Help, Ayudame! Power Mac G4 doesn't start up

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Help, Ayudame! Power Mac G4 doesn't start up

Guys, I have seen this posted several times for the notebook, but not for the desktop. I turned off my PowerMac G4, unplugged and went on vacation. Came back, plugged the G4 in and turned on via monitor. The startup light on the monitor lights up but the screen is dark, the tower makes no sound. If I press the startup button on the tower, same thing: light goes on but no sound and no display on screen. I have unplugged all other devices, I have plugged into different sockets, I have unattached and then attached the monitor, still no image on screen. Apple Care says it sounds like a hardware problem. Any suggestions on what I can do before I spend big bucks to fix this?

G4, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Nov 8, 2006 1:16 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Don Archibald

Level 10

101,623 points

Nov 8, 2006 2:42 AM in response to Outdated G4 Owner

Hi, Outdated -

Welcome to Apple's Discussions.

I turned off my PowerMac G4, unplugged and went on vacation.

At that point the internal battery began to be used up - it is used whenever the Mac is unplugged. If the battery was already old, it may now be too weak or dead; many Macs have starting problems when that happens.

Try replacing the battery - you can get one for about US$15 at places like Radio Shack, cheaper on line.

If your G4 is an AGP or later model, try also resetting the PMU -
Article #95037 - G4 (AGP) - Resetting PMU

If it is a PCI model, try resetting the CUDA -
Article #95065 - G4 (PCI) - Resetting Cuda
Article #95066 - G4 (PCI) - Resetting the Logic Board

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Answer 2

Nov 8, 2006 5:55 AM in response to Outdated G4 Owner

Check this site for battery part numbers and sources. Mac PRAM, NVRAM, CUDA/PMU & Battery Tutorial

Cheers, Tom

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Answer 3

Nov 8, 2006 10:46 PM in response to Don Archibald

Don, you hit the nail on the head. This was precisely the problem. Much cheaper solution than buying a new Logic Board. Thanks!

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Answer 4

Nov 8, 2006 10:48 PM in response to Texas Mac Man

Texas Mac Man, thank you! Got the batter for $16 from Radio Shack, it now runs well.

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Answer 5

Nov 9, 2006 6:03 AM in response to Outdated G4 Owner

Hi, Outdated -

You're quite welcome - glad that was all it was.

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Answer 6

Nov 23, 2006 11:53 AM in response to Don Archibald

Don, I wanted to ask you a question I have placed as a new post as well. Today all my available HD space is gone, both on my HD as well as my external HD. I have 80 GB on my HD and 500 GB on my external HD. Yesterday I had 35 GB free space on HD and 435 GB free space on my external HD (connected by firewire). Now I cannot capture my video into Final Cut Pro.

This is frustrating. It happened a few days ago and the tech from LaCie told me to erase and reformat my external HD. I did it and worked well for a few days, but here I am again.

What could my problem be, and how would you solve it?

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Answer 7

Nov 23, 2006 4:14 PM in response to Outdated G4 Owner

Hi, Outdated -

I'm not very knowledgeable on OSX and problems associated with it, since I don't use OSX. However, this article at MacFixIt may have information you can use -
MacFixIt - Missing Drive Space

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