Mac G5 1.8 Dual Help Question

[Ikonz101]

Hello everyone... I am very new at troubleshooting Macs so I figured I would ask someone who knows about them.

I have a Mac G5 1.8ghz Dual with a Nvidia 5200 64MB graphics card on it.. The stock Mac G5 basically. I have no memory installed on it. I just ordered some and I am waiting for it. The problem is when I turn on the Mac G5 it doesn't send a signal to the monitor.. I have checked the cable and fastened the video card in firmly. Would the fact that it has no memory in it cause this problem. I know in the PC world that even if you don't have memory installed it will still boot to the bios. But I am very new with the Mac so I don't know if this would cause it not to boot.. Any help would be greatly appreciated..thank you.

Ikonz101

 

[14049752]

Would the fact that it has no memory in it cause this problem. I know in the PC world that even if you don't have memory installed it will still boot to the bios.

Yes, no memory = no video. Additionally, it should give five beeps indicating a memory error. If you're not getting any sort of beeps, something else may be wrong, too. Wait until you get your memory, install it, see if it boots. If it doesn't, then it's time to start the troubleshooting.

Also....a PC won't post the the bios without memory, either. (unless you mean hard drive, instead of memory...in which case, the Mac would boot to a flashing question mark symbol)

 

[Ikonz101]

Thanks for the reply 14049752. Yeah I am not getting 5 beeps either..I do however get 2 flashing white lights above the power button. (flash,flash,pause,flash,flash) This I read indicates that there is no memory installed. But I will wait until I get the memory to troubleshoot from there.. I just hope I don't need a new logic board Would rather it be a power supply if anything. Thanks again..

Ikonz101

P.S. Yeah you are right about the PC....

Edit: I have another question which I should have asked before I ordered the memory. I ordered one 512MB stick..I was reading that you need to have 2 sticks of ram in the G5 version I have.. So would I have to order two 256MB for the Mac G5 to recognize the memory??

 

[14049752]

Edit: I have another question which I should have asked before I ordered the memory. I ordered one 512MB stick..I was reading that you need to have 2 sticks of ram in the G5 version I have.. So would I have to order two 256MB for the Mac G5 to recognize the memory??

I don't think it will boot, because there are two different sets of memory slots....one set per processor.

 

[Ikonz101]

I guess I will be putting in a extra order for another 512MB stick.. Thanks again 14049752.

Ikonz101

 

[mr_hyde]

Hello - new to these boards. Thanks for having me! I also have a dual 1.8 G5 that is not booting. I get the two flashes (pause), two flashes, etc. I have tried various pairs of memory. Any hints?
-hyde

 

[Ikonz101]

I ordered memory that is specially for Mac's on NewEgg.. I tried other memory that I was using on my Windows PC that had the exact same specs but for some reason it wasn't taking it so I ordered this memory to see if thats what it needs. Hopefully that is the problem because I checked Ebay and a 1.8 G5 Dual Logic Board goes for around $300 which isn't to bad because I have seen them upwards to $700.

I suppose you could try ordering Mac G5 Memory if you haven't tried that yet. Just a thought cause I am in the same situation.

Ikonz101