I have a really big problem....

[reddrag0n]

Ok, i got the new Sawtooth board today but i have a big problem. Each time i run the mac it freezes withing a couple of minutes. I have reset the cuda, reset the open firmware, checked with different video cards, different processors and even reinstalled the OS. What's wrong with my machine? Did i get a faulty board? Is my ram pooched? My 450W PS? I'm at a loss here and it is really annoying me that i can't use my G4. I have tried everything and i don't know if that any of my other hardware that was connected to my other board may have been damaged. Any and all info regarding this would greatly be appreciated since this is my baby i am talking about. I don't want to go out and shell out another $500 on another computer. So salvaging this would be in my best interest.

UPDATE.
I tried to boot the G4 from each stick of ram and this is what i got. The closest slot to the processor, 2 of the sticks of 512 makes the mac beep 3 times and flash the LED 4 times. But if i put the sticks in any of the other ram slots, it boots just fine. The third stick makes the mac chime normally but doesn't kick up the video card.

UPDATE 2
I installed 4 64MB sticks and i got an orange open firmware screen. I have never seen this before. Now i am worried that i have a dead board all over again.

Just an FYI, this is the board i purchased. I noticed something, would the rug cause a short in something?

That is the pic of the board right from the seller on ebay.

[cheeseburgersnbeer]

Red,

If the Ram you are currently using came from the original logicboard and there were no apparent problems then, it could be the new board itself.
Are you using generic/value Ram or branded Ram made specifically for Macs.? If you are using generic Ram, that can cause problems. While the logicboards are built to the same specs, they all behave in a different manner and can be finicky about what is installed.
Also, I remember you mentioning that you had installed a Sonnet upgrade a while back, did you install the original 450/500mhz processor on the new board? Chances are that the new board does not have a firmware update installed for a 7455 processor.
um, I can't think of anything else other than the commercial carpet that the seller laid the board on. Which wasn't very smart.

[reddrag0n]

The ram that was in the original logicboard was a Kingston, an Azenram and an Apacer. All 512MB PC-133 sticks. Different configurations were causing some problems including the orange open firmware screen. As for the processor, i thought that too. but i was getting the error screen from booting from the cd. No firmware loaded for either processor so i'm stumped. Yeah, the carpet was a stupid thing to do. Everyone i showed that to said the guy should be slapped. So far i added a 256 stick to the board and so far it's not causing problems. Total ram is 1.75Gb. Hopefully i don't have any problems. Cross your fingers.

UPDATE.
Nope, i got an error screen while booting from the CD. So, do i tell the guy i bought the board from to take it back, or should i go down to Ohio and cram the board down his throat?

[cheeseburgersnbeer]

If by an error screen, you mean the grey screen with the prohibit symbol, then it is definitely a bum logicboard.
I think returning the board and getting your money back is the better invesment.

[reddrag0n]

If you mean the way the screen scrolls down and turns a dark grey contrast color and it saying that your machine needs to be restarted, hold the power or press the restart button? Yeah, i was thinking the same thing. I just have to find someone else that is selling another Sawtooth board, or i might just say upgrade and go for a Gigabit G4 and do another power supply mod.

[aquamac]

Also check your Pram battery is OK.

[reddrag0n]

Yup, swapped that out for a new one i still had in packaging. Still the same problems.

[ritalin]

Sorry to see that you have bought a dud. I hope you can get a refund. I would imagine the seller zapped the board with static. Laying the board on a synthetic carpet shows a disregard to the dangers of static electricity.

[reddrag0n]

And just so i have proof that this board has problems, i have taken several videos to prove this is a bad board. My apologies that there are so many videos but my camera sucks the big one. But it did catch everything.
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
Video 6
Video 7

[aquamac]

Hi JJ,

Watched all the video's, I think the board is probably hosed. When you installed Tiger, did you ever get to the desktop (memory installed only in the good slots) and if so, was the memory reported correctly? Could be the memory controller chip is zapped or just bad slots. Examine the memory slots thoroughly, any bent pins etc. I'm clutching at straws here, but, if you have a compressor, give the board a real blast and concentrate on the area around the memory slots and the slots themselves, looks like you don't have a lot to lose.
If nothing works, return the board. I gave my last Sawtooth board to Ruby Tuesday, da*n! I would have donated this gladly.
Actually Sawtooth boards are pretty robust, thinking about it, mine was subjected to all kinds of abuse and never let me down.

One other possibility is perhaps a small cap has been knocked off the back, possibly if the seller dragged it sideways across the carpet.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

[ritalin]

Here is a good read regards ESD. Lots of people are just lucky and never kill anything no matter what they do. I am usually pretty careful myself, but I still managed to kill a 256MB 9800XT last year.

[aquamac]

Sorry this is slightly off topic, but under the circumstances might give you all some light relief.

Here is my story that will make your toes curl, when I was building my Hackintosh, one of the rubber pipes that connects to the radiator was always moist. This was driving me nuts so I decided to take the whole thing apart & remake all new rubber hoses (one of them was about 6 mm too short). I have to remove the motherboard completely to do this and drain down the system. So here I am with parts spread around me all sitting on anti-static bags, observing good ESD precautions.

To refill the radiator & pump, I use a large oral syringe & a large bowl full of a mixture of Zalman "antifreeze" & water. I accidentally knocked the bowl of water and a tidal wave of it's contents deposited themselves all over the motherboard! I'm not talking about a few dribbles here, I am talking about a 6" square of antifreeze/water mixture in all the PCIe slots and surface mount components, so much so, I had to run the tap over a quarter of the board to remove the blue sticky residue!! There could not have been more water on this if I had put it on a delicates wash in the automatic washing machine. After all, I like my mods to be clean, but this was taking things just a step too far.

I got my air compressor out and chased the water from under all the slots and FW chips/components, it just kept on coming. I then got my wife's hair dryer out and gave the board a good blast for 5 mins.

I honestly never expected this board to ever boot again! I reconnected everything up a gingerly pressed the power button expecting a re enactment of November the 5th. It booted straight up and has worked flawlessly to this day. Certainly gives me a lot of faith in Gigabyte components.

I was really lucky here, this board is a £150 board! It also taught me to not be so blase about mixing water and electronics. I cannot begin to describe the feeling as I stood and looked at my baby coated in a thick blue wet substance, lets just say that the neighbours were probably aware something major was going down accross the road!

Watercooling is great when it works, but it does call for extra precautions, that is why I have only ever been interested in sealed systems with thick rubber hoses and not the thin clear ones that are generally available. If I decide to transport my system upside down or on it's side I don't want a repeat of this experience.

This is not going to solve your problem JJ, but I can share your frustration!

[ritalin]

LOL ;D
I have had my fair share of accidents, nothing so comic though.

[reddrag0n]

admin said:

When you installed Tiger, did you ever get to the desktop (memory installed only in the good slots) and if so, was the memory reported correctly? Could be the memory controller chip is zapped or just bad slots. Examine the memory slots thoroughly, any bent pins etc. I'm clutching at straws here, but, if you have a compressor, give the board a real blast and concentrate on the area around the memory slots and the slots themselves, looks like you don't have a lot to lose.

Yep, i was able to have the desktop for 2 minutes. saw that i had 1.5 gig ram in slots 1, 2, 3. I tried doing something processor hungry and then that's when she would crap out. This is both on the sonnet and the DA processor. Hell, even booting from the cd caused a nation wide panic in the computer.

admin said:

Sorry this is slightly off topic, but under the circumstances might give you all some light relief.

Here is my story that will make your toes curl, when I was building my Hackintosh.....................

lol, I'm just shaking my head.

EDIT.
I took a good look at all of the pins in the ram slot. They all look in order, nothing bent or out of place. Maybe it was just a discharge.

[aquamac]

I had a bad MDD board once, that would freeze intermittently, usually within 5 mins of booting. It turned out that a single processor pin on the logicboard socket was bent. As the processor heated, the pin would move resulting in a kernel panic. So also check this socket in the light.