G5 sounds like Darth Vader breathing, not starting

what is happening? Why does it sound like Anakin Skywalker's mechanical breathing apparatus?

More info please. The Star War's references are "colorful" but not necessarily helpful.

Thanks,

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

More info please. The Star War's references are "colorful" but not necessarily helpful.

Thanks,

- Nick

Click to expand...

glad you appreciate it, Nick. What info can I provide to be helpful? I just tried replacing the hard drive with a new one, put the install disc in the dvd drive, and still nothing.

Powermac desktop G5 2GHz, dual, motorola chip, running tiger 10.4.11 (I think, can't access info cuz puter is now non-functional)

BluesForDan said:

glad you appreciate it, Nick. What info can I provide to be helpful? I just tried replacing the hard drive with a new one, put the install disc in the dvd drive, and still nothing.

Powermac desktop G5 2GHz, dual, motorola chip, running tiger 10.4.11 (I think, can't access info cuz puter is now non-functional)

Click to expand...

Thanks for the additional info...in the title of this thread you mentioned "Not Starting"...this could mean any number of things, including "Not Starting"...which would mean not doing anything when you press the power button. DOA, dead, nada, nothing...that really does not sound like the case here.

It's good to know what computer model you have & what OS you were or are running as well.

But...are you sure it's running 10.4.11...I would think you would have known this before the problems started.

So what is it exactly is going on:

- was this computer working properly recently?
- is this replaced hard drive the only hard drive in the computer?
- if you replaced the hard drive, and the new one is the only HD in the G5...then you would have not any OS currently on the computer...so it then would not matter about the OS version.
- did you just purchase the computer, and thus it is new to you?
- any particular reason why you were replacing the hard drive?
- what DVD/CD disk were you putting into the optical drive?
- what is the deal or what exactly do you mean by the statements "Sounds like Darth Vader breathing or Anakin Skywalker's mechanical breathing apparatus"?...what is it doing?

As you can see...there's a lot of info that is needed to help understand what exactly is going on with your computer...and what exactly you're trying to do or have done to get it to run.

- Nick

p.s. BTW...you asked this question in another thread, "what does the logic board do and how do I know if my computer has a bad/dead one?"

Are we talking about the same G5 computer that you replaced the hard drive in? Why would you think you have a bad logic board?...according to the above statement you don't even know what a logic board is!!!

pigoo3 said:

Thanks for the additional info...in the title of this thread you mentioned "Not Starting"...this could mean any number of things, including "Not Starting"...which would mean not doing anything when you press the power button. DOA, dead, nada, nothing...that really does not sound like the case here.

It's good to know what computer model you have & what OS you were or are running as well.

But...are you sure it's running 10.4.11...I would think you would have known this before the problems started.

So what is it exactly is going on:

- was this computer working properly recently?

Click to expand...

yes, it was running thursday evening, I went to wake it up and it failed to respond. subsequent attempts to reboot only resulted in the 'breathing' sound

- is this replaced hard drive the only hard drive in the computer?

Click to expand...

yes

- if you replaced the hard drive, and the new one is the only HD in the G5...then you would have not any OS currently on the computer...so it then would not matter about the OS version.

Click to expand...

good point, thanks.

- did you just purchase the computer, and thus it is new to you?

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negative, have owned and used this computer since august of 2005

- any particular reason why you were replacing the hard drive?

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yes. When I brought to a macedge store in town (which closed one week after I got my computer back, nearest one is now one hour away) for a problem that turned out to be a corrupted font file of all things, the tech told me my hard drive was making a high pitched beeping noise, like a heart monitor and that it was likely to fail. That was one month ago.

- what DVD/CD disk were you putting into the optical drive?

Click to expand...

The original OSX Tiger install disk that came with the computer new

- what is the deal or what exactly do you mean by the statements "Sounds like Darth Vader breathing or Anakin Skywalker's mechanical breathing apparatus"?...what is it doing?

Click to expand...

It is a rhythmic noise that sounds like a windy kind of noise, that I thought might have been a hard drive or a fan spooling up and down in speed. I don't know what the bleep it is doing, hence my asking to see if anybody else had experienced it. It sounds like something breathing in a slow and labored fashion.

As you can see...there's a lot of info that is needed to help understand what exactly is going on with your computer...and what exactly you're trying to do or have done to get it to run.

- Nick

p.s. BTW...you asked this question in another thread, "what does the logic board do and how do I know if my computer has a bad/dead one?"

Are we talking about the same G5 computer that you replaced the hard drive in? Why would you think you have a bad logic board?...according to the above statement you don't even know what a logic board is!!!

Click to expand...

from some searching on the internet today, I read that logic boards (and power supplies) were known to fail on Macs. I'm trying to find out what its function is so I can try to figure out if it could be the culprit. It is part of my process of self-education. By replacing my hard drive, and still not being able to get the computer to boot up, I've pretty much eliminated the hard drive as the culprit. Now I have to look further.

hopefully I've clarified it, but just to answer your question in the other thread. No, I do not have a stone dead computer. To me, dead would be absolutely nothing happens at all when you try to power it up, no lights, no fans, no noise, period.

Ok, thanks again. It's great to have a bunch of background info.

So if I understand things correctly:

- your G5 was working fine until last Thursday.
- you replaced the one and only hard drive in it with a new one.
- you inserted the grey/silver colored DVD that came with the computer

Some additional questions:

- I think the only thing I'm not 100% clear about...what happened when you inserted the install DVD/CD that came with the computer...anything or just a blank white or grey screen?

- Just checking so I know...are you 100% sure you got the correct hard drive for this computer?...it should be an SATA (Serial ATA) drive.

- Apple released 4 different models of the Powermac G5 2 ghz. It may or may not be important later...but do you know if it was a dual-processor or a dual-core G5 (there is a difference)?

Thanks,

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Ok, thanks again. It's great to have a bunch of background info.

So if I understand things correctly:

- your G5 was working fine until last Thursday.
- you replaced the one and only hard drive in it with a new one.
- you inserted the grey/silver colored DVD that came with the computer

Some additional questions:

- I think the only thing I'm not 100% clear about...what happened when you inserted the install DVD/CD that came with the computer...anything or just a blank white or grey screen?

Click to expand...

actually, nothing at all is showing on the screen, it is not lit up at all, only the power indicator light.

- Just checking so I know...are you 100% sure you got the correct hard drive for this computer?...it should be an SATA (Serial ATA) drive.

Click to expand...

absolutely, positively sure of the hard drive (think of the chick from 'My Cousin Vinny' in the court house scene on the witness stand )

- Apple released 4 different models of the Powermac G5 2 ghz. It may or may not be important later...but do you know if it was a dual-processor or a dual-core G5 (there is a difference)?

Thanks,

- Nick

Click to expand...

dual processor, not dual core.

appreciate the help, nick

thanks,

dan

Ok. Thanks again for all the info.

Well here's two things to try:

- make sure that the video card it seated properly (since you're not getting any video)
- you could try reinstalling the old hard drive to see if things at least return to the way they were last Thursday (also remove the new hard drive).

I know that this drive is on it's "last legs", but if you reinstall it, it will at least let us know if everything on your computer is ok.

Good luck,

- Nick

I currently have the lithium battery from the logic board out, and am going to get a replacement. The description of the PMU sounds a lot like it controls what I'm having problems with, and if the battery is shot (likely, it is over 5 years old) I'm not putting it back in.

BluesForDan said:

I currently have the lithium battery from the logic board out, and am going to get a replacement. The description of the PMU sounds a lot like it controls what I'm having problems with, and if the battery is shot (likely, it is over 5 years old) I'm not putting it back in.

Click to expand...

Why didn't you mention this a long time ago! A bad or dead PRAM battery can in some cases cause exactly the problems you're having!

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Why didn't you mention this a long time ago! A bad or dead PRAM battery can in some cases cause exactly the problems you're having!

- Nick

Click to expand...

new battery did not help still won't boot up. I'm unplugging everything, going to let it sit for a half hour and then try again. getting pretty frustrated right now.

BluesForDan said:

new battery did not help still won't boot up. I'm unplugging everything, going to let it sit for a half hour and then try again. getting pretty frustrated right now.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that the new PRAM battery didn't solve things...but did you try what I mentioned previously about "reseating" the video card, and removing that new hard drive & installing the old one?

Basically you want to "return" your G5 to the same configuration that it was in when it last worked.

- Nick

how do you reseat the video card?

BluesForDan said:

how do you reseat the video card?

Click to expand...

You remove it, and then put it back in.

- Nick

I've tried pulling on it, but it is not budging. Are there any fasteners, clips, etc, that need to be moved/removed?

BluesForDan said:

I've tried pulling on it, but it is not budging. Are there any fasteners, clips, etc, that need to be moved/removed?

Click to expand...

You need to remove a phillips head screw which helps hold the video card in place. This screw is on the inside of the computer.

Check out this video for more help:

YouTube - PowerMac G5 PCI Card Installation

- Nick

sorry, this laptop can't handle any youtube videos, older version of safari and pre tiger osx = no video goodness. keeps locking up and I have to force quit.

is it the screw by the side of the PCI box? And a question about why to reseat it if it has never been taken out? Just to try to eliminate it as a cause?

BluesForDan said:

sorry, this laptop can't handle any youtube videos, older version of safari and pre tiger osx = no video goodness. keeps locking up and I have to force quit.

is it the screw by the side of the PCI box? And a question about why to reseat it if it has never been taken out? Just to try to eliminate it as a cause?

Click to expand...

As far as the You-Tube video...I didn't realize what other computer you were working off of.

As far as screw on the video card...the screw is located on the far right of the video card (if you're facing the inside of the computer). Just follow the top edge of the video card till you get to the rear of the computer & you should see a screw. It's right there, easy to see.

Regarding reseating the video card...and why. No particular explanation, sometimes doing it helps, and sometimes not...you're having video problems, so this is a good place to look.

All I'm saying at this point is reseat the video card, remove the new hard drive, install the old hard drive...and see if this gets everything working again...like you mentioned that last Thursday everything was working.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

As far as the You-Tube video...I didn't realize what other computer you were working off of.

As far as screw on the video card...the screw is located on the far right of the video card (if you're facing the inside of the computer). Just follow the top edge of the video card till you get to the rear of the computer & you should see a screw. It's right there, easy to see.

Regarding reseating the video card...and why. No particular explanation, sometimes doing it helps, and sometimes not...you're having video problems, so this is a good place to look.

All I'm saying at this point is reseat the video card, remove the new hard drive, install the old hard drive...and see if this gets everything working again...like you mentioned that last Thursday everything was working.

- Nick

Click to expand...

ok, removed and reseated video card, put old hard drive back in, reset PMU. Still not boot up, only the fan oscillating like before. I'm afraid it is the power supply.