My iMac G5 (iSight) doesnt startup correctly!

I have problems with my iMac G5 20'! I'm trying to start up but after the apple logo in the middle, there come's only a bluescreen. I couldn't do anything, only after a few minutes there appears a mouse corsor and i can move itz but there is no login window at this time! So i've tryed to make a clean install from the imac install dvd an have formatted my harddisk! So the installation was sucesfully, but after the restart I have the Same Problemlos, Shortly the apple logo in the middle, then a blue screen appears! So i mean that this could be a hardware damage, so it would be better to bring in my iMac to the next local dealer! So what do you mean should i do? Can i realy be shure, that it isn't a Software Problem? I have also tested to start from a FireWire Disk, but no success, but the same system runs wonderful on an ibook g4! hmm i think it is really a hardware problem, so what can it be?

Hey Ann - should've have started a new thread, yours is a little different but...
You need to check out this Apple Repair Extension and see if your machine is on the list, if so it may explain some of your video anomalies and fan whirring, as well as a free fix through Apple. If it's is not on the list start a new thread and you'll get lots of help... Good luck, pay it forward, Rick
iMac G5 iSight 20" - 30G iPOD in Slimming Black - HP Pav and Toshiba Sat Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Similar Messages

IMac G5 iSight freezes on startup - CDs won't work

Hi everyone.
My iMac G5 iSight is freezing up on startup. It was running slowly and erratically, so I restarted it - ever since it has failed to start up.
It gets though the basic hardware check and gets to a point where there is the big apple logo and the circular pulsing thing that suggests it is loading - however it never gets any further.
I tried loading with a CD holding the c key -but that won't work. The CD drive revs up, but it gets stuck at the same location.
I've zapped the PRAM several times (twice each). No effect.
I've disconnected the keyboard and all peripherals.
I've removed the memory module I added 2 years ago.
So, I'm stuck. It doesn't look like complete hardware failure - or it wouldn't get as far is it does.
Is there any other way to force a reset of some kind that will allow me to boot from a CD?
Thanks in Advance.

Check the Repair extension programs and look for your number. Whether you qualify also depends on how old your computer is. The extension cuts off three years after the original purchase date, but they have been known to make exceptions.

IMac G5 – Won't startup except in Safe Mode (10.5.5). Otherwise Blue Screen

I’ve had my iMac (pre-iSight) for about 3 years now and up until recently never had any major problems with it, despite using it for about 12 hours per day, every day.. A couple of minor problems however had developed, but several months ago and didn’t seem to affect the system:
(1) Software update stopped working (had to download & install updates manually) &
(2) Couldn’t verify or repair permissions (even pre 10.5.5. Even when I tried to repair them from another startup disk, the message I got was ‘no package receipts’ – although I could see that they were there in the “receipts” library folder)
A couple of days ago I decided to try and fix the problems by erasing my startup disk (after backing up all my data of course) and re-installing 10.5 from the installation DVD and then bringing the system up to date. At the time I did this I hadn’t upgraded or installed any new software for several weeks.
For about one day after that it worked fine. The only ‘alarming’ thing that I noticed during that day was that whilst playing a movie the CPU temperature rose to about 89 C. (I use Temperature Monitor). I read somewhere that the CPU temperature should not exceed 85 for this model and that if it did the system would either shutdown or go to sleep, so I was surprised to see it go as high as 89 (assuming that the right temperature was being reported) before it went to sleep. However, even after that it, it started up correctly a couple of times.
Since then it will only boot in Safe mode, and when it does it carries on working indefinitely without any problems. The only thing that I lose in safe mode which seems odd – in addition to all the things that I know I should lose – is Audio. The preferences panel says: no input, output devices attached (ie not even the ones built-in).
If I try a normal start up, the system will go through the grey screen, apple logo, spinning ‘cog’ etc and then almost always go to a blue screen where it stays put. There is a black cursor in the top left corner which, when I try to move it, duplicates itself so that I end up with 2 cursors – one which moves and one which stays in the top left corner.
On very rare occasions (about 1 time in 20) during a normal startup the system will get past the blue screen and to my desktop (in fact this happened several times consecutively before I got to the point where I could only startup in Safe Mode). However, moving the cursor into the menu bar or into the dock would result in the whole screen freezing – the cursor would move, but nothing else would happen). Also I would see that several pixels were ‘missing’ from the desktop. The desktop is normally solid green, but I would see 3 or 4 red and black pixels.
I’ve studied all the forum topics that even remotely resemble my problem and tried just about everything I can think of including:
1. Resetting SMU & PRAM (repetitively)
2. Running the Apple Hardware Test – All tests passed
3. Replacing the PRAM battery
4. Check that the fans are working (I can hear them and when I take the back off, both fans spin)
5. Erased the disk again, installed the OS from the installation DVD, so that there is no third party software on the system. (and then tried a normal boot both with the original 10.5.1 and 10.5.5 after applying the combo update).
6. I have several external disks with several copies of the OS on various partitions, including a 10.4.11, but trying to boot from any of those ends with the same result. I can only boot in safe mode, other wise I get a blue screen (or very rarely it will squeak through to the desktop & then immediately freeze).
Always the same result – safe boot only.
From reading through the various topics, I get the feeling that my problem may be related to the graphics card, but if that is the case I don’t understand why the system will always boot in safe mode and then run without any problems all day. It even allows me to play movies: very jerky (and no sound), both when I move the QT window and the images themselves, but it still plays.
Any thoughts on what the problem might be (other than fatal) would be greatly appreciated. Or an explanation why, if it is the graphics card, the system will continue working after safe boot.
I’ve copied out the system details from Profiler that I think are relevant below.
All the ‘x’’s in the the ROM revision for the ATI Radeon card look a little odd – never seen that before and I don’t know how long its been there.
Model Name: iMac G5
Model Identifier: PowerMac8,2
Processor Name: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 1
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.2.5f1
Serial Number: W8539……
ATI Radeon 9600:
Chipset Model: ATY,RV351
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: AGP
VRAM (Total): 128 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x4150
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-xxxxx-117
Displays:
iMac:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Software
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Not Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No display connected
Many thanks for your help

I had a very similar problem with my 20" iMac G5 ALS running 10.4.11. It began with random freezing inside the OS and intermittent slow booting, but quickly progressed (over a matter of days) to hanging at the blue screen before the logon window, just as you described.
I too, found that booting in Safe Mode was successful. I ruled out the airport card by manually installing that kernel extension in Safe Mode. A check of the logs pointed to "ATY" which I've since found out is a reference to the ATI drivers, which brought me to this post.
At least on my system--and I have tested this on Tiger (10.4 and 10.4.11) and Leopard (10.5 and 10.5.6), the only .kext that needs to be removed / renamed is ATIRadeon9700.kext. My preferred method of doing this is to drop to the terminal and type:
sudo mv /System/Library/Extensions/ATIRadeon.kext /System/Library/Extensions/ATIRadeon.kext.disabled
This preserves the relevant permissions and ownership, which you'd otherwise have to reset manually if you copy the file elsewhere and then delete the original in the Finder, and then want to restore it to its original condition, BTW:
sudo chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/ATIRadeon.kext
sudo chown -R 0:0 /System/Library/Extensions/ATIRadeon.kext
Any OS X update will replenish the file, so you should be at the ready to reboot into Safe Mode the first time and rename the file again.
The downside to all this is that the video acceleration doesn't work, so graphics operations are slow and jerky, but at least everything else seems to be okay, in my case anyway.
Popping open the case did indeed reveal four bulging capacitors. I bit the bullet and purchased some replacements, part number 647-UHN0J182MPD from Mouser:
http://mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=pjJ%252bhmlZec6zHXGt6EoiHw%3d%3d
Although I wasn't looking forward to desoldering my logic board, I wasn't real hopeful that I'd have success getting the local Apple shop to replace it under warranty either. I did find some helpful information on performing the fix yourself:
http://jimwarholic.com/2008/07/how-to-repair-apple-imac-g5.php
And I do want to be able to sell this thing for at least a little cash to help offset the cost of a new quad-core iMac, whenever they're released.
Fortunately, for me, the service tech at the Genius Bar at the local Apple store agreed to fix it under the power and video extended warranty, even though it was slightly outside of the warranty period, due to the fact that I had brought it in about a year ago and had the power supply replaced under the same warranty.
I almost didn't bother to bring the machine in because it's a real nasty day here today, and I figured they'd just tell me "That'll be $800 to fix it," and I'd end up doing surgery on the logic board anyway in addition to carrying the thing up and down the steps to my condo. Boy am I glad I did, though. Apple customer service rocks.

IMac G5 (iSight) DVD drive a DIY part?!?!

Hi, I'm horribly confused. Is my DVD drive a user-serviceable part or not?
Apple's documents only talk about "iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor)," but don't say anything about the optical drive in "iMac G5 (iSight)."
I believe that the iSight model has undergone a radical internal re-engineering, so what applies to earlier models may not apply to it. And after a certain point in surfing the support pages, they simply stop referring to the iSight model and quietly redirect to the older models.
I was going to open the Mac to access the disk that's stuck in it (it's a rental DVD, to make things even worse). But someone warned me on another forum that it would void my warranty in the case of this model.
I have this disk stuck in my drive, and it won't eject. It's a hardware problem. The drive tries to eject the disk (making noises), then gives up (believing that it was successful), and the disk mounts again. I've tried every software method (including Open Firmware), to no avail. I tried laying the iMac on its screen, turning it off to let it cool off, etc. Nothing helps.
Apple's online Troubleshooting Assistant has recommended that I replace the part. It has, again, offered a DIY replacement. But at a certain level into the online order form, it refused to list the optical drive as a replacement part.
Obviously, Apple needs to update some of its support pages. But the question remains: How can I remove the disk from the drive, and as the drive is probably faulty (if this could happen to it), how do I get it replaced?
I'm in Luxembourg, and haven't managed to find ANY information on whom to contact here.

You are correct about the iSight model being different from the earlier two G5 models. The back does not come off the iSight one; instead, the front bezel & LCD screen must be removed to access the interior. This is not designed to be done by users, requires handling some delicate parts, & will almost certainly void your warranty if you do it yourself.
To find contact information, check the paper documentation that came with your iMac for a document about AppleCare service & support. Mine is the 2005 edition, in English, but lists the following for Luxembourg:
(352) 800 24550 or www.apple.com/befr/support

Need iMac G5 (iSight) monitor calibration help (RGB Channels?)

I understand the need to calibrate my display so that the final print matches what I see on my display. I plan to use the Gretag Macbeth Eye One Display calibrator, which I have already used on my last CRT monitor, with good results. I needed to adjust the Brightness, Contrast and RGB Channels individually to get the profile on the CRT monitor. I cannot seem to find these same controls in the iMac G5. Am I just blind...or do they not exist in this computer? Please help! Thank you, Regina
iMac G5 iSight Mac OS X (10.4.5)

You do not have individual channel calculation on an LCD at least not with the G-M software (apple's built-in calbrator does a software calibration for individual channels, but you'll still be closer with the Eye-One Match results). Brightness you can set with the slider in display or by using the keyboard controls. Contrast is in universal access, but you should just leave it alone. The default setting is the correct one for beginning a G-M calculation.
EDIT Are you aware that there was an update to the G-M software a couple of weeks ago? You can download it from their website.

My imac G5 isight September 2006 hard drive takes several attempts to mount. When it does it works fine. Is there anything I can do to repair or do I just abandon it and sell it for parts?

My imac G5 isight September 2006 hard drive takes several attempts to mount. When it does it works fine. Is there anything I can do to repair or do I just abandon it and sell it for parts?

It's an Intel iMac the last G5s were built in 2005.
How to identify iMac models
1. Go to: Apple > System Preferences > Startup Disk and check to besure the that OS X 10.6 on the Macintosh HD is set as the Startup Disk.
2. Start up from you Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD, navagate to Utilities > Disk Utility and Repair the Macintosh HD.
About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature

IMac G5 iSight won't boot from external optical drive . . . FW or USB

Hello, all. I have an iMac G5 iSight with a busted optical drive. Every six months or so, OS 10.4 eats itself (directory structure goes corrupt), and I need to reinstall.
The issue I'm having is that the computer won't boot off of my external optical drive. It's not shown as a choice in the Startup Manager, whether it's connected via USB or FireWire. Any ideas?

Okay, sorry this took so long . . .
Reset the SMU, NVRAM, and PRAM, no luck. Tried different FireWire port on the iMac, no luck. Tried different FireWire port on optical drive--LUCK.
Ah.
Wipe and reinstall got underway, and finished the first part. Unfortunately, my OS 10.4 Disc 2 turned out to be scratched, and wiping the hard drive didn't get rid of the logic board error either.
Took it to Apple retail store, and it was BOA (bricked on arrival). Astoundingly, it would not power, POST, turn on the fans, nothing. They then replaced the power supply, so they could troubleshoot the hard drive/fan/whatever issue.
Now the computer POSTs, and they finished the reinstall, and said it passes their advanced diagnostics. I asked them to run the diags on the install CD, so they could see they fan error, and they agreed. That was around 7:00 last night.
Now, it's still at the store, and I'm eagerly awaiting word on what might REALLY be wrong. Thanks for your help so far!

Imac G5 20" makes startup sound, and fan kicks in, but screen stays black

Hello. I have read the many similar postings and tried alot of ideas with no luck. Here are the specs on the model:
G5 20"/2.0/512mb/250gb/Super/56k/BT/AP EMC2056 Model A1076
When you push the power button, you get the bootup sound, and the fan turns on. Then 30 seconds later, the fan goes into hyperdrive. The whole time the screen stays black. I have tried resetting the pram, get no sound then. I have tried the internal startup button below the fan housing, and it does NOT have the 2nd button there as it is an ambient light model. So I held the power button and plugged in the power cord, still nothing. When plugged in, the 1st green light lights up on logic board. When I hit the power, the 2nd green light lights up. I have tried an external monitor with the adapter plug and still no picture. I do not even hear the hardrive try to read. Could it be a power supply? What are the other 2 lights on the logic board for, as there are a total of 4? I have not tried to boot from a cd or change the battery yet. I don't know if there is a point in doing that, as the screen remains black. I cannot use a conventional pc power supply tester either. Any other ideas on this situation?

"Could it be a power supply?"
More than likely if everything else possible has been ruled out. Your model G5 had an extension repair program which has long expired for your exact issue. Shame you missed it.
"I have not tried to boot from a cd or change the battery yet. I don't know if there is a point in doing that, as the screen remains black."
You won't know if it will do any good until you at least give it try. You should also run Apple's Hardware Test from the Install DVD #1. The DVD label will tell you which key to boot up from to run the AHT.
A few links to check out:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301733 iMac G5: How to Reset the SMU (iMac G5, the iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor), and the iMac G5 (iSight)).
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2094 iMac G5: Troubleshooting when there's no picture on the display
iMac G5 Support
You could also try cleaning the interior of your comp.
See KB Article: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300205 iMac G5 DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Instructions
iFixit has detailed take apart instructions.
Search YouTube for G5 iMac (your model) “How To” tutorials.
Your final solution may be to take comp to your local Apple Store or an AASP.
Good luck!
!http://i45.tinypic.com/jl0z95.jpg!

When i bought this iMac i failed to register correctly and as i am trying to install a printer i need to do this when i am logging on. How can i create new password

When i bought this iMac i failed to register correctly and as i am trying to install a printer i need to do this when i am logging on. How can i create new password

See
http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/24/reset-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-password/ and
http://osxdaily.com/2011/09/19/change-password-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-without-knowin g-current-password/
which also apply to Mtn Lion and Macericks.

IMac G5 (iSight) First Impressions

Well, I got my iMac G5 (iSight) from Apple yesterday. It really looks unbelievable. I'm surprised at how they can get all that power into such an elegant look and design.
Ok, here is what I think so far.
When I got it out of the box, hooked it up in no time. I have one thing to note about the audio in/out ports. It seems that the connector will "click in" all the way into the port, and make a good connection, but the shaft of the input cable is a bit visible, which could make one think it's not in all the way, and maybe damage the port by trying to push it in more. Once, in, if you move the cable, you will hear some static, but I don't know if that has anything to do with the shaft no going all the way flush to the back of the unit. Anyway, the cables won't be moving, so static won't be a problem with normal use.
The display brightness. The guys at Apple have a few settings. Bright, Brighter, Brighter Still, and Insane! This display is sooooo bright. Even with the brightness turned down all the way (BTW Apple, when brightness is turned down/off, it should actually get "less bright"), it's still too bright. So you'll want to calibrate on a lower brightness. I had a 20" Cinema, so I know they are bright, but this seems REALLY bright.
Unlock keychain error. After setting up the Mac and going through the setup program, after launching OS X, I got this box that said to input a password to unlock keychain for airport for system. I tried my password, but that wouldn't work. I just cancelled. All appeard fine, but it showed up again. I did get this fixed, the solution will be later.
Unable to verify disk using 10.4.3. As you know in 10.4.3, you can now do a verify disk while the boot volume is mounted. However, I kept on getting an error message that said could not unmount volume, and it wouldn't let me. I also solved this, solution in a minute.
The only thing I can think of for these problems, is that there was a problem with the factory install. So I did a clean install using the factory discs, then set all my preferences. I had no problems after that. I ended up wasting like 6 hours in the process, as I moved all of my music (16,000+) songs over before I knew of the problems, as well as installing all of my software and changes preferences within each piece of software. I was a bit mad to say the least.
In terms of the hardware working, it's really quiet and I've experienced no problems yet. It's definitley a step up from my mini (which I have on eBay right now, along with my 20" ACD which just sold for $660.00, the mini is up to $781.00). Along with some other stuff I'm selling, I won't pay anything out of pocket for the iMac, so that was a pretty good upgrade.
Front Row, in theory is a great idea, but since I have 16,000+ songs, with hundreds of artists, it really isn't too practical right now. Maybe if they add an index, where you can jump to artist/song by letter, that might help. Or have some menu options you can scroll through on the bottom of each screen. Right now, it just takes too long to get to where I want to go, so iTunes is much faster. The album art and interface is nicely done, but again, it's just too time consuming to get what I want.
I would buy this iMac again, and getting $100.00 off buying last Friday was a great deal. Aside from the software problems initially, I've had nothing but quiet, problem-free use. After having the mini, which was almost completely silent, this computer is still almost silent. Of course in the natrual seated position, if all is quiet, you can hear a fan, but it's not a whirring loud sound, just a faint fan sound. I have read some complaints about noise issues, but I don't hear anything like that. It's really, really quite. My PC, now that was noisy. I'll post if I hear different.
Bryan

Hello hPad and welcome to the wonderful world of Apple!
Just a few things to bear in mind when you search on eBay:
1. £500 sounds too much to me. They only cost £1000 new (they were last made in 2006) and as the G5 is officially obsolete it is probably only worth around £300 or so.
2. Make absolutely certain that any secondhand Mac you may buy comes with the original install disks. There are maintenance tasks that are impossible without them. If the vendor cannot offer these, don't buy from him.
3. OS Leopard 10.5.x is as high as a G5 can go. From new, it had Tiger 10.4.x installed, so you may also have to buy Leopard. If so, make sure you are getting a black retail disk, not somebody's cast-off updater.
4. The G5 iMac has only one slot for adding memory (RAM), so the maximum you can install is 2GB, making 2.5GB in all. As you can see below, my G5 iMac has a total of 1.5GB of RAM, which has proved sufficient. If you want to buy additional RAM stick to either Crucial or Kingston. Both offer a lifetime warranty.
Feel free to post back with any additional questions. Happy hunting!

How to replace internal Hard Drive on iMac G5 iSight 1.9GHz

Hello everyone,
The internal hard drive of my iMac has died (apparently), and is no longer detectable by Disk Utility. It occasionally makes a "click/tick" sound so I know it's still spinning inside. I currently am booted up from an external firewire drive with Tiger (10.4.11) installed.
I have been attempting to locate a service manual that shows how to open the case to my 17" iMac G5 iSight 1.9GHz model. I have found a service manual from the previous generation iMac G5 NON-iSight models, but the bottom access panel and screw locations differ from my iMac.
I have purchased an internal 500GB Seagate 7200.12 replacement drive.
Does anyone know where I can find a manual with pictures showing how to disassemble this particular iMac so I can install the new hard drive?

Ticking is a death rattle for drives and below are some helpful sites with pix.
http://www.kodawarisan.com/imacintel/imacintel01.html
http://xlr8yourmac.com/systems/imacisight_internals/imac_g5_isightinside.html
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=iVgL9u7ySUk
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=fI_QmBueWg4&feature=related
The reason Apple don't publish pix of the insides of the iSight is that they say that there are no user serviceable parts.

My iMac G5 iSight has died. New iMac on order.

My 5+ year old 20" iMac G5 iSight has died after a recent 3 hour power outage. I have nothing. It has acted a little stubborn with some restarts recently and I waited a little too long to replace. I tore it down and replaced the PRAM battery but no luck, I am thinking it is a power supply issue. I have a new iMac on order which should arrive next week. I also should have a good Time Capsule backup.
I would like to remove the hard drive and put it an external firewire enclosure, reboot from that and restore my data and applications. Will be going from a PPC iMac to an Intel. Is this a valid option? My main concern is my Quicken data and program. I have been running Quicken 2006 and don't really want to upgrade from the reviews I have read. Don't have the install disk for Quicken 2006 anymore.
Thanks in advance!
Jim

Removing the drive is an excellent idea, you should be able to mount your firewire external and use it on your new machine.
I'm not sure if you will be able to reboot from the FireWire external, it depends on the damage done by the hard shutdown (get yourself a USP, I use APC models, they're very good and have saved me many a time, I live in the country and the power is always going off), but it's likely that you can.
Please post back with results,

IMac G5 iSight detects external display when none is connected

Hi,
I purchased an old 17" iMac G5 iSight,in which the screen sometimes suddenly turns to blue and the resolution drops as it detects a VGA display even though no external display is connected. It even shown two displays in the preference panel.
I opened the iMac and checked the capacitors which look okay. I reinstalled the OS and it didn't fix the problem.
Do you have some idea where to look? Or does someone know how to disable external displays?
I found this discussion from another forum: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-ati/+bug/172427
...but it's ubuntu so I don't understad what they're talking about?

Make sure that the PRAM battery is under 4 years old.
Then zap the PRAM.

VGA output on new iMac G5 (iSight)

According to the tech specs, the new iMac G5 (iSight) can mirror its internal display onto an external VGA display (using the optional adapter).
Can someone who has both the new iMac and the adapter please test whether it actually outputs two different resolutions (for example, 1680x1050 on the internal display and 1024x768 on the external monitor)? Or is it like the older iMac models, which can only drive both displays at the same resolution, effectively rendering the internal display useless while an external one is connected?
Thanks.

It mirrors exactly the same resolution being displayed on the internal display.
Glor

IMac G5 (iSight) with 10.4.11: Screen always dimmed. Starts at full bright and a second later dimms and stays like that forever. Brightness controls work normally under this circunstance. Please help !!!

iMac G5 (iSight) with 10.4.11: Screen always dimmed. Starts at full bright and a second later dimms and stays like that forever. Brightness controls work normally under this circunstance. Please help !!!
Please don't tell me to adjust anything on the preferences, since I have tried all. I think it may be anoter kind of problem, maybe hardware related or anything.
I ran the Hardware repair DVD and everything was ok, but when the imac restarted the screen was very lit again, but when it went sleep, when it went awake again the screen got dimmed again. Because of that I think that the problem could be software related, but who knows. Excuse my english.

I can't see another possible answer - the longer your machine is up, the more the power supply is stressed, it protects itself by dimming the screen to lower the draw on it.

My iMac G5 (iSight) doesnt startup correctly!

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