Power Mac Start Up Problem

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Level 1

14 points

Power Mac Start Up Problem

Recently started up old Power Mac. Had to reset time and date and it worked fine except when I tried to transfer a file to an empty thumb drive, message said thumb drive was full. Tried other thumb drives, same answer. I started it up again, but failed to set time and date. Same thumb drive message, so turned off. Now it turns on, get apple and spiral but no further and it shuts off and recycles. Safe Start does the same thing.

Why am I using a Power Mac? It has Firewire 400 ports and I now have an old Nikon Coolscan that uses Firewire. My current Model 21.1,1 does not have Firewire of course but the cost of the cable/adapters is about $200.

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Oct 6, 2024 4:17 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

23,419 points

Oct 7, 2024 4:35 AM in response to Bottle Bay

Also, FireWire would require an extra card.

Power Macintosh 6500/250: Technical Specifications - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

23,419 points

Oct 18, 2024 5:00 PM in response to Bottle Bay

OK, so not a Power Macintosh 6500/250.

Instead, this model: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_1.25_17_fp.html .

download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/imac/0342069.PDF

Would it be correct to assume that you have tried all the usual things, including a PRAM reset?

Do you have access to a system/startup CD or DVD for this computer? If so, any change if you try to start from that disc (holding down the C key)?

There was also an older article http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95165 (appears to be available only via an Internet archive service today) with details about resetting the iMac G4 flat panel Power Management Unit, which may be of interest to you if a power management problem is suspected.

One should perhaps not rule out various electronic component issues. A remote diagnosis is always difficult. For example, older computers often suffer from bad/bulging/leaking electrolytic capacitors. I have no idea whether this would be the case here, though.

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Answer 3

Bottle Bay Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 6, 2024 4:54 PM in response to Bottle Bay

Power Mac is a Model 6500/250 series

Since I had to keep setting the time and date I assume (?) the battery is dead.

Thumb drive format: not sure, but modern thumb drive used on my other modern iMac and also on

Windows 10 computers to transfer files.

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Answer 4

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

23,419 points

Oct 7, 2024 4:08 AM in response to Bottle Bay

Thank you.

First of all, an original Power Macintosh 6500/250 does not have a USB port, so I assume that some kind of PCI card has been installed.

Computers originally equipped with a USB port (like the Bondi Blue iMac G3) would require at least Mac OS 8.6 and USB Mass Storage Support 1.3.5 (the latter is not needed for Mac OS 9) to work with any kind of USB storage device. Since I do not know any details about your 6500/250 installation, please provide additional information regarding the USB card and the Mac OS version.

The 6500/250 would use a 4.5 V PRAM battery that can be hard to find (various workarounds have been suggested).

Another way to transfer a file from the internal ATA drive in a Mac like the 6500/250, could be to use a USB bare drive universal adapter (https://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NV2SPATA/ is just one example). The idea would be to (temporarily) remove the internal hard drive from the 6500/250, attach it to the universal USB drive adapter, and in turn connect the universal adapter via USB to a more modern Mac.

However, depending on the operating system version, the internal hard drive of a 6500/250 may be formatted HFS (Mac OS Standard) or HFS+ (Mac OS Extended). The exact format used will also affect the operating system version needed on the more modern Mac.

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Answer 5

Bottle Bay Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 18, 2024 2:53 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Sorry for the delay. This Mac is PowerMac6.3 aka Apple iMac G4/1.25 17""FP" (USB 2.0) and is running 10.5.8 and has two Firewire 400 ports. This info is off the round aluminum plate on the bottom.

Per suggestion re battery I opened the Mac and pulled the battery. It is 3.6v TL-2150 from Tadrian. I found the exact battery at Amazon. Checked the voltage and installed it. Screen lights, chime sounds, apple logo appears, spinning progress starts but still, nothing happens. After a few minutes it shuts down and starts again.

I tried a safe start holding the shift key down when the chime sounds and releasing when the apple logo appears.

Still nothing happens. Is there a different safe start for 10.5.8 ?

Any more suggestions I can try? I hate to give up on this Mac.

Thanks

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Answer 6

Bottle Bay Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 21, 2024 4:45 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Not sure I posted a reply correctly so here it is more or less the same. I did the PRAM reset and the SMS reset and the various resets holding keys down to try and get into the internal disks. Your reference to the internet gave a number off ideas on starting an old Mac, but nothing worked. Always just the logo and spinner and nothing further.

I watched a man install a battery on an earlier powermac on YouTube. He put the battery in the opposite way mine came out so I checked the tiny print on the holder to find the + and placed my battery that way. His started right up. Mine of course did not. Is there something to do when replacing the battery besides just putting it in?

Thank you for your patience.

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Answer 7

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

23,419 points

Oct 22, 2024 8:57 AM in response to Bottle Bay

Inserting a logic board battery the wrong way is not a good idea...

Yes, if you have tried to reset the PMU, exactly in accordance with the archived 95165 support article, the next step would be to make an attempt to boot from an (appropriate) startup/system CD or DVD (depressing the C key during startup should bypass the internal hard drive).

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