Power mac G5 no OS, no display

I just recently bought a powermac G5 1.6ghz with no hard drive. I put a new one in with no hard drive. A couple times when I turned it on I got the grey screen with the folder and question mark. I just got snow leopard for it, I'm not sure if I could use it for this but when I tried to turn it on nothing appeared on the screen, the monitor light turned green for 5 seconds then went yellow. There was no flashing light on the powermac just a solid light and a chime. I am a new mac user so I don't have a mac keyboard or mouse. But now every time I turn on the mac it chimes and the screen is black with the cd drive opening by itself. I replaced the PRAM battery too. What do I have to do to fix it, and do I need a mac keyboard and mouse to fix it?

No PowerMac can run OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. 10.6-10.8 are for Intel Macs only.
You need to find and purchase full retail OS X 10.4 Tiger or OS X 10.5 Leopard discs.
Before looking for these online, you could try and call Apple directly at 1-800-MYAPPLE and ask for software sales.
Ask them if they have Replacement OS restore discs. The rep they will put you in touch with will want the serial number of your G5 PowerMac. They mak ask of you want OS X 10.4 Tiger or OS X 10.5 Leopard discs, take the OS X 10.5 Leopard discs. There will be nominal charge for processing and shipping these discs. Usually it wil be under $20 dollars.
If no luck from Apple, look to Amazon or eBay for the OEM full retail versions of these OS X discs.
Good Luck!

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Power Mac G4 and 15" Studio Display variation on an old theme

I am trying to recondition a PM G4 tower and 15" display for resale. A number of years ago I corrupted the system attempting an upgrade, and the display has never worked ever since (power button works, but screen is black). Somewhere along the line, I managed to erase the G4 drive (via firewire connection to a MacBook). Now I am attempting to reinstall the original system software (in hopes it will restore the functionality of the display). I have the original installation disk as well as 5 system software restoration disks. My attempts to reinstall the system over the firewire connection have been unsuccessful. I can reboot the G4 from the installation disk in the CD drive, but without a working display, I have to do this blind.
Is there any way to restore the original system software without a display to guide me?

iBooks? any G4 iBooks?
Perhaps you could install that by setting the G4 into FireWire Target Disk mode and installing from an iBook.
An iBook might use a similar version of OS 9. A "Full Retail" OS 9 CD installs only the drivers needed for the Mac you are installing on, unless you probe into the optional Installs and select "Universal Install for any Mac".
A "Full Retail" Mac OS X earlier than 10.5 installs ALL the drivers for any Mac, and selects the proper subset at load time. Gray Mac-specific discs will not work because they do not contain all the drivers -- only those for the Mac listed on the face.
When selling, you are obligated (ethically and by anti-Fraud commerce statutes) to reveal any defects you know about to the Seller. It is common to sell a Mac with NO Hard drive, and it is common to sell a Mac of this era with no display, since many had 75 pound CRTs that cost much more to ship than they are worth.
Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

Apple Power Mac G4 speakers - connecting to Airport Express?

Hi.
Is it possible to connect the old Apple Power Mac G4 speakers (ie. those displayed at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300153379805&fromMakeTrack= true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:middle:uk) to my Airport Express?
That is, do the two devices have compatible jack and jack socket?
Thanks

Simply converting the mechanical connection isn't enough.
There used to be a device called an iFire which allowed you to use those speakers with any computer that had FireWire. That device has been discontinued for a very long time. Anyway it wouldn't allow you to connect the speakers to an AX.
You need powered speakers to use with the AX.

HT2699 Boot up problems on Power mac G5

I recently bought a second hand powermac G5, and it had a fresh install of os Tiger. When the machine booted up, it asked for a password. I contacted the person I bought the computer from and they had no idea what it was. I ended up using these support pages and somehow wiped the hard drive in Terminal. Ever since then all I get is the picture of a folder with a question mark.
I have a retail disc of Leopard, and I connected my Mac Pro via firewire to install it to the Power mac. It has installed it, and I can boot it up on my Mac Pro, but the actual Power Mac still won't boot up by itself - it still shows the folder and question mark. I've tried everything, including the following:-
- Booting from CD
- Booting from Terminal (can't even get into Terminal on start-up on Power Mac)
- Pressing the option key on start-up (just comes up with a refresh image and arrow pointing right, but noting happens - even with the CD inserted there's no other option)
- Running disc utility via firewire to verify PM hard drive, and it says the drive appears okay.
I've literally tried everything I can think of, but I'm open to any ideas other people may have.

I did this last night, and according to Finder, it's installed successfully. However, when I then try to boot up the Power Mac by itself it still displays the folder with the question mark. It seems like everything's there, but the computer doesn't know it.
I've tried pressing C to boot from the DVD, but nothing happens. This morning I reset the PRAM and the NVRAM. I also found a site where they give all the start-up key boot options, and I've tried these but to no avail. I've even unplugged the keyboard to see if that helps, but it doesn't.
It's almost like there's something missing in the coding, and I've booted it up in Open Firmware mode, but keep getting the message LOAD-SIZE is too small, when I try to boot up from the CD.
Any ideas?

How can i use my smart TV as a second monitor for my Power mac (2010) via HDMI cable? i've made the connection but no options show in system prefs display.

How can i use my smart TV as a second monitor for my Power mac (2010) via HDMI cable? i've made the connection but no options show in system prefs display.
the computer:Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.9.5), 2 x 2.66 Ghz 6-Core intel Xeon
the TV: LG Smart tv

The Mac uses a highly-parameterized universal Driver for every display. The parameters are set at certain times when a query is sent to your display. The display MUST answer with its name and capabilities, or the screen stays dark. A TV set that is off or "not paying attention" because it is set to a different port when the query occurs will rarely answer, and so will often remain dark.
You can use tools in the System Report to see whether your display has been detected at all. If it has, the report will look something like this, but its name will appear:
The times when the query is sent are:
• at Startup
• at wake from sleep
• when the Mac-end of the cable is inserted
• when using the Option ( Detect Displays ) button in displays preferences

Seeking new display for B/W Power Mac

I have an older 20 inch Sony CRT connected to my B/W Power Mac. The CRT has finally met its day and I am seeking a replacement. I am looking at a flat panel, 19 or 20 inch where I can connect it to my existing graphics card. Any recommendations?

I hate to rain on your parade, but that adapter is for extracting VGA from a computer that produces DVI AND uses the bar and the four pins around it at the end of the connector. It works because the bar and the four pins, if provided and connected internally, provide EXACTLY VGA when combined with one other pin used in both DVI and VGA.
The stock card on the Blue & White G3 provides a "standard" three row 15-pin VGA, and that is what you should search for in an inexpensive display solution. If you are willing to spend an additional US$100 or more, you can get a PCI-slot display card with a DVI connector on it.
Cards that feature an ADC port to run some of the fancy Apple displays also require a computer that provide the required 28 Volt power in the Accelerated Graphics Port AGP slot. Your Blue & White does not have such a slot and cannot provide that power.

Hey, I'm fixing up a Power Mac G5 for a friend, he gave me a Cinema HD 30' display to use with it. My problem is, the Power Mac G5 doesn't have a place where I can plug in one of the display's cords. the cord is called a "DC power (24.5 V)"

So the Cinema HD's DVI goes in fine, I don't remember what video card is in the computer, all I know is it's Nvideo, it's old, only like 256MB, but does have two DVI ports. Anyway, then the display's firewire and USB can go in. But there's this weird thing, had to do some research to figure out what the connector/cord is called. it's the size of a USB, rectangular with oval sides. It's called a "DC power (24.5 V)" I'm like, what the heck is this thing? it won't go into the computer anywhere, I'm assuming I need some sort of adapter?? Help please, if I need an adapter or video card, links would be extremely helpful.
Best regards,
Poly

I don't believe so, I have a DVI to ADC adapter I was messing with, my DVI from the display plugs into the adapter, then i grap the adapter's ADC connector, and it does not go into my Power mac G5's video card. So that confirms that the display is DVI, and works with my DVI video card perfectly. It's just the one wire/connector that apple calls the "DC power (24.5 V)" that won't go in anywhere. Basically the display has a DVI connector, firewire connector, and USB, which all go into my Power mac G5 fine. However, it has another wire with a connector that won't go in anywhere, from what I've read off the teach specs of my Cinema HD 30' that final connector/wire is listed as "DC power (24.5 V)"
So my problem is with that. I have NO idea what it does, or goes into. When I google "DC power (24.5 V) Apple" it comes up with weird images none of which have that connector. So I'm just so. Confused.

Use iMac in Target Display Mode with a Power Mac G4

I would like to connect my Power Mac G4 MDD (Model = http://support.apple.com/kb/SP63) to the new iMac (27 inch, Mid 2010) in Target Display Mode. That is, I want the new iMac to be the display for my Power Mac G4. Has anybody done this (including using the iMac 27 inch, Late 2009, which can also do this)? In a general sort of way, this sort of thing is described on this support page: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3924.
The problem: The iMac requires a Mini Displayport connection. The PowerMac has ADC and DVI-I display connections and also came with an adapter for converting DVI-I to VGA. How can I convert/adapt to get the appropriate Mini Displayport connection?
Gefen makes a converter (http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=8913) that will convert DVI-D to Mini Displayport, but the description explicitly says that it will work with DVI-D only while my PowerMac has DVI-I. I know that these are two different, incompatible connections.
Is there another converter that works with DVI-I? Or is there a way to adapt from DVI-I to DVI-D? Or how about a VGA or ADC to Mini Displayport converter?
Thanks.

japamac-
Thanks so much for your reply. You're right on target for what I'm looking for and that article is VERY helpful! If you don't mind, I do have a couple more questions/clarifications.
1) First, I think that I didn't read the Wikipedia reference concerning DVI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DigitalVisualInterface) closely enough. It includes the following paragraph. If I understand it and what you said, it shouldn't be a problem to connect the male DVI-D of the converter into the female DVI-I socket of my Power Mac. Right?
+The long flat pin on a DVI-I connector is wider than the same pin on a DVI-D connector, so it is not possible to connect a male DVI-I to a female DVI-D by removing the 4 analog pins. It is possible, however, to connect a male DVI-D cable to a female DVI-I connector. Many flat panel LCD monitors have only the DVI-D connection so that a DVI-D male to DVI-D male cable will suffice when connecting the monitor to a computer's DVI-I female connector.+
2) I'm not clear on the difference between the Altona AT-DP200 and the Gefen converter. The Gefen converter is somewhat less expensive, so I'm trying to figure out what the downside is. The article you mentioned says that the ATP-DP200 "doesn't scale images", but that seems to only be an issue if I'm trying to connect other devices (PS3, Blu-ray), not if I just want to connect my Power Mac.
The description of the Gefen converter includes the following drawbacks:
+The only major drawback to Gefen's solution is no support for VGA devices or HDCP. A minor gripe would be the fact that the Gefen device only accepts one input resolution and only outputs one resolution (1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz). These limited options aside, the Gefen device looks like it could do the basic trick of transforming a DVI signal to Mini DisplayPort so that you could use your 27" iMac for a few more purposes, provided that the input signal carries the required 1920 x 1200 resolution.+
I'm not clear on what the practical impact of those limitations would be. I don't think the the lack of support for VGA devices or HDCP is an issue for my application. But I'm wondering about the statement that it only accepts one input resolution and outputs only one resolution (1920 x 1200) and the need for the input signal to carry 1920 x 1200. I take it, first of all, that the Power Mac can supply that input resolution. And, what is the impact of the device only having that resolution output to the iMac screen? That is, how would that look on the screen, ugly or okay? Finally, would the Altona device provide a better looking output on the iMac screen because it can apparently handle different resolutions? The manufacturer's description says, "Resolutions: all resolutions up to 1920x1200 (It is Important to select one of the resolutions that display
is capable of displaying, refer to your display’s users manual)."
Thanks again.

Can I use a MacBook pro as an external display for a Power Mac G5

My problem is that the Studio display from 2004 is beginning to fail. What can I use as a replacement display? It seems that the Thunderbolt displays are out of the question, and some of the other new displays may require an Intel-based OSX.
So, assuming I buy a MacBook Pro in the future, I'd like to continue to keep the Power Mac G5 as a back-up. Can I use the screen on the MacBook Pro as a display for the Power Mac, and if so, how?

Depending on what you use your computers for, the concept of using the screen of a MacBook as a display for a desktop Power Mac is about as poor an idea as I've heard in a long, long time.
Thanks for the chuckle.
PS.— There are plenty of inexpensive screens you can use instead.

Power Mac G4 Display Problem

I own a Power Mac G4 Digital Audio 733MHz model, and an Apple Flat Panel monitor.
The monitor connects using ADC. Sometimes when I boot my Power Mac the power light appears on the display, but the display screen does not turn on. Rebooting the Power Mac will make the display come back to life.
A while back someone in the Apple Forums suggested replacing the PRAM battery.
I tested the PRAM battery, and it is fine.
I opened up the Power Mac case, and see that the AGP card is properly seated.
What would most likely be the problem? Would it be the display, the video card, or the logic board?
Thanks!

Just an update, I tried a different LCD Display with a VGA connector and it works fine.
It must be the Apple Display.

What apple Cinema display will work with a Power Mac G4 ?

In order to try and free up some workspace I'm thinking of getting rid of my 19" Formac CRT VDU and getting a flat panel display as there are several on eBay at the moment.
I have a Power Mac G4, model no. M5183 and according to some info I found on Apple's site about identifying your Mac I believe this version is known as 'Power Mac G4 Digital Audio' (the headphone and speaker sockets are aligned vertically on the top left corner of the back panel).
So basically, can I hook any of the cinema displays up to it and expect it to work (I appreciate I'll probably need a VGA / DVI converter) or is it not as simple as that ?
Many thanks for any assistance you can give ?

Do you need something that is good or just something to display basic video? Do you want new or used? The original Rage 128 cards that shipped in the AGP G4's can usually be found on ebay for around $5-10 in abundance. They are pretty much bottom of the line as of today's standards, but provide a VGA connection and display decent video. There are some different RAGE models, but the original model is 2x AGP and has 16 MB of RAM.
You may be intersted in this auction on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-OF-5-ATI-RAGE-128-16MB-16-MB-2x-AGP-VIDEO-CARD_W0QQitemZ 350062222137QQihZ022QQcategoryZ3762QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
5 cards for $20.

Power Mac and Display - power surge?

I hope someone can help even if it's common sense...
I had my Power Mac on for a while and all of a sudden a pop/click sounded and the power went off for the apple mac and the display/monitor.
Neither turned back on and there's no sign of power so I assumed the fuses need changing; however I replaced them and both the display and mac unit still will not turn on or show any power.
Does anyone have any suggestions what else could be wrong? Since it's affecting both display and unit, I can only assume it's power-related. Much appreciated, thanks.
Power Mac G5 Mac OS X (10.4) Using Logic primarily with plug-ins - no internet connection.

Hi, and a Warm Welcome to Apple Discussions and the Power Mac G5 Forum!
Assuming the display is powered by the G5 video card and therefore by the G5 Power Supply Unit - and that you have taken the appropriate steps to ensure that the mains power up to the G5 is working ok - when the mains power to the G5 is first connected and turned on, there is usually a 'relay-click' sound at the back of the G5.
If you don't hear this, and you have a "Late 2005" dual-core G5
http://support.apple.com/specs/powermac/PowerMac_G5_Late2005.html
then it's possibly the 'Pop of Death' in the Power Supply Unit which would qualify under this recall, sorry, repair extension
http://www.apple.com/support/powermac/powersupply/repairextension/
If you do hear the relay-click, then you could try a PMU/SMU reset
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300341
If still no go and you have another, earlier G5 which is not covered by the repair extension above, it sounds like a case for AppleCare, if you have it, or the repair shop. Sorry.
Please post again if you have any questions. Good Luck.

What kind of power regulator will you recommend for an vintage Mac Pro tower with 2 displays?

What kind of power regulator will you recommend for an vintage Mac Pro tower with 2 displays?

Cyberpower 1500VA UPS ~$200

Can I and how do connect power mac to imac so I can use imac display

Is there a way I can use my imac and power mac together.
My purpose is to use the display of the imac when using the power mac.
If it possible please be so kind to tell me how to.
Thank you!

Hi Howard Herrick;
I doubt it because to the best of my knowledge you are only going to find connectors on the iMac to connect and external monitor to it not to connect another computer to the iMac's screen.
Allan

3 Cinema Display for G5 Dual 2.3 Power Mac

Hi,
Just wanna know that am i posible to expanding my G5 Dual 2.3 Power Mac into 3 Cinema Display?For the default,i posible to use dual screen...but i wish to add 1 more screen...is that posible to buy a PCI card and slot in my empty slot?if no,what s'ld i do?
thanks

Radeon 9200 mac edition ( PCI ) will do the trick, just dont expect razzle dazzle Quartz Extreme from the card

Power mac G5 no OS, no display

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