Firewire 400 ports NOT working.

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Hi all,
Power Mac G4, PowerPC G4 (2.1), Number Of CPUs:2, 1 GHz,
running 10.3.9.
Recently I downloaded Security Update 2007-007 from Apple.
Since then, my two built in Firewire 400 ports are not working.
I tried to download Security Update 2007-008 and it says it
can't! I did the whole shut down, unplug and reboot and that
works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. I can't keep doing
that. HELP! Please! I make my living shooting stills and video
and need those Firewire ports to function.
Quick fix, buy a card and install some additional ports? Is that
a good idea for a work-around?
Thanks so much!!
John

[email protected]
 
M

MacHeadCase

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Welcome to Mac-Forums, johnnyu.

Panther was a sucker for bad disk permissions. Did you launch Disk Utility to repair disk permissions?

When you say you unplugged your unit, how long was it unplugged? A good 20 minutes might be better. It will help the capacitors drain completely.
 
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J
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MacHead,
I did do Repair Disk Permissions. I also unplugged it
overnight, 7 hours with no power supply plugged in. No luck.
Is there STILL a battery in Macs? I remember once having to
replace a small battery in an older Mac...still a battery there,
could that be it. Leaving soon to go pick up a 3 port card and
throw that in...think that will work? Thanks so much for your
help!
jsu

ps...I know I need to upgrade to 10.4(Tiger?) but I'm worried about
down time with PShop CS1 and Final Cut 4.5. Everything else I can
deal with any downtime, but these two would kill me. Thoughts?
Can't thank you enough!
 
M

MacHeadCase

Guest
7 Hours? Oh my! Guess that won't work then. :p

Oh yes there is a battery! While the old Mac models could work without a battery more recent Macs like the Power Mac G4 cannot.

You could try to reset the CUDA chip and see where that takes you.

Report back and tell us how it went. Good luck! :)

Edited to add:

Since your Power Mac does start up, I don't think it's the battery. When the battery's dead I heard they don't even boot. Maybe trav or someone else, can confirm this or not but this is what I have seen at a couple of places.
 
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J
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MacHead,
You're lucky you're not here, 'cause I might kiss you
right now! Or, at least a hug. I reset the Cuda chip and
the first external drive I turned on mounted, ejected that
and plugged in another and that mounted as well.
The big test, gonna put the tower back where she belongs
and plug in my Canon XL1s video camera AND an external
Hard drive and see if they work together. I'll let you know.
Can't thank you enough, my friend. Let me know if you are
ever in WI, you have as much free cheese coming your way
as you can handle!!! :)
Thank you!!!
jsu
 
M

MacHeadCase

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Excellent! Glad it's working correctly now. :)

Oh and... I love cheese! ;D
 
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J
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Nope, no cheese for you! :(

Moved it back to it's spot. Power'd up and Maxtor
500 gig plugged back in and it mounted right away.
Double clicked on the Maxtor icon and everything
locked up. Rebooted, no external drive, no Video
camera. Sadness...my career is sinking before my
eyes!

Off to buy a 3 port FW 400 card, unless you have a
different idea. Thanks again, MHC!!!
jsu

ps...the Cheese offer is still on the table! :)
 
M

MacHeadCase

Guest
What you could do, if you still have the Apple Hardware Test that came with your Power Mac is boot from it and, when prompted, ask for the extended test. This will test all your hardware components: try to run it when you're sure the FW ports aren't working.

This test will be a bit lengthy but it will give you a report and it will clearly let you know if there are any faults with any of the components.

If you don't have the CD anymore, you can download it from here at Apple's website: you'll have to burn it to CD though. Your Power Mac G4 should be the QuickSilver model, me thinks.
 
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J
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Ugh, tried downloading the test thing. Burned to a cd, won't load from the cd. Off to buy a card, I'll let you know!!!
Thanks again, MHC!!!
jsu
 
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J
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Ya know, MHC, I am NOT a fan of people. I think MOST of them are not worth the time or the effort, but YOU are an exception. Even though your suggestions didn't pan out, you tried, and for that I am exceptionally grateful. I ran to the store, bought a 3 port card and plopped it in. Hard drive AND camera mounted and ready to import. Thanks again for trying and the CHEESE is on me!
John

edit:
Yeah, no THIS isn't working. Gonna call a guy.
External HD says I have like 150 gigs free. Start downloading video
and after just a few minutes it locks up. Check the external HD and
it says 2.5 gigs left. Something WAY wrong with that.
Might jump off a bridge. UGH.
 

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