G5 Machine Randomly Shuts Off

Hi guys,

I have a small problem that is a little annoying. One of our G5 Dual Core machines has been shutting off without any instructions to do so from the user. I am thinking that it is an overheating issue, but to my knowledge Macs are not that bad with the heat.

So I am wondering if the PSU is the cause of the random shut down?

Is your Mac a Mac Pro (Intel-based) or Power Mac G5 (PowerPC-based)? These are not the same machines and both have models sporting dual processors.

My bad. I meant the PowerPC-based.

Look at this Apple Support webpage: Power Mac G5 Repair Extension Program for Power Supply Issues. These are the symptoms reported for bad power supplies.

Compare your serial number against those listed on that page, your PowerMac might be in for a recall.

Report back to let us know what happens. If it is still under warranty, I would take it in for repairs, it could be a logic board starting to go bad if your G5 isn't on the list. Or another thing you could try is unplug it from the wall for 10 minutes to let the capacitors drain and plug it back in: see if the problem still occurs.

But do take it in if it is on that list... If it is, troubleshooting, if it does work, would only be very temporary and the real trouble would be looming up ahead.

Sorry for the late reply. I have changed jobs but I still help the company with this problem out.

Thanks for the link. I will look at it later. I went back today (a week later) and apparantly the symptom has not occurred. So they will keep an eye on it.