help with Powermac G4 no video

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I run a series of Powermac G4s and have done so for years. When one of them recently died i bought a job lot of 3, all dual processor 450's from Ebay.

When they turned up Parcelforce, the courier damaged the box by dropping it and when i checked all the machines one did not boot.

Now here comes the confusing bit. It bongs but there is no video. I don't have a standard CRT monitor but connect them up to as Toshiba TV come monitor.

I can hear everything working inside and popped in a Tiger disc to hear it do the boot from CD to installation. But no video....

I tried swopping a graphics card between one of the other machines but they alas neither machine would work with each other's card...

So I'm left scratching my head. I did the olde Apple/Option PR and did the reset but still nothing. I don't want to buy another graphics card if its dead but it does sound alive.

Can anyone come to my rescue?? Matt Burton England.
 
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Is the power staying on?

Are all the cables to the drives securely in

Is the RAM firmly in place.

Do you have an old PCI video card to test if it is the AGP slot that has gone
 
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Hi, the computer remains powered on and i've tried and tested various ram with no effect. Sadly i don't have a PCI card available to me. But one thing i did notice,the other computers had on the graphics cards a little extra leg towards to the rear of the graphics card near the back of the machine. The problem powermac graphics card doesn't have this but does still fit in the slot. Could someone have stuck in a PCI card by mistake into the agp port?
 
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anyhow, there is no reason why an AGP card from any of the other macs doesn't work

is the processor card in place?
 
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Well there is a large silver heatsink in place over the dual 450's. I've not checked to see if there is a good connection. But surely there would be no Apple bong if there was an issue with the CPU because i thought this was part of the initial test.
 

dtravis7


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Try zapping the PRAM. That worked for me with that exact issue once. Right after the Chime Hold down Command+Option+P+R all at the same time and keep them down till 2 more chimes sound off then let go. If you still have no video, not sure what is up, but do report back.
 
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Hi guys. I did clear the PRAM and no difference. What's particularly annoying is the fact that everything else seems fine and is making all the right sounds.
 

dtravis7


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All 3 are identical machines correct and you have swapped video cards from a working one and still no video. That is a strange one. Since resetting the PRAM did not work I wonder if there is some damage to the mainboard from the fall. I had a G3 B&W shipped to me by DHL and they literally threw the box and broke the one side in pieces but it worked then all of a sudden died and it was some hairline crack on the mainboard that showed up later.

If I can think of anything else I will for sure post it here.

Just thought of one more thing, Find the CUDA button on the motherboard (Don't remember if the 450 Dual had that still. That brought one back to life for me also but it was an older Yikes G4 that used the G3 B&W board.
 
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Cuda button

Mhhhhmm I remember reading out this Cuda button in the Apple manuals I have. What is this a dip switch and where is it located?
 

dtravis7


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Also try checking the graphics card is still firmly seated on the defective machine by undoing the screw, remove entirely, check seating tabs, and re-inserting all the way until it is tight.
 
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Hi guys, i did the pram, and also the Cuda button and still no video....argghhh.

Any other suggestions?
 
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Here's a weird development. I found an old MX geforce PCI card. It was not a Mac one so i stuck it in regardless. The machine booted as before with a good bong. Then to my surprise I had a very interlaced with artifacts screen. In the middle of the screen was the finder/OS missing folder. It was hard to make out but definatly there. I then added a Tiger disc to the drive. It booted up the Apple logo in grey and then showed the spinning fan loading. It would get to the point where normally it would move to the next screen and freeze.

So what do you think this means? Dead AGP port, dead agp card or something else altogether???
 
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Kick it- I'll bloody take it down to the river trent and take it for a swim in a minute..lol
 
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Dead APG card ~ have you actually tried one of the other cards in the AGP slot as they are Gigabit Ethernets if all 450 DP.
 
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Yep nothing happened

Yep nothing happened. But i had not reset the cuda.
 
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Can anyone help or perhaps recommend somewhere in the UK tog et a cheap replacement graphics card?
 
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Rule one Mac graphic cards never come cheap!

Watch ebay.com.uk and see if any Rage 128 Pro's are advertised, they are the original cards. Cards up to an ATI Radeon 9000 Mac Pro will work in the AGP power Macs as 4X cards are usually backwards compatible with the 2X AGP slot.

Smartz I have purchased cards from USA sellers on ebay and never had a problem as here in Australia face same problem you do regarding supplies, suppliers and prices.

Here is one in the UK and very very cheap:-

APPLE 630-2906 RAGE 128 PRO AGP GRAPHICS CARD - eBay, Components, Apple Macintosh, Computing. (end time 31-Oct-08 02:20:00 AEDST)

Just ignore the .au as it is a UK seller.
 

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