PowerMac G5 won't boot

Hi all, I have a PowerMac G5 Quad that just refuses to boot.

So heres the story.

I always admired the powermac g5(that case though... mmmmm), as a broke college student I wanted a mac to play around with and started looking on Ebay for a used g5 close to my area. I eventually found one for $40.00. Bought it, drove 2 hours to get it. Only problem was it had a busted power supply. I went online and bought a new power supply for $44. Screwdriver set for $30. And began to work.

After replacing the power supply the g5 powered on for the first time. But...the logic board showed CPU B OverTemp led 2 and CheckStop. Led 7.

So i thought i must have not seated the cpu correctly and reseated them. Now all I'm getting is LED 7 instantly. Checkstop.

What gives? I've tried reseating the CPU multiple times to no avail and I'm in too deep money wise now to quit.

Just for the record. I don't see any liquid cooling leaks. The Liquid cooling system is solid. So i don't believe its that.

Anyone wanna give their feedback and help me out because I'm literally about to throw up with all the money i spent on this lemon. Thanks!

elementalmist said:

Only problem was it had a busted power supply.

What gives?

Anyone wanna give their feedback and help me out because I'm literally about to throw up with all the money i spent on this lemon. Thanks!

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Two things:

1. Maybe this $40 Powermac G5 had more problems than just a bad power supply.
2. So far you have spent:

- $40 for the computer
- $44 for the power supply
- $30 for screwdrivers

This adds up to $114.

I've seen 100% working Powermac G5's sell for as little as $55 on eBay…and more commonly around $100 (with prices in between as well).

The eBay purchase route (even with shipping charges) may have been less $$$ than spent so far. And if you could find an eBay auction near you for a Powermac G5…then there wouldn't even be shipping charges.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Two things:

1. Maybe this $40 Powermac G5 had more problems than just a bad power supply.
2. So far you have spent:

- $40 for the computer
- $44 for the power supply
- $30 for screwdrivers

This adds up to $114.

I've seen 100% working Powermac G5's sell for as little as $55 on eBay…and more commonly around $100 (with prices in between as well).

The eBay purchase route (even with shipping charges) may have been less $$$ than spent so far. And if you could find an eBay auction near you for a Powermac G5…then there wouldn't even be shipping charges.

- Nick

Click to expand...

I realize this now. and I'm kicking myself in the butt for it. I just wanna get it working. D:

elementalmist said:

I realize this now. and I'm kicking myself in the butt for it. I just wanna get it working. D:

Click to expand...

I hear ya. Sometimes these deals/opportunities unfortunately "snowball" out of control.

For what it's worth. I have a Powermac G5 (that I've had for years) whose power supply blew on it. I purchased a used replacement power supply for it…installed it…and it started up right away (no problems).

In your case (if the power supply was the only problem)…then replacing the power supply should have solved things. This is why I mentioned that maybe the computer has additional problems (that the seller either did or didn't know about).

All I can suggest is…pull the video card & ram. Then reinstall/reseat everything. You already did the cpu's & heatsinks…so don't have to do that.

You could also try a PRAM Reset:

About NVRAM and PRAM

I would say that if you cannot find a solution that DOES NOT cost any additional money…then DON'T spend any additional $$$.

- Sell the computer for parts.
- Sell the working power supply separately.
- Return the screwdrivers to the store you purchased them from.

Hopefully you are able to get all your money back (maybe even a little profit).

HTH,

- Nick

You told us it is a Quad but not which model. Be aware the 2.5GHz model is liquid cooled and the problems you are describing sound very much like a leak on to the logic board/CPU. Methinks you may have pruchased an eight year old lemon alas!

By the way. Harry reminded me that this Powermac G5 is a quad model. These are worth more than the $55 to $100 I mentioned.

So if you sell it for parts…you should be able to get more than the $40 you paid for it (the liquid cooling parts in good condition alone could be worth more than $40 to someone).

The $55 to $100 Powermac G5's I was thinking of are the dual-cpu models. If you're only looking for something to play around with…one of these would certainly fill that role.

- Nick