05-02-2012, 12:34 AM

Hey there guys. I feel that I have a pretty unique situation, and was hoping to get some advice on what I should do.

I just bought a Power Mac G5 to replace my iMac G5 after the video card failed, making it unusable. The G5 is a June 2004 model with 2.5 ghz DPs and currently has 1 GB of RAM in it. It did not come with a hard drive, so I had the idea of transfering the HDD from my iMac to my Power Mac. I thought that it was compatible with the Power Mac, so I put the drive in and turned the machine on. No video will come on the monitor. The monitor, most of the time, says there is no signal and will soon after turn off. Every now and then, it will have just a black screen and nothing happens, but the monitor has signal, because otherwise it would be blue.

I'm not completely computer savvy, but I know a little more than the average person. I'm not even sure if what I'm trying to do is possible. Can you even "transplant" a HDD like that? Even if you can't, shouldn't there be some sort of video on the display, even if it's just a black screen? I'm going to get a copy of Leopard and attempt to boot from disk, but I'm wondering if there's something more going on with the hardware. Is there anything that I can do in this situation to check if the hardware is working properly, even though there's no OS installed? The light on the front of the machine is on and solid, and I hear the chime a few seconds after I press the power button. I have the monitor plugged in to the second display port, which is DVI-I, and nothing's plugged in to the first display port, which is ADC. The fact that nothing's plugged into the first port shouldn't matter, should it? Or do I need to use the first port? I'm not sure what the graphics card is, since I can't turn the machine on to check and there's no sort of branding on the card itself. The display is hooked up via a VGA(VGA is my monitor's only input, other than HDMI and component) to DVI-I cable that I bought on ebay. I bought that cable because I read that adapters can reduce the image quality on the monitor. Although, that cable could be what's causing the issue.

I've tried resetting the PMU via the button on the inside of the case. I attempted to reset the PRAM, but it didn't seem to work. Trying everything I could think of, I attempted to boot into safe mode. Nothing worked. Still no video.

Sorry if I'm being such a newbie, but I really am wanting to solve this problem as soon as possible. I just hate having that beautiful machine sitting there doing nothing.

Thanks in advance for reading my mess of a first post,
Matt

05-02-2012, 02:43 AM

The hard drive from your iMac is not compatible with the Power Mac because it does not have the proper hardware drivers installed. If you buy a copy of Leopard, be sure to buy the retail version (black disks not gray silver). Install Leopard on the iMac hard drive and it should work with your Power Mac.

05-02-2012, 11:19 AM

I thought that could be what the issue was, but I thought it would display some sort of video signal on the monitor.

I'll give that a shot. Thanks for the quick response!

05-02-2012, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by MattyFinz

No video will come on the monitor. The monitor, most of the time, says there is no signal and will soon after turn off.

It's always possible that the video card in the Powermac G5 is bad...and there's no sure way to test for this without having a known good video card to swap for the one that's in there now.

One thing you could do is...remove the video card & reinstall it...just to be sure that it's seated properly.

- Nick

05-02-2012, 05:36 PM

G'day and welcome to the forums.

No problem leaving the ADC vacant whilst using DVI connection. Be wary about purchasing any computer without a hard drive. Have found time and time again they are ready for the scrap heap alas.

Good luck and keep us posted?

05-04-2012, 12:31 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

One thing you could do is...remove the video card & reinstall it...just to be sure that it's seated properly.

I tried re-installing the card, still no go. Once I've tried the OS X installation, the next thing I'll try is a new video card. I kind of wanted to get a new one anyway, so that won't be a problem.

My girlfriend is loaning me money to buy a copy of OS X, so I'll order that tomorrow when the ol' credit card is handy. I really hope that fixes the problem, I really want to use this thing. It's working it's way into my dreams now, haha..

05-04-2012, 01:13 AM

Originally Posted by MattyFinz

My girlfriend is loaning me money to buy a copy of OS X, so I'll order that tomorrow when the ol' credit card is handy.

Make sure you get the right version!

- Nick

05-04-2012, 01:26 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Make sure you get the right version!

Are you referring to Leopard and not Snow Leopard, or is there something else I should know?

05-04-2012, 02:26 AM

Originally Posted by MattyFinz

Are you referring to Leopard and not Snow Leopard, or is there something else I should know?

That is EXACTLY what I mean! Your Powermac G5 needs Leopard (OS 10.5)...not Snow Leopard (10.6). Powermac G5's cannot run Snow Leopard.

In your earlier post you said that you were "ordering OS X with the credit card"...a little too casually. You don't just "order" 10.5...it hasn't been available at the Apple store for at least 2.5 years.

e-Bay or Amazon is where you have to get it...and it's going to cost close to $100.

Good luck,

- Nick

05-04-2012, 02:25 PM

I just had a thought.

I was looking at graphics cards on ebay and some of them list the card's max resolution. Some of them said that they don't support the 30" Cinema Displays. Could it be that my monitor's resolution is not supported by the card? I'm technically using a 26" TV as my monitor. Just trying to run through all possibilities here.

05-04-2012, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by MattyFinz

I just had a thought.

I was looking at graphics cards on ebay and some of them list the card's max resolution. Some of them said that they don't support the 30" Cinema Displays. Could it be that my monitor's resolution is not supported by the card? I'm technically using a 26" TV as my monitor. Just trying to run through all possibilities here.

My first thought is I kind of doubt that resolution is the issue. Firstly the display size (26" versus 30") shouldn't be confused with resolution. The 30" Apple Cinema Display's native resolution is MASSIVE compared to a 26" LCD TV.

It's very possible that the resolution on your 26" TV is less than what is found on some newer 20"-21" LCD computer monitors. And even if the "native resolution" of your 26" TV wasn't "exactly" supported by the Powermac G5's video card...one of the resolutions would still work...it just wouldn't look very good.

- Nick

05-04-2012, 04:12 PM

Alright then. I still won't completely cross it off the possibilities list, though. It's just not very likely.

05-04-2012, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by MattyFinz

Alright then. I still won't completely cross it off the possibilities list, though. It's just not very likely.

What's the resolution of the 26" TV? Is it something like 1366 x 768?

- Nick

05-04-2012, 06:28 PM

It can do full HD, so I'm guessing 1920 x 1080.

05-04-2012, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by MattyFinz

It can do full HD, so I'm guessing 1920 x 1080.

I'm sure this TV can do lower resolutions as well...which the Powermac G5's video card can do (if the video card is functioning properly).

- Nick