I was givin this comp. and have no passwords or startup disks. It has a gray screen and the fan is blowin high. Any body here this before and is there a fix.
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Apple iMac G5/1.9 17-Inch (iSight) Specs
Identifiers: iSight - MA063LL/A - PowerMac12,1 - A1144 - 2081
In general your machine did not have the bad caps problem, although I have found some in this model on the back side of the logic board.
I would call Apple up an order the original system installation disk for $15. This will allow you to run diagnostics, install a system and have access to Disk Utility to check the hard drive. This machine has diagnostic lights to the right of the RAM slot but you have to remove the frame to get to them. But first try reseating the RAM one stick at a time, attempting restart with each change. After you have the frame off, look at the diagnostic lights and then start up noting any changes in the lights and let us know. Thanks
Note: there is probably a piece of black tape covering these lights, just remove it.
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Here's how to remove the frame: iMac G5 17" Model A1144 Front Bezel Replacement
and here's how to check the RAM: iMac G5 17" Model A1144 RAM Replacement
Mayer...the apple store neer me looked at it and said it is a possiable H.D. or fan or logic board cause it did not start with a ext. boot drive. What do you think. I pulled the ram , nothing, I started it up pressing option button it had refresharrow on left. H.D. in middle and a arrow on right and still nothing . Can you help?
Diagnostic lights as stated above
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Mayer is 100% correct. The iMac g5 iSight models were 1.9 and 2.1 ghz and used ATI graphics cards, not NVIDIA cards.
A few trouble shooting tips I can give would be these:
1. boot the machine, and hold down the option key. Do you get to the boot manager and see a mouse? This test is important because if you see the mouse, it means you have video information.
2. remove and re-seat the ram, one stick at a time. So for instance, remove both simm's and replace just one then boot. Is there a change?
3. As Mayer described, get the original disc's from apple, or visit an apple store with the machine and have them boot it to an OS and see if they machine you have even has an OS on it. I've seen people just wipe drives before they get rid of the machine, so you may just need to format the drive and image it with an OS.
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This is most likely caused by a very common problem that plagues iMac G5s. Please look at the answers to This Question and This Question for more detailed information about the problem.
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is this true for the iSight model pictured? Or should we wait to find out which machine he has before giving a diagnosis?
I'm almost certain that bad capacitors affected all models of G5. However, I've only worked on two G5's with bad caps (Both of which were A1058's) I can't verify that all models suffer from bad caps, but it wouldn't hurt to just look at the capacitors for damage, just to verify/rule out the problem.
Bad caps G5s fall within this range:
Serial Number ranges:
W8435xxxxxx – W8522xxxxxx
QP435xxxxxx – QP522xxxxxx
CK435xxxxxx – CK522xxxxxx
YD435xxxxxx – YD522xxxxxx
Mayer sorry for the delay...No change in lights,,#1 on all time with plug in. ,#2 on when power button pushed on. ,#3 comes on when gray screen comes on. #4 stays off , any ideas thanks
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This iMac was made with extremley defective capacitors and will fail at some point in time
They can be replaced,but it isn't easy at all to do
If not,edit this and i willl help further(and i figured capacitors before a comment was left)
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Why not wait to find out what you're talking about (which machine) before talking? What's the rush? This machine didn't have the bad caps problem, it also didn't have a Nvidia issue. Making the same mistake over and over is called what?
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5 Comments
Please look on the bottom of the stand and give us the last three figures on the serial number so we know which machine model you have.
by mayer
last 3 of ser # are taq
by Larry
That's not pulling anything up. Try going here: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/im...
by mayer
the whole ser # is QP55306STAQ
by Larry
iTS AN ISIGHT MOD #A1144
by Larry