Help! Gray Startup on my new Powermac G4

[jm300]

It really sounds like the RAM now! We'll see what they say tomorrow... Just hope they don't make me send back the whole thing!

Can bad RAM be finicky (Work, then not work?)

 

[Mac SK]

It really sounds like the RAM now! We'll see what they say tomorrow... Just hope they don't make me send back the whole thing!

Like I said I had a stick of Kingston that was bad and or the machine just isnt happy with one big stick may prefer smaller sticks. Had to pull a stick out of one of my PCs the other day that went bad..it slowed down to a crawl. So memory goes bad. If they will not trade sticks go buy some and call Kingston and try to get a replacement.

 

[jm300]

Thanks for your help! I am going to try my best to get some replacement RAM out of them. I may have previously mentioned, I had an old iBook G3 for a while, and I recall purchasing some brand new generic RAM (512 MB) from OWC in August of '08, worked great at first! Come February/March of '09, the machine had kernel panics and would sometimes come up with a prohibitory sign during startup. It was so bad, I recall having to take the 512 MB module and was stuck with 256 MB's for a while. This seems very familiar to what is occurring in the Powermac, only the RAM is so bad, it's entirely refusing to boot.

 

[Mac SK]

The odds are its something simple. If they really tested it this issue would have been found before they sold it. Good Luck let us know what they tell you. You may have to file a claim with Paypal or you credit card company for compensation if its DOA.

 

[jm300]

I just contacted them today and the drive appears to be okay (what a surprise!) They said they will be shipping a new drive out tomorrow and some RAM (2 X 512MB). However, it will probably be PC RAM. Wish me luck! Hopefully they ship it out via USPS priority mail.

 

[jm300]

Also, I stumbled upon this as well from Buying RAM - Mac Guides
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G4 Mirror Drive Door models: PC2700 DIMMs, 4 slots, max 2 Gb with 4 x 512 MB DIMMs. (It has been reported that 2 x 1 GB DIMMs could be used, but the other 2 sockets then have to be left empty, this is not recommended)
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[jm300]

They just shipped the RAM and hard drive out. With all luck, I should receive it by Thursday or Friday. Wish me luck! Hopefully it boots up!

 

[Mac SK]

Also, I stumbled upon this as well from Buying RAM - Mac Guides
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G4 Mirror Drive Door models: PC2700 DIMMs, 4 slots, max 2 Gb with 4 x 512 MB DIMMs. (It has been reported that 2 x 1 GB DIMMs could be used, but the other 2 sockets then have to be left empty, this is not recommended)
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Interesting statement (2 sockets then have to be left empty, this is not recommended) The machine was not shipped With all sockets filled! Dont know where that comes from.

 

[jm300]

I am really hoping this solves it! It'll make my week if I see it boot up once I install these parts!

 

[Mac SK]

I am really hoping this solves it! It'll make my week if I see it boot up once I install these parts!

Check that everything is seated good ... You know like the AGP card has that little lock on the tail end of the PCI socket..that its in all the way. Check that they did not move the jumper on the Hard Drive.

 

[jm300]

I'll double check all of that prior to the new installation of the RAM and Hard Drive. Mac SK, on a percentage, how sure are you that it is the RAM? I am about 90% sure.

 

[Mac SK]

I'll double check all of that prior to the new installation of the RAM and Hard Drive. Mac SK, on a percentage, how sure are you that it is the RAM? I am about 90% sure.

The odds are its the Ram or lack of Ram. When I work on these machines I have spare parts so that would have been tested before the HD would have been pulled. Most of the time a messed up system gives the grey screen issue. Sometimes the wrong video card ..but theres no chime. So we hope thats its issue and its not a flaky board or CPU. But they should have found this issue before you bought it.

 

[jm300]

Okay. I'll let you the results once I've installed the replacement RAM and Hard Drive! Wish me luck!

 

[Mac SK]

Good Luck jm300...This tape will self destruct in five seconds..

 

[jm300]

Oh well. Nothing! Same old gray screen! I am going to try and get reimbursed or get a replacement. Thanks for everyone's help! I really appreciate it!

 

[Mac SK]

Oh well. Nothing! Same old gray screen! I am going to try and get reimbursed or get a replacement. Thanks for everyone's help! I really appreciate it!

One Last Try...Disconnect the HD and try to boot from the CD. Im not convinced that the system on the HD is ok like they say. Otherwise we gave it a shot..sorry in took so long. To bad it didnt work out.

 

[jm300]

I will try that later. I sent the seller an e-mail and requested either a refund or replacement. Should I just entirely request a refund? It would take me a while, but if I were to save up, I could probably eventually purchase a Intel Mac Mini with Snow Leopard. Would it be worth it to do that? Thanks once again!

 

[Mac SK]

I will try that later. I sent the seller an e-mail and requested either a refund or replacement. Should I just entirely request a refund? It would take me a while, but if I were to save up, I could probably eventually purchase a Intel Mac Mini with Snow Leopard. Would it be worth it to do that? Thanks once again!

Hey you know what ever floats your boat... I fool with old Macs and am a bottom feeder as in shopping thrift stores and what gets kicked to the curb. I work with what I got behind the cutting edge. Picked up a 1.6G G5 tower last month for free, bought a Quicksilver for $26.00. Have picked up Classic Macs and PC's out of dumpsters.

 

[jm300]

I know what you're saying. I've always purchased used macs. However, I don't like seeing myself spend nearly $220 for a used G4 that doesn't even operate.

 

[Mac SK]

I know what you're saying. I've always purchased used macs. However, I don't like seeing myself spend nearly $220 for a used G4 that doesn't even operate.

You needed to find one like this. % Apple PowerMac G4 1.25GHz 1024MB 80GB COMBO LEOPARD - eBay (item 390179693401 end time Apr-11-10 14:00:51 PDT)