G4 locks up on startup

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Mar 23, 2007
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Hello,

For the last couple of days, my G4 keeps locking up on startup. Here are the specifics of the problem:

-It would get to the grey apple icon with the spinning gear then it would freeze.
-The mouse and keyboard would not respond after the lockup. The light on the optical mouse sould disappear.
-Sometimes on startup, the chime on bootup would not go on and there would be not display on the screen at all.
-Some instances i would actually get to the desktop, work around it for a few minutes then it suddenly locks up.
-When i do get the point where it seems to be running fine, i inserted the install disk and ran disk repair. Then it would freeze during process.

I have never added any new hardware into the system and i ran basically the same OS (10.3) since i had my machine. At first, i thought it was hard drive issue so i ended up getting a new HD and tried installing the OS in it but still no luck. Worse case scenario is that it would be a combination of both hardware and software issues which will be a pain to fix. I've had my mac for at least 6 years now so i might even consider getting a G5 or perhaps an imac if i cannot fix my old mac.

Any ideas on how to resolve this problem is very appreciated.

Thanks a bunch
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Powermac G4 Dual 1.42 1Gb
What are the specifics on your problem or should I say what mac exactly? I had a similar issue with my G4 dual 1.42 a couple of years ago. Turned out to be the original hard drive was messed up. It would freeze on startup or sometimes while operating. I don't know if this is exactly the issue and I'm no expert by any means but it looks like a lack of responses so far so I thought I would throw my two cents in. I can still access the old drive, but I use the new one for the OS and have transferred everything over to it. Just a thought, but I can't be certain this is the problem.
 
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Hey man thanks for replying.

Yeah i have a G4 "quicksilver" dual with a 1GB of ram & i'm running os X 1.3.9. I tried using a new hard drive and install the new OS in it but it still locks up during the installation process. That new drive works perfectly well with the other desktop so its not that. I tried resetting the pram and manual disk repair & boot that did help a lot since i dont lock up on the apple logo anymore. It still freezes sometimes on the desktop and on other apps so i have to reset the system. I only thing i havent tried yet is to change the ram. Im waiting on a friend to bring his ram over so i can isolate if it is really a ram issue.

If there is any ideas that can help fix this is much appreciated.

Thanks
 
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Just for reference, i've done the following to try help resolve my freezing/ crashing issues on my G4. (10.3 OS X) Some of the steps here may resolve some issues for others but it has yet to resolve mines.

- unplugging all wires connected to the mac and replugging them back in.
- make sure all the vents are clean and unobstructed.
- removing the hardware such as ram, hd, and videocards then putting them back in securely.
- run "repair permissions" on disk utility
- run the install disk and boot from there. then run repair disk to check the HD volumes. If disk does not respond, restart while holding the "c" key to boot straight from the disk.
- run "archive and install" from the install disk to out in a new OS.
- you can try safe mode "apple+shift" in case you get stuck on the apple logo on boot-up.
- try zapping the pram "apple+option+p+r" wait for 3 chimes to reset the pram.
- you can do a manual boot by restarting while holding "apple+s" then type "/sbin/fsky -y" to do a disk check/repair then type "exit" to reboot to the OS.
- try using a new HD perhaps the HD may be corrupted already.
- try replacing the rams. it may have gone bad.

If anyone else have any other ideas, im all ears and thanks in advance to whomever replies.
 

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