Test a iMac G5 logic board without Hardware Test?

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Level 1

10 points

Test a iMac G5 logic board without Hardware Test?

My son's 17" imac PPC G5 was not booting up. After a trying a couple of things I got it to boot using Disk Warrior and reparing the file directory. At that time I also ran DW's hardware test which said the drive was fine. My son hard restarted it shortly after I fixed it and it wouldn't start up again. Just a gray screen, no apple logo. When I tried to use DW again it told me there were problems with the hard drive and it couldn't fix the problem. I tried to fix the hard drive in target disk mode using Disk Utiltiy and Drive Genius. No luck. So I pulled a working drive out of my Mac Pro and reformatted it and swapped the internal drive of the iMac with it. There were no DIP switches to set. Started up the imac with a Leopard retail disk thinking I would just install a fresh system onto the replaced internal drive of the iMac. Disk Utility on the leopard disk didn't see the hard drive. Now I'm beginning to think it's a logic board problem but I can't find the original disks to do a Hardware test with. Is there some other way to test a logic board? Or some other idea that I'm not thinking of that could be wrong with the machine?

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4), ATI 1900, 8GbRAM

Posted on Jun 25, 2012 9:43 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 25, 2012 11:49 PM in response to Randy Karey1

It could be a hardware problem, such as logic board or power supply. But here are some less serious things to consider.

After doing all that you did already, you probably did a reset PRAM, but if not

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

Some startup-related setting are stored in PRAM. Also reset SMU (power management)

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1767

If the iMac has been connected to power through a "power strip" of some type, especially if it is overcrowded or old, when you connect it to power for the SMU reset, try connecting it directly to a wall outlet by itself. Also, keep all peripherals disconnected initially, except for standard mouse and keyboard, in case something on USB or FireWire is causing interference.

Related to PRAM is the battery. A weak or dead PRAM battery can cause startup issues, and if it has never been changed... The one in an iMac G5 looks like this

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/CR2032/

For putting a hard drive from a Mac Pro into a iMac G5, one consideration is the partition map scheme (if it was reformatted while in the Intel Mac Pro). A PowerPC Mac needs it to be Apple Partition Map, for it to be bootable. The default for Intel Macs is GUID Partition Table. This setting can be selected in Disk Utility, on the Partition tab (Options button). However, this is more of an FYI because Disk Utility on the Leopard installation disc should have seen the drive, either way. Installer would not have seen it as a possible target, but Disk Utility should have allowed you to reformat (Erase) it again.

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Answer 2

Randy Karey1 Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 28, 2012 8:32 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Thanks for suggesting some things I didn't think about. I tried resetting PRAM and SMU and connecting the power supply directly. I was aware that the hd I took out of my Mac Pro was formatted GUID but like you said, I figured it would be no problem for Disk Utility to at least see it and then I could reformat it. Still, none of the things I tried let the Leopard install disk see the HD. I guess I could check the RAM by taking out 1 stick at a time but my hunch is the logic board. Is there any software (bootable cd) that would let me check the logic board?

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Answer 3

Jun 28, 2012 11:37 AM in response to Randy Karey1

Some third party utilities, such as TechTool Pro, have hardware related tests (beyond the hard drive). However, I think the only tester that will test the logic board specifically for an iMac G5 is the one that came on the original disc. If it is able to startup up from the Leopard installation disc (or the Disk Warrior disc), and run reliably for an extended period, it may not be the logic board causing the problem.

(Doing the RAM check is a good thing to try. However, since it can run from a disc in the optical drive, this may be OK as well)

Have you tried using Disk Utility, while started up from the Leopard disc, to erase (reformat) the original internal drive? When you do this, be sure to select the DRIVE, not the volume indented under the drive, in the Disk Utility sidebar.

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Answer 4

rccharles

Level 6

12,957 points

Jun 28, 2012 5:00 PM in response to Randy Karey1

See if the machine works in open firmware.

Sometimes if volumes don't appear in Startup Manager (what you get when you hold down the Option key at startup), you need to reset the Mac's PRAM, NVRAM, and Open Firmware. Shut down the Mac, then power it up, and before the screen lights up, quickly hold down the Command, Option, P, and R keys, until the Mac has chimed twice more after the powerup chime. Then, before the screen lights up, hold down Command-Option-O-F until the Open Firmware screen appears. Then enter these lines, pressing Return after each one:

reset-nvram

set-defaults

reset-all

"The reset-all command should restart your Mac. If so, you have successfully reset the Open Firmware settings."

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1812?viewlocale=en_US

How to eject a cd from the internal cd drive:

eject cd

List of devices:

devalias

List of variables:

printenv

( nvram is the equivalent Mac OS X terminal command. )

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