eMac wont start

[kevinc5680]

I think I'm in the right place. I just bought a used eMac system and it wont start. When I plug in the system and turn the power on, I hear the system start to boot and almost immediately it turns back off. What is the problem with this. The guy I bought it from claims he needs the security key to unlock the system???

Based off the system specs near the serial number, this system is a 700MHz G4 and I can see that the system has 640MB of RAM when I open the expansion slot. Should have a 40GB HD and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive. If you need anything else, let me know. Thanks.

 

[Jonnyfive]

Wow, that sounds like a bit of a doosey. Try unplugging it and then holding the power button in for 45 seconds, this will drain the capacitorys. then plug it back in and try to turn it on... other than that if it's still giving you trouble I would say it's some sort of hardware issue and I would start reseating things and looking for loose connections.

 

[kevinc5680]

I tried unplugging, waiting 45 secs, then plugging back in. Same problem. I tried removing the Lithium Battery and putting it back in, same problem. I removed the casing and made sure everything was tight that I could see and still same problem. I wasn't able to locate the hard drive in this thing, but I could see just about everything else. I don't know what the problem is, again when I push power, it sounds like it would turn on, then just turns itself off.

Also, if this helps, I've noticed when I plug this in and attempt to power it on, it starts slightly dimming lights in my room. I have it plugged into a brand new power surge, but something tells me it's something to do with the power or mobo.

 

[Jonnyfive]

hmmm, when you unplugged it did you hold you power button in for 45 seconds?

Beyond that and what you have done I don't know what I would do next, since it won't boot or chime it pretty much leaves a mobo or powersupply problem.

You could try this although this is pretty unlikely as the mac should give you some sort of error from bad ram but try removing a stick of ram at a time and see if that has any effect.

 

[kevinc5680]

Yes I held it for 45 seconds. I also tested the RAM in my Powermac and tried using different RAM and still same result. My guess, as yours, is it's a powersupply or motherboard problem??

 

[Jonnyfive]

here is an apple support article, http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300552
talking about resetting the PRAM. Maybe give that a try if you haven't already and other than that I don't know what to do. Get a refund from whoever you bought it from.

 

[kevinc5680]

Still no luck. Is there another way to test the power supply without buying a new one? Also, anyone have a guide that'll show me step by step how to access the hard drive? I've figured just about everything else out.

 

[MacHeadCase]

You can find service manuals here.