John Howarth
Level 1 (45 points)

Q: G4 Quicksilver will not boot

My old Quicksilver needs to be re-started, after lying idle and unplugged for a couple of years.  When I press the power button, it tries to start, I hear the chime, and then after about three seconds, everything stops.  Repeated attempts to start the machine sometimes produces an earlier chime, or maybe it doesn't even get that far, but it always fails to get to the boot stage.  Leaving it a while and trying again will always revert to the first sequence I described.

 

I have replaced the PRAM battery with a new one, tried to zap the PRAM (but the machine never runs long enough for that to happen), and reset the PMU. None of these things have changed the symptoms at all.

 

Can anyone advise me what to try next?

 

John

MacPro 2.8Ghz 8-core, MacBook Pro 15", Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Sep 19, 2012 12:54 PM

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John Howarth

Q: G4 Quicksilver will not boot

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  • by Mithra77,

    Mithra77 Mithra77 Sep 19, 2012 2:36 PM in response to John Howarth
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 19, 2012 2:36 PM in response to John Howarth

    Does it respond  to the option key during startup?

    Could you start from your Mac Os install disk by holding c during startup?

    Or a fw volume with a OS installed?

  • by Texas Mac Man,

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Sep 19, 2012 3:22 PM in response to John Howarth
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Sep 19, 2012 3:22 PM in response to John Howarth

    Some things to try.

     

    * Reset the PMU http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1939

     

    * Resetting the Logic Board - Resetting the logic board can resolve many system problems. Whenever you have a unit that fails to power up, you should follow this procedure before replacing any modules.

    1 Unplug the computer.

    2 Press the Power On button on the front of the unit.

    3 Open the side access panel.

    4 Remove the battery from the logic board.

    5 Wait at least 10 minutes before replacing the battery.

    6 Make sure the battery is installed in the correct +/-

    direction.

    7 Reassemble the computer and test the unit.

     

    Note:

    This procedure resets the computer’s PRAM. Be sure to

    check the computer’s time/date and other system parameter settings

     

    * Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

     

    * Your Mac won't start up in Mac OS X (Mac OS X 10.3.9 or earlier)

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106464

     

    * Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300552

     

    * Power Mac G4: Computer Does Not Power On, No Fan Movement

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95038

     

     Cheers, Tom

  • by John Howarth,

    John Howarth John Howarth Sep 19, 2012 4:17 PM in response to John Howarth
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Sep 19, 2012 4:17 PM in response to John Howarth

    Thank you both for posting.

     

    Mithra:  The machine will not run long enough to respond to anything.

     

    Tom:  I had seen your earlier postings of this advice, and that is why I tried it.  Unfortunately that procedure hasn't worked in my case.

     

    By the way, all the links you posted are now pointing to Apple's Support front page. It seems those articles are either moved, or removed.

     

    Regards,

    John

  • by Boscobrains,

    Boscobrains Boscobrains Sep 25, 2012 6:32 AM in response to John Howarth
    Level 1 (35 points)
    Sep 25, 2012 6:32 AM in response to John Howarth

    Try typing the number of the article in the search box. If it has been renumbered, it will probably look it up. It worked for me on an article.

     

    Doesn't make sense that they renumbered the articles, but looks like they did.

  • by John Howarth,

    John Howarth John Howarth Sep 25, 2012 3:55 PM in response to Boscobrains
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Sep 25, 2012 3:55 PM in response to Boscobrains

    Yeah I tried that.  Some of them have been re-numbered (why?) and those that relate only to hardware that Apple describes as obsolete seem to have been removed - tha's more than five years everywhere apart from California, where statute says it's seven years:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1752

  • by Mithra77,

    Mithra77 Mithra77 Sep 28, 2012 1:37 PM in response to John Howarth
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 28, 2012 1:37 PM in response to John Howarth

    John, it´s a pitty, that a Quicksilver is obsolete. Still you can get Quicksilvers in mint condition on ebay for nothing. If you want to stay with your machine, that might be the best choice for spare parts.

     

    With the appropriate software, these machines still perform reasonably for a lot of people...

    G3´s & G4´s seem to be more reliable, than the Intel machines, some of those earlier ones run since ages 24/7 and never had a problem.

    If you cannot run any of the above and not run ASD 2.5.8 you are lost.

     

    And it´s a shame, that these articles disappeared!

     

    There is still a big disadvantage with those machines, that has nothing to do with the design; it´s the fact that there is no secure flashplayer, but thats the only one i can see, especially with the 64-bit systems.

    I personally stay with my G4 PowerBooks and my G5 - i could afford a new computer, but i´m still satisfied and do not need the next hardware "update" to be happy.