No video whatsover G5 1st gen iMac

My friend got this pristeen 1st gen iMac for free at a 2nd hand store outreach center. The HD and ram were missing and a I T tech we thought knew told us that was all it needed. I had no experience with anything Mac but I'm willing to learn. After installing 2 Gb of new PC 3200 400 mhz ram,new Western Digital 320 Gb 7200 rpm 32mb cache Sata hard drive, new apple wired keyboard,new Turtle USB Mac mouse and the brand new OS X Leopard disc and..... no video! I'm thinking this needs a replacement mobo but the mobo and capacitors are all looking great(appears new) so I don't think they're the problem. If I'm missing anything obvious please help. Possibly there's a video card missing and I don't realize it yet. Otherwise I'll be looking for one of those replacement G5 mobo's or a trade plus difference deal for another refurb or used Mac. Any ideas?

Is it starting up, but with no video? Or is it not starting up? I'm not certain an iMacG5 will handle a SATA disk drive successfully. Another possibility is that whoever had it before saw it die, salvaged the HD and RAM, and junked it. Sometimes you get what you pay for! You could get an external case for a SATA Hard disk, and maybe find someplace that would take the RAM in trade for some that's right for a new Mac, and be ahead to just buy a new one. If you're like me, I HATE to see one bite the dust with no hope of resuscitation!

Similar Messages

Choppy video playback on my 1st Gen iMac G5

Everything from internet video to DVD playback on my 1st Gen iMac G5 is choppy and getting more so as time goes on. Can anyone tell me if this is a symptom of the defect that's covered under the extension plan or is this just some other problem?

Check the version in the Application Folder!
(I have had no problems at all after installing QT 7.5 on my G5 iMac in case you think it can't work at all.)
It is possible that something in either your pre-existing setup or your method of installing updates, are the root causes of whatever problems you are having with QT 7.5 particularly with choppy playback. Out of date plug-ins and add-ons could also be playing a part. Some users have found choppy playback to be associated with improperly loaded plug-ins and add-ons from third party vendors as well as those included by Apple with prior versions of Quicktime.
Third-party add-ons include DivX, Flip4Mac, or FLV components, while the included plug-ins are AppleIntermediateCodec.component, and AppleMPEG2Codec.component. The files for these are located in the root library, therefore a faulty component will load improperly for all users, resulting in choppy playback even when a user creates a new account. Some may need updating or just reinstalling to work with QT 7.5.
You should therefore:
Remove and re-add all quicktime components and plug-ins.
Navigate to /Library/QuickTime/
Move all plug-in ".component" files from the folder (to the Desktop, for instance)
Launch QuickTime and quit it again
Place the ".component" files back in the QuickTime library folder
Launch QuickTime again, and the choppiness should be better.
A few more things to try but in each case first close all applications and repair permissions.
1 Try opening then closing GarageBand, or launching then quitting the "Audio MIDI Setup" application located in Applications/Utilities. Failing that, go back to Audio MIDI Setup, and under the Audio Devices tab, make sure the Audio Output Format is 44100.0 2ch-16bit.
Restart your Mac.
2 Go to the Library on your main hard disk and find the Internet Plug-Ins folder. Try removing the following files:
QuickTime plugin.plugin
Quicktime plugin.webplugin
Restart your Mac.
Re-install the Quicktime 7.5 update
Go to Home/Library/Receipts and delete the file Quicktime 7.5 pkg.
Download from the Download page on the Apple site the correct version of Quicktime 7.5 for your Mac.
Install it and restart your Mac. Repair permissions.
3 If still no luck, it is time to look carefully at your plug-ins and add-ons. The safest way is to download and re-install all of them. The ones you need in order to see and hear virtually everything the web has to offer are:
RealPlayer 11 (which is no longer in beta) for Mac from:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15540
Flip4Mac WMV Player from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx (Windows Media Player for the Mac is no longer supported, even by Microsoft)
Perian from http://perian.org/
You should read this support page http://perian.org/#support in case you need to delete older codecs.
Adobe FlashPlayer should first be uninstalled using the appropriate uninstaller available here: http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_14157&sliceId=2 and then the latest version obtained from here: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1ProdVersion=ShockwaveFlash and installed.
(You can check here: http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/ to see which version you should install for your Mac and OS.)
You should also ensure that you have downloaded and installed all the correct version for your Mac of all recent Security Updates.
(N.B. Security Updates require both a restart and a permission repair.)
In Macintosh HD/Library/Quicktime/ delete any files relating to DivX (Perian already has them). However it should be noted that Perian is not an internet plugin and will not play DivX files imbedded on a website. For that you will need the DivX Player browser plugin available from http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/
Now go to Safari Preferences/Security, and tick the boxes under Web Content (all 4 of them) to enable Java.
Lastly open Audio Midi Setup (which you will find in the Utilities Folder of your Applications Folder) and click on Audio Devices. Make sure that both Audio Input and Audio Output, under Format, are set to 44100 Hz, and that you have selected 'Built in Audio'.
Important: Now repair permissions and restart.
There is an additional 'fix' you could try if you are having problems with Flash and Quicktime, depending on which type of Mac you have:
On Intel Macs, make sure that you are not running Safari in Rosetta. You can check this, and change it, in the Get Info window.
On PPC Macs, go to the Hard Disk/Library/Internet Plug-Ins folder, and drag the file 'QuickTime Plugin.webplugin' to the desktop. Quit and restart Safari. If things have improved you can trash that file. If they haven't put it back, as the lack of this plug-in can cause QT content in some widgets to cease functioning.
If none of the foregoing worked, then you should consider and archive and install before repeating all of the above.

1st gen imac g5 graphics problems

Hi-
I have a first gen 1.8ghz 20" imac g5. About a year and a half ago, the mother board was replaced because of the exploding resistors. Recently, the screen has started intermittently getting pixelly in spots (like it did pre-mo-bo replacement) and then freezing (which is new). It happens every day or two, or sometimes within 10 minutes of booting. It seems to happen more quickly when Safari is up strangely enough...
I took it to the apple store this weekend and the genius there said that the resistors were not exploding and that the mother board looked good. I haven't seen any drivers for the graphics card available. Wondering if anyone else has had this experience and if there is anything that can be done. A shame to have to do away with this thing...

HI,
I too have a 1st gen iMac G5 20". It too recently started showing artifacts on the screen. For example when moving a window parts of the screen would get messed up. The problem became worse to the point where it would get stuck on a blue screen during boot (mouse and pointer still working). I took the cover off and saw three leaking capacitors on the mother board. They were in the group of 5 near the middle bottom of the board. I had them replaced, but unfortunately, this did not fix the problem or improve it in anyway. At the moment I have no idea what the problem is. Is this in anyway similar to your problem?

1st Gen Imac G5 Question

I own a 1st Gen Imac G5. I just recently purchased the Apple VGA Display Adapter hoping I would be able to use an external monitor as an extention of my desktop... after looking through the system preferences I realized there was no such option. I thought it might have had something to do with the OS version I was using so I upgraded to Leopord thinking it would solve my problem... it did not. Is there any sort of Patch or possible solution that could solve my problem?
Nick

Welcome to Discussions, Nick - as far as I know, you can only mirror to another display.

Could Bad RAM Cause Video Problems in 1st Gen 24" iMac

I have been having video problems with my 1st Gen 24" iMac over the past 6 months, but recently the machine wouldn't turn on at all. I left it at my local Apple Store to be diagnosed and they said that it was just a bad stick of RAM (not a big deal, its cheap these days). But what I forgot to ask them was, could that bad RAM be causing the video problems I've been having or is it the video card also?
Thanks!

Are you still having video problems since the ram was replaced? If the problem went away then it was the cause, it not then something else is.

1st Gen iMac died-cloned HD onto new iMac-software needs to be deactivated?

My old G5 iMac (1st gen) died - capacitors. The Genius Bar confirmed and in a thoughtful gesture removed the HD so that when I purchased a new iMac it would be easier for me to transport the HD & for them to clone (he said they would do it free).
There's no way I could afford to buy a new iMac. eBay to the rescue: I purchased a used iMac G5 17", 2 GHz, 2 GB ram, 160 GB. (A little step up from the old 17" 1.8 GHz, 1GB ram, 80 GB.) I took it to Tekserve; they charged me $60 to clone.
Everything is hunky-dory. Knock-on-wood, the eBay used iMac is working fine (this is still the first week).
Today I launched Photoshop to discover that the app would be valid for only 5 more days! It seems that I am limited to 2 users: my old iMac and my laptop. If I deactivate the old iMac the message says I can activate the new iMac as a user.
Make sense? But my old iMac is just a chassis and a separate(d) HD. How do I communicate with it to deactivate it as a 'user?'
(1) Am I going to need to take my old HD back to Tekserve (auth service) within the next 4 days and have them hook it up and deactivate?
Since my new iMac is cloned & running & backed up, I was thinking of erasing the old HD and selling it for parts.
(2) Is there a way for me (I'm not very technically savvy) to erase my old HD that is separated from the iMac and sitting in an anti-static bag in order to sell it?
(3) Is my best option to have Tekserve do both: 'deactivate' and then erase it? Their charge will impact the potential profit I might make selling it for parts...
(4) Short of me launching every software app, are there any others that, in your experience, will have this same 'deactivation' issue (before I erase that old HD forever)?
Thanks to all esteemed gurus for any and all advice!

I ididn't think Adobe would be helpful. Nut lo & behold, they were understanding and I was able to activate the software on my cloned iMac.
I didn't think it could be so simple!
Meanwhile, I have taken the old 80 GB hard drive into Tekserve for a clean install and will put it up on eBay for parts/repair along with the 'chassis.'

1st gen iMac G5 Crashes and Won't Boot Up

To whom it may concern :
I've been having problems with my 20" iMac G5.
It frequently freezes and a message that says I have to restart my computer by pressing the power button for a few seconds appears.
At first, after I've done as the message said, my computer booted up successfully and after startup a message that says "Mac OS X quit unexpectedly" appeared, although when I pressed Report it did nothing.
For the past few days, the same as above occurs except when I try to boot up my system it starts booting up and freezes on a black screen while the computer backlight is on.
If I'll leave it on in this state for a minute or two, the fans will begin spinning at maximum speed (I believe so due to the great noise and mild dust they will produce when doing this).
I should state that it freezes randomly and not after a specific action: when I multi task, when I return to the computer after being idle (screen saver or the monitor was off) or even when no programs are running.
Does anyone know what's wrong with my Mac ?
Please Help !!
- Ben
1st gen 20" iMac G5 (1.8 GHz) Mac OS X (10.4.9)

To The Apple Discussion Boards!
Except for your keyboard & mouse, disconnect all devices from your computer & repair disk & permissions from your Tiger DVD.
Repairing permissions from the Tiger DVD
Boot up from your Tiger Install DVD while holding down the "c" key.
Select the language you wish to use, and then choose "Disk Utility" from the menu bar.
Your HD should appear in a panel on the left hand side of the window which opens. Select it and then click on the "repair disk" button in the right hand section of the window.
If Disk First aid is able to complete the repair now click on the "Repair permissions" button.
Once this process has been completed restart your computer.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751 About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature

Choosing a video card for 1st gen (1,1) mac pro

Hey all,
Buying a video card for my mac pro to upgrade from the stock 256mb nvidia, and have narrowed it to these three cards.
ATI X1900 XT
Nvidia 8800GT
ATI 4870
I know to make sure I buy the versions compatible with my generation mac pro etc, but they're all relatively close in price (within $100), so barring comparison in that area, which of these cards are the best? Or are they all pretty equal? I know very little about video cards.
Also, as an aside, does the ATI 4890HD work with 1st gen mac pros? I've seen ebay auctions claiming they do, but I know better than to take them at face value.

I wouldn't touch the X1900 overpriced and old.
The 8800GT is hard to find but can be on ebay even for 1st gen
ATI 4870 from Apple is safe bet.

HD videos on ATV 1st Gen?

I have the 1st Gen ATV downstairs and the 2nd Gen ATV upstairs. I have been succesfully streaming video from my PC to both my ATV's without a problem for well over a year. Just recently I purchase a GoPro Camera which shoots video in 1080p as an MPEG-4 Movie. My 2nd Gen ATV plays the content just fine but my 1st Gen cannot seem to reconize the video at all. The videos definetely exist in the iTunes library but the 1st gen won't even show them as an available movie to play. It's simply not there.
All other videos from my iTunes library are streaming just fine to both ATV's - it's only these new videos from my GoPro camera that are the issue. The only difference, from what I can gather, is that these videos are shot at 1080p.

Hi!
Open your project in iMovie. Click on "share" at the top of the screen. When the menu appears, click on "share to iTunes". You will get a menu asking you to pick what size you want. Go for the large size for the ATV. When it's done sharing, (may take awhile depending on how long the movie is) if your ATV is set to auto synch new content, it will copy over right away. If not, you can manually synch it, or just stream it. Hope that helps!
Sandygirl

Confused about upgrading Video card on 1st Gen Mac Pro

When looking in the Apple store under video cards it looks like the 8800 or even the ati 2600xt say :
PCI Express 2.0 but under the reviews for the ati card there are a few posts that say they used this card to upgrade their '06 ' and '07 Mac Pro from the Nvidia 7300 ...
But if the older Mac Pro's dont have pci express 2.0 how can this be ?
I also have read that a nvidia 8800 for the 1st gen mac pro may come out but what if it does not ? Whats the deal ? Will there be a video upgrade path for the 1st gen mac pro or not ?
Why are we being " left out " in the cold for buying a machine a year and a half ago ?
So basically there is the 7300 or the ati 1900 and thats it for the 1st gen mac pro's ?
Even my 4 year old PC has video options and its agp !

If you are bored you might be able to find an early post of mine from the early MacPro days when I commented that MacPro buyers should only buy if they can live with never being to upgrade the graphics card. Apple is Apple and if you know the history of Apple you know that graphics cards are all but ignored. I remain hopeful that Apple, through nVidia, comes out with an 8800 for older Mac Pros, but I don't count on it. The MacPro line has glaring strengths and glaring weaknesses and the dearth of video cards is a glaring weakness. Still better a MacPro with this weakness than a PC box, but with no official word from Apple and all this expectation from a single comment by an nVidia PR person (PR for gosh sakes!), I don't find the rumor to be terribly credible. Hope I'm wrong. Very much so. Hope the oft quoted email by steve j. regarding it being looked at is on the money and we have an announcement tomorrow. Holding my breath till then....

1st gen iMac G5 resurrecting from the dead? (strange clicking sounds)

I have a first gen iMac (pre-iSight) that I bought a few years ago brand new. But the past 8 months or so I've been having a very strange power problem where occasionaly pressing the power button does absolutely nothing... WAIT! I know you hear about this problem all the time but before you click 'back' I'll have you know I too have read countless of these types of power problems on forums, but this one seems different!
Sometimes after unplugging, waiting for a few minutes, then replugging the power supply (while all other cords disconnected) it'll all of the sudden turn on. I recently checked inside the computer as one tutorial suggested to see if the first of 4 LED lights turn on when plugged in, and it does, meaning it's not power supply failure. The biggest problem with the whole thing is that is that the "unplug-then-replug"(sometimes upwards of 15 times) doesn't always work, and always seems to happen at varying degrees of inactivity depending on how long the computer has been off.
I've been doing this for 8 months, afraid to turn my computer off not knowing for sure i'll get it back on (which can take up to a day sometimes). And my resurrection methods seem to be more and more futile, as today and yesterday i've had no luck. LASTLY -- and this really confuses me -- I usually hear a very faint but rapid clicking noise when I plug in the computer (before I even turn it on, never happens when it's actually on) after its been unplugged for a while. The sound seems to be coming from near the bottom of the computer, so I cant imagine that it's that dreaded "Hard-drive Death" symptom (since the hard drive isnt even running).
Please, if you can, offer me some insight regarding these issues, I've looked everywhere and it seems I'm the only one having them! I'm almost to the point of gasp! actually finally going to the apple store and paying them to fix it.....

Hmm, the fan? How would I go about checking that? I want to try everything I can.
DEVELOPMENT: I got the computer on last night (using it right now)! I think it was off for almost exactly 24 hours since the last time I had it running. The most frustrating thing is that I don't really know what I did differently to get it to boot up again. That whole day I was just checking it about every hour or two, unplugging and replugging the power (at one point I opened the back and tried pressing those two tiny buttons under the fan, one is an internal power switch, and the other some sort of reset button, nothing noticeable happened with either, although the clicking sound that occasionally showed up hasn't reared its head lately). I think my computer is almost at its end, and now that its on I'm going to try my best to keep it running. One more slip into a coma and it might not make it out...

1st Gen iMac G5 BAd Power Supply

Hi, My iMac G5 power supply is officially dead. It was confirmed at the Apple Store at the Genius Bar. Apple apparently no longer sells the power supply for the first gen iMac G5s. I have two questions: Does anyone have a suggestion on where to buy a 3rd party power supply for that model? I'm not exactly sure what I should be buying. And secondly, is it worth it to do? I know the second question is more opinion but I'm curious of the success rate of replacing the power supply. My preference is obviously to replace it rather than laying out the money for a new iMac which I probably can't do right now) but if anyone's experience is that I'm just throwing money away on the power supply because of future issues or unreliability, I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks as always!

[Synaptech.com] or [welovemacs.com] will not only sell you the correct part, they will give you installation instructions. Another source is [http://www.jimwarholic.com/2008/07/how-to-repair-apple-imac-g5.php]
As to your second question, as long as the rest of the Mac is in good shape, replacing the power supply should give you a few more years to collect your pennies for a new one down the road.

Help - nonworking 1st Gen iMac 20" with bulging caps (power supply)?

I have a 1st Generation (Rev. A) iMac G5 that does not power on. I looked at the logic board, and all of the capcitators appear OK. None are bulging. Most have a "K" on them, some have the infamous "X."
I took my iMac into the Apple Store Genius expecting to be covered under one of the iMac G5 extended repair programs for out of warranty iMac G5s:
http://www.apple.com/support/imac/powersupply/repairextension/
http://www.apple.com/support/imac/repairextensionprogram/
I did not qualify for either, as the one is only for video AND power issues, and the other only for Rev. B iMacs.
So I took my iMac home looking to buy a power supply. I took the power supply out and opened it up and found all "X" capacitors, some of them bulging.
So what is my next step?
• Should I phone Apple Customer Relations at 800-767-2775 or Executive Relations 800-275-2237?
• Should I take the power supply back in and show this to the Apple Genius and explain my situation?
• What about the logic board? Should I demand Apple replace that too, since it has the X caps?
I am out of warranty and no AppleCare. But according to other threads, like this one, this is a known issue and Apple should replace both my logic board and my power supply. But the genius I dealt with this morning seemed very knowledgeable and said he has been working on Macs for 20 years. He actually checked in my Macbook with a couple of issues and is resolving them no problem. But no joy on fixing the iMac.

I took my Macbook in yesterday for video flicker and misbehaving battery. Received new battery, logic board, and inverter cable in about 32 hours. Kudos to Apple for fixing my in-warranty machine so quickly and not blinking an eye. The Genius who checked in my MacBook asked if I read about these repairs on the web, as he said it is a major problem. Ironically, since then I have been cautioned twice by Apple about what I read on the web.
What does that have to do with my iMac saga? Absolutely nothing, other than since I went to pick up the MacBook, I took the iMac back in. Plus, I am trying to find some words of praise with Apple's prompt, no-hassle repair as with this iMac issue I can find no words of praise.
I started out with this new Genius tonight by explaining I brought in the iMac yesterday and the Genius didn't even open my iMac but just checked the serial number and EMC number and must have been confused on the programs. I told him he denied me either program and said the one issue was for Video AND Power issues, and since I did not have a video issue, I was denied. I was asked who helped me, and gave his name, and I could tell the genius in front of me regarded him highly.
Anyway, they brought out the MacBook, I signed for it, put it back in my laptop bag. Attention turned back to the iMac, and I could just sense a reluctance to help me. I had mentioned that there were X capacitors on the logic board, but that none of them were bulging, and I had read that could be a problem in the future and that people were getting logic boards replaced even though the problem was with their power supply and the logic board appeared fine. I received the party line again about misinformation on the internet and not believing everything I read. At least I convinced this guy to open up my iMac, which he would not do in front of me but took it into a back room.
He came back out and said my capacitors were fine and there was nothing he could do. (Well, I had already told him they were fine.) I said that this was for power issues and the problem is obviously with my power supply and he said he could not help me with that.
I was/am very ticked off and just didn't feel like getting into it. Normally I would have asked for the manager. The genius wouldn't even look me in the eye. I feel like I have leprosy or something. Has anyone else with a Rev. A iMac with serial numbers for this program get denied? I have not read such a thing on this forum. Someone please post a link to comfort me so I know I am not the only one.
I just left, in defeat. I've got enough Mac service centers around me that I am going to take it to one of them. In fact, I DID take it to one of them first on Monday morning, but didn't have the original receipt with me, so they said that could be an issue, so I just left and took it to the Apple Store since I was already out that way.
Maybe tomorrow I will find comfort back in the arms of one of those hybrid computer stores. The saga continues...

1st Gen iMac G5 - no power warranty ?

I have a first generation iMac G5, and my serial number falls into the ranges cover by the iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues.
My issue is that I've already had my global logic board replaced under this warranty, and now my iMac is not functioning again. I've already tried the SMU reset button, and I also followed the directions found in the help article "iMac G5: Troubleshooting when your computer won't turn on", and my out come was:12. Press the internal power button to start up the computer. Does LED 2 come on momentarily, or not at all?* Momentarily: The logic board has detected power, but the power supply cannot maintain it. Your power supply needs to be replaced. If you have an iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor) computer, you can order a replacement power supply here and then install it yourself. If you have any other iMac G5 computer, contact your local Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider for service.
* Not at all: Your logic board needs to be replaced. Please contact your local Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider for service.
I suppose my primary concern is if my iMac is still covered, or am I going to have to pay for this repair? The iMac is only 2 years from purchase date, so it does still fall under warranty time-wise. I'm more worried about the previous board replacement voiding my eligibility.
17 1.8Ghz iMac: 1.5GB RAM, 80Gb HD, Bluetooth Mac OS X (10.4.9) Black 60GB 5G iPod

Per Apple Extention Repair program:
"the repair will be covered by Apple for up to three years from the original date of purchase even if your iMac G5 is out of warranty."

What's my DVD burn speed? 1st gen imac G5

I need to buy new DVD's- was wondering if the 8x would work on my imac? I cant seem to find out what speed my computer can burn to= system profiler is no help. I have a 20" imac G5, first gen- it's about a year old now...

Here are the specifications of your 20inch iMac.

No video whatsover G5 1st gen iMac

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