G3 iMac acting crazy after upgrade

[notcrazy_iminsane]

My sister's B&W Powermac went completely bonkers, so I handed over my Ruby iMac.

Originally it ran just fine with 400MHz, 128MB RAM, and OS 9 (Japanese), but since my sister isn't too good at reading Japanese and wanted all of her data from her Powermac, I thought I would take the hard drive from it and pop it in. While I was in there I also swapped out the logic board from a 400MHz to a 600MHz board, and added an additional 128MB of RAM.

After reassembling the computer, I power it on and... No chimes. It pops up with the OS 9 System folder with a question mark, flashes for a bit, then tries booting OS X Tiger. It loads.... To a point. After a minute or so it goes black and does this number:

It'll sit like this for a while then go to this:

I tried getting it to boot my Tiger CDs, but it just continues as if there's no disk in the drive. And I know these disks work since my eMac boots off of them, just like the B&W Powermac did. I can't begin to think about what's wrong :O I know I need to reinstall OS X, but what can I do if it won't boot the CDs? Is there a way to force boot like the earlier Macs?

Also, once when she started it (while I wasn't in the room), she said that it made a really loud beep, then did the same thing it did before.

Is it possible that the fault is on the logic board? I haven't tested it before since the iMac it was in before had a dead power supply... But come to think of it, this iMac never chimed, even with its old board :-/

 

[phreakout]

From the pictures you posted, obviously the iMac is displaying Single User Mode or Verbose Mode, rather than the normal desktop. So something maybe screwed up with the system files, preventing a normal startup. Here's what I would try:

Restart the iMac, then press and hold down Apple + Option + P + R, to reset the P-RAM. Hold those 4 keys down until your hear a 3rd startup chime, then let go.

Next, immediately press and hold down Apple + Option + O + F. This will get you into the Open Firmware mode. Type in the following:

reset-nvram (press Return)

set-defaults (press Return)

reset-all (press Return)

Then, insert the OS X Install CD (Disc 1) and either press and hold down C to boot right off of the CD or press and hold down Option, select the OS X Install CD from the list and click on the arrow pointing to the right to boot of the CD.

If if the third step doesn't work, you may need to have the Mac's ROM upgraded to version 4.1.9f4. To do that, it needs to have the OS 9.2.1 or later Install CD, install OS 9, copy the v4.1.9f4 firmware updater to the hard drive from the CD, run the update and then try booting into the OS X CD again.

73s de Phreakout. :rambo:

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

Now it won't turn on at all xx( Press the power button and there's a static buildup on the CRT and that's it. I can hear electricity going through it, but nothing happens. The power light doesn't even come on...

If I can get it to switch on, I'll follow those steps.

 

[phreakout]

If the power button's light goes amber or bright without any response, that may indicate a bad P.A.V. board (Power Analog Video); that's the huge circuit board that sits underneath the CRT picture tube. It also has the flyback transformer, high voltage (10,000 volts or greater), etc., on it. That may need replacing. Not uncommon for that to happen on the iMac G3s or eMacs for that matter.

73s de Phreakout. :rambo:

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

The power light doesn't come on at all. Sometimes I can hear the hard drive spinning....

It was running just fine last night. I had no problems with this iMac prior (other than the power button being a little difficult to press) to swapping the boards. :-/ I don't have anymore slot-loaders, so I can't pull out a board or test this board on another iMac...

 

[bibilit]

you may need to have the Mac's ROM upgraded to version 4.1.9f4.

Those Imacs need a firmware upgrade in order to display Mac Os X, not doing so will probably result in a black screen.

The upgrade should be done from Mac Os 9.1 or above (Not X)

If your Imac is supplied with a Vga output, try to connect the Imac to an external screen.

Those Imacs will only accept X on the very first 8 Go.

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

Those Imacs need a firmware upgrade in order to display Mac Os X, not doing so will probably result in a black screen.

The upgrade should be done from Mac Os 9.1 or above (Not X)

If your Imac is supplied with a Vga output, try to connect the Imac to an external screen.

Those Imacs will only accept X on the very first 8 Go.

Alright. I'll go hunt down the Firmware update on the Apple site.

It has a VGA output, but it doesn't display anything on this Dell LCD monitor :-/ I hope the PAV board isn't shot...

 

[Forrest]

>>>Those Imacs will only accept X on the very first 8 Go.

This comment doesn't apply to the 400 MHz and faster G3 iMac - I ran one with a 40 GB hard drive (1 partition) for years.

 

[LCGuy]

Exactly, it was only the tray loading iMacs that had that limitation. Any iMac with a slot load CD/DVD drive can take a HDD up to 128GB without having to worry about partitioning.

 

[bibilit]

This comment doesn't apply to the 400 MHz and faster G3 iMac

xx( thanks for sharing, i always used the 8 Gb partitioning rule, even for the slot loading.

It has a VGA output, but it doesn't display anything on this Dell LCD monitor I hope the PAV board isn't shot...

Did you try with The Mac Os 9 CD ?

I hope the PAV board isn't shot...

this is sadly quite usual.

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

So far my luck has been quite poor with the G3 iMacs...

I can't seem to get it to forfeit my OS X Tiger CD....

I'm going to try and place the old board back in, along with the old hard drive and see if it still works. If not, I'll assume the PAV board is shot.

Would it work if I pulled a PAV board from a tray-loading iMac? I've got an old bondi-blue I haven't powered up in a while, and I don't expect to for a while.

 

[phreakout]

No. Don't try to swap the P.A.V. boards from a Bondi Blue and a slot loaded iMac. They're not pin compatible and you could fry both Macs. Make sure you swap PA.V. boards with another slot-loaded iMac. One note: Apple used 2 different manufacturers for the P.A.V. boards, LG and CPT. The way to tell which one is which:

- One board, 661-2465, had a switch at the SW901 position, which is approximately halfway between the flyback transformer (FBT) and the rectangular opening in the center of the board. The FBT is the black rectangular-ish object from which a red or black wire at the top

connects to the top of the CRT. The switch, which is a silver rectangle with a black slider, has printed markings on the board on the side nearest the FBT that say "CPT 1-2-3 LG". The switch is slid to either end, depending on whether an LG or a CPT CRT is being used. LG CRTs have a black plastic shield over the yoke marked "LG." CPT shields look similar, but are unmarked. However, if your iMac has the slider switch and the CRT black plastic shield isn't marked, it's got to be a CPT CRT, especially is the switch is slid to the CPT position.

- The other board is Apple Part No. 661-2466. It does not have a switch at the SW901 position on the power/analog board.

Here's where it gets maddening: the Apple Part No.'s above usually aren't marked on the boards. Instead, there's a much longer number. Do some Googling around and look at some web sites, including eBay, where used PAV boards are sold, and you'll begin to understand what I've said above, including the part number stuff.

BOTTOM LINE: Determine which board your iMac has -- with the switch or without -- and get one just like it. If you want to make absolutely sure, take your iMac apart (either using one of the online take-apart guides or the iMac Summer 2001 Apple Service Source manual, being

careful about discharge of the CRT procedures), and read the other "Part No." most online sellers use, which is printed at the top center edge of the board. If the board is oriented in such a manner that the narrow end is down, the wide end is up and the FBT is on the right.

As for retrieving the OSX CD:

Try removing the slot-loaded drive from your iMac, then very carefully, slide 2 plastic levers (located near the front opening) towards the sides of the drive and the CD will come out. If not, locate the screws around the outside of the drive that hold the top metal cover together and unscrew them, then lift the top cover, remove the CD and put everything back together. Simple as that.

73s de Phreakout. :rambo:

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

Alright. Just a little thought I had. Maybe the voltages would've worked out...

I'm gonna work on swapping back to the old board and hard drive right now. I don't have anything else to do at the moment, so.... Lets hope this goes well :-/

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

Pop in the old board and drive....

And it works! So the PAV board IS GOOD.

New board, old drive:

No good. Light by the data port for the HDD and CD Drive turns on.

I also took the opportunity to test the 500MHz board I had laying around and it works as well, though the power light stays amber. It booted OS 9, so I'm happy.

I put the old drive back in. I'll try removing the Tiger disk by clicking the mouse at startup and try booting my Japanese OS 9 disk.

EDIT: So far so good. Got the Tiger disk out and started installing OS 9.2. I put the Firmware update on a floppy disk since it won't pick up my USB drive :-/ Luckily my USB floppy drive comes with a disk that has the drivers for OS 8 and 9

EDITEDIT: Darn thing died in the middle of installing OS 9

I can't tell if it finished the install or not.... It won't start now. Guess both the 600MHz and 500MHz boards are bad. That, or it overheated somehow. The iMac was pretty darn warm in the back. I have a fan pointed at it now so it'll cool better. I'll try starting it again in about 30 minutes. If it doesn't start, then I'll just switch back to the 400MHz board.

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

I hate making multiple posts :-/ Can't seem to edit the previous one now.

Update:

It wouldn't start with the 500MHz board. Popped the 400MHz back in and not a single problem.

Now I'm getting issues when trying to move over the firmware update. The iMac can't use my jumpdrive for some reason, and when I move it via USB Floppy, I get Error -39. My eMac doesn't have a problem opening the file off of the Floppy though. I'm thinking if I network the eMac and iMac via ethernet I can directly access the file on the iMac.

 

[bibilit]

You can connect both units and use the Firewire Target mode, never tried myself but works.

Once connected and patched, you can use the same trick to install Mac OS X.

 

[notcrazy_iminsane]

I connected them via ethernet and turned on TCP/IP File Sharing on the iMac.

Once I transfered the file and figured out the instructions (nowhere did it say I had to press and hold the power button while holding the Programmer's Button), I did the firmware update. After two tries, I got OS X Tiger installed. Now my sister's trying to figure out how to make an extended desktop with her extra Dell monitor. Right now it's only showing the same thing as the

Now my curiosity is why the 500MHz and 600MHz boards acted up.

No 5 beeps saying the processor was unusable.

On the 600, I could hear the hard drive spinning up, on the 500 I couldn't.

Maybe the down converter board? I know I pulled these boards from iMacs with shot PAV boards, so is it possible the down converter got shot too? I didn't mix and match them just to be safe...

 

[bibilit]

Hi,

Don't think you can extend the desktop, the VGA output will only show the same image as the main screen.

 

[LCGuy]

bilbilit is correct - the external VGA port on CRT iMacs will only provide mirroring - it is impossible to run an extended desktop with them.