Memory test fail on G4, won't boot

Our school has two labs and one is using all older G4 computers. ONe of the towers is a G4 with 768MB of RAM and is the AGP 733mhz model. It is running 10.4.1. It no longer boots. It has not booted in about three months. I finally have time to try and fix it. For some reason, it would only try to boot into OS9. But once it got there it would hang on the folder with the flashing apple face and question mark. Putting in a OS9 startup disk helped, but the internal HD would not mount. Putting in a Jaguar, Tiger or Panther OS disc would not boot either. It would still go immediately to the OS9 flashing folder. Again, the OS9 boot disc does work, but prior to showing the desktop, it gives this error, "The built in memory test has detected a problem. Please contact a service technician." Does this mean that until the internal memory is fixed, this computer will never boot or is this just another minor problem that does not relate to the boot issue? I tried to trick the system but using Carbon Copy on an identical computer and copying that OS to another , new internal hard drive. I took that hard drive and replaced the one in the defective G4. It did start the boot into OS 10.4.1, but it kept freezing after a while. And now, that same, new HD is booting to the OS9 flashing folder. So, do I go it alone with your help or just send this G4 out for repair?

Hi, Ted -
The problem would appear to be with the RAM.
If any RAM was added to the machine after it was shipped by Apple (that includes RAM added by a reseller), try removing that RAM, retaining at least one module, ideally at least 128MB and Apple-sourced. If necessary, borrow a 128MB RAM module from another machine and use it.
If it boots, then by trial and error you may be able to narrow down which module is the culprit.
<hr>
Another possibility is that since the machine was not booted for so long, and especially if it had been left unplugged for most of that time, the internal battery has failed. This can also happen with time - the life expectancy of those is about 5 years under best-case situations. A too-weak or dead battery can cause booting problems.
Try replacing the battery. You can get a replacement at places like Radio Shack for about US$16, cheaper on-line.

Similar Messages

HP Pavilion g6-2330dx. "No Boot Device. Insert boot disk and press any key" Memory test failed

Hi. So I am trying to help a friend with her laptop. It's a HP Pavilion g6-2330dx.
Product #: D1C01UA#ABA
Serial #: [Personal Information Removed]
Windows 8
ADATA 4GB RAM
Toshiba 640GB HDD from the looks of it.
The laptop is unable to boot into Windows, so I suspect the hard drive. But I ran the hard drive test and it passed all the tests. The SMART test and both the short and long test. I ran the tests multiple times and it passed each time. I tried reseating the hard drive and still no go. I also removed the HDD and connected it to my desktop PC to see if it detects and it did. Ran the Windows 7 own HDD test and it passed.
Currently, there doesnt seem to be any operating system at all on the HDD. When I check, there is a C: drive of ~90GB partition that is ~90GB free, but inside there are Windows files/folders. There is also a D: drive Recovery partition that says ~26GB with only ~2GB free, but when I go inside there's only ~350MB worth of data.
So then I ran the memory test (in BIOS) and it failed immediately. I reseated the RAM module. I tried the other slot. It still failed. So is it safe to say the memory is the cause of this problem?
Pressing the F11 key that is supposed to take me to the System Recovery only leads me back to the black screen with "No Boot Device. Insert boot disk and press any key"
I even tried to install Windows 7 to see if it'll work. I was able to get the laptop to boot/read off the Windows 7. But when I click to install, it asks for a boot device driver or something like that.
My friend doesn't have the recovery disk either. I guess she lost it.
Anyway, is it as simple as replacing the memory or could it actually be the HDD (even though it passes)?
EDIT: This is what the System Log in BIOS says
0021           Time: 10/13/2014
03F0           Time: 10/13/2014
03F0           Time: 10/13/2014
The date was the first time I ran the tests. I havent received those numbers (error codes?) since.
EDIT: Just for kicks, I ran Memtest 2.11 just now (forgot I had the disc) and it immediately went red with thousands of errors, hah.

Hi bghs,
Welcome to the HP Forums!
It is a fantastic place to find answers and information.
For you to have the best experience in the HP forum I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide Learn How to Post and More
I understand that you were unable to boot into Windows, and you suspected the hard drive and tested it, but it passed both short and long test. With that being said and the fact that it also passed leads me to believe the hard drive is fine.
You tested the memory and it failed. You tried reseating and swapping slots but they still failed the test.
I would test each card individual with the memtest to determine if it is just one or both cards that have an issue.
When you installed it in another computer, you did see the recovery partition. Once the memory issue is resolved, if you are still unable to boot into Windows, I suggest you do a recovery with the minimized image.   Here is a link to Performing an HP System Recovery (Windows 8) to assist you with that process.
I hope this helps.
Sparkles1
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

HP Pavilion DV7; System will not boot; Memory Test Failed using Advanced System Diagnostics

Not sure exactly how, but I managed to contracted several variants of the nasty Rovnix virus and now my system will not even boot into Safe Mode after trying to restore to several different restore points. Enabled bootlogging, but not sure how to retrieve the log.
Currently am able to get into HP Advanced Diagnostics and began Start-Up Test. Test failed on Memory Module:
Failure ID: Q0AE6C-5LS79T-MFH15G-406N03
Any next steps or directional assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Hello @GarrettBishop,
Welcome to the HP Forums, I hope you enjoy your experience! To help you get the most out of the HP Forums I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.
I have read your post on how your notebook computer has failed a memory test in the advanced system, and I would be happy to assist you in this matter!
Since the Failure ID has come up with Q0AE6C-5LS79T-MFH15G-406N03, I recommend contacting our technical support at 800-474-6836. If you live outside the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region.
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/ww-phone-assist.html
I hope this helps!
Regards
MechPilot
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!

HP Pavilion g6: Memory test fail id - U0E17L-5SV7NP-MFGH4K-406W03

Hi,I have a HP Pavilion g6 Notebook (Prodect id - QC399AV).The laptop is not booting and, I get a message "Windows failed to start. A rececnt hardware or software might be the cause" On doing a memory test, I get following failure id - U0E17L-5SV7NP-MFGH4K-406W03. The Hard disk test had passed. Can any on let me know what this error means, and how i can fix this. Do let me know if this is related to Operating system, and if i have to reinstall them. I am not able to do a factory reset (as Laptop does not boot), let me know how i can get the operating system image in DVD/USB. Thanks,Sujesh Prasannan

Hi,
Your notebook is listed as coming with a 500Gb ( 5400rpm ) Hard Drive, but you may as well replace this with a 500Gb ( 7200rpm ) HDD as there's no real difference in cost and it'll give you a bit more performance - the drive on the following link is an example that would be fine for your notebook.
500Gb Hard Drive
The procedure to replace the Hard Drive starts on Page 53 of your Maintenance & Service Guide.
Once done, simply use your Recovery DVDs to reinstall the Operating System on the new drive - this procedure is described in the HP document Here.
If you don't have your Recovery Discs, you can order a replacement set using the link below.
Order HP Recovery Discs.
If you have any problem with this link, order them directly from HP.
If you live in the US, contact HP Here.
If you are in another part of the world, start Here.
Regarding the battery, my best advice would be to replace the HDD first and get everything up and running - you can then use the utility on the following link to see if there's any issue with your current battery.
http://h20239.www2.hp.com/techcenter/battery/battery_ts.htm
Best regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
****I don't work for HP****
Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

Memory hardware issue... won't boot

I can't make heads or tails of this one...
I have a dv5z-1000 laptop and up until about 2 weeks ago it was all running okay.
Long story short... I thought the problem was heat and it probably was part of the issue. I have replaced the thermal pad on the cpu with grease and made a shim for the gpu and also added grease to it.
Anyway. The laptop won't boot if I have both sticks of memory in it. I can put each stick of memory in the laptop by themselves and it boots. However, as soon as I put both sticks in the problems starts...
I have had the same memory for over a year with no problems and I don't know what to try next.

Hello Mart,
please review the keyboard plug, these pins bent very easily.
There are occasions when a direct-connect keyboard can help,
e.g. when the system was powered down by power management and there is no key-switch to power-on ...
STOP-A is basically a BREAK (use ALT+B in TeraTerm Pro to generate this signal).
During POST the LEDs of the direct-attached keyboard show the current status of POST.
and there are times when it is best to remove it and go with
the console connection, off the TTYa port.
The early phase of POST is only visible on the console (serial, RSC, LOM, ALOM), because the display adapter (integrated or add-in board) isn't initialized yet.
If a monitor doesn't support the current display mode, the monitor doesn't sync and the ability to change the mode via serial console is very valuable.
Sometimes reverting to the default OBP settings is required. Either use STOP-N with a direct attached keyboard or BREAK via console and then
set-defaults
setenv auto-boot? false
reset-all
As mentioned before, not properly seated memory modules can cause this hang.
Michael

PowerMac G4 Won't Boot

I recently got a PowerMac G4, and have had the thing for a month or so. For the entire month, everything seemed to be working fine. A few ownership changes here and there to allow for reading/writing, but nothing major. After shutting down the Mac (something I regularly do) and restarting it, the machine turned itself off. Restarting, I pushed Command+V to show output.
I get the normal boot messages, but then the machine pauses at this:
jnl: unknown-dev: journal start/end pointers reset!
After that, it continues loading for several minutes, then repeats this line approximately 20-30 times within a 1-2 second period before turning off:
USBF OHCI Driver: OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying
I removed my third party USB PCI card, to no avail. The only thing I currently have plugged into the logic board USB port is the Apple keyboard and mouse.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
For the record:
2GB RAM - Reseated and tested
PMU has been reset.
All PCI and video cards have been removed to ensure they aren't the culprit.
Red LED light on motherboard above memory is illuminated.
Machine won't boot off CD.
When the machine is turned on, I do get the Apple boot screen, but when it should switch to the login prompt, the machine powers off.

Update:
Here is the complete output of the boot:
Darwin Kernel Version 9.2.2 Tue Mar 4 21:23:43 PST 2008; root:xnu-1228.4.31~1/RELEASE_PPC
standard timeslicing quantum is 10000 us
vmpagebootstrap: 511099 free pages and 13189 wired pages
migtable_maxdispl = 79
Extension "com.apple.drivier.AppleMacRISC2PE" has immediate dependencies on both com.apple.kernel and com.apple.kpi components; use only one style.
Loading security extension com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet
calling mpopoliciyinit for TMSafetyNet
Security policy loaded: Safety net for Time Machine (TMSafetyNet)
Loading security extension com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall
Loading security extension com.apple.security.seatbelt
calling mpopolicyinit for mb
Seatbelt MACF policy initialized
Security policy loaded: Seatbelt Policy (mb)
Copyright (c) 1982,1986,1989,1991,1993
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Mac Framework successfully initialized
using 10485 biffer headers and 4096 cluster IO buffer headers
Extension "com.apple.driver.ApplePMU has immediate dependencies on both com.apple.kernel and com.apple.kpi components; use only one style.
FireWire (OHCI Apple ID 31 built-in now active, GUID 00a95fffe6a1270; max speed s800
ApplePMU::CLOCK RESET! PMU WAS PROBABLY RESET SOMEHOW!!
mbinit: done
Security auditing service present
BSM auditing present
rooting via boot-uuid from /chosen:39818732-A5D6-33D1-B8CE-701FF43A41F
Wating in <dict ID="0"><key>IOProviderClass</key><string ID="1">IOResources</string><key>IOResourceMatch</key><string ID="2">boot-uuod-media</string></dict>
Got boot device = IOService:/MacRISC2PE/pci@4000000/AppleMacRiscPCI/ata-6@D/AppleKauaiATA/ATADevi ceNub@0/Apple ATADiskDriver/IOATABlockStorageDevice/IOBlockStorageDriver/ST380024A ST380024A/IOApplePartitionScheme/Untitled@9
BSD root: disk0s9, major 14, minor 7
jnl: unknown-dev: journal start/end pointers reset!(jnl 0x3119f00; s 0x29d000 e 0x29d000)
syncing disks... Killing all processes
continuing
done
CPU halted
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
USBF: OHCI driver:OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0), Retrying,
*Computer powers off at this point.

MacBook Pro 2,2 won't pass memory test at boot

Hi Apple and Mac folks,
I have a MacBook Pro 2,2 15", 2007 year model, equipped with 2,16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 2 GB 667 Mhz factory-installed DDR2 SDRAM, running Mac OS X 10.4.11. SMC version is 1.12f5.
Three months ago, when I was installing the Safari beta and the installation requested a reboot, the machine wouldn't start at all. It didn't give me any startup chime; the only thing to be heard was the initial movement from the DVD scanning mechanism (?), but after that nothing happened. If I waited for a while I could assume that the CPU was working, since I could hear the fans spinning up. But the screen was black and the computer wouldn't load any CDs or DVDs or even listen to any keyboard commands. The only thing that was working was the force shutdown by the 10-second press on the start button.
After some trial and error I realized that the system would reboot without problems if I let it rest (cool down?) for about 15 minutes. Sometimes, connecting an external hard drive via FireWire would also help the system to start up, bit it seemed to work rather randomly.
I ran the Apple hardware test and it reported an error on one of the SDRAM modules the first time I checked, but running the more thorough test wouldn't report any error and the system didn't show any signs of errors whatsoever once it was up and running.
I have also tried to reset PRAM and SMC, but it does not alleviate the reboot problem.
Since I then suspected that I had a faulty memory module I decided to upgrade the system with 2 Kingston DDR2 2GB SODIMM modules (yes, I know it only supports 3GB of memory, but I wanted the modules to work in pair). Unfortunately, the system exhibits the same problems with the new modules, and now things are getting even worse - now the 15-minute cool down period does not seem to be sufficient to get the system to pass (as I suspect) the initial memory test.
Last night I had to fiddle around, switching memory modules around in the slots to get the system restarted. I could get it rebooted once with one of the older 1 GB modules in the upper slot, and once it rebooted with an older module in the lower slot. Things seemed to act quite randomly and the previous cooling period method didn't seem to make any difference. Finally, I sort of gave up and put back the two new 2 GB modules and tried a last restart while having an external hard drive attached via FireWire and then it gave me the chime and restarted!
My interpretation of the problem is that the system has some kind of glitch (maybe not the correct term for a small gap in the circuits?) in the circuits connecting one or both of the SODIMM modules and that this glitching is getting worse as the system grows older.
So, I have three questions to you:
1. Is there any way to turn off or circumvent the initial memory check, so that I can temporarily live with this problem and not risk having an unusable system at next reboot?
2. Have you heard about this kind of problem before and maybe have knowledge about what part of the system that would have to be replaced and what it will cost me if I bring the computer to a service station (I'm located in Sweden).
3. Are there any SMC or EFI updates I should try before going to service?
Thanks for any help on this,
Ulf

cornelius wrote:
The firewire bridge is the most likely component in a FW HDD to fail. I have seen it a few times, and all that was needed was to remove the drive from the case and place it in a new firewire enclosure. I insist on getting an enclosure with an Oxford chipset, as they are the most reliable.
Hi again Cornelius,
first of all, thanks for the support in the struggle troubleshooting this issue.
Secondly, I don't think the problems has to do with the cabinet of the externa FW drive, but rather the problem would be located in the FW port in the computer.
Doing some research today, I found indications on that the AHT actually is installed on the hard drive of MacBooks after 2007. So, I decided to see if I could launch the AHT from my internal hard drive. Reboot needed, so hold your thumbs...
Reboot. Dead computer. Attached firewire disc. Dead computer. Let computer rest and cool down for half an hour. Restart -> dead computer. Connected firewire drive -> chime and boot!
Pressed D to load ATH. System gave me a dimmed screen with a text box telling me that I had to reboot the computer. I gave OK to that and the computer restarted normally, but reported an abnormal shutdown and gave me the opportunity to send a report about a kernel panic to Apple.
When the system came up the attached FW disc was not reachable. Looking in the system log, I find the following error message repeated:
Jun 26 16:24:49 Ulf-Kronman kernel[0]: FireWire GUID ffffffffffffffff is invalid!
The research on the net is getting me more and more confused: Is the ATH really located on the hard drive of MacBooks? Is the Power On Self Test really run at reboot? According to this wikipedia note (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power-on_self-test) the test is not run at reebot:
" Apple's Macintosh computers also perform a POST after a cold boot. In the event of a fatal error, the Mac will not make its startup chime. "
But my problems occur both when I cold start and when I reboot.
Isn't a lack of chime a very un-Apple-like way of reporting an error? Where/how can I get some more information about what's going on before the chime? And how do I know if the Self Test is run or not? System profiler only reports that self-test at start hasn't found any errors, but only when the system starts (due to that it not has found any errors )
Somewhere I saw instructions for doing a
Terminal> sudo nvram boot-args="-x -v"
to get a report of whats going on during startup. Could that be a way to proceed or is there a leaner way to get info out of the self test?
I'll continue to some research on the FireWire GUID, whatever that is.
Regards,
Ulf

[865PE NEO2 PFISR] Won't boot with added memory

Recently I upgraded a few items on my PC which has been running fine for 18 months or so. I changed out the video card and bought double the memory of the same brand and type it had in it. I went from 1gig (2 sticks) and added two more sticks. But now it won't boot. The power is on but no output whatsoever.
I RMA'd the memory thinking that might be the problem but it's the same with the new set. I tried all sorts of memory/slot combos. Basically, the new memory works fine if you swap it out in bank A with the old stuff. That's how it's running right now, so I know all of the sticks are good. I can take a third and put it in either slot bank B and it'll boot, but obviously not run properly. But any combination of these four sticks and the system won't boot!
Please help!
I'm running this system:
Win XP (SP1 I believe)
865PE NEO2 PFISR
P4/3.0CGHz, 800M 478P/512K HT
DDR Corsair 512MB X4 (400)
Dual 80gb samsung HDs running SATA
Sapphire X800GTO 256M video card
Antec Sonata case
TruePower 380Watt ATX12V

What brand, model, and speed are the RAM sticks. Did you check your Test Report booklet which came with the mobo. If you can't find it, you can go to the MSI website and look for your MOBO and get the test report that way. Some brands/models will that have been tested are shown in the report to be okay in all 4 slots, some only test okay in 2 or 3. Check this report and if it is one of the brands/model/speed tested you will see how it fared. It may well be you the MOBO doesn't like your RAM in 3 or 4 slots.
Maybe I missed it, but did you try each slot with only one stick at a time? You may also have a bad RAM slot.

System failed memory test

I am really new to Solaris so please forgive me if I sound really dumb. I was able to install Solaris 10, turned off my computer and now all I recieve is System failed memory test. Please help have tried different memory sticks and still recieve the same message.

is this a bios message? id suggest running a mem test if this is coming before the os starts up [http://www.memtest.org/]
if you have the mother board diag tools on cd, run those as well. unless this is a sparc system?

865PE NEO2 FSIR fails memory tests

This is the second MB that I've had this problem with, so something is causing them to fail. Here's the story:
New install, 865PE Neo2 FSIR + P4 2.6GHz 800MHz FSB, 2 x Crucial PC3200 256MB DDR, everything seems ok, XP installs with no problems.
About a month down the road I'm plagued by sudden reboots, Microsoft Error Reporting says RAM, says to DL and run it's DOS memory check utility. I get the utility, create bootable CD and run the utility, computer fails all RAM checks. I pull each RAM stick in turn and re-run the check with each stick separately, still fails all tests. Shortly after this, the board refuses to POST. Ship the board back to New Egg for replacement.
Installed replacement MB with 4 x 256MB Crucial PC3200, Microsoft DOS memory check program passes, no problems. About 2 weeks later I run into minor instability so I run the same memory check again, the board fails all tests????? I pull all Crucial memory sticks and put in a test stick of Corsair XMS 3200; same result, failure of all memory tests.
At this point, WinXP still runs, but this is the same pattern that the other board showed, right until it quit altogether.
It occurs to me that I DID flash BIOS to 1.9 between the time I first tested the RAM and got a pass and the time I tested and got a failure, could this be a coincidence? I can't remember if I updated the BIOS on the first board or not, so this may mean nothing.
System Specs:
MSI 865PE NEO2 FSIR
P4 2.6GHz, 800MHz FSB (all defaults, no overclock, Vantec HS)
Crucial CT3264Z40B.8T PC3200, CL3 256MB (2 Modules)
Crucial CT3264Z40B.8T2 PC 3200, CL3 256MB (2 Modules)
(Tested with same results with single Corsair CMX512-3200C2PT 512MB)
Antex True Power 430W PS
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
All PCI slots open
Seagate 120GB System drive, 7,200RPM primary master
IBM 30GB drive, 7,200RPM primary slave
LiteOn DVD ROM secondary master
Sony CDRW secondary slave
2 x IBM 30GB drives on Promise PATA.
I know I'm probably gonna have to RMA this board, but I'd really like to know what is causing this so I can avoid it next time.
If anyone has any ideas I'd sure appreciate it.
Scott

Quote
Originally posted by jwspicer
As they say - been there, done that. Always flash using DOS, and always keep backup, so I went back to the original BIOS for the board. No luck. Apparently once the screwup is done - it stays that way.
--BUT--
Suspect it is the reallocation for the P4 EE that is the issue. Reason is that Memtest86 has been running on that box for 9 hours now with NO error. However, it also shows only 104K of reserved memory. My other 865 board with onboard RAID (an ASUS P4P800 Deluxe) shows 687K reserved. So either the ASUS is wasting a lot of space, or the MIS is no longer correctly indicating the amount of memory reserved by the BIOS (including the Promise BIOS) at startup. Then Microsoft's utility is not correctly scanning. But Memtest, which probes for the "correct" setting, is. (The Memtest86 version is 3.0, and the test was done with the Promise enabled and drives attached (so the BIOS loads) and all the other setup was as it would be normally (standard IBOS options, etc.)
So who's right? And if MS' tool has the problem, does that indicate Windows XP reads memory the same way? Hmmm...
Hmm, I haven't tried reverting BIOS, but I'm typing this on the affected machine (which Memtest 86 says is fine) with only the two RAM chips it likes and so far no problems; I've run PCMark4 and 3DMark4 benchmarks all night and no problems, it was still happily churning away on 3DMark this morning. I guess either one of the Crucial sticks it doesn't like is bad or Crucial changed something in a revision to the chips it doesn't like.
Just a FYI, the Crucial sticks it DOESN'T like are CT3264Z40B.8T2
The sticks it DOES like (at slow or fast performance, forget about turbo or ultra turbo) are CT3264Z40B.8T
Both pairs are PC3200, CL3, 256MB DIMM's, single sided.
I think you're right about Microsoft's RAM tester being buggy, I can't believe ANYTHING could run if the RAM was actually giving the errors it shows, EVERY test shows things like "expected result 11111111 actual result ff1e0001" The Microsoft tester does run fine on the other 5 computers here; a mix of laptops and desktops; none using this board. It also ran on this board when it was installed, I guess the BIOS upgrade must be the cause.
Scott

OS won't boot--invalid memory address message

10.4.9 running on a G4 867 Dual. System won't boot from internal disk or from Tiger installation CD. I get an error message for an invalid memory address followed by some hex code. The message says I can type "boot-up" but all I get is the little folder icon, then the flashing question mark. If I type "shut-down" this works.
I've detached all external accessories, disks, etc. I reset the memory chips. Unplugged two of my 4 internal disks. Doesn't help.
What I was doing before this--running iDefrag on one of my internal disks (not the startup disk), stopped & quit the app partway. Also running SuperDuper backing up yet a third internal disk to my external firewire storage--also stopped & quit partway.
I inserted my 10.4 installation disk to install a system on an external firewire disk (none of the above, I have a lot of drives) but could not start up from the CD. Started to get the error above. Can't eject CD, either. Bluetooth seems fine as my Apple bluetooth keyboard works.
Another tidbit--my combo drive may be having problems seeing discs. Some will mount on my iBook but not on the G4 Dual.
Any ideas?
G4 Dual 867 Mac OS X (10.4.9) 2 GB RAM

hey if you actually restrt your mac now where will your mac boot up to does it reach the firmware screen if it does just try typing in
reset-nvram
and then
reset-all
the mac should restart

Mac Pro Won't Boot, Hard Drives Are Fine, Passes Hardware Test

I have a Mac Pro 1,1 that will not boot anymore. The hard drives are just fine. I put them into another Mac Pro 1,1 and they started up fine and that computer is running great. I have replaced the RAM, put in new Hard Drives, I only have a keyboard, mouse, and display plugged in to it, and it still won't boot. What happens is this:
Boots up, shows the gray screen. Shows Apple Logo. Goes to Black with mouse cursor, stays at the black screen. I can move the mouse cursor as normal. Sometimes it turns into a color wheel, but most of the time it's a normal pointer.
I have run the hardware test several times, both quick and extended. Everything always passes the tests. I can boot into target disk mode and use the disks fine via firewire. When I try to boot from a Lion USB disk, or a Snow Leopard DVD, it always does the same as above and stops at the black screen. Basically, once it gets to the point where it loads an OS X system, it stops at the black screen as if something isn't working right. Any thoughts?

once it gets to the point where it loads an OS X system, it stops at the black screen as if something isn't working right.
That is the point at which the graphics card starts the Mac OS X loaded graphics Driver, and it may indicate that your graphics card is broken.
Try Safe Mode (hold down Shift at Startup). It takes five minutes to check the Boot drive, then display a login screen. You need your username and password to proceed, even if you normally auto-login.
Safe Mode uses only "simple" graphics. It does not load the graphics driver.
If you need a replacement card, I recommend you skip over all the refurbished and repaired old graphics cards and install nothing older than the Apple-Firmware 5770, about US$250. It works in every model Mac Pro, and drivers are in 10.6.5 and later.

My 2006 iMac running Snow Leopard won't boot even after erasing and re-installing Snow Leopard (via my MacBookPro), either from the HD or DVD drive. Can't get it to run Hardware Test. Disk Utility says disk OK - files are there. What can I do?

My 2006 iMac running Snow Leopard won't boot even after erasing and re-installing Snow Leopard. I erased and re-installed by putting the iMac in Target Disk mode and usin my MacBookPro as the host. But after numerous attempts I still can't get it to boot either from the HD or DVD drive. I just get the white screen after the wheel stops spinning. I can't get it to run Hardware Test - just get the white screen. If I use Disk Utility via my MBP it says the disk appears OK. All the Snow Leopad files appear to have been installed. What can I do?

Hi-NRG Bwoy wrote:
I erased and re-installed by putting the iMac in Target Disk mode and using my MacBookPro as the host.
Reet the SMC and the PRAM
 Cheat sheet to help diagnose and fix your Mac
Perhaps you installed the wrong version OS X onto the iMac, you can't use the disk from another Mac.
clean the disk.
If it's not working then use this method to create a bootable 10.6 USB from the iMac machine specific 10.6 disk or the 10.6.3 retail disk on your other Mac, use it to boot the iMac with.
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

My Macbook aliminium unibody from late 2008 will not boot. I reach the grey screen with the apple icon and the spinning grey gear. I used disk utility to boot it but it said integrity test failed. I don't know what to do can anyone please help?

My Macbook aliminium unibody from late 2008 will not boot. I reach the grey screen with the apple icon and the spinning grey gear. I used disk utility to boot it but it said integrity test failed. I don't know what to do can anyone please help?

Sounds like you may have a harddrive issue. You are probably going to need to get that changed out and then install the OS X again to get it going.

Dual 1.25 G4 won't boot OS X anymore, boots linux and hardware test

Dual 1.25 MDD G4 that I've had for 5 years. 1.25 G RAM, 300 Gb HD.
No hardware changes to this machine for several years. Recently it locked up
and I rebooted it - I get a light gray screen with an Apple logo and nothing else
happens.
I cannot boot OS X from CD/DVD, but I can boot the hardware test and run all the tests (all of them pass). I can also boot from a Linux CD.
I've tried various startup key combinations (cmd-opt-P-R, cmd-opt-N-V, etc.) but
I still cannot boot into OS X from either CD/DVD or from the HD.
I tried Techtool deluxe (from old Applecare) and that won't boot the machine since it too is OS X.
Any ideas on what to try next?
Thanks,
-Mark

Dual 1.25 MDD G4 that I've had for 5 years. 1.25 G RAM, 300 Gb HD.
No hardware changes to this machine for several years. Recently it locked up
and I rebooted it - I get a light gray screen with an Apple logo and nothing else
happens.
I cannot boot OS X from CD/DVD, but I can boot the hardware test and run all the tests (all of them pass). I can also boot from a Linux CD.
I've tried various startup key combinations (cmd-opt-P-R, cmd-opt-N-V, etc.) but
I still cannot boot into OS X from either CD/DVD or from the HD.
I tried Techtool deluxe (from old Applecare) and that won't boot the machine since it too is OS X.
Any ideas on what to try next?
Thanks,
-Mark

Memory test fail on G4, won't boot

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