Basic Specs:

PowerPC G5 Dual 2.5 Hz (?) Processors

4 Gb memory (recently upgraded form 2 to 4) ***

Bought in early 2005 (I think)

Here's a summary of what I've tried:

DOES NOT WORK

- booting up holding down C (for drive) --> straight to kill screen

- booting up from original discs for G5 (from both C mode and Option mode)

- booting up from 10.5 Leopard disc (from both C mode and Option mode)

- booting up holding down Option-Comman-P-R --> straight to kill screen

DOES WORK

- connecting to secondary computer using target mode (holding down T) - I can see both of my hard drives

- booting up holding down Option - I can select either my main drive (secondary is not present there but there is no OS on it) or CD/DVD in slot

- booting from Apple Hardware Test (AHT) disk from Option menu

-- I ran disk checks, had errors. I ran Disk Warrior from secondary computer in target mode and repaired the drive, running the AHT test again shows no errors

- ran disk repair from secondary computer to fix errors (using disk utility and disc warrior)

OTHER THINGS I'VE DONE

- replaced backup battery on motherboard that was weak at only ~70 mV with fresher battery at ~3.6V

- held down PMU (not SMU) reset button for 30 seconds

- (main fans were cleaned a few weeks before issue)

- two weeks before issue I installed more memory (from 2 Gb to 4 Gb with two new 1 Gb cards)

- backed up data - so I can delete drives if needed

THOUGHTS

- I'm concerned that under CPU it shows 158950.77 GHz - shouldn't it be showing two CPU?

- the drives look healthy when looking at them in target mode

- issue is occurring between power up and drive selection (since CD/DVD is also not viewable)

- maybe the new memory caused local over heating to the motherboard?

- I may be able to replace the heat sink, but the spare computer I have access to has different looking hardware. It's probably a different model of the G5. My computer has one metal case cover and the extra one has a split case cover.

NEXT STEP

- I need to back up secondary drive fully first

- pull out new memory sticks

- pull out all memory except originals

- pull out secondary drive

LAST RESORT

- buy external case for drives and cry about how no one will buy my dead desktop

-------

Because this is a long description, I will post updates in the comments and a final comment here:

(Coming Soon)

⟐ Commented July 20, 2016 at 10:02 MST

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

⟐ Edited January 08, 2014 at 10:57 MST

I now have a PowerMac G5 i bought it but seller didnt know what model i only know it is Late 2005.

When i boot from DVD whether it be Leopard or Tiger it does the same thing gives a gray screen for Leopard a couple of seconds and for Tiger 1-2 minutes.

After that it gives Folder with Finder Logo And ?

I tried resetting NVRAM i tried the button within the machine (forget the name).

Also tried holden OPTION it only gave me Grey screen with Refresh button and Arrow button??

I tried everything within my power you people are my last hope.

(Seller said it worked fine but he took the HDD)

EDIT :

I try to boot from burned disks atm i dont have the original disks anymore :(.

I put in a 160GB Caviar Blue WD hardrive in it together with a Seagate Barracuda 320GB Hardrive

I tried switching one out and still didnt work

Do i need to give my serial number?

⟐ Answer accepted August 30, 2015 at 3:46 MST

⟐ Answer accepted December 03, 2018 at 5:49 MST

I am attemping to rebuild my powermac G5 LCS. It wasn’t leaking or anything, just preventive maintenance after all those years. I have the mac fully disassembled and LCS disassembled as well.

It’s deplhi model (one pump) DDC3.1. The hoses didn’t want to come off so I had to cut them and will be replacing them soon.

But I noticed there are little tiny filters on the input (maybe also on the output) of each processor block passthourgh. Are those filters necessary, or should I remove them? They are very fine, but I have a feeling they may be a little clogged after all those years.

Specially when I want to pour in this liquid: https://www.aquatuning.us/water-cooling/... - is it a good liquid? It’s colored (couldn’t get a clear one in my usual parts shop), so won’t it clog up the filters? Should I remove them?

Also the pump has DDC3.1 written on the side and after disassembly the board states Laing DDC3v20 and sticker says v 3.3. What is the pinout please? I’d like to power it from molex after all the refurbishments for 24 hours to see if it’s not leaking.

Thank you very much! :)

⟐ Answer edited September 11, 2018 at 5:30 MST

Hi I would like to know what is the best option to be able to use this mac wireless to Internet.

Thank you.

Marian

⟐ Answer accepted August 12, 2014 at 19:28 MST

⟐ Answer accepted October 07, 2018 at 20:34 MST

⟐ Answered February 07, 2019 at 10:01 MST

I got it at a thrift store. Password locked on screen. Couldn't boot single user, from external, nothing. Also reseting PRAM was a failure.

Thought well I have TransMac software and USB drives.

From a Windows system I booted up the system. Under Windows CMD I cleaned & converted as well as created a primary partition in GPT instead of MBR.

Restored an image of OS-X Lion onto a thumb drive. I then reformatted the HDD. (I'm at the library and writing this I realized I did not clean the original HDD. Will test when I get home but in case imma finish).

Now I get the ? Folder when booting without thumb drive in. And with it I just get a black screen, the fans get moving about 45 seconds in.

I know there are no BIOS. If cleaning HDD doesn't work what am I missing?

⟐ Answer accepted August 27, 2018 at 11:57 MST

⟐ Answered February 03, 2020 at 18:55 MST

Today I’ve turned it off and after several hours tried to turn on. But it doesn’t POST anymore - checkstop led (led #7) blinks twice after power on, then waits, then blinks twice again. I’ve tried to pull out the RAM and graphics card - no change. Tried to power on without CPU module at all - well, as expected it turns on CPU leds.

Video: https://youtu.be/fHsGQON55CM

Would be grateful for any hints what may it mean.

⟐ Answer edited January 07, 2020 at 12:43 MST

Also, the checkstop flashes red once.

Serial number G8546BWWR6V

UPDATE:

I took it apart, cleaned it, dusted it, and all but one of the missing screws fell out from our from behind the power supply, so I cleaned it all, put it back together and put all back together and the red “Insert CPU” light is still on.

Also, I found the plastic cover, so the trickle charge light cuts off when it is inserted.

⟐ Commented December 06, 2018 at 17:19 MST

⟐ Answer accepted October 11, 2018 at 5:04 MST

Seems to me like this row of weird screws is holding the power supply in. I thought I had the right Torx screw for it but apparently not. Any ideas?

https://imgur.com/a/ktv0c4L

⟐ Commented June 09, 2018 at 22:13 MST

⟐ Answer accepted September 06, 2017 at 5:03 MST

⟐ Answered April 26, 2017 at 10:35 MST

Have I missed a screw or something or has the coolant done more damage than I first thought?

Could it be that coolant has corroded the socket pins together?

I am new to posting questions here and am sorry if this is the wrong place.

Here’s an Image of the Chipset I found Online.

⟐ Edited by author December 26, 2021 at 20:07 MST

Thanks,regards.

Praise, Dubai,UAE.

⟐ Commented March 06, 2019 at 8:14 MST

However; After getting back to the computer and trying to resolve the error, I cannot get past this one. I am using the standard Powermac G5 OS X Install CD, and whenever i use it i get this kernel panic: https://pastebin.com/neCHT7h0 (yeah… i did type that all)

This is what confuses me:

-If i use a Mac OS X Leopard Installation CD, it WILL go to the installation screen, but it gives me an error saying “You need Mac OS X 10.4 installed first."

-If I use a Mac OS X Tiger Installation CD, It will freeze on a screen with the apple logo.

-Powermac G5 OS X CD, Kernel Panic.

Any explanation as to why? I don’t think it’s a hardware issue, as I can get the Leopard CD to work fine… but im not sure. Thanks.

quick edit: Apple Hardware Test IS Available on the computer; but when I go to it, it says it’s not supported for the computer. I’m not sure why the G5 CD says to go to Apple Hardware Test… if it’s not even supported… but whatever.

⟐ Edited by author October 24, 2018 at 1:39 MST