Power Mac G3 B&W HELP

Hi everyone,

I recently was blessed with a FREE Power Mac G3 this past weekend. I did not have any peripherals, so I got my hands on a wireless keyboard in order to fire the machine up and see if it works. I turned it on, got a signal (I'm running the VGA out to my tv) and was very pleased.

The only problem that I had found (so far) was that the computer was locked with a logon password. So, I scoured the internet and learned a few tricks to bypass this. It did not come with the OS CD, of course, so the solution wasn't that simple. I connected my new wireless keyboard - works like a charm. I moved my pointer around and everything was kosher. So, I reboot the machine and hold the Apple + S keys down. This was supposed to take me to some command prompt-type destination where I could type a few lines of commands in and supposedly the machine would let me create a new account. Perfect.

I held the keys, and nothing happened. So, I repeated. Nothing again. Hmm...
I tried this about 3, maybe 4 times total to no avail.

NOW, the machine won't display any video at all. I power it on, power button lights up green, the machine makes the "chime," and there is a momentary flash of picture on my TV, but it is simply a square that is blacker than my screen is when it displays nothing. So, black screen with a black square in the middle. That shows for about... 1 second, if that.

Then "no signal."


Does anyone know what could be wrong? There was a picture beforehand, so I'm assuming my video card crapped out on me. I just bought a replacement on Amazon for $7. Do you think this will work to rectify the situation or could it be something else?

Let me know if you have any ideas, I really want to explore this thing!

To get into single-user mode (command-s) you need a wired keyboard. Those old macs don't start wireless that early in the boot process.
As far as video, try the card. It IS for a mac right? PC cards WONT work in a macintosh. Then we can go from there.

Yes, the card i ordered is definitely for a Mac - I read that they do not work with PC cards. This is my first Mac, so I did not know that - nor did I know about the wireless keyboard. Thanks for the heads up!! I will let you know in a couple of days when I get/install the video card if that works.

Using a wired keyboard, you think the command + s method should work though, right?

Yes, command-s takes you into single-user mode. If all you have is a windows keyboard, I think it's the start-menu key that's the same as command.
Be very careful what you do in single-user mode. You can really screw things up there if you don't know what you're doing.

Hold COMMAND and S kys down as soon as you hear the chime.


When you get text prompt enter in these terminal commands to create a brand new admin account (hitting return after each line):


mount -uw / Note the spaces after mount and the w. very important


rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone note the space after the rm


shutdown -h now note the space after the n in shutdown and after the h

When it restarts, you will have a new admin account to boot into.



That is the plan that I was going to follow. Does that seem accurate?

That wont give you a new admin account, it will make the computer think it's the first time it's been turned on.
You get the opportunity to create an admin account. Pick a GOOD password and write it down somewhere.

Excellent. Thanks for all of your help! Once my video card arrives I will let you know how it goes. You've been super helpful!

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but please do bear in mind that what you've got there is a decade-plus old computer ... and it will work like one. I hope it inspires you to explore newer Macs, which is my way of saying that you may encounter a LOT of stuff that just won't work on something that old anymore.

Well...

My new ATI Rage 128 card came. I took the old one out, popped the new one in, and fired up the computer with nervous hope.
NOTHING.
The same situation happens - dark square shows up like it's going to display a picture, but then nothing. This time, there was a little bit of a flash - kind of like when you turn off a CRT TV and there is that small little flash that dissipates. Then back to "no PC signal."

Fudge.

Any other ideas?

Try This:Resetting PMU on Power Mac G5, Power Mac G4, Power Macintosh G3

May fix the problem

I will give it a whirl once I get home!

Okay, Cool!

Let me know what happens.


-Cam

I tried resetting the PMU - same thing happens. I'll include a little snapshot of the screen (the best i could capture on my phone) from the light flash that happens on the screen. So there is SOME kind of signal making its way there, for a split second, but then nothing. I'm going to try a new VGA cable once I get home today, but I can't imagine it's that simple (hoping it is!)

Does anyone have any other ideas? I'm obviously not trying to dump a ton of money into this thing, but it would certainly be fun to have if i can get it working. Let me know if there are any other possible fixes, and thanks to cam and cradom for their help so far!

Don't give up! Check the motherboard battery. Sometimes this will cause the comp to not boot up.

Well, the computer boots up - the power runs, I can hear the drives working, the fan runs, but the display doesn't show... that wouldn't happen if it were a battery issue, right? I've read that the motherboard battery can cause you trouble, but I didn't think that the rest of the computer would work without it - am I wrong? If so, i'll definitely replace it

What can it hurt, it's only like $3.00. A computer that old probably needs one anyway.