01-16-2010, 01:51 PM

i have a mac dual g4 (mirror door). when trying to power up, the indicator light only flashes once and nothing else. no audible beeps. i brought it to the genius bar at my local apple store, and the guy basically said that it was way too old to do anything about except maybe buying a mac book mini and transferring the files onto there.

the worst part is that he couldn't offer any insight as to how it had happened. it was working just fine yesterday. any ideas/how to fix that?

i was also wondering if there was anyway to retrieve the data off of this machine and onto another one without spending more than, say $300. also, is there a way to transfer data from the computer that doesn't power up to another computer.

for troubleshooting, i removed the battery and waited about ten minutes. no luck. any insights or suggestions are more than welcome!

01-16-2010, 03:43 PM

To your third paragraph, yes, there certainly IS a way to retrieve/transfer the data. Remove the hard drive from the G4 and connect it via an ATA-USB2 adaptor kit to another Mac. What adaptor? Like this Newer Technology Universal Drive Adapter -... (U2NV2SPATA) at OWC.

To what might be wrong with your G4, the flash of indicator light but no more, suggests a power supply unit failure. If so, finding a replacement could make repair a futile exercise, in which case it may be time to start looking for a replacement Mac. That said, someone somewhere near your location may have a G4 for parts.

01-16-2010, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by hughvane

To your third paragraph, yes, there certainly IS a way to retrieve/transfer the data. Remove the hard drive from the G4 and connect it via an ATA-USB2 adaptor kit to another Mac. What adaptor? Like this Newer Technology Universal Drive Adapter -... (U2NV2SPATA) at OWC.

To what might be wrong with your G4, the flash of indicator light but no more, suggests a power supply unit failure. If so, finding a replacement could make repair a futile exercise, in which case it may be time to start looking for a replacement Mac. That said, someone somewhere near your location may have a G4 for parts.

i am seeing a lot of sites online that say to try pushing the cuda (pmu) switch. i'll try that before investing in a new power supply and report back.

01-16-2010, 04:57 PM

Also try replacing the PRAM button. MDD models have a history of not booting when the battery fails.

01-18-2010, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by harryb2448

Also try replacing the PRAM button. MDD models have a history of not booting when the battery fails.

Past time for the battery to go. Try and replace it first. Also if the video card
is not seated the machine will not start. Pull the card out and reseat it. Check
the IDE connections are tight.