Beige G3/266DT won't boot, no OF, etc.

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Jon
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Beige G3/266DT won't boot, no OF, etc.

I just picked up a G3/266DT cheap because it doesn't work.

Symptoms:
Pressing case or kbd power starts the PS fan and the drives power up with original power supply. No chimes, video or power LED. Kbd lights flicker twice on power-on. Press Cmd-Opt-Power to reset and they flicker once. Tried with a micro-ATX supply and all is the same.

The system has the stock video, stock audio only Personality, 32mb DIMM, the CD-ROM and floppy and no HDD. When (if) it works there'll be the Seagate 'Cuda ST318417N (18GB 50-pin SCSI) that I got with the DT to put in, and more RAM.

Is this classic PRAM/CUDA sysmptoms of a G3? I've tried pulling the PRAM batt, and pressing the CUDA button, but I have yet to try a fresh battery. Is that something I should try or might it be a waste of time if it sounds dead already?

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It could be hardware

It could be hardware related... something like an MLB problem or maybe just the ROM is dead. Or for that matter, maybe the ROM and/or RAM needs to be reseated. It's possible that it is battery related, but I'd say it's more likely some hardware problem.

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Re: Beige G3/266DT won't boot, no OF, etc.

I've tried pulling the PRAM batt, and pressing the CUDA button, but I have yet to try a fresh battery. Is that something I should try ?

Yes, it's something I would do. I've had too many Macs seem dead, then perk right up with a fresh battery. Only problem I have, is I'm running out of good salvaged pram batteries.
There's always the option to cheat and use a few AA or AAA batteries stuck together in serial...

Jon
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I just did try the cheat but

I just did try the cheat but so far nothing. I've reseated everything, p/s, RAM, ROM, power reg., PERCH, ZIF... If I plug a set of speakers in I hear a slight pop or click when the power is turned on or off, but that is rather normal, I'm sure.

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i have a 5500, that when i pr

i have a 5500, that when i press the power button on the keyboard it turns on but doesnt start. so i have to reboot and then the led turns on and the system starts. i never had that problem untill i used oldworld support to install 9.2.2. plus i have hacked a lithium 3v battery into its batery housing. i think you could try to start it and then a second after, reboot and see if the led turns on.

it could work, unless you fixed it all already.

peace and love
ande

Jon
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I remembered that my iMac sti

I remembered that my iMac still uses one fo the 3.6v cells so I pu that into the G3 knowing that it was a good battery. No go. Blum 3 I seems that I paid the $10 for a 24x CD-ROM and an 18Gb SCSI HD. Not a bad price, but I was hoping for a G3 outta the deal too...

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Never say "never"...

I'm afraid it may be the end... But, there still may be some possible solutions... i hope. I'm working now on ressurecting Beige G3 300 MiniTower... It has just gone dead one day after few years of great work... So, we thought - the disk - but it wasn't disk:( It was booting from time to time with problems, so the battery was finally replaced... And some boots, some hangs, tried some processor settings (slow down;) - was booting one time from videocard, other from onboard video (when was blank on card)... Now it's blank all time...
When pushing POWER there's the startup sound! So i think - there's still hope... But I don't know what to do... Maybe ROM? Tried everything (I think) but resetting Open Firmware...
If You don't hear the startup sound, U can try setting the processor speed jumpers to the lowest possible configration (maybe somebody tried to overclock it before and made it inproperly?)... Or try to unplug onboard SCSI and boot from IDE, and otherwise - unplug all IDE cables, attach SCSI disk/CD and boot... Change the RAM module - it may be dead!
I'm working around over my problem, too. Good luck! Greets:)

P.S. hey, nice mac-collection!

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In my experience, Macs play t

In my experience, Macs play the chime of death when there isn't any RAM installed in them.

You can try to move the processor around a little bit while it's in the socket (basically slide it up or down or left or right before locking it in using the locking bar. I've found that some of the ZIF processors in the Beige G3's don't fit perfectly snug.

Cheers,

The Czar

Jon
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In the intervening months I'v

In the intervening months I've pulled the mobo and inspected it. IT seems that the G3 probably had moisture insdie of it at some time, likely to be condensation or rain, judging from where it came from. The mobo is surely toast, but I've since tested the other compenents with another 266DT I found and they seem fine. The ZIF module and ROM etc. all work fine.

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The Beige G3 motherboards see

The Beige G3 motherboards seem especially prone to failure, I have noticed.

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