G5 won't boot with FW drives plugged in

I have been using a chain of five FW 400 & 800 drives for years. Today I went to lunch and came back to find my computer turned off. When I tried to turn it on, it clicks once, the little light above the power button lights for a fraction of a second, and then silence.
So I started unplugging things. My computer will boot just fine, if my chain of hard drives is unplugged from the back. They are attached on the FW 400 bus.
They are all self powered devices. Anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks,
Mark

Thanks for the help guys.
Steve, the system.log lists nothing about shutdown. There are two curious entries that are repeated a lot. The first one doesn't have a time/date stamp, but the second does.
InDesign 2.0.2(214,0xa000ed88) malloc: * Deallocation of a pointer not malloced: 0x907116c0; This could be a double free(), or free() called with the middle of an allocated block; Try setting environment variable MallocHelp to see tools to help debug
Attempt to release a printing object without first doing a retain!!!
There were lots of those. And then...
2006-12-05 18:05:22.243 SyndicationAgent[321] WARNING: BestCalendarDateFromString - can't interpret: 'Tue 05 Dec 2006 14:28:40 -800'
The only reason I put that in is that when the computer reboots after its sudden death, it gives me an error that the time is wrong and could cause problems. No idea if that is related.
Robert,
System Profiler says...
FireWire Bus:
Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
My five external drives are all Lacie drives of various sizes. A few are FW800 but they are all running at 400.
I'm running a dual 2Ghz with 2.5 GB RAM and 10.4.8.
Thanks again for any thoughts,
Mark
www.EncompassFilmWorks.com
G5 Dual 2 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2.5 GB RAM

Similar Messages

Macbook Pro won't boot with external HDD plugged

I have a weird problem. My late 2008 Macbook Pro won't start with external HDD plugged either FW or USB... The screen stays white until I unplug it and then the Apple logo is there.
Anyone know any solution for this? Or anyone have the same problem

yeah I had the exact same issue with one of my 750GB externals too. I just left it for a while (about an hour or so) and it was fine..
I believe its so slow because the system is indexing the drive, which can be a very slow process if the drive is big, has a complex folder-hierarchy, and/or is fragmented.
Does the hard-drive appear quite quickly in Finder once OS X has started up? if its slow it may confirm what I've just said.

IMac won't boot with external drives attached

I am using iMac 27" Late 2013 model upgraded to mavericks 10.9.4. Two external drives are always attached with it, one is segate 3.5" 2TB USB 3.0 drive and another one is 2.5" usb 2.0 drive.
when i start my imac with external drives attached it won't boot up. Stuck at plain white screen after a startup chime, not even any apple logo or any progress circle appears. And i have to detach all of my drives to make it boot.
This problem arises after upgrading to mavericks. Already tried resetting PRAM, SMC and checked Startup disk and verify disk with disk utility.

Raja,
Do a SMC reset perhaps even a couple of times and see if that helps. Also in System Preferences + Startup Disk make sure the internal HD is selected.
SMC RESET
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and all peripherals.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Attach the computers power cable.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
PRAM RESET
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
Roger

Brandnew Lenovo M93 won't boot with USB device plugged in...

Since last week i got the Lenovo M93 with Intel i7-4770 CPU @ 3,40GHz. With 8 GB on board it's a real great machine!
The only thing i notice is when I boot the machine, it hangs on the opening screen, which says 'Lenovo'. Only after I remove all (2) USB connected HD's it advances and starts booting Windows. At that time i can reconnect the HD's
What can be the problem? The only 2 devices are external HD's which worked well on my 6 year old HP machine. One of them has an external powersupply.

lugies wrote:
I restored to Windows 8 from the Lenovo disks, then upgraded to 8.1. I'm booting from UEFI bios, the external is 3TB and is MBR, which is the way it came from the store. Do you think it could be because its MBR partition style?I don't know how a hard drive of greater than 2TB cannot be GPT. At least that's what it is supposed to be. MBR is for 2TB or less. If it came from the factory as MBR, that sounds wrong to me. Unless only 2TB is "visible". All the reports on this forum (in a number of separate threads) about this same problem all talk about (1) Windows 8/8.1, (2) UEFI BIOS, and (3) external drives larger than 2TB. In my own "problem-free" case, it is (1) Windows 7, (2) legacy BIOS, and (2) external drive of 2TB. I'm not denying that there would seem to be a Lenovo problem in the UEFI BIOS, but getting a 3TB drive that's partitioned as MBR sounds wrong. How about if you just delete all partitions on it, and recreate new partitions... with GPT. Use Partition Wizard. Does it make any difference? Or can you still not boot successfully with the USB drive plugged in?

Windows Won't Boot With USB Drives Attached

I just installed Windows 7 on my Mac mini but it won't boot into Windows automatically if there are USB drives attached. I have to hold down the option key at boot time and select the Windows partition manually for it to boot, unless I remove the USB drives first, then it will boot into Windows on its own. Does anyone know how to fix this annoying problem?

Sounds like your mini is set to boot order: boot from USB first.
On a PC you could go into BIOS and change boot order and enable/disable USB booting.
Not sure why or what is on the USB bus, type of drive and device that could also make a difference (and not be universal to the Mini)

Notebook won't boot with usb device plugged

Hi,
Voila, I have a Satellite Pro Sp6100, when i try to boot it whith an usb printer plugged in, the notebook won't start at all. i have latest bios version 1.90.
Thx,
Barzot @+

Hello
It will be interesting to know if the printer is ON or OFF when you start the unit. I have tested my Tecra M1 with USB stick and the boot up procedure needs about 5 min. If I put the USB stick out the unit starts as usual.

BootCamp won't boot with USB-drive connected

Hi everyone,
since I installed my BootCamp partition I encounter a strange problem. I have an LG external DVD-drive connected via USB to my iMac. Everytime I try to boot Windows while the LG is connected the boot process just stops and gives me a white display. If I unplug the drive from the USB-Port everything works fine, and once windows is booted I can even reconnect the USB-drive and it works fine. But as you might understand always unplugging and plugging really gets to my nerves. I know of a couple friends who encounter the exact same problem, they also complain about this...
Also strange is the fact, that if I boot OSX the LG is connected and everything works fine...
Searched the forum and web, and wasn't able to find something usefull...
I hope there is somebody here who can help me...
Thanks in advance...
Legolas

I think your best bet is DiskWarrior from Alsoft, you'll need the CD to boot from if you don't have another boot drive...
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
Your best bet is DiskWarrior, you need the CD/DVD though.
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
But others that may work…
Drive Genius…
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/drive_genius.php
TechTool Pro…
http://www.micromat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=83
BTW, you might enjoy these DiskWarrior review/recommendations...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9645801&#9645801
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10541019#10541019
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11918925&#11918925

Windows 7 won't boot with HFS drive attached

I installed Windows 7 onto my 2011 Mac Mini. For some reason, when I try to boot Windows with my 2.5TB HFS+ external USB drive attached, I just get a black screen, I don't even see the Windows splash screen/logo.
If I remove said drive, Windows boots fine.
Also, if the drive is attached after Windows boots, when I click the Boot Camp icon and choose "Restart in Mac OS X" I get the error "Could not locate the Mac OS X boot volume". Again, if the drive is unplugged, I can use the Boot Camp icon to restart in OS X just fine.
Any idea what's going on?

maybe the 2.2TB issue afftects it, or the drive enclosure even.
And maybe if it was just 2.1TB it would work.
Even Lion had some surprises for customers with USB device drives.

PC won't boot with CDRom Drives hooked up after iTunes install

Hello All,
After installing iTunes (initial, first time install on this machine) the computer would not fully boot. It would get to the Windows starting screen and the indicator bar would reach about 2/3 of the way complete and sit there. I tried rebooting in safe mode and it would still get stuck at seemingly the same point. After attempting several things to try and correct the issue, I finally stumbled upon that if I disconnect the CD drives the computer boots fine with iTunes installed. I've searched through the past records and saw some similar issues, but nothing quite the same and a lot of the fixes involved running diagnostics on the CD drives, but I can't do that currently as I have to have them disconnected to use the computer. Ideas? Help!
Thanks,
Jen
Self Built (ABIT KV8 PRO Motherboard, AMD Athlon Processor) Windows 2000 Professional

hi wickie!
nice blue screen after the start up.. then it keeps on restarting
what numerical and text codes are you getting with it? (ie 0x[zeros/letters/numbers] CAPSANDUNDERSCORES)
here's a reference on the sorts of things i'm asking about:
Troubleshooting Windows Stop Messages
love, b

Won't boot with usb printer plugged in!

Not only the printer but my logitech usb charger for my MX700 mouse. Is there a way to fix this?

Quote
what printer is it K8N SLI Issue - USB Mass Storage Issue try disabling USB KB/Storage Support. are there any unidentified devices in device manager with yellow icons - chances are they relate to your printer.
It's a Brothers 210c. I disconnected it like ya'll suggested and I am booting normally,after six weeks. Thanks to all, bchivers.

Mac G4 won't boot with slave drive connected

I have two G4 boxes. 1-Dual 867 Leopard and 1 -Dual 1.25 Tiger.
I have been trying to clone the system drive of the Dual 867. Everytime I add the second drive to the 867 box and try to boot i get the "Flashing ?." I have tried various reformatted drives and the result is the same. I have even tried to accomplish this by using the 1.25 box. Same result.
if i unhook the 2nd drive (ie backup drive) both computers will boot as usual.
What is the problem?

Hi larbok, and a warm welcome to the forums!
I think it's the Jumper settings on the Hard drive.
Older G4s should be set to Master on the end cable & Slave for the Middle of the cable.
MDD usually use the Cable Select jumper settings on both drives.
Jumper settings are generally shown on the HDs themselves.

2nd HDD bay with HDD = notebook won't boot with HDD in 2nd HDD bay

I recently came into a Pavilion DV9308 Notebook. It was in decent shape, well looked new and since I like tinkering with laptops and the motherboard had the dreaded NVIDIA GPU failure going on, I sent the motherboard out to my motherboard dude and he put a newer NVIDIA video chip in, made some adjustments and modifications to the heatsink cooler etc. Along with my modifications including vent holes and sealing up the fan blowing assembly so when the fan turned on the hot air would leave the laptop it now runs Windows 7 64 bit with a 64GB Kingston OS SSHD and 4GB DDR2 800mhz ram. It runs like lightning and impresses people when they see it boot up in 15 seconds.
The problem is and the whole reason I picked this notebook to restore is because it has two acutal hard drive bays. Well ever since I've gotten the notebook It will not boot with a hard drive in both bays or a hard drive in Bay #2. I had to send the repaired motherboard back once because one of the ram slots wasn't working so this is happening on two different motherboards. I cannot find a reason why this is happening and have yet to find anyone that can help me with this. Can anyone explain to me what I'm doing wrong? I have all the correct drivers I think and the laptop runs at 130"F when pushed to the max! That is amazing compared to what it originally ran. It would be awesome if someone could please help me with this. Thanks.

Hello jason9922. I understand your notebook won't boot with a hard drive in the second bay.
When you say that the notebook won't boot with a drive in the second bay what exactly do you mean? Does the CAPS LOCK key flash or do you get an error?
When you have the hard drive installed can you access the BIOS? If so, is the hard drive detected within the BIOS?
I'll keep an eye out for your response. Have a great day!
Please click the white star under my name to give me Kudos as a way to say "Thanks!"
Click the "Accept as Solution" button if I resolve your issue.

Sawtooth won't boot with anything plugged into it.

My G4 450 won't boot with anything plugged into it at all. The power will go on but no boot. If I unplug everything (except the power cord) it will boot with a chime. Anyone know what the problem could be?

rs6er:
Well, it's likely to be a problem with the video card, the monitor, or the monitor cable. (I assume that this is your normal monitor which was just recently working on your Mac.)
Some thoughts... Have you tried reseating the video card? Does the monitor power on? Do you have another monitor and cable you can swap and try? Will it boot to Safe Mode ("s" key depressed at startup) with the monitor attached?
Gary
Message was edited by: Majordadusma

Won't boot with external display connected

My MacBook Pro (circa 1997) won't boot with the external display connected. I can connect the external display (20in flat planel) after it has started, and it works just fine.
I have tried two different DVI cables (one of which I think is a DVI-A cable) and the DVI-to-VGA cable. The result is the same.
During the boot phase I get the tone, the apple logo and the progress wheel. After 30 seconds to one minute those disappear to be replaced by an empty blue screen.

In case anyone wonders, my "solution" was to change to a WB Elements Desktop 3TB (only USB 2.0 is currently available for this model). I miss the speed of USB 3.0, but it's much nicer to not have to remember to unplug and plug in the hard drive each time I boot.
Still hoping to see a proper solution to this (since I don't have the WB My Book anymore, I can't test adaher's suggestion).

PC won't boot with X-fi XtremeMusic

# This is my first post, so please tell me if I'm not giving enough info or anything..
I bought a X-fi XtremeMusic and wanted to try out.. So I plugged it into a free PCI slot to find out it wasn't working: I couldn't boot. The only thing that would happen were the casefans spinning, but my screen remained black.
I then tried to boot without the soundcard in the PCI slot, but my screen was still black.. Then I removed the onboard battery from the mainboard and waited a minute or two and put it back in: I was now able to boot again. I tried this one more time and exactly the same happened.
Now I read something about X-fi soundcards and nForce4 chipsets not meshing very well, but I have a gigabyte MA-790XT-UD4P mainboard, so this doesn't apply to me I assume.
Other specs: AMD Phenom II 720
XFX Radeon HD 4870
CoolerMaster 620w power supply
My question is: what could be causing this problem? Or is it possible that my card is broken?
Thanks!

'Re: PC won't boot with X-fi XtremeMusic? Yeah I tried it in both PCI slots, but none worked. Still I wonder about one thing, which I forgot to mention: When I replace the onboard battery and boot I get an error (which I resolve by using the last known good option instead of putting everything to stock value as I'm overclocking in the bios) that the bios checksum is incorrect, so putting in the card changes some value in the bios.. But what value? And does this imply that maybe updating my bios might solve the problem?
Also might I ask what bios revision you are currently using (I'm using the F4 bios)
About the case thing you might also be right: I do have some difficulty putting in the card as it doesn't fit perfectly. I have a CoolerMaster CM690 case which has tool-free fittings, but I can't get the fitting which holds the card down without using substantial force. This also causes the card to be in the PCI slot at a slight angle, I thought this wouldn't matter as the pins still connect, but may this be a problem? I already tried starting up without the case fitting holding the card in place and instead using my fingertips to hold in postion, though to no avail.
Oh and exactly what bracket should I look at (the one you referred to in your post)?

G5 won't boot with FW drives plugged in

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for