G5 2ghz Dual - Hanging with LED #7!!!

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Level 2

313 points

G5 2ghz Dual - Hanging with LED #7!!!

Hi folks,

my 8 month old G5 has just started hanging (freezing completely!) with the #7 LED lit. There are no Kernel Panic screens shown - it just stops working. At the moment its run time is limited to about 60mins. Its not a software issue as all that checks out fine, nor is it a HD issue, however I think it could be a RAM or Logic Board issue as I ran Apple Hardware Test & it came up with: "post/0/2048 DIMM4/J7100" But only twice then after that it passed all the installed RAM - then I removed the RAM from J7100 (yes & its counterpart in the opposite slot) & it still crashed!! AppleCare said I need to take it to a repair shop to get it looked at - DOH!

Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? As the exact same thing happened to my 2 & a half year old Mirror Door G4 last year - they couldn't fix it so they replaced it with this G5!! Not impressed to be honest!

Thanks for any help.

Rory

G5 Dual 2ghz, Mac OS X (10.4.6), 1gb extra ram

Posted on Jul 16, 2006 4:14 AM

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Answer 1

ds store

Level 7

30,735 points

Jul 16, 2006 9:24 AM in response to Rory Game

#7 is a "take it in"

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302527

good luck, get AppleCare.

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Answer 2

Rory Game Author

Level 2

313 points

Jul 16, 2006 10:06 AM in response to ds store

Hi ds,

thanks for the info. I'm contacting the Apple repair place tomorrow & hopefully taking it in - I'll keep this topic updated with their findings for anyone else who may need them or be interested.

Will no doubt need a new Logic Board or somit. - DOH!

Rory

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Answer 3

getadell

Level 1

0 points

Jul 18, 2006 11:18 AM in response to Rory Game

No doubt. And there's no doubt that the refurbished logic board will not have the same faults.

Good luck.

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Answer 4

Jul 18, 2006 12:27 PM in response to Rory Game

It isn't RAM.

LED #7 is a Checkstop LED.

It basically points at one of the CPU's (if it's a Dual Core, you've only got one CPU). The CPU or one of the Cores is hanging in a really bad way, so LED #7 comes on and remains lit. It basically means that the CPU has physically stopped running.

The norm for this sort of thing is to check the RAM (which you did). Then replace the CPU(s), and then the Logic Board.

Not much more you or your Apple Service dealer can do then that- it's ether the CPU (likely) or the Logic Board. It could be something inbetween- ie, the CPU needs to be reseated.

-S'Captain

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Answer 5

Rory Game Author

Level 2

313 points

Aug 9, 2006 10:26 AM in response to ScottishCaptain

HI again all,

I got the Mac back from the shop after they said "no fault found" & its been fine for a few weeks...

BUT, just today its crashed the exact same way as before, TWICE! So I guess its gotta go for another repair session!

Anyone got any ideas why the machine should act-up like this?

Rory

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Answer 6

Rory Game Author

Level 2

313 points

Aug 9, 2006 12:30 PM in response to Rory Game

Hi again,

Removed the 1gb of extra RAM I had installed (in x4 256 sticks) & have left it playing iTunes to itself for just over 4 hours now - where as earlier today it would manage about 2 hours before locking-up with LED#7.

I'm gonna try & get my RAM checked some-how, also is there any way I can test the slots on the Logic Board - or is it a case of getting some known good RAM & plugging it in to see what happens?

Anyway I'm gonna leave it running all night with just the stock RAM in to see how we go.

Fingers crossed...

Cheers.

Rory

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Answer 7

Rory Game Author

Level 2

313 points

Sep 11, 2006 6:55 AM in response to Rory Game

Well, its been a month since my last post here & thats been enough time for my G5 to be sent away for repair a second time, it came back with a new logic board & what I thought was a clean bill of health as it was working perfectly!

But....

Today its done the exact same thing it did before the 2 repair sessions!!! DOH! Lock-up with LED 7 & no KP history.

So I called Apple & they've agreed (rightly so) to take in again for another new Logic Board. That means more time without my main computer for work - not on really. But I just hope they can fix it this time. I'm a bit annoyed as I'd just got the machine running perfectly with a fast well maintained system on it, Murphy's Law I guess. Its been the best Mac I've ever owned - but also at the same time the most troublesome!

Does anyone know why such a fault would keep accruing even though the apparently bad part has been replaced? The only thing I can think of is that the bad Logic Board was part of a larger fault, or the new LB was faulty too? I'm at a loss to be honest.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Cheers for any help/info.

Rory

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Answer 8

Rory Game Author

Level 2

313 points

Sep 11, 2006 6:42 AM in response to Rory Game

Same fault has returned after repair & wanted to continue thread.

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