eMac Startup problem

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every time i boot up a select few eMacs of mine they start out with nothing but fan noise then when you turn it off then back on again a few times it starts to beep but in a messed up way, then as you keep turning it off and on the four beeps become clearer and clearer until it finally boots with the bong (as if it needs to warm up before it will turn on). after you get it booted it will reboot just fine even if unplugged. it takes several hours of being off and unplugged for it to start doing this again. i have four eMacs with this same problem, please help! :|
 
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Beeping usually points to a ram problem. The ram may be bad. If you have some working eMacs, try swapping its ram with the problem machines.
 

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every time i boot up a select few eMacs of mine they start out with nothing but fan noise then when you turn it off then back on again a few times it starts to beep but in a messed up way, then as you keep turning it off and on the four beeps become clearer and clearer until it finally boots with the bong (as if it needs to warm up before it will turn on). after you get it booted it will reboot just fine even if unplugged. it takes several hours of being off and unplugged for it to start doing this again. i have four eMacs with this same problem, please help! :|

You're sort of not telling us the full story here! You're saying:

"every time i boot up a select few eMacs of mine they start out with nothing but fan noise then when you turn it off then back on again a few times it starts to beep but in a messed up way...

...what you're not telling us is...have you had these eMacs for a while...and they always worked fine. Or did you just get them...and you're trying to figure out what's wrong with them?

This sort of makes a big difference in suggesting solutions & asking questions.

As "MacDude121" suggested...the beeping could be ram related...but it could be something else as well.

- Nick
 
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Familyguy9877
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just got them and am trying to figure out whats wrong with them
 
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I noticed in your macs specs it lists: iMac 2008 2.4GHz 2gb ram--plus 20 others. Do you buy and sell these machines? Or are you just a really passionate collector? :)
 

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just got them and am trying to figure out whats wrong with them

Ok...that's what I would have assumed...but just wanted to be sure.

You mentioned getting/hearing 4 beeps. Here's an explanation of what the beeps mean:

Power-on self-test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...you need to scroll down about 75% to get the Macintosh definitions.

Here's a 2nd link that may explain things a little better:

Mac: Blinking Question Mark or Beeps | FAQ | Tekserve

HTH,

- Nick
 
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Aaaaah, I see. The eMac was actually trying to tell him something. :) What OS are these Machines running? Try going into "about this Mac" "more info" then click diagnostics. It should show the results of the power on self test. Check to see if it says "Passed or Failed"
 
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reply to macdude

I do Really like to collect macs g3 and newer

i have about 18 that i'm keeping and the rest are emacs which i'm hoping to fix and sell :Blushing:
 
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I don't think that will work because i think it has a dead pram battery

but ones with a good battery do this too.
 
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it says last run 10/10/07 3:19AM

and it passed YAY not :Blushing:


EDIT: actually just realized the emac thinks it is 2007 so acording to the emac that was the boot from tonight and it passed, real YAY
 
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i'm posting a youtube video of the problem right now i will post the link when it finishes but might not be til tomorrow
 
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it says last run 10/10/07 3:19AM

and it passed YAY not :Blushing:

So it failed? ... Not good. Let's leave it at that until I watch your video. :D
 
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I would deffinately say RAM Problem ... upgrade it to 1 gig or something bigger
 

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actually i added an update on the same reply saying that it did pass because i realized that the eMac thinks it's still 2007 for some reason :p

youtube video

YouTube - eMac booting problem

Thanks for the video. I noticed that not only are you getting the "beeps" but you're also getting the blinking power/sleep light.

Here are some links that may explain some stuff, and a post from someone that had the same problem (beeping, blinking, and if they tried enough times the computer would finally boot):

Mac: Blinking Question Mark or Beeps | FAQ | Tekserve

My emac G4 won't power up after being turned off... - JustAnswer

By the way...what is the processor speed on these eMac's? I hope it's not 1.25ghz!!! Many of these models had a bad/leaky capacitor issue where capacitors would first bulge then leak onto the motherboard...causing big problems.

Also do these two things:

- If you don't have a 100% "for sure" good PRAM battery get one. Just in case a dead PRAM battery is adding to the problems (this is one reason why the date & time is off as well).

- Make sure you have some good ram. You NEED to have at least one good stick of eMac/Macintosh compatible ram to use in these computers!!! If you don't...you're just "spinning your wheels" with all of the troubleshooting if the problem is ram related!

You have to have some good ram so you can eliminate ram as the problem. If you have Macintosh ram...and the computer boots fine...problem solved. If you have Macintosh ram...and the computer doesn't boot...then you know it's not ram related & it's something else.

HTH,

- Nick
 
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all the ones with this problem are 1GHz

wouldn't the ram be good because the computer can boot off of it?

I do have a stick of crucial brand ram which i know is good because it came out of a powermac g4 that always and still works.
 
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Update it is something like they need to warm up before they will work because I turned one on this morning one time
and let it sit there with the light flashing for about ten minutes, turned it off, turned it back on again only one time and it booted right up.
 

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all the ones with this problem are 1GHz

wouldn't the ram be good because the computer can boot off of it?

I do have a stick of crucial brand ram which i know is good because it came out of a powermac g4 that always and still works.

I've used Windows computer ram in some of my Mac's (iMac G3's & eMac)...and sometimes they boot & sometimes they don't. In other words if I install ram I know came from a Windows computer (PC100 or PC133)...and I install it into one of my iMac G3's or eMac...sometimes they will boot fine...then if I remove the Windows ram...then reinstall it a 2nd time (the exact same stick of Windows ram)...sometimes the computers won't boot.

If I use ram guaranteed to work in a Macintosh...then it works every time.

Regarding the Crucial ram. It's not just that it's Crucial ram...it still needs to be guaranteed to work in a Mac. Mac's (especially) older Mac's can be very picky about the ram they use.

What I'm really saying is...if you had some ram that you knew 100% worked in a Mac (like this ram that came from a Powermac G4 & works fine in that Mac)...then you would know 100% that if you installed this ram into the eMac's you have (assuming the ram from the Powermac G4 is the same used by the eMac's...which I think that it is...PC100 or PC133)...then you would know that the problems with the eMac's is not ram related.

The 4 beeps you're getting with the e-Mac's (according to the definition) means "4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM"...which would mean that something is wrong with the motherboard/logic board. One, two, or three beeps are related to ram problems...4 beeps means bad logic board, 5 beeps means bad CPU. So we're basically "beating a dead horse" here fooling around with the ram...when it's probably a logic board issue...which is not really worth repairing.

If all 4 eMac's are doing the same thing (4 beeps)...they all probably have logic board problems...and that's probably why you got them for a very good price. They're probably good for parts only...sorry.

This is the best observation/guess I can make with the info so far.

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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Update it is something like they need to warm up before they will work because I turned one on this morning one time
and let it sit there with the light flashing for about ten minutes, turned it off, turned it back on again only one time and it booted right up.

I doubt it. "Warming up" is not something a computer needs to do. back in the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's when CRT televisions had vacuum tubes in them (rather than solid state electronics)...the "vacuum tubes" did need to warm up first. Computers from the early 2000's don't need to warm up.

Besides...if you wanted to sell these eMac's to buyers to make a few bucks...what are you going to tell them when you sell them the computer:

"they work fine...you just need to let them warm up a little bit before using them?";)

- Nick
 
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Well the problem only occurs when the computer is unplugged for several hours correct? How many people actually unplug their computers for a long period of time? Not very many, some people don't even shut them down, they just put them into sleep mode. If you sell them to somebody, just explain the problem, and tell them how to get it booted for the first time. (If it even needs it) Of course, the logic boards could be deteriorating and eventually might not boot at all eventually! You never know with a problem like this.

P.s. Just out of curiosity, what was the water running noise in your video? Did somebody really have to go? :D LOL
 

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