Imac G5- Blue Screen.

**Macaholic** · 02-28-2011, 05:07 PM

Hi all,
I posted this before, but in another thread.
Sorry
Imac G5 17'
Purchased on ebay as Refurbished by Apple,
Ram was maxed etc.
No Paperwork, has worked great for 1 1/2 years.
Now always boots to the dreaded blue screen.
First tried a known good boot CD,
Then a FW back-up.
It chimes and attempts to start , the screen looks fine with the boot circle spinning.
It will also boot into safe mode,
and will boot to Applejack,
Have also zapped PRAM,
Unplugged it and let it sit for days...
any ideas ????

**unclemac** · 03-02-2011, 12:40 AM

So...blue screen from DVD too?

Any other bootable Macs around of a similar vintage that you could use to boot this machine to TDM?

If it is a first gen G5 iMac (no camera) you can open it and press the SMC button pretty easily.

**Macaholic** · 03-02-2011, 01:41 AM

Hi Uncle,
Yes, blue screen from DVD too.
Sometimes some strange artifacts on the screen, but syill goes blue.
No other machines to use...
BU FW drive no help.
Yes 1'st generation , no camera.
SMC button???
Thanks !!!

**Damien** · 03-02-2011, 04:22 AM

Open it up and check for leaking/swelled capacitors. This was a common problem for the G5 iMac (and dozens of other similar era computers) even the replacement logic boards had the issue.

If you do find leaking/swelled caps remove the hard drive and ram and sell the rest for scrap.

If you don't find this issue, reseat all ram plugs etc and hit the reset button. Close it up and hope.

**Macaholic** · 03-02-2011, 05:16 AM

Is there a Take apart PDF available for this iMac?
A bit daunting but if it is considered scrap I suppose I don't have much to lose.
Thanks to Uncle's post I have read about the capacitor issues.
Relativity inexpensive to replace with higher quality caps.
Thanks due.
Thank you also Damien.
A bit harsh but I'll accept your advice.

Unfortunately another computer is not in my near future,
and the little G4 laptop I am using and nursing along now is barely adequate and getting long in the tooth also.
Phew...If I need a newer machine what is most reliable?
Depressed,
David

**unclemac** · 03-02-2011, 10:10 AM

If you have to move up, I whole heartedly recommend anything Intel based. Overall, they have been really solid.....expecting better life than the G5s as a group. Even a mid range used Mini, like a dual 1.83 or dual 2.0 would be a good replacement......unless you have to have lots of really fast storage. The internal 2.5 HD is the big limit there.

For the first gen iMacs, start on page 42.

Here's the process once you have the pizza box open.

Long shot but worth a try.

**ricks** · 03-02-2011, 10:28 AM

Good iMac take apart repair guides here as well.

**Damien** · 03-02-2011, 05:55 PM

My kids each have a mini. One coreduo and one core2duo. Both have been rock solid with one exception... I had a ram stick go bad. Simple replacement and off and running again.

**Macaholic** · 03-02-2011, 06:07 PM

I came across a G5 Dual 1.8 Tower
3 GB of RAM
160 GB HD
Running Leopard.
$250.00
Looks very clean.
The seller upgraded to a MacBook Pro and no longer needs it.
I might be able to swing this...
Should I stay away from this for any reason?
Hold out for an Intel ?,
Also Hello to Rick,
Thanks for the links all.
Does not look too complicated to open the Imac

**unclemac** · 03-02-2011, 09:11 PM

....but if it were me, I would look for a used Intel Mini for in the $400 range. Three reasons:

- Run 10.6 now, and 10.7 this summer. If you want.
- Odds are better that you will get long life out it, both hardware and software.
- A G5 tower can run you as much as $20 to $30 per month in electricity.
- Heat, noise, space....and your back all suffer with a G5 tower.

None of that helps with the cost up front, but the mini will be cheaper in the long run. And...I predict that PPC macs rapidly drop value in the next year. The Minis won't, at least not the core 2 duos. Watch out for the first gen Intel Macs---not supported in 10.7!!

Down side to a Mini:

- Harder to open, tighter to work on.
- Smaller slower 2.5 HD, may not last as long
- can't shove in big, cheap SATA HDs
- can't shove in more than about 2GB of RAM (depending on model)

**Macaholic** · 03-02-2011, 09:47 PM

again, much thanks Uncle.
If it all works out, ( and who knows ).
think I'll grab the G5 tower.
even the $250 will be hard to swing,
I'll keep my eyes open for an Intel machine.
Just not in the short term budget.
Nothing in stone yet...
david

**Damien** · 03-03-2011, 04:22 AM

I had a dual G5 1.8 and liked it very much. Seemed solid. But there are 2 versions. A 4 ram slot one and an 8 ram slot one (I had the 8 slot one). The 4 ram slot version only had PCI slots and they were speed limited as I remember, far slower than they should have been. The 8 ram slot one had PCIX slots (backwards compatible with PCI) and was not crippled. This may or may not be important to you. Remember they only have 2 internal bays for sata hard drives. They are big and heavy and make heat but I disagree on the noise, they were a pretty quiet machine as I remember.

**ricks** · 03-03-2011, 08:59 AM

Half of our workstations are G5s. Only one I have any issue with is mine, a Quad Core, that can't play any kind of even little video without ramping up the fans. Even a website with an excess of motion in the advertising will set the fans to spinning up. All the others are just fine and still do the day to day work perfectly. Even my Quad is good, just gets noisy.

Rick

**Macaholic** · 03-03-2011, 02:19 PM

This G5 1.8 Dual is a Model 7.3.
Should be delivered this evening.
Looking for specs with mixed results..
I hope it is the more expandable model Damien described !!
Thanks for all the help.
I'll probably have more questions as my last tower was a G4.

**ricks** · 03-03-2011, 03:01 PM

I believe that is the 4 ram slot model. It will work fine though. For what you are doing, no problem.

Whenever any of us look at Macs I would suggest everyone use MacTracker to get an idea of exactly what we are looking at. The very best tool for that.

Rick

**Macaholic** · 03-03-2011, 03:25 PM

Hi Rick,
Wow is the weather up there?
Spring is just around the corner !
Robins just invaded here and that is an indicator...
Yes, this will be a learning experience, but that's what it is all about.
Curious to " open the hood ". On the G5 tower.
Then we will know for sure...
Also curious as to migrating from 10.4.1 to Leopard.
Should be a fun step up.
Faster bus, memory etc...
Best wishes,
David

**Macaholic** · 03-03-2011, 07:09 PM

... Looks like a nice machine,
Very clean.
Seems to be the model Rick described.
Tested with his DVI monitor...
seems very fast, yes about 45 lbs.
I will need a DVI monitor... suggestions ?
and I always like to max out the memory / RAM.
Looks like 3 GB but I am unfamiliar with this tconfiguration.
Should be fun.
No serious fan noise yet...
And does not appear to run hot.
Yes it is a heavy MOFU.

**Damien** · 03-03-2011, 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by ricks

Only one I have any issue with is mine, a Quad Core, that can't play any kind of even little video without ramping up the fans. Even a website with an excess of motion in the advertising will set the fans to spinning up. ......... Even my Quad is good, just gets noisy.

Rick

Is that the one the dog peed on?

**Macaholic** · 03-03-2011, 07:14 PM

Oh shit...
I fell down laughing when I read this...

**rwm** · 03-03-2011, 08:25 PM

I will need a DVI monitor... suggestions ?

See what the graphics card has for outputs. But, no you'll just a DVI to VGA adapter if the graphics card has no VGA out.

Looks like a nice buy. I think you'll be happy. My neighbor has been looking at the same or similar.

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Not a bad price......

Nice, looks good

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