PowerPC :: IMac G5 Failing To Recognize New Hdd - Only Black Screen
Jan 3, 2009
I have an rev. A iMac G5 that was purchased in January of 2005. The applecare has long expired. However, in May of 2008 due to factory defect Apple replaced the logic board, power supply and super drive [URL]. In December 2008 after experiencing problems with my hard drive I took my computer to the apple store. There they said it was dying and it would be cheaper to replace it myself. After purchasing a seagate hdd [URL] my computer won't recognize it. It stays at the black screen while the power light glows. After a few minutes the fans kick in at full force. I tested the hdd in another iMac G5 rev. B and it works fine. Any ideas on what the problem is or how to resolve it?
I am currently experiencing problems booting up my imac 17-inch, 1.6GHz (2004 model I think). When I hit the power button the machine starts but the screen rmains black and after about 3 mins of this, the fan goes into overdrive! The only way I can turn the computer on at the moment is to remove the casing and use the on switch located inside the the machine, although this is no guarantee it will work, sometimes it does but the majority of times it will be the same black screen as before. All I am waiting to hear is the part in the top corner (hard drive~?) to click into gear and then it's fine, and the machine seems to work perfectly. But this is not a solution and I fear it is only a matter of time before the machine just explodes altogether
Originally my iMac G5 (1.6 GHz 17 inch) was failing to boot up. It would get to the grey screen and the apple and it would just stay there and pretend to be a rocket ship with it's little fan whirring as fast as it could after five minutes. So I reset the SMU, fan stopped, still wouldn't boot. Booted it off the 10.5 install cd (which it was running fine until it wouldn't start up). It wouldn't see the Macintosh HD for a while unless you went to disc utility > partitions and changed it from current to one and instead of applying just let it sit there before switching it back to current. Took about 10 minutes of sitting there.
I did disk repair said there was no problem. Disk permission repair said there was a few problems and said it repaired them. To be safe I backed everything up using target disk mode (where the fan tried to play rocket again even though I reset the SMU), erased my hard drive and reinstalled. Now it shuts down randomly when it goes idle, and takes 10 minutes to start up past loading the dock to load the apple bar Mac HD icon and whatever is on the desktop (which is a single empty folder).
I came back from work to wake up my iMac. It made the noise but the screen stayed black. I tried restarting by holding the power button- I can hear it start and the chime but still have a black screen. I tried resetting the pram, and unplugging the cord but I still get a black screen. I can hear the chime though; I'm not sure if that means anything. I just had the hard drive replaced in February so I hope it's not that. just wanted to clarify that when I restart, I get the chime but the screen stays black- I don't get to the grey screen. So I'm assuming right now that my display may be shot?
I am looking at purchasing an Ibook G4 but the description of the item includes this:"When you switch it on it begins to load up i.e. the blue screen with the Apple logo, but then the screen goes black or flickers. Said friend has kindly wiped the hard drive for me so now when you switch it on it makes the �opening� noise then you get a blue screen with alternating �?� and the Finder logo."
I have a feeling this may have been a temporary fault with the screen connector being loose and possibly damaged.But i assume the alternating "?" and the "finder logo" is simply a lack of OS?
My iBook will not display anything on its screen. Rather, it just remains black. One time, the screen did come on, but then shortly after booting, it flickered a lot and then went black again. A year ago, something similiar happened and when I took it to be serviced (when I had AppleCare), they had to send it away and have a new logic board installed. Now this machine is out of warrenty and and I am not sure what to do, or even if it is the same problem. Any suggestions?? Thanks!
So i bought a 1gig RAM stick for my iBook for Kahlon. Kahlon said that this RAM was supported for my iBook. The specs for my iBook are 12in, 1.2 Ghz, 120gb hard drive and 1.25 gigs of RAM. Ok so I put in my RAM in about March and it worked fine for about 3 months. Then in late July my Mac started showing the "Grey Screen of Death." So i thought that it might of been the hard drive so i did some repairs and nothing changed. So then after that I reformatted my hard drive and reinstall Tiger and nothing changed either. So i finally took out my RAM and tested to see if that was the problem and low and behold my computer ran fine (a little slow because it was was running on 256mb of RAM but it ran fine for about a week). Then I put the RAM back on in it but the Computer only read that the 1gig stick was actually a 512mb RAM stick but it still worked fine for a week until I installed a update and so I had to restart my computer (restart being the Key Word). So when I restarted my computer my computer recognized that it had a total of 1.25gigs of RAM. But when i went to start up itunes or any other application it would immediately show the "Grey Screen of Death." Does anyone know what could have happened I think that it is the Logic Board but I don't know.
Have a iMac G5 with built in BT. I used it downstairs yesterday and took it back to the spare room where it usually is used. Fired it up today and I find that the BT mouse is fine BUT it ignores the keyboard. I tried; Replacing batteries. Checked that the suspect keyboard worked on my mac mini (it did). Tried my other BT keyboard on the iMac same problem. So, why does it recognise the mouse but not the keyboard? I do not have a USB Keyboard, so now I cannot Log in to fix it! I am guessing that the pairing has gone BUT surely it would simply see the keyboard as a new one and start setting it up. Something is stopping keyboards working with BT, very strange - could a loose BT module cause this? Or will I have to buy a USB Keyboard now to use my iMac?
I recently have been having start up problems, when I would hit the power button I would sometimes hear a healthy startup and everything would boot up and then I just get a black screen and you can still tell it has power. I would start and restart untill it would boot. Now the only way the machine will start is if I unplug the moniter cord and plug it back in then it will start.
I've got an older 15" powerbook running Mac OS X 10.3.9 (i think). Lately my computer screen randomly turns itself off, the whole think going black, like it was asleep or off, but the computer keeps running just fine. Like i might have itunes playing or be burning a disc and that goes on just fine. The computer itself stays running. What I've been doing is putting the computer to sleep by closing the notebook, letting it rest for a few seconds and turning it back on by opening it back out. This fixes the problem for anywhere from 5 seconds to indefinitely, until it happens again. Lately its been happening more. The computer is 4 years old, but the model itself, probably 5.
I just bought a PowerBook G4 off of craigslist today. 1.67GHz G4 processor, 15" screen, etc etc. The battery shows 99%, and when I unplug it I can count one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four.. oops, it's dead. In the menu bar I can see it recognizing that it's switched to battery a split second before the screen goes black.
An excerpt from System Profiler, leading me to believe the battery is fine: Battery Installed: Yes First low level warning: No Full Charge Capacity (mWh): 3615 Remaining Capacity (mWh): 3587 Amperage (mA): 0 Voltage (mV): 12494 Cycle Count: 274
It's a PowerBook G4, 15" model A1046, and this is what's going on.
Powers on, checks combo drive, gongs, no flickering or lighting on screen, period.
Tried a PRAM reset several times but it NEVER gongs a second time. I tried booting to Open Firmware and typing mac-boot, blind, but nothing. The keyboard clearly works, as the caps lock light works.
The hard drive spins up, the fans run at normal speeds, so everything else is clearly functional.
My wife has a three-year old iBook G4 and yesterday while she was doing some work, the screen just went black. By the time she brought it to me the machine was shut down. I hit the power button and it started to boot up, but about five seconds later it shut itself down again.
I kept playing with it and I was able to get back in to OS X and I played with it for a few minutes and all seemed fine. I then shut the screen and put it to sleep, then when I tried to wake it back up it shut itself down once again.
After a few more tries of getting it back in to the OS I was able to get all her files off the hard drive, but the problem is still there.
My guess is that it's the logic board, but that's just a guess.
Just bought a used ibook G4 from ebay for my sister and was giving it the once-over. did a software update and installed 10.5.3 (no backup first!). It installed ok, but after restarting it just sits on a black screen and goes nowhere. It plays the on chimes and churns the DVD drive, but then nothing. BTW, the computer didn't come with any installation discs
I was using my ibook just now, when suddenly, the screen went black, as if it were sleeping. I don't know if it was sleeping, but it would not wake up. I turned it off, and tried to turn it back on. But when it comes on, I just hear the fan. The apple logo does not light up. I'm not sure what's wrong.
I have a 15" Powerbook G4 that is about 4.5 years old. Last night the screen started to flash for about a second and then went to almost black. (there is a very very faint image remaining of the screen)... from surfing some forums, it sounds like this could have something to do with the backlight or the inverter (whatever that is?).
The powerbook seems to be working fine otherwise, I was able to connect it to my 30" (which was amusing) to archive all data off of it, so nothing was lost. Techtool diagnostics all ran fine (nothing in there to repair a display).
I suppose the basic question is if anyone knows much about what the problem is - and if its worth investigating repair vs just diving in and buying a new one...some additional info found on Apples boards, but still curious if anyone has opinions/insight towards the cost and trouble of this repair:My screen looks black, but I can see very faint graphics on it
Symptoms of this are a dark screen, but everything else seems to be running. If you get in close with a flashlight, you can usually see the image faintly. Backlight
If your backlight isn't working, the inverter may be bad. Other parts that may be bad are the display or the logic board. If your backlight fails intermittently while moving the display, the problem is with the inverter cables. Otherwise it is impossible to test for damaged parts without replacing them one by one. If you are comfortable taking apart the display assembly, replace the display inverter first, then replace the LCD. If you are not comfortable with this, you can replace both parts at once by replacing the display assembly (which contains both components). If this still doesn't solve your problem, you need a new logic board.
recently my powerbook g4 has been doing some funny things. ..--Sometimes it won't turn on when pressing the button but eventually it will. --The computer would not book up earlier and would just stay on a white screen, like the white screen you normally get when booting but without the apple logo.--When my computer eventually booted it worked for a couple of mins and then the screen went a tinted black colour and a box came up in the middle of the screen saying i need to reboot (the box had a power logo for the background)--Then i rebooted and as i was rebooting a black screen came up with lots of writing in white. A bit like on a windows pc.
A friend of mine has an ibook clamshell with black marks on the screen. He sent me a picture but I really can't tell if it is a broken screen or pixels or something else.
I have this powerbook from 2005 and no problems up to now..ohhh no!
A couple of days ago started to occasionally make a clank clank noise and getting stacked on the spinning colour circle, only manual restart would do it.
Thought it might be the hard disk as it is a bit old and i never replaced anything on it, shacked it and a noise of something loose would happen, so i thought of opening it up and see if i could reattach anything loose....anyway i started unscrewing following instructions, couldn't get memory out...every screw seems different and so i gave up, put it all back together, praying that the screws are all in their right places and hey, now it wont even start, not a loose sound when shaken though, but not a bip not a light, black screen, nothing...only sign of life is the green light under the num block key and the capitals arrow also starts light
Everytime I turn it on I get a black box asking to shut down or restart the mac. I have managed to get it to turn on to powersave and managed to update the software. Thought it might help but just made it worse - it won't boot up at all now past an apple symbol with a little swirly thingy underneath (I apologise now for my lack of intelligence when it comes to computers/knowledge/names of things!) The first time I managed to boot the computer up it came up with the grey screen and a little folder flashing between a face and a question mark which I assume meant it couldn't find anything but that appears to have gone away now. I bought this computer new from Apple about 2 - 3 years ago and no disks were provided with it.
bought old 12-in. ibook A1005/2002 (I assume G3) at yard sale today. screen is black, but hard drive mounts in target disk mode on my eMac, working well! how can i get system info for the ibook in target disk mode? all i see is the it's running 10.4.11, hard drive size and used/free space. i'd like to know RAM, CPU speed, etc. secondly, what could be wrong? boots up with chime, no fan/other noise, stays on and keyboard lights work, but screen is black.
I was just using my powerbook G4 12" when it "clicked", the screen went black and it will not respond. the power cable light is on, and I've tried another battery, but it does not turn on! the little light on the latch button that glows usually, is not on. What has happened to my Powerbook????! I don't have applecare but I imagine I will be calling Apple this morning unless someone can help here
My brother's iBook G4 (I think it's a 2003 model) has a problem with the screen. When the computer is turned on, the screen stays black, although the backlight is on (the apple glows). Sometimes, on start up, the screen works normally for a random amount of time before going fuzzy and then black again.
Any ideas on how to fix this? Is it likely to be a problem with the hardware in the actual computer, or just the screen? Or is it a software thing?
Got me a Second Hand iMac g5 with OSX 10.6 on Screen is black. I changed Power Cable = no Result seen i opened and a thinny Cable from hard drive were not connected. I had to remove the Ram to do that,but no Result i opened again and found another thinny Cable from Broadband Socked comming out. I connected it but nothing happening i opened again with all Leads removed. I removed the Battery inside,pushed after 2 Hour such small Button inside,put Battery in Place,switched on and nothing happened. i pressed the power-Button twice,and on second Time the Screen went White and Fan blow as Hell,but stuck on that. I switched off and on and it was Black again. I disconnected the Lead and switched on after 5 Hour and nothing happens I removed Battery again,pushed after 2 Hour thinny black button inside and nothing when started With nothing happened i always mean "The screen is black",but the Start sound is and i hear a little Fan,and Keyboard reactes with Light on keyboard and with Ping on Computer if i push some Buttons.Mouse has light on Well. seems Screen works. I did not get the Software. It is Snow leopard on but i don't know if re-installing would help or if i need the Pack for 3150.- or what it cost. I also don't know if not Video-Card or logic board fails
Let me start by saying I have swapped the ram in the computer and the problem persists. I've also tried resetting the PRAM. I have unplugged all devices except the keyboard and mouse. I have reformatted and installed OS X Leopard, Tiger and Snow Leopard. I have even encountered this issue while the computer was running from the install disk. I'm pretty sure software, ram and third party devices can be eliminated from the possible causes. The computer continues to run after the screen goes black. I am connected to it right now using screen sharing, so I know the computer is still working. Putting the computer to sleep and then waking it up temporarily brings the screen back until its next random blackout. I have opened the computer to replace a dead HD, so I suppose it is possible that I knocked something in the process, but I did that back in December and the problem is a relatively recent development. I would really prefer to fix this myself, if I could only figure out what the problem is.
I have been experiencing some unusual problems with my imac. While on the internet today my computer crashed on me twice, the first time the screen just showed a bunch of vertical lines, the second it flashed some random colors then went black. After the screen change the computer was unresponsive. I have a bad feeling, is it due to overheating, a bad logic board or something else. This is the first time I have ever experienced this on a mac. Has anyone had any simiar issues? Or am I up **** creek? I can't really afford a new computer seeing that I just bought an iPad (it comes Saturday). I am not sure if my computer is still under apple care and even if it was I won't get it back by the time I have to go back to college. I attached a screen shot of my computer temps.
When I turn my Imac, it goes from the white screen to a black screen, then blue and then desktop. The whole process is fast, but is not normal. (at least is not like my previous MBP or the videos that I have seen on youtube) At the black screen stage, I can see some boot up information, etc, It is fast so I am not able to read it all. It looks like when booting an old windows or dos machine How can I change this? Is this normal? It also shows the screen when I shut down.
