Ok, this is a very strange and frustrating problem. I'm not sure if it's hardware or software. I recently bought a Mirror Door Dual 1 Gig G4 from my work for $300. I thought this was a good deal. I was able to get a new 250 gig internal hard drive and I maxed out the RAM up to 1 Gig. However, I’ve had a recurring problem ever since I upgraded to Tiger. Actually, might have been there before, too. After I log in and the finder starts up, more often than not I notice that the clock in the upper right hand corner doesn’t show up. When this happens I’m not able to use any system preference panels and most of the programs that are closely linked to the OS. The pointer just endlessly spins. For a while I was able to get it to start up correctly by adding or removing a RAM chip or chips. I’ve tried every combination of chips so many times that I almost totally ruled out the chips themselves as the source of the problem. As of late this hasn’t worked to fix the problem either. Also, sometimes it won’t start up when I press the button in the front of the tower. The power button lights up, but nothing happens. If I turn the power supply on and off it usually fixes that problem. I wonder if the two problems are related. If anyone has ever heard about anything like this please let me know. I would be eternally grateful.
G4 - System Clock won't show, preference panel won't respond won't force quit
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Cory Cooper
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I would try replacing the PRAM battery inside and resetting the PRAM.
Instructions are found in the manual...found here in case you didn't get one with it:
Download the first one - Setting Up Your Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors)
I would try replacing the PRAM battery inside and resetting the PRAM.
Instructions are found in the manual...found here in case you didn't get one with it:
Download the first one - Setting Up Your Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors)
I don't have any software to test it and even if I did there's a good chance that it would freeze up on me while I was trying to use it. What I did do was remove the 2 new chips I had added a while ago just to make sure it wasn't those. I replaced the battery with another Apple-authorized one and I reset the PRAM. The problem is still there. I had installed a USB 2.0 card so I'll try removing that. It had worked with it for a while though. So, I'm not expecting much from that.
Thanks for the help anyway. I'm about to throw this thing out the window.
Thanks for the help anyway. I'm about to throw this thing out the window.
That had worked before for a bit but it went back to the clock problem shortly after. Good news though, I unplugged the smaller HD that came with the mac and it seems to have corrected the problem for the time being at least. I writing from my mac now.
Thanks for all the help so far, hopefully this will fix the problem.
Thanks for all the help so far, hopefully this will fix the problem.