote:

     

    Hold up!

     

    Bad APC battery back up?

     

    my G5 is plugged into one of those!

     

    Can you elaborate?

     

     

    I can add my own war stories on UPS problems.

     

    First time it was a loading issue, as the battery in the UPS was croaking, though it would pass the self-test for a while.  The bad thing about that was the battery was welling in its case so I couldn't extract it from the UPS for replacement without using something that would destroy the case. 

     

    The second one showed up with a couple of mysterious power-down events while the machine was sleeping.  It finally happened while running, and I discovered that although the battery was in great shape, something was honked in the control or inverter, so when it would do its periodic self test, clunk went the output voltage.  That one was bizarre.

     

    I now have a 1500 VA Cyberpower unit in place, which seems to be holding up better, as the others were 1100 VA units.

     

    You should see what happens if you press the test button on the UPS, if it has one, when the computer is up.  That will tell you a couple of things, if there is a problem.  First is overloading, second is internal problems with the UPS.

     

    While I have only once in the past how many years had to deal with an actual power outage while running, the UPS units have ridden through glitches and blips a number of times and saved me a measure of grief and/or annoyance.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM May 20, 2011 2:54 PM in response to XEdwardX
    Level 6 (14,087 points)
    iPad
    May 20, 2011 2:54 PM in response to XEdwardX

    The battery in a battery backup/power regulator power outlet block uses the battery both for internal power regulation (regulates even flow of power so the electrical current does not spike or dips/sags) and also acts as a source of temporary power in the event of a power outage. I have had this particular UPS for about ten years. The batteries only last between 5 to up to 7 or 8 years. APC has a replacement battery program. The first battery went within the 5 years. The second, current battery lasted almost 7 years.

    The symptom that the battery was on the out was that  it couldn't no longer support the entire power of all the computer system components connected to it without "snapping" the internal power breaker circuit.

    The UPS has had no issues for years.

    My G4 PowerMac was shutting down after about 15-20 minutes. I thought, at first, it could be either an overheating issue, power supply issue or both. So, I disconnected everything hooked to my Mac and blew all of the dust and lint out of it with a can of compressed air. Then, by complete accident, had the Mac plugged back into the UPS with nothing else plugged into the UPS and nothing hooked back up to my Mac. It was just the tower plugged in by itself.

    My Mac wasn't even powered up and ten minutes with just my Mac plugged into the UPS, the circuit breaker snapped on the UPS and shut down power to my Mac.

    So, that was how I was able to determine it was the UPS and not my Mac.

    So, now I have my Mac system on just a high end power/surge strip without power backup or regulation.

    I will replace the unit as soon as I can.

    My system should be fine for the time being.

  • by XEdwardX,

    XEdwardX XEdwardX May 20, 2011 3:08 PM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2011 3:08 PM in response to MichelPM

    Thanks for all the info on UPS!!

     

    I am rather stuck now.... So I unplugged the powermac G5 from my UPS directly into the wall and it started to behave rather better.... perhaps this is co-incidental but the CPU load seemed to be a lot lower than normal and the CPU temperature seemed to be better regulated.

     

    Also, the computer succesfully completed an update to 10.5.8 (something that it always failed on when plugged into the UPS) (possibly coincidence again)

     

    So at this point I was thinking... problem solved!

     

    To further test the system to see if I has solved it I began to open everything in my dock and run a youtube video to ramp up the processor usage and temp. It was stable for quite some time, but once the processor (CPU A) reached 52˚C (125˚F) It just went off again. It ran at 52 degrees for probably less than a minute.

     

    So, I figure it must be some sort of failsafe or thermal shutdown. < more like switch off!!

     

    So, was I abusing it making it run that hot? or is there a problem?

    If there is a problem is it easily repairable? Or is it dead?

     

    My imac quad core often runs at about 70+ ˚C and its fine!

     

    I just want to say thanks for all the support I have had so far from everyone!

    It is very much appreciated! =)

  • by XEdwardX,

    XEdwardX XEdwardX May 20, 2011 4:07 PM in response to XEdwardX
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2011 4:07 PM in response to XEdwardX

    ***UPDATE***

     

    So I have been doing further research and came across this really useful, yet unformatted web page listing the exact problem I have.

     

    http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/Dual_Core_G5_Shutdowns.html

     

    It makes for an interesting read for anyone owning a G5 who is experiencing random shutdowns, or switch offs!

     

    From all the discussion on that page I found out that there is a reduced performance mode under energy saver preferences, so I have checked that and for most people that seems to have done the trick. I however have yet to find out!

     

    Also in that discussion an apple engineer apparently said that the G5 can try to draw more power than is available causing an immediate shutdown. sounds weird.

     

    Ok, one more thing....

     

    My system log shows this very often:

     

    --last message was repeated 29 times

    power-mac-g5 kernel [0]: Fan Failure!

     

    This seems to repeat every 30 seconds.

     

    Forgive me for sounding ********, but can anyone tell me what this means?

     

    you see.... it sounds obvious, but I have shined a light into the mac and I can see all the fans going round. the one in the front and the 2 at the back. Also my istat pro widget shows all the fans at some sort of speed, and some vary in accordance to processor heat, as one would expect.

     

    I seem to be getting to the route of this problem... maybe!

     

    Thanks again for everyones input!

  • by XEdwardX,

    XEdwardX XEdwardX Jun 4, 2011 8:49 AM in response to XEdwardX
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 4, 2011 8:49 AM in response to XEdwardX

    I just wanted to say that I found out the 2 little fans on the PSU were not going around!!

     

    I whipped out the power supply and ordered 2 more fans, fitted it all back together and it runs fine now!!

     

    I also gave my PSU a good clean out, it was full of dust!!

     

     

    Thanks for everyones help in finding the problem!!

     

    Cheers!

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