PowerMac Quicksilver No Boot

I have a 2001 PowerMac G4 Quicksilver with the 800mhz dual core processor. My brother tried to install more ram into it, but he had put one stick backwards halfway in the slot and now it wont boot. When I hit the power button, the power button glows and the fans kick on but only for a second or two before they shut off. I have already tried resetting the PMU with no luck. Ive made sure that all the cords are properly installed, and I have tried removing hardware to isolate the problem with no luck. I have tried using known good ram in different slots with no luck also. The one thing i did notice was the red LED on the motherboard is now very dim when I push the power button. I believe either the logic board is bad, or the cpu is bad, but I'm not 100% sure. The battery on the logic board COULD be bad, but the system worked completely fine before this incident. Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I doubt it could have blown the CPU, but it's possible the logic board was damaged when he inserted the module backwards. It could also have damaged the power supply at the same time. But if I had to make an educated guess, I would suspect the logic board first.

RideRed264 said:

My brother tried to install more ram into it, but he had put one stick backwards halfway in the slot and now it wont boot.

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You did mention this. So if the computer worked fine before the ram was installed incorrectly...and the computer does not work fine after...guess what...the incorrectly installed ram could have damaged something.

RideRed264 said:

I believe either the logic board is bad, or the cpu is bad, but I'm not 100% sure.

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If the ram slot where the ram was installed incorrectly is damaged...then yes...it could be the logic board (the ram slot). Probably not the cpu...the ram issue has nothing to do with the cpu.

RideRed264 said:

The battery on the logic board COULD be bad, but the system worked completely fine before this incident.

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Nope...not the battery either (if everything worked fine before the ram issue).

Again. This situation is VERY logical. Based on your info...the computer worked fine before the ram was installed incorrectly...now it doesn't work fine. If the ram was installed correctly (and was compatible ram)...then computer would probably be working fine now.

This is what happens when computers aren't treated nicely.

- Nick

Alright, Cool. I'll just have to invest in a logic board then. Ill measure the voltages of the power supply also just to make sure everything is still alright. I knew he probably messed up something on the logic board, but I wasn't sure how far down stream the damage could be. I was just worried that the backwards ram messed up the logic board, which also could have also messed up the graphics card and/or cpu. After it wouldn't boot i opened it up and thats when i noticed one stick of ram installed backwards. He had only one side clipped down and probably only 1/4 of the "pins" in the slot.

RideRed264 said:

Alright, Cool. I'll just have to invest in a logic board then. Ill measure the voltages of the power supply also just to make sure everything is still alright. I knew he probably messed up something on the logic board, but I wasn't sure how far down stream the damage could be. I was just worried that the backwards ram messed up the logic board, which also could have also messed up the graphics card and/or cpu. After it wouldn't boot i opened it up and thats when i noticed one stick of ram installed backwards. He had only one side clipped down and probably only 1/4 of the "pins" in the slot.

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Look very very closely at the pins in the ram slot that was affected (you may need a magnifying glass). It's possible that some of the pins got damaged/bent...and are touching each other. This is really the only sort of damage that the ram slot should have received (unless a hammer was used trying to put the ram in backwards)!

- Nick

p.s. Be aware. This Powermac G4 is worth about $20 bucks (maybe less)...so you really don't want to spend too much getting it working. Unless you don't mind.

Aww man, You're killing me! I paid $100 for her a month ago! lmao. I know she isn't worth hardly anything, but I love the design of the G3/G4 line. I could have gotten a G5 for around the same price, but something about the G4 screams cool to me. I just bought a used logic board for $12.99 online, so hopefully that does it!

RideRed264 said:

Aww man, You're killing me! I paid $100 for her a month ago! lmao. I know she isn't worth hardly anything, but I love the design of the G3/G4 line.

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I hope you're kidding. $100 for ANY Powermac G4 is way too high! Including the top-end Powermac G4 1.42ghz dual cpu model.

RideRed264 said:

I could have gotten a G5 for around the same price…

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Oh yes…I know this very well. I always try to mention this to folks thinking of upgrading their current G3 or G4 desktop. A $100 "ready to rock" dual-cpu Powermac G5 is MUCH more computer!

RideRed264 said:

I just bought a used logic board for $12.99 online, so hopefully that does it!

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That's a pretty good price (better than I expected)! Please let us know how things turn out.

- Nick

Almost forgot to update! The new Logic Board came in and she's running like a champ again! From this point on, only my hands are allowed inside the G4 lol.

Congrats. Sounds like it was the logic board. Thanks for the update.

- Nick