Won't boot....no chime except sometimes.

My Powerbook G4 Titanium works perfectly. Except when I shut down or restart, it won't restart. I press the power button, hear some motors whir to life (HD? fan? optical drive when CD is inserted). But no chime and no boot. Caps Lock and Numeric Lock green LED indicators come on.
I hold the power button down for 10 seconds, motors stop. Try again. Same results. Try 12 more times, then it works. And works perfectly until I shut down again. Ran Tech Tools 4, and all the hardware tests, including SMART, passed. I removed and reinstalled the two RAM chips in all the possible configurations, but it made no difference. I tried all the PMU reset routines I could find on line, but it didn't reset.
Thanks to my new dot mac account, unbeknownst to me it threw a five gig file on my HD which really maxxed it out. Later got rid of that (thanks for the warning Apple) and dumped another 10 or so gigs to give the HD some breathing room. But all to no avail.
But here I am with a computer that works perfectly if I take an hour and a half of screwing with it to coax it to boot.
Please help.

Apple's KB docs used to say that it sometimes reset the date/time. It now says it will reset the date and time. Be that as it may, I have reset PMU and had both results, 100% positive.
Apple says that if you suspect PMU has not been reset, do it again.
In any case, the only way that I can think of to quasi-prove PMU has been reset is to take a backdoor approach. CPU speeds, for some reason, are erroneously reported as 667 on 800-1GHz TiBooks. But if you do a PMU reset, then check CPU speed in Terminal, it will report CPU speed correctly. This only holds true until the next restart without a PMU reset, then CPU will once again be erroneously reported. To check CPU speed:
-Make sure Energy Saver>Options>Processor Performance is set to Highest
-Shut down and Reset PMU
-Boot
-Make sure Energy Saver>Options>Processor Performance is set to Highest
-Open Terminal and enter:
sysctl hw.cpufrequency
That should give you your answer as to whether or not the PMU has actually been reset, regardless of date/time. Is it 100% foolproof? I don't know, but in my experience, after many test runs, I would trust it as such.

Similar Messages

System won't boot-no chime.

Despite repeated attempts and resetting the CUDA button, the system won't boot when start button is pressed. In the first few seconds it seems to make normal sounds; but no chime and settles into simply fan noise. This is true even if using C (with an Install CD). or Shift key. Is there anything else I can try? (I know it's actually a G3 B&W Motherboard; but I had nowhwere else to post it)

I do not remember exactly what was happening when it stopped. It may have been executing something , hung up, and wouldn't respond to the Command-Opt-Esc or I do remember one incident when it was booting up and stopped when it was partly thru "searching for local discs.
I checked the ref. article and tried to measure the voltages on the power connector. I was never quite sure what pin was what, since the colors did not jive with those in the article. At any rate 2 were approx. + 5 V (one was 4.85), the rest were essentially zero (I believe 1 or 2 were about 300 mv). I did notice that when the power connector is reconnected and start up is attempted, 3 little green lights come on on the motherboard. One goes off after a while.
I have tried the old Sonnet upgrade and have tried reseating all the RAM modules. All to no avail.
The Hard drive and all other parts seemed to be working fine prior to the failure.

SP G5 won't boot, no chime, no LED

I have a single processor G5 that won't boot. I was using it and all of a sudden, everything frooze - the first time in the almost 3 years that I have owned it. As it sat there, the fan started to slowly speed up.
I shut it down with the power button and when I tried to reboot, I did not get a chime or any other sign of life. I think the power LED came on and stayed on. I tried the PMU reset (once) and tried another reboot. This time, it started up again without the chime and the power LED went off after I pressed it and stayed off.
I tried removing and reseating the memory, the video card and I removed an Alchemy TV card. Still no luck. I checked the power to the battery and it is good. I tried removing the battery, waited for five minutes and then I reinstalled. Still no luck. If I leave it on, the fans slowly kicks into high gear.
Sounds pretty serious to me. I think at this point, it requires a service call. Can I try my local PC computer repair, or is Apple the only way to go? I will have to ship it to Apple.
G5 SP Mac OS X (10.4.7) 1 GB RAM

I have a single processor G5 that won't boot. I was
using it and all of a sudden, everything frooze - the
first time in the almost 3 years that I have owned
it. As it sat there, the fan started to slowly speed
up.
I shut it down with the power button and when I tried
to reboot, I did not get a chime or any other sign of
life. I think the power LED came on and stayed on.
I tried the PMU reset (once) and tried another
reboot. This time, it started up again without the
chime and the power LED went off after I pressed it
and stayed off.
I tried removing and reseating the memory, the video
card and I removed an Alchemy TV card. Still no
luck. I checked the power to the battery and it is
good. I tried removing the battery, waited for five
minutes and then I reinstalled. Still no luck. If I
leave it on, the fans slowly kicks into high gear.
Sounds pretty serious to me. I think at this point,
it requires a service call. Can I try my local PC
computer repair, or is Apple the only way to go? I
will have to ship it to Apple.
G5 SP Mac OS X (10.4.7) 1 GB
RAM
Hi Lawrence,
The same thing happened to my dual 2.5 G5 yesterday! I also tried all of the things you tried. After discussing the issue and trying several different steps suggested by the Apple Tech Support person on the telephone, it was suggested that either the power supply, logic board or both were defective. The Apple Tech Support person recommended that I take the machine either to the nearest Apple Store or the Apple Service provider where I purchased the G5. I delivered my machine to my service provider this morning and the initial diagnosis, on the basis of symptoms, is consistent with that of Apple Tech Support. I have confidence in my service provider's capability because they successfully replaced a failed logic board withing two months of my purchasing the machine. I've had no problems until yesterday. Hopefully, they'll have a firm diagnosis in a day or so. I'll let you know how it works out. I'm glad I have Apple Care!
AndyH

More on the G5 Won't boot, no chime, no grey screen issue....

OK, so in the last thread, I had taken it to the apple store, where the g5 (DP 2.5) dutifully started up on their firewire drive, whereupon they declared it a faulty hard drive.
I pressed them pretty hard, but it made sense at the time, and certainly never failed while they were there.
So now I have it back home, a new WD SATA drive installed, and guess what?? same thing... boots, no chime, no power LED, just fans.
I have set/reset the SMU, I have removed everything including the batter (which checks good at 3.7 volts BTW)
Here's the weird part - it seems like once per day (always the first time) I do get one good try out of it. By this I mean, it will chime and at least get to the grey screen, and i can eject a CD. However, up till now I have not been prepared with the right thing to give it. Once that opportunity has passed, its back to the old black screen with no chimes for at least 24 hours.
I don't detect any overheating or that sort of problem - anyone ever seen this - where you can only get one good boot out of it for a day?
Thanks,
adam

Hi gB -
Yes I tried without the cover, to no avail. Ended up taking it back to the apple store today where they now are able to see the problem (with a different monitor).
Their gut instinct is logic board, but I am asking them to do a complete test on it (whatever that means) just to make sure it isn't a flaky leg on the power supply, or a bad cable somewhere. I don't have alot of hope, but I will give it a chance.
If it ends up being procs, board, or both, I will probably sell it for parts and put the money into a new one with warranty etc!
Glad yours is up and running.
Adam

G5 tower won't boot beyond chime, fan is possessed?

Hi, have been having problems with my Dual 2.5 GHz PowerPC G5. Fan has been running loud and fast, and on last restart, whirred like crazy w/no reboot. Shut off by pressing power button on front of unit and waited a few minutes. Now when I try to turn on, I get a chime and brief noise as if trying to start but then nothing but blank screen (if I leave on, the fan gets loud after a few minutes). Also tried unplugging power cord for a few minutes then restarting, but that hasnt worked. Cannot find my OS X disks (augh!), so what now? Would appreciate any help.. thanks .
P.S. Just bought a new super-de-dupery mac pro and was getting ready to backup my G5 before transferring files. How does it know...?

Bob Ayre wrote:
I had the same trouble 2 years ago.... Turned out to be a bad RAM chip. I had enough RAM to pull two bad chips. I have been running on 3GB since then. The computer ran fine until this AM. I cant start it but the fan doesnt wind up. Good luck.
Bad RAM may sometimes cause the power LED to flash in a particular pattern on power up, though this usually happens when you don't get the boot tone (or as we like to call it, the chime). Something to note when you attempt to power up.
See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547 for some information, some of which applies to G5s.

Apple won't boot beyond chimes

My Imac 24 inch does not boot beyond the chimes. When I reformatted, it worked but I could not install my Adobe CS3 and on restarting again after 2hrs it did the same thing stopped booting after the chimes. Please I need help to solve this

Hi
When you boot up, you should get a single chime (equiv chord of G apparently). Multiple chimes on startup can signify possible hardware problems. Have you checked your RAM to see if it is correctly seated (may be loose)?
Steve
Oops, didn't see last post, sorry. Please mark your thread as Answered so people know problem is solved. This helps other people with same problem find answers to their problem when using the filters.

IMac G4 won't boot, no chime, blank screen

When powering up my iMac G4, you can hear the fan, but no boot chime or screen display. After manually opening superdrive and inserting the diskwarrior (or any disc), you can hear the drive spin up, but nothing happens, the drive then spins down.
Have reset PMU, still nothing.
Any suggestions?

Hey Drake and Welcome to Apple Discussions,
First it would help to know the CPU speed of your eMac.
So you hear the fan and you reset the PMU ( by pushing the button in the user access port? ).
Here's the procedure from the USB 2.0 models' service manual:
"Screen is dark, fan is running and the hard drive is spinning. You may hear the startup
chime as well.
1. Reset parameter RAM. Press Command-Option-P-R during startup before “Welcome to Macintosh”
appears.
2. The system software could be damaged. Start up from the system CD that came with the computer.
3. Remove the user access panel on the bottom of the computer. With the unit powered on, check if a red
LED is visible in the access door. If the red LED is on, power is on. If you don’t see the LED glowing
red, follow the steps under the symptom “No Power”.
4. Disconnect the A/C power cord. Place the unit in the service stand and remove the user access plate.
Press the PMU reset button on the logic board. Refer to “Resetting the PMU on the Logic Board”
mentioned earlier in this chapter.
5. Check for external video. Connect an external monitor to the mini-VGA port."
Richard

My PowerMac G5 won't boot, no chime, no nothing

My father got this machine last november, and used it for a couple of months, then simply shut it down and noone used it anymore.
Now he decided to give the machine to me, but when I pressed the power button, nothing happened.
No leds, neither on the front, neither inside.
No startup chime.
No fans starting up.
Just like the power cable was unplugged, but the cable is plugged and in january all worked fine.
I tried to reset the PMU/SMU but nothing changed, it still behaves like it was unplugged.
I have no way to test the power cable (I don't have another one), and now I'm thinking about going where we bought it and ask them to fix it.
Is there a faster way to know if it's only he power cable?
I know that if I take it to the store, they'll give me the machine back in no less than 2 weeks, even if it's only the cable
Please help...
Thanks
Elena.

Hi Elena, and a Warm Welcome to the Power Mac G5
Forum!
Not sure how much of this applies to the dual-core
that you have, but...
You could try wiggling the power cord/cable where it
enters the G5 at the back, in case some corrosion has
built up over the months.
I already tried it, unplugged and replugget the cable, it was a bit hard to unplug and to replug but nothing happened.
There should probably be a relay-click from the PSU,
low-down at the back of the G5, when the mains power
is first connected to the G5.
Tried to press the PSU reset button more than once, both with mains power connected and disconnected and it doesn't make a sound (that's why I pressed it more than once, I didn't realize I was doing it because I heard nothing)
The internal back-up battery is possibly flat if the
G5 was disconnected from the mains for that length of
time.
The machine was not always connected because my father unplugs all cables at night, but at least a couple of hours every day the G5 was connected. Switched off but connected, I don't think being off is enough to kill a battery that should live for more than 5 years, and as I was without battery on my PB (replacement needed), the worse I got was OSX complaining about wrong date/time settings, the PB booted with flat battery.
A somewhat similar story here
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=20
21118#2021118
I could read that thread and I noted a power supply change.
That can be my problem too, hoping logical board and hard drive survived.
I also tried to remove some ram and tested the two "couples" of ram separately (spelling?), nothing with apple's ram, nothing with the kingston expansion I bought with the G5 (this used to work at least until january anyway).
Trust your story will have a happier ending.
I hope it will turn out it's a power supply problem (better would be the cable).
The store is open tomorrow (no assistance until monday anyway), but I hope someone can at least test my battery and cable (they should have some spare ones there I hope), giving me the working ones if it's just a cable or battery problem.
And I hope they can change my power supply in less than 2 weeks (it was a pain when I had my PowerBook logic board and fans replaced, two weeks of waiting for a call...)
Thanks to all and if you have other suggestions they're always welcome.

G5 won't boot, no chime, solid red light, fan rush and no display!

Hello,
As the title states my power mac g5 doesn't start..I suspect it's for the scrap, but hold out hope.
It's around 2005 model. 2.0ghz
Ok so I turn on, fans go into overdrive, red light comes on and does not blink at all, stays solid.
No display, it also does not chime.. Just sits in fan overdrive and solid red light..
I hold the power button to turn off and it does.. No led flashes.. Red light is the one behind the power button, no other lights on..
Help would be greatly appreciated... Have looked at so many links, but they don't have the exact same problem
Thanks in advance.... Innit!

Hello,
Fans going full blast is normal if the OS doesn't load OK.
I suspect this...
If you're sure the RAM is good, try the Hair Dryer trick...
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13240047#13240047
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15223603#15223603
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15499912#15499912
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15613068#15613068
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3270112
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16053892#16053892
No power light at all...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3692775?tstart=0
It can show on any G5, and even many other computers & electronic devices of the period.
http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/pmg5.html
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/power-macintosh-g5.html
And see this last one in particular...
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16781690#16781690
Heat gun better...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3916312?tstart=0

Mac mini 2009 mavericks won't boot. Blank display no logo,etc. Tried all keyboard boot functions, no help. replaced RAM w/known good. No help. Removed HD mounted in external enclosure and ran permissions and repair. No help. Upgraded HD to Yosemite a

Mac mini 2009 Mavericks won't boot. Chimes and power light comes on. USB ports have power. Blank display no logo,etc. Tried all keyboard boot functions, no help. Replaced RAM w/known good. No help. Removed HD and mounted in external enclosure and ran permissions and repair. No help. Upgraded HD to Yosemite and was able to boot another mini from HD mounted in external enclosure, reinstalled HD still no boot. Any ideas on how to proceed appreciated.

- Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store. You have a hardware problem.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

I have an iMac that won't boot up. I've read all posts on this subject to no avail. When power is switched on, it chimes, Apple logo appears, spinning wheel, then loading bar starts to fill. It gets to about 25% then switches off! Help please!

iMac that won't boot up! When power is switched on it chimes, Apple logo appears, then loading bar, then spinning wheel. Bar seems to load up and gets to around 25%, then reverts to the start again, gets to about 20% on the bar and then switches itself off leaving a black screen. Tried all the remedies on internet with no avail so would welcome some advice other than binning what is a relatively new computer. Earliest appointment Apple could offer was Thursday 17th, really useful for a business user _ not impressed,

You've probably tried this, but will it Safe Boot? Restart holding down the Shift key until you see the grey progress bar. You'll need to input your admin password during bootup. If it will boot you can then try to eject the disk using the various suggestions here that you haven't tried already:
http://osxdaily.com/2009/08/28/eject-a-stuck-disk-from-your-mac-dvd-super-drive/
Or this (not tried this myself, but if things are desperate): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7NYW9Dr448

HT3964 my iMac won't boot up. I hear the chime and the Apple symbol appears but there is no whirling indicator that appears and after a while the computer screen goes black and the whole cycle starts again. There have been occasions when it has actually s

my iMac won't boot up. I hear the chime and the Apple symbol appears but there is no whirling indicator that appears and after a while the computer screen goes black and the whole cycle starts again. There have been occasions when it has actually started and I have the dashboard appear but then the screen freezes

Since you have Lion v10.7.4 installed, use Lion Recovery to repair the startup disk if necessary, or reinstall the Mac OS X.

I have an iMac that won't boot up. Chimes, Gray screen w/ apple icon, spinning gear and progress bar at bottom, about 20 sec then shuts off.

I have an iMac that won't boot up. Chimes, Gray screen w/ apple icon, spinning gear and progress bar at bottom, about 20 sec then shuts off.
Please Help

The internal drive is malfunctioning. What backups do you have?

Macbook won't boot, black screen, no chime

My macbook won't boot at all. It is a white non unibody one. When you press the power button the screen breifly blinks and a clicking sound is heard but no other sounds or chime or anything. I'm suspecting the worst but thought i'd submit it on here first. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply but it isn't a hard drive issue. I have tested the hard drive in an external enclosure and it's working fine. I even put in another hard drive i have and it wont boot that either. I'm thinking its a logic board issue. Any one know best place to get logic board replacement near london for cheap

X58 pro won't boot sometimes

I've got the X58 Pro Motherboard- the original one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130221
Rest of the system specs are as follows:
Core I7 CPU
ATI 5770 video card
Antect 750 watt power supply
6 GB ram (I forget the brand)
2 WD hard drives
From time to time it will not boot. The On/off button on the motherboard is lit, so I know it's getting power. But there's another light on the motherboard that is off when it won't boot- an orange light- presumably the network connection? If I jiggle the power connection to the motherboard, eventually it lights up and the computer will boot. I know the issue isn't the power supply because I've used two, with the same issues.
I thought it might be a short circuit from the case. But a friend more knowledgeable than I suggested that it might be the motherboard power save feature putting it into sleep mode or something. He said a BIOS update would fix it.
I have the 7.3 BIOS version, which I understand is the latest one for this mobo. I hear that people have used the 8.0 and later for other MSI X58 boards with this board with success.
So I have two questions for the gurus here
1) What is causing the computer to not boot?
2) Will a BIOS update fix it, and if so, should I attempt it?
Any helpful advice would be...helpful. Thanks in advance.

Quote from: Bernhard on 02-November-11, 23:59:59
>>Posting Guide<<
To answer that you will need to be more specific on the CPU and memory.
Gotya.
CPU is I7 920.
Memory is Kingston 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134829

Won't boot....no chime except sometimes.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for