23" Apple Cinema Display won't wake

I have learned alot on these forums but seldom post. Thanks in advance!

I have a G5 dual 2.0 Powermac, not sure what OS- I should know but honestly haven't updated it in a couple years. It's hooked up to a 23" Apple Cinema Display. I went to turn it on yesterday and the monitor did not come on. The comp appeared to be on, the normal sounds were coming from the machine- the eject button worked, the volume buttons were working, hard drive spinning etc. tried moving the mouse, hit space bar, etc.

The LED light on the front of the monitor is on but no picture. I checked the monitor's manual and tried resetting PRAM, checked connections, made sure there was power to the monitor.

Tried restarting the computer a few times, every time it was the same thing- starts up, normal operating sounds, Mac won't wake up.

Called Applecare, they said the steady "on" light on the monitor indicates that it is not getting a signal. Probably a problem with the Powermac (which is not covered by Applecare). They told me to connect it to a different monitor and see what happens.

I brought in my Dell 22" monitor and same thing happened except for a brief moment "Auto Detect Sleep Mode" flashes on the screen then it goes to sleep.

So it seems that the Powermac is putting the monitor(s) to sleep right away at startup. Anyone know anything I can try?

Dual 2.0 G5, iMac

Posted on May 22, 2007 5:54 PM

Reply
8 replies

May 23, 2007 3:36 PM in response to Sir_Crackenheimer

I am having a similar problem with my 23" Cinema Display. The little power indicator light is on, but the screen remains black. I brought it to an Apple Store nearby and teh monitor worked fine. I brought it home and hooked it back up to my MacPro and it displayed a black screen again.

I am starting to wonder if there is a faulty pin in the connector - one that intermittently fails to work. I plan on swapping out the cable and seeing if that is the problem.

The other thought I had is if these monitors are more susceptible to voltage surges/spikes. I haven't pursued this line of reasoning yet.

May 23, 2007 10:09 PM in response to Jeffrey Soto

Hi-

When the LED is "On", the display is "Off".
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301944

You are sure that no flashing is occurring?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88366

Does touching the Power button on the side have any effect?

How did you reset PRAM? Keyboard command?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238

Try resetting the PMU/SMU:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86760

Can you boot in Safe Mode? To start up into Safe Mode (to "Safe Boot"), do this:

-Be sure the computer is shut down.
-Press the power button.
-Immediately after you hear the startup tone, press and hold the Shift key.
-Tip: The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone but not before.
-Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple and progress indicator

Can you do a single user boot?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106388

Does video display when booting from OS X install disk?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300537

Reseating the graphics card may be worth a try.

G4AGP(450)Sawtooth, 2ghz PowerLogix, 2gbRAM, 300gbSATA+160gbATA, ATI Radeon 9800 Mac OS X (10.4.8) Pioneer DVR-109, ExtHD 160gb x2, 23"Cinema Display, Ratoc USB2.0, Nikon Coolscan

May 24, 2007 11:12 AM in response to japamac

No flashing light occurs.

Touching the monitors power switch has no effect.

I used keyboard command to reset PRAM.

I reset PMU.

I can boot in safe mode - still no image.

Additional info - I have connected this monitor to a MacPro, a PowerMac G5, a MacBook Pro and a PowerBook at home - same behavior on all machines - i.e. black screen.

The troubling thing is the monitor worked when I brought it into an Apple store a week ago, but it did not work when I returned home with it. I am unsure what to make of that behavior - current voltage irregularities at home? monitor/cable in an intermittent fault state? Any other suggestions?

May 24, 2007 3:24 PM in response to davewasson

Hi-

Well, since the behavior occurs on several machines, we have to look at the constants. I assume that you used the same power brick in connecting all machines? Were power connections made from various receptacles? Was that brick also tested at the Apple store? A power irregularity could be the culprit, but, I would lean towards the power brick being the problem. An "intermittent" cable problem seems unlikely......
If there has been a common problem with the ACD, I think it would be the power brick.

G4AGP(450)Sawtooth, 2ghz PowerLogix, 2gbRAM, 300gbSATA+160gbATA, ATI Radeon 9800 Mac OS X (10.4.8) Pioneer DVR-109, ExtHD 160gb x2, 23"Cinema Display, Ratoc USB2.0, Nikon Coolscan

May 25, 2007 7:50 AM in response to studio_six

I just tried the same thing with my display (reversing the white power connector) and it is working. Amazing. I had tried doing that many times last week, when the monitor wasn't working, and it did not fix it. But now it is working.

I also unplugged and reconnected the white power connector, now that it is displaying an image - and it works fine. I don't know what to make of this - I would prefer it to fail totally, so it can be replaced, rather than this intermittent state it seems to be in.

Jun 4, 2007 6:35 AM in response to davewasson

I was experiencing a similar issue here.
Have a 23" Cinema Display connected to a 15" Powerbook.
Powerbook would go to sleep and upon wake the cinema display would not turn on...
Turns out there is a setting in System Preferences -> Display -> Options (Cinema Display)
The setting is for the function that is performed by the cinema display power button and it is called:
"Display Power Button"
I had this set to "Does Nothing"
After setting this to "Turns the display on and off" my cinema display is behaving normally again.
Hope this helps

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23" Apple Cinema Display won't wake

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