My G-4 suddenly stopped operating. I think it has something to do with the power on button. I opened the G-4 and saw that the button had been dislodged. I tried to put it back in place. But, it still won't start up. Inside is clean and void of dust etc.
Any ideas on what to do or who can repair it?
That is one possibility, the front panel button assembly might be bad, or it could be the power supply itself. Sometimes it can be as simple as replacing the PRAM battery.
For a while my G4MDD would not power up, but I could unplug it from the wall socket for a minute or two, then plug it back in and get it to start up, I replaced the battery, which helped temporarily, but the problem resurfaced. Eventually I replaced the power supply and it started working normally again.
There is an eBay seller that offers a repair service, or a trade-in credit when you buy a refurbished MDD power supply. The one I got was in very good condition and looked brand new. Not sure if he would have one for your particular model of G4. Replacing the power supply yourself does require opening up the machine and removing many of the components to re-thread the power cables where they belong, almost a complete tear-down. If you have never opened up the machine before it can be a daunting task. If you have added RAM or a new hard drive and know your way around the inside of the computer, maybe not so insurmountable.
That is one possibility, the front panel button assembly might be bad, or it could be the power supply itself. Sometimes it can be as simple as replacing the PRAM battery.
For a while my G4MDD would not power up, but I could unplug it from the wall socket for a minute or two, then plug it back in and get it to start up, I replaced the battery, which helped temporarily, but the problem resurfaced. Eventually I replaced the power supply and it started working normally again.
There is an eBay seller that offers a repair service, or a trade-in credit when you buy a refurbished MDD power supply. The one I got was in very good condition and looked brand new. Not sure if he would have one for your particular model of G4. Replacing the power supply yourself does require opening up the machine and removing many of the components to re-thread the power cables where they belong, almost a complete tear-down. If you have never opened up the machine before it can be a daunting task. If you have added RAM or a new hard drive and know your way around the inside of the computer, maybe not so insurmountable.
Thank you, Glen, for your quick response. I failed to mention that I had replaced the battery, but that didn't resolve my problem. But, as you stated, it could be the power supply. So, that gives me another avenue to try. I will look into that. Thanks again.
The particular one I found was here:
if you the seller has one in stock, you can just buy one and he includes a shipping label to return your old one for some trade in credit. You could contact the seller, he may offer some pre-sale support to help you better determine if this might fix your problem, if you are up to the Do-It-Yourself PSU swap out. Depends on how much money you are willing to put into it, you might be able to find a similar G4 machine used for less money, and could just take your hard drives out of the old machine and put into a working one.
Bear in mind that there were several different G4 models, so you should identify which one you have to make sure you get a compatible power supply. http://www.everymac.com has detailed specs of all Mac models to help with that. MDDs are more notorious for failing power supplies and loud noisy fans.
Another troubleshooting step is to remove everything, all RAM sticks, PCI cards, disconnect all optical/hard drive power/interface cables, etc, and see if the machine will power up at all, if it does force shutdown by holding the button down 5 secs. Then add back one item at a time and retest for power up.
My Desktop G-4 Tower will not turn on.
