iMac Energy Saver is crashing computer?

[lokerd]

Hello. Out of a lab full of computers, I have one machine that developed a sleeping problem such that I have to turn off the Energy Saving features completely. I just reformated the computer over the summer and very little has been installed in the way of inits...in fact, I have turned off any unnecessary stuff, like speech, desktop printing, etc. Then one day, the computer had to be unplugged to get it to come back up. Some thing happened when it went back to sleep again. At first, I played with the different settings, trying to come up with something. The only thing that work is to leave the screen on and the hard drive running and let the computer start up just before the first class and shut down right after the last class. So, IOW, I do still have the Energy Saver control panel running...but it only controls the start up and shut down.

The local computer dealer said: "The sleep problem is software - you did the right thing by turning
off the sleep in the energy saver control panel. That is the fix for
the problem."

Is there an underlying hardware issue? Is there something that can be fixed with the software? Did something get corrupted?

Thanks for any feedback!

Drew

 

[Graphite]

You COULD try to reinstalling the entire OS all over again... that may just clear that problem. Generally its a software problem I would think, or it could be a hardware problem but i doubt it, like the HD is currupted.

 

[nko]

My iMac has similar problems. I have no idea what's wrong with it. I reinstalled the OS, too, though, so maybe we're on to something. Maybe a clean installation makes a wrong setting somewhere.

 

[goodolebwinches]

PLEASE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION

1.) The OS and the current state of the OS(ex: OS 9.0.1, OS 9.2.2, OS 10.2.4, etc.).
2.) Whether or not you have VIRTUAL MEMORY on.
3.) The age of the computer and/or the physical state/model of the computer(meaning IMAC is like saying POWERMAC....we need more to go on).

ALL YOU GAVE US, MINUS THE FILLER, WAS:

Imac(of some kind, running GOD knows what), reformatted hard drive(using what), sleep issues

 

[lokerd]

1.) The OS and the current state of the OS(ex: OS 9.0.1, OS 9.2.2, OS 10.2.4, etc.).
2.) Whether or not you have VIRTUAL MEMORY on.
3.) The age of the computer and/or the physical state/model of the computer(meaning IMAC is like saying POWERMAC....we need more to go on).

Thanks for the reply.

The machine is 9.2.2. VM is on. The machine is about 4-5 years old. It is an iMac 266 G3. Multipe Users is enabled. Some inits are turned off: Dektop printing and speech, specifically. I have not installed any intis, other than what might have been installed by the few programs I have put on there such as Internet Explorer, SuperPaint, PageMaker, and a few others...but this machine is configured just like the other 14 computers.

Any other clues that might help? I haven't done a whole lot of trouble shooting, other than the obvious with the Energy Saver Control Panel trying to isolate what part of it is crashing, or keeping the computer from waking up. I was sort of hoping somebody would say, "Oh, that's easy....do this..."

To describe what it is doing a bit better, you can hear that the computer is still responsive, you just can't get the monitor to come up. BUT, even doing a pin reset will NOT bring the monitor back up. The computer has to be unplugged for a minute. Then it comes back up.

So, any ideas?

Thanks!
Drew

 

[rman]

Have you done the obvious and ruled out the monitor, but plugging it on another system. Making sure its okay?

 

[goodolebwinches]

1. Under the APPLE(top left) select control panels followed by SOFTWARE UPDATE.
2. Try using DISK UTILITY after a RESTART to verify disk.
3. I don't know....maybe this will help.

 

[lokerd]

Video port on iMac

Have you done the obvious and ruled out the monitor, but plugging it on another system. Making sure its okay?

Well, it is an iMac...a 233 variety wtih builtin monitor.

But now that you mention it, just this evening, I was trying to find out where to plug in a PCI video card...much to my amazement that tere was no PCI slot in the iMac. I had no idea. In my search, I did find where the monitor plugs in, and it has written on the metal chisis, "No External Monitor". As I desparetly need to be able to output to a display...is it possible to hook up a lcd projector via this plug?

Thanks,
Drew

 

[bruce]

The video port on slot loading iMacs (233-333) is on the back of the computer chassis. The chassis is underneath the monitor. Unplug the iMac, and remove the plastic panel which protects the computer chassis (you can google for how to do this. It's easy - or just wing it. use a ground strap if you're worried)

The video port plug is the one that says "not a serial port", and it's a standard mac video port. You can get a belkin, or other adapter to patch it into any old monitor. If you don't get an image on a known-to-be-working-monitor, start up holding down control/option/P/R keys to reset PRAM. And that should do it. But you probably won't need to do this.

On the iMac sleep problem: It could be hardware - in fact this is the most likely reason and has been pegged to a known common defect on the iMac 233,( which could be a bad flyback transformer on the video board, or a logic board problem also).

My iMac 233 developed the "Sleep/no wake up" problem and I "fixed" it first by disabling the "sleep" mode. Then one day I shut the iMac down and the green light remained on. It wouldn't restart, no matter what I tried until............

I cut the power off (unplugged the power cord) and waited a few seconds. I plugged it back in and - LO! - it started up. So I discovered that if I just turned off my power strip (or unpluged the cord - a little clumsy) every time after I shut down the iMac, it would restart fine every time.

The iMac worked fine with this system for about 2 years. Then, one day, it wouldn't start no matter what I did. So I found an iMac (for free) with a burned out CPU, and grabbed the video and logic board - now it works perfectly.

[ Caution - DON'T attempt to work on or around the CRT assembly - such as to replace video or logic board - if you don't know what you are doing - DANGER - high voltage! ]

 

[lokerd]

The video port on slot loading iMacs (233-333) is on the back of the computer chassis.

The video port plug is the one that says "not a serial port", and it's a standard mac video port.

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like you are right on the money with it being a hardware issue. Since it is the computer that sits right behind me, with it's back facing me, I think I am going to opt for it to be repaired.

As far as using the Video out port, I did see where there was the old style video port (not the newer HD15 wtih 3 rows of pins). It is actually where the built in monitor plugs in. But I have the tray loading 233 iMac, and the text was different...mine said: Not for external monitor...or something like that. Can is still be used?

Thanks!
Drew