power button has 3 blinling lights

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Level 1

4 points

power button has 3 blinling lights

Power Mac G5, power button has 3 blinking lights every 4 seconds, has all new 8 gigs of ram and Radeon x800xt video card. While running a Tech Tool scan on 8-24 as surface scan was at end of scan my screen went dark and the computer started speeding up with a whirring sound like fans running at top speed and getting faster. I powered it down and now nothing but the blinking lights. What is wrong? Mother board? Video card? Ram? Hard drive or the OS?

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Aug 25, 2011 4:50 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,017 points

Aug 25, 2011 4:52 PM in response to billyseabees

Usually means a memory problem.

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Answer 2

Niel

Community+ 2026

Level 10

742,661 points

Aug 25, 2011 4:52 PM in response to billyseabees

Remove and reinsert the computer's RAM.

(60221)

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Aug 25, 2011 5:24 PM in response to billyseabees

Hi Billy,

1 beep = no RAM installed

2 beeps = incompatible RAM types

3 beeps = no good banks

4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block)

5 beeps = processor is not usable

In addition to the beeps, on some computers the power LED will flash a corresponding number of times plus one. The LED will repeat the sequence after approximately a 5-second pause. The tones are only played once.

Note: In this case, a flash is considered to be 1/4 second or 250 ms or greater in length.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547

If you're sure the RAM is good, try the Hair Dryer trick...

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

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3061091?answerId=15223603022#15223603022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2620983?answerId=15499912022#15499912022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3175959?answerId=15613068022#15613068022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3270112

It can show on any G5, and even many other computers & electronic devices of the period.

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Answer 4

Aug 25, 2011 5:39 PM in response to billyseabees

Is all the RAM the same type & did you install correctly. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2248

Suggest you try to boot with only 2 RAM modules installed. If that works, install 2 more modules, etc.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

FYI - When you are upgrading, it's best to do the upgrades in stages. Like, first install the video card. If all works OK, then install RAM modules. Takes some variables out in troubleshooting.

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Answer 5

billyseabees Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 30, 2011 11:37 AM in response to BDAqua

Tried Hair Dryer trick and it worked, it booted with no chime and I went to start up disc and started it on other hard drive and it booted with chime! thanks man I appreciate it!

On Aug 25, 2011, at 7:24 PM, Apple Support Communities Updates wrote:

Now is there a test of some kind to see if mother board is going bad?

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Aug 30, 2011 12:01 PM in response to billyseabees

Great news, good to hear, thanks! 🙂

Boot off your *original* G5 Install Disk while holding down Option/alt key to select AHT, then run the extended Apple Hardware Test.

If you don't have that, you'll need to search for ASD, not sure if you need ASD 2.6.3, 2.5.8, or 2.5.7

If you need more help, since we can't see your email in your profile, you can contact me through my site for other possible methods...

x704.net/bbs

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Answer 7

romko23

Level 2

408 points

Aug 31, 2011 12:27 AM in response to BDAqua

Yes, tell him to provide his machine so that I may be able to assist him with ASD.

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Answer 8

billyseabees Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 21, 2011 2:15 PM in response to romko23

My machine was a special order and says Made In The USA on the bottom: serial XB40600RNVB-2GX DP/pci-x/1GB400/2x250GB/SD/R9800/56K and the LOGIC board is KD34801GZQ6ED 630 4848 630T4831 I hope this will help someone who cares about Mac customers. I'm a repeat buyer, I now have a Mac Pro and I believe it is a better machine than the Power Mac! Thanks again and I might add I put brand new matching memory sticks in and when I tried the hair dryer trick it booted and the profile said all memory was ok. It worked for about 14 hours and while playing music with itunes, the screen went dark and the fans were blowing wide open and it was cool air like all the system had shut down except the fans. While powering it down and restarting all I get is the power led blinking 3 times every 4 or 5 seconds. The battery is good, nearly 4 volts and its new. The hard drives have been upgraded and the video card is an x800xt. I changed my profile so you can see my email.

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Answer 9

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Sep 21, 2011 2:27 PM in response to billyseabees

Serial Number: XB40600RNVB
Model:	- Power Mac G5 (CTO)
Codename:	- ?
Build Country:	- Your Mac was built in Sacramento, CA, USA.
Build Year:	- Your Mac was built in 2004.
Build Week	- Your Mac was built in week 6 of that year (February).
Production Nr.:	- Your Mac was number 25 to be built that week.