G4 Cube is finally home

[snuci]

Man are these beautiful machines and I've often thought about getting one but they are too new for what I collect. Well, I couldn't resist any longer. My G4 Cube arrived yesterday along with my 20" Cinema display and today my matching Pro keyboard/mouse.

It booted to a plain gray screen with no startup sound and I couldn't get much further; wondering if the computer had broken in transit. I read that bad hard drives could cause this as well as a host of other issues. I took it apart and tried the CUDA switch. As I pressed and held it and then pressed it a couple of times afterwards for good measure, I read that you are only supposed to press it once. DOH!

After reseating connectors that I could find, I was still presented with a gray screen. I have a 20" Cinema display as as I posted in another thread, I wasn't sure what would happen if I connected it with the stock card. Now I was thinking I screwed up the video card. I hooked up a VGA monitor and got the same result.

I decided I would do the usual and reseat the memory even though it looked fine and solid. After doing this, lo and behold, she booted up to OS X.

It's in 9/10 shape but there is a crack next to one of the top two screws. I'm fine with that for what I paid. Is this fairly common? Is a perfect Cube out of the ordinary?

I'm now waiting for my ATI 7500 card before trying to hook up the 20" Cinema display. This display is on quite and angle (may 30 degrees) and I was worried about breaking the stand. Is this normal or should it be more upright? Can this be adjusted at all?

What a beautiful computer (did I say that already?). I haven't played around much and may go back to OS 9.1 because I like the older school OSes and it reminds me too much of the Mac Mini I have that's my media PC. Sorry all but I'm not a big fan of OS X.

Of particular interest to me is how the parts have come together. The Cube is from Nova Scotia, the Keyboard/mouse is from British Columbia, the Cinema display from Quebec and the video card is coming from Texas. It's a coast-to-coast-to-coast machine... literally. It's a beauty.

 

[Macdrone]

The stand sounds like the spring is going and the rubber pads on the feet are slick and sliding. It's normal but any tape that grabs a little, clear of coarse, and it won't slip as easy under the weight.

Your no sound issue is because the cube requires USB powered speakers especially for the cube or the turtle beach USB to mic and speaker dongle. The dongle requires no drivers and just works as with the apple speakers.

The lack of boot issue is common, when you change the video card it will likely happen again. Also after installing it it may not work with OS 9.

 

[mcdermd]

You can see the speakers here: http://www.applefool.com/applefool/Power_Mac_G4_Cube.html#17

 

[Byrd]

Cubes need a good PRAM battery to prevent boot problems, and while you're in there double check all connections on the CPU daughter card, Airport ribbon cable and the right angle video board. If you don't have Cube specific speakers, a Griffin iMic or a generic USB sound card works well.

 

[snuci]

Hrmmm, I thought I had posted a reply last night but I guess I didn't hit the "Submit" button. Maybe I just previewed

I may have been unclear on my original post. The Cube works perfectly fine now. As Byrd mentioned, I did reseat everything and eventually the RAM did it. I also checked the PRAM battery and it looked fine. I also have sound from the original USB Cube speakers that came with the Cube (as shown in the link from mcdermd). I just wanted to post my troubling experience in case someone does a Google search with the same issue. As always, I do appreciate the feedback. If someone reads that and thinks it still doesn't work, I can confirm it works perfectly after reseating the memory.

Thanks for your comment on the monitor rubber pads Macdrone. They are almost non-existent (I couldn't even see them without feeling for them) and definitely don't grip anything. I think the spring is still fine. That's why I was worried the stand would snap off. I will add some tape or something to the bottom of the feet to ensure that it stops where placed. Maybe a rubber strip on each foot but I only have black

Since the speakers came up, I do have a question about these. The rubber around the cone is still intact but I have read and saw pictures of this rubber deteriorating. Is there something that I can put on this to preserve them? Can I use petroleum jelly (an old trick for car weather stripping to keep it soft and pliable) or will this eventually damage them?

As always, thanks for the feedback.

 

[CC_333]

Hi,

For non-gripping rubber, I found that scrubbing it with a magic eraser not only makes it look nicer, but it grips MUCH better.

Otherwise, Macdrone's suggestion still stands.

 

[haplain]

It's in 9/10 shape but there is a crack next to one of the top two screws. I'm fine with that for what I paid. Is this fairly common? Is a perfect Cube out of the ordinary?

To find a perfect, and I mean perfect case is nearly impossible at this point. I've bought, upgraded, and sold nearly 150 Cubes by now, and have only come across 2 perfect, 10/10 cases. The only reason they were perfect is because they were in their original boxes, with the factory foam around the Cube to protect them, and then the factory plastic that is stuck to the Cube itself. If they were ever used, even by the best owner, they will have some kind of mark. The acrylic is so soft even using the finest diamond paste and buffing still leave trace marks at the right angle. You have to be looking for it at that point but perfect means flawless so it's easy to find the imperfections.

Also, as you mentioned with your Cube the top screws were notorious for cracking. That is actually a major reason why Apple discontinued the line. I'm sure Steve freaked out when he heard reports of that happening. He did have a major affinity for the Cube style design so I think he definitely took that personally. I mean what other Apple product can you think of that was know to have a major physical defect from shipping alone? Even in their very well made box, and shipped by the best courier they still cracked. The entire weight of the Cube is resting on two pressure points, especially when on it's side, that were 1/4" wide each. The metal top screws aren't going to give so naturally the first thing to do so would be the acrylic case. Either way, enjoy your Cube, they're the best.

 

[snuci]

Thanks for the detailed response Hap.

For those who have not seen a G4 Cube close up (including me before I bought it), the acrylic plastic case is one solid piece. I thought the four sides mated with the top plate in some way as it appears in pictures of the unit but no; it's one solid piece. No wonder it''s notorious for cracking. It hangs by those two screws (found that out when taking it apart to clean) and one can see faint mold lines right were the screws are making it easier to give way to the added stress. I'm very happy for it to be in any presentable shape.

 

[TheMacGuy]

Mine is like that too. Like hap said, its just the acrylic under stress. This got me thinking that someone needs to come up with a "Cube Pillow" or something to rest the actual metal enclosure of the Cube on while not in use, to prevent further cracking. Of course, you would remove it for use or burn up the internals.

I hope you enjoy your Cube!

 

[CC_333]

Maybe one could build "stilts", i.e., something thin that the metal chassis could rest on that wouldn't block airflow. Perhaps it could be in the form of a form fitted acrylic ring that would slide inside the Cube's body underneath the chassis. Then the weight of it could rest on that, sparing the Cube's outer body from all that stress.

Trash knows about this sort of stuff I think, so perhaps he could figure out exactly how it would be done.

Thoughts?

c

 

[haplain]

Honestly if the cube is only stored upright that's the best way to ensure it's safety. There is no pressure on the top screws when the cube is vertical. If you slide the inner components out with the cube standing up you will never damage it or risk cracking the cube. It's when you put the computer on it's side causes the top screws to bear the entire load of the chassis and components therefore introducing the possibility of cracking the acrylic. Just my experience with them.

 

[olePigeon]

It's in 9/10 shape but there is a crack next to one of the top two screws. I'm fine with that for what I paid. Is this fairly common? Is a perfect Cube out of the ordinary?

That's normal for the Cube, it's actually a mold line that looks like a crack. You won't find a single G4 Cube out there that doesn't have one or two of those next to the two top screws.

 

[haplain]

Right. There is definitely a molding/parting line on top of each Cube that is more or less visible on every one of the Cube. There is also sometimes a much larger/worse line or rather a crack, that develops one some of the Cube from stressing the top case screws.