Troubleshooting B&W G3 - No Image

[dcr]

So, I was going to ask for recommendations for a display for a Blue & White G3.  I booted it up so I could see what resolution I ran it at so I could get a display that would work at that same resolution.  Except that I booted it up, and nothing shows up on the display.  I know it's booting.  I know it finishes booting.  And I can shut it down by pressing the power button on the keyboard and hitting "Return" to confirm shutdown.  Tried turning it on and off, cutting off power, letting it sit both powered and unpowered before powering up again, etc.  Nothing.

 

Display works.  Cables have good connections.  Rage card seated inside the G3 properly.  But no go.

 

Worked last time I booted it up which has been a month or so or more.  Don't remember for certain.

 

Any ideas?  Bad Rage card?  Something else?

 

Thanks!

[dcr]

Zapping the PRAM made no difference.

[dcr]

So, the service guide says to take out the SDIMMS and logic board and all sorts of stuff.  Meanwhile, a post on another forum says to replace the battery.  Given that replacing the battery is by far the easiest thing to do, that would seem to be the first thing to try.  However, given that I have no replacement battery, I need to get one.  Where I normally order such things, they no longer carry them.  I can get a 1/2 AA battery elsewhere, but does the mAh or Ah of the battery matter?  The service guide is mute on that subject.  And are Tadiran (purple) ones okay?  I forget which brand is the "bad" brand.  I think they "bad" brand might have been red, but I cannot remember for sure.  Thanks!

[dcr]

20 hours ago, dcr said:

I can get a 1/2 AA battery elsewhere, but does the mAh or Ah of the battery matter?

 

Best I've found is that 1.2Ah (1200mAh) is the one to go with.

[jessenator]

What display are you hooking up to it currently?

This might be a dumb question to ask, but I've found very strange compatibilities even with CRTs of the era, Apple and other manufacturers alike. For instance, my Rage128 equipped macs will now sometimes, stupidly, output a signal that's outside of the frequency range of my ViewSonic E70fb, which is bizarre, as they're pretty much contemporaries. My two LCD panels are usually okay, and both of my Apple CRTs are good as well.

Edited November 17, 2020 by jessenator

[dcr]

25 minutes ago, jessenator said:

What display are you hooking up to it currently?

 

It's a Sony Trinitron display.  Same one it's been connected to since day one.

[Brett B.]

Have you moved the video card to a different PCI slot?

 

Kinda sounds like a video card failure... do you have another one you could replace it with?  I'm assuming you've tested the monitor with a different computer and it works fine there?  PRAM battery is not required for it to boot.

[dcr]

1 hour ago, Brett B. said:

Have you moved the video card to a different PCI slot?

 

No.  Made sure it was still seated properly but otherwise have left it where it's been.

 

 

1 hour ago, Brett B. said:

Kinda sounds like a video card failure... do you have another one you could replace it with?

 

No.

 

1 hour ago, Brett B. said:

I'm assuming you've tested the monitor with a different computer and it works fine there?

 

Yes.

 

1 hour ago, Brett B. said:

PRAM battery is not required for it to boot.

 

It boots.  There's just no video.

[dcr]

Received replacement battery today.  New battery made no difference.  Still boots, still no video.  Even zapped the PRAM to be sure.

 

On 11/17/2020 at 12:33 PM, Brett B. said:

Have you moved the video card to a different PCI slot?

 

The video card only fits in one slot.  I removed and inspected it.  No signs of anything leaking, no signs of anything burnt out, broken or missing.  I placed it back in, making sure it was firmly seated.  Started again and still no video.

[jessenator]

22 hours ago, dcr said:

The video card only fits in one slot. 

The three slots are 64-bit 5V. The shorter one is indeed a 3.3V 32-bit slot

Both of my Rage128 cards are keyed to plug into either 3.3V or 5V slot:

And A lot of Rage II cards I'm seeing, and even going back to Mach64 ATi cards are keyed 5.5V only, so I'm assuming yours is a Rage128

 

You can plug 32-bit cards into 64-bit slots and it should work, unless yours is only keyed only for 3.3V. But if that's the case, you wouldn't be able to physically seat it in the 64-bit slot anyway.

Edited November 20, 2020 by jessenator

[dcr]

Pretty sure mine is a Rage128.  I kind of recall seeing 128 on the board.  I don't think it fits in the three larger slots.  At least it didn't seem to line up right with them when I had it out.  I'll try again when I open it up again.

 

I did find that I have another Rage128 card in another machine that has no RAM and a disconnected hard drive.  So, I can try that card too, although I have no way of know if that card is any good, unless it would happen to work.

[jessenator]

Yeah, it should seat correctly:

Stolen from: https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/documentation/supplemental/18/pci-keying-and-voltage-compatibility.html
With the 5V key seating before the "extra" pins behind it (or on the right in this image above)