Powermac G5 dual 2.5 issues!

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Powermac G5 dual 2.5 issues!

I purchased a pre-owned Powermac G5 Dual 2.5 ghz. It has 4gb ram and is running Mac OSX 10.5.8. Very shortly after I purchased the computer I had a crash and couldn't get it to start back up. I tried to re-install software and it would go part of the way thru and crash on the install every time. I started the machine in target mode and hooked it to my old trusty G4. I was able to install the software that way with no issues. I then went back to the G5 and tried installing updates, but part of the way thru the updates it would crash saying the update was possibly corrupt, ( these were straight from apple so I doubt that ) thus leaving my g5 unable to restart because of the partial software update. I did the target mode again, this time installing all of the updates using my G4. After all was said and done, I was back to where i had started when i bought it. I now keep to be getting freeze issue with the machine. I can be online using safari and all of a sudden I get the spinning color wheel. When this happens I can not even force quit the app, it will just sit there spinning away. Tonight i tried opening firefox and it started up and ran for a few minutes before freezing also. A few days ago I had tried to burn a dvd using toast, and that app also froze up and would not let me force quit. I have not had any issues like this from my G4, and after trying resetting the SMU, PRAM and many many hard restarts, I am no closer to knowing what the issue could be. Any help or ideas for me to try would be much appreciated. Thanks, Mike

Posted on Mar 1, 2012 4:47 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

239,369 points

Mar 1, 2012 5:32 PM in response to Michael Posz

Have you blown the dust out of it since you got it?

Possibly a temperature problem or bad RAM/RAM slots.

Get Temperature Monitor to see if it's heat related...

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12381/temperature-monitor

iStat Menus...

http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/

And/or iStat Pro...

http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

If you have any temps in the 70°C/160°F range, that's likely it.

The Memory test can really only be trusted if it finds a problem, not if it doesn't find a problem. 😟

Memtest OS X...

http://www.memtestosx.org/joomla/index.php

Rember is a freeware GUI for the memtest ...

http://tech.kateva.org/2005/10/rember-freeware-memory-test-utility.html

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Answer 2

Michael Posz Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 1, 2012 7:41 PM in response to BDAqua

Here is what it said when I started up toast. Both CPU's are over 70. And when I started ripping a dvd it actually shot up over the 88 mark, almost 90. It blowning it out doesn't fix it, what would my next step be?

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

239,369 points

Mar 1, 2012 7:48 PM in response to Michael Posz

Yeah, it's for sure HEAT problem, but man, those are god CPUs, they generally blow above 75°C!???

Is this liquid cooled? Are the fans working at high speed?

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Answer 4

Michael Posz Author

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5 points

Mar 1, 2012 8:25 PM in response to BDAqua

I will get a can of air and clean it out good then and see whaat happens. I am not sure if it is liquid cooled, how do I check it? The fans will kick on and off, sounding like jet engines, so pretty high speed I assume. Here are my hardware specs. Not sure if that will give any info.

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Answer 5

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Mar 1, 2012 10:37 PM in response to Michael Posz

I am not sure if it is liquid cooled, how do I check it?

I'm sure that 2.5 GHz machines of any vintage (yours is June 2004) are all LCS (liquid cooled).

Open the tower and look.

most, but not all, of the LCS versions have a sticker inside warning about the possibility of leakage.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/G5_coolant_leaks.html

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Answer 6

Michael Posz Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 2, 2012 3:47 PM in response to japamac

Ok, I opened it up and blew it out with air. I couldn't see any coolant leakage like it shows in the photo's, but it didn't tear in any farther then then outside case and the plastic shield that is right inside. I started it back ip and start to burn my disc using toast. Seemed like it was going ok at first, was not hearing the fans blast at all, but then I started safari and it lasted like maybe 2 minutes before it locked up. I tried to start firefox but it would launch. the dvd was still going so I left it run, it got to 57% and froze up. I could still click on the desktop and move around, but no apps would launch and I could not restart it, so I had to force shutdown. i tried to restart then and got an error saying the dock failed to lauch, and after force shutting down again, and getting the same message, i started it in target mode again and ran Disk Utility. It said I had errors on the second partion of my hard drive, so I repaired and restarted it fine. Went back on and went online with safari, it ran good for about 10-15 minutes before safari froze again. It would not force quit and the computer would not restart again forcing me to force shutdown. It seems like if it just sits idle, it is all good, but when i get on it and start running apps, it eventually freezes up and becomes useless. Any ideas what to try to stop this? Like I said, the fans have stopped racing, and hardly ever hear them. The temp seemed normal when I was online, but when running toast it did climb back up there, but i never heard the fans go.

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

239,369 points

Mar 2, 2012 4:43 PM in response to Michael Posz

Higher CPU use drives up temperatures.

Either or all of these, the Thermal paste between CPUs & Heatsinks needs replacing, the liquid coolant has evaporated or slogged up, water pumps may not be working properly, recalibration needed.

Did the fans go full blast before freezing?

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Answer 8

Michael Posz Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 2, 2012 5:48 PM in response to BDAqua

Since i blew out the case, I havent heard them spin up loud at all actually except for a few seconds when starting up. Other then that, they didn't blow. I started up a tech-tool disc I have and they blew for a short time, but the scan is running right now, and no fans blowing.

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Answer 9

BDAqua

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Mar 2, 2012 6:01 PM in response to Michael Posz

Did the temps drop, or for longer since blowing it out?

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Answer 10

Michael Posz Author

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Mar 2, 2012 9:29 PM in response to BDAqua

The temps

when idle

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Answer 11

Michael Posz Author

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Mar 2, 2012 9:30 PM in response to Michael Posz

temp while burning dvd

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Answer 12

BDAqua

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Mar 2, 2012 9:46 PM in response to Michael Posz

How are the Fan Speeds in iStat?

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Answer 13

Michael Posz Author

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Mar 2, 2012 10:05 PM in response to BDAqua

heres what it looks like right now. Still have the dvd burning. THe numbers where going up and down some when I checked, but around this range. I still dont hear the fans blowing hard like I use to.

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