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General discussion

Help, can't boot into OS 9

Oct 4, 2005 5:13AM PDT

My Cube (G4 500 MHz) will no longer boot into OS 9, from any device whatsoever (OS 9 installation CD, internal HD, FW HD). What happens is it freezes at the 2nd gray screen (before it gets to the blue smiley-face screen).

It boots fine into OS X (10.3.9) from all of those, and Classic runs fine. It boots into the Apple Hardware Test CD, but it finds no problems.

Ideas?

Discussion is locked

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Interesting reading
Oct 4, 2005 9:18AM PDT

There are those that would say that three out of four is good!

When you go to the Startup Pane in System Preferences and choose the OS 9 portion of the HD as the startup disk, is it actually an option?
Did Zapping the PRAM make any difference? or have you not tried this yet?
I'm not trying to make light of your problem, but what is the desire to boot into OS 9? Do you have applications that do not run under Classic or is there some other reason. It's been so long since my Cube has booted into anything other than X, that I now cannot remember why I wanted to go there in the first place.

Try the ZAP (Apple + Option + P + R) before the chimes or try booting into 9 with the extensions off. (Shift key held down at the chimes)

Let us know what happens


P

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Tried 'em, no luck
Oct 4, 2005 9:35AM PDT

Good suggestions, but tried them all. Zapped PRAM 5 times (chimes) in a row. Yes, the OS 9 system folder are listed and choosable in the Startup Disk pane. Just tried the ''extensions off'' suggestion, but no difference. It doesn't seem to get far enough for that to come into play.

Yes, I have some games that don't play well or at all in Classic (e.g. Pillars of Garendal). OS 10.2 broke the Classic compatibility of some programs (well-known issue).

It feels hardware-related, although I don't know why a piece of stock hardware would work with OS X and not OS 9. I need to do more testing without various components, but some of them I can't do without and don't have a spare.

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Yyyyessss!
Oct 4, 2005 2:32PM PDT

Eureka! Video card went bad! I think. Anyway, I shutdown OS X, unplugged ADC monitor, pressed power button, and held down "C" key with OS 9 installation CD in drive. That's right, no video; flying blind! (Can't use my PM 8600 Apple-plug monitor. Can't use my integrated iMac G5 monitor.)

The CD/DVD drive went to town! All of the full, normal CD chugging sounds. When it finished making noise, I tried to imagine what the screen looked like if it had successfully booted. There should be a Finder window containing the installer files. I pressed the "I" key to go to the "Installer" icon, hopefully. I pressed apple-O (it's gay to say command-O) to launch the installer. More CD drive chugging away! I kept pressing "return" and getting more CD chugging. But then I hit the "Disagree/Agree" wall. I can find no keyboard keys to click "Agree".

Doesn't matter. The culprit is outed.

You might ask if the problem could be the monitor. I didn't give the monitor to the "professional" Apple shop that tried to find the problem. They used their own monitor and still had the problem (and no solution).

But is it only the ADC port or the entire card? I'll have to borrow a VGA monitor to test the VGA port.

How can the video card be bad in OS 9 but not OS X? WhTF knows.

Yes baby! Months of *** are now over! (I think. I hope. Please God!)

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Well done
Oct 4, 2005 11:22PM PDT

If the video card is really the culprit, then it is probably the whole card and not just the ADC connector. It's not impossible that it would only be the ADC though, there is a lot more going on up that pipe than the VGA one. Apple make a VGA to Apple Video connector which will allow the use of an older Apple monitor with a VGA connection. Around $15 and very handy for things like this. Of course, the quick solution is to borrow a monitor, as you suggested.
I do have one suggestion though, before you go off an buy a very expensive replacement card for the cube. Note that "most" AGP video cards with ADC connectors (rare themselves) do not fit inside the cube.
Did you reset the logic board? This procedure resets the logic board to the state it was in before an OS was loaded. On boot up, it is forced to replace all its instructions, with a fresh copy, from firmware. It cures a whole bunch of problems, even those you think are insurmountable.
To do this, proceed as follows.
Disconnect all cables
Remove the innards from the case.
Remove the battery.
Lightly touch the power on button (not the one on the case)
Press the CUDA button on the logic board. located near the battery holder. looks like a little round rubber tip. Press ONCE only. If you find two such tips, press each ONCE only.
Go get coffee/tea/whatever and relax for at least 30 mins while all the latent power stored in the hundreds of capacitors on the board, drain their lifeblood away.
After 30 mins, put everything back, plug everything in and press the on button. Cross the fingers.

Give it a try

P