G5 system freeze
After installing a SATA Maxtor 120G as a second HD on my 1.6 G5 - 10.2.8 OS, I have been having very predictable system freeze issues. The computer works well until it goes to sleep, upon waking, the system looks normal but locks up in seconds. I disconnected the Maxtor and all problems gone. Any ideas? Thanks.
Comments
i know some folks have been having issues with firewire on G5's. so far i've had no problems, but your milage may vary.
Moving to the Genius Bar.
I'm curious if your Maxtor drive is a firewire 800 drive, since you put it in a G5. If it is, there is a known problem with the Oxford Bridge Chipset. I received this notice because I purchased an external FW800 drive from OWC. They indicated that Apple is aware of the problem (though Apple will not take fault). OWC tells me that any Oxford 922 bridge that is shipped with firmware less than 1.0.2 will have problems with Panther but not with Jag. If firmware not updated, OWC indicates that the OS will actually erase various parts of the drive.
I know that you indicated a different prob. but perhaps this may be one reason why you have the problem. If you want to find out more, go to Otherworldcomputing.com
Originally posted by kwondo
pdadoc,
I'm curious if your Maxtor drive is a firewire 800 drive, since you put it in a G5. If it is, there is a known problem with the Oxford Bridge Chipset. I received this notice because I purchased an external FW800 drive from OWC. They indicated that Apple is aware of the problem (though Apple will not take fault). OWC tells me that any Oxford 922 bridge that is shipped with firmware less than 1.0.2 will have problems with Panther but not with Jag. If firmware not updated, OWC indicates that the OS will actually erase various parts of the drive.
I know that you indicated a different prob. but perhaps this may be one reason why you have the problem. If you want to find out more, go to Otherworldcomputing.com
I assumed that the Oxford 922 problem only affected external drives. Does this chipset not allow you to connect a standard IDE hard disk to a FireWire interface? From the sounds of it, pdadoc has installed a second internal SATA hard disk to complement the one that's already in there.
pdadoc can you clarify?
The hard drive is a serial ATA Maxtor 120G. I installed it on a 1.6 G5 and it was intended to be the second drive. The original Hard Drive in the G5 was not moved or adjusted. The Maxtor was installed in the available empty slot underneath the original hard drive. For now, I just have it sitting with the cables detached until I can figure out why it freezes. I do have the Panther upgrade disks. I might install the upgrade, then see if the same problem occurs when I reconnect the cables.
Incidentally, should the Maxtor drive be initialized in any way other than through the disk utility program? I erased it, left it to be one partition. Apple System Info recognizes it without any problems. Thanks again.
Originally posted by pdadoc
Thanks for your replies.
The hard drive is a serial ATA Maxtor 120G. I installed it on a 1.6 G5 and it was intended to be the second drive. The original Hard Drive in the G5 was not moved or adjusted. The Maxtor was installed in the available empty slot underneath the original hard drive. For now, I just have it sitting with the cables detached until I can figure out why it freezes. I do have the Panther upgrade disks. I might install the upgrade, then see if the same problem occurs when I reconnect the cables.
Incidentally, should the Maxtor drive be initialized in any way other than through the disk utility program? I erased it, left it to be one partition. Apple System Info recognizes it without any problems. Thanks again.
Sounds to me like you've done everything correctly. Formatting the drive in Disk Utility is fine. Have you tried booting from the DVD into the Apple Hardware Test (AHT)?
To do this, simply insert the DVD, restart your machine and continue to hold down the ALT key until you are presented with the boot volume selection screen. You want to click on the AHT icon, and the then the forward arrow button. Once you're up and running, run through the hardware tests and see what it says?
Always a good starting point!
I reattached the hard drive cables and erased and repartitioned the disk. Now the problem is gone. I can only assume that the hard drive cable connection was not 100% intact or by erasing and repartitioning something was corrected.
This was done prior to the Panther install. Very impressive OS. Thanks for the help. I'm new to the Mac world.
Originally posted by pdadoc
Problem solved!
I reattached the hard drive cables and erased and repartitioned the disk. Now the problem is gone. I can only assume that the hard drive cable connection was not 100% intact or by erasing and repartitioning something was corrected.
This was done prior to the Panther install. Very impressive OS. Thanks for the help. I'm new to the Mac world.
That's good news!
This reminds me of the first two golden rules of technical support...
1. make sure it's plugged in.
2. make sure it's plugged in at BOTH ends!
I'd like to be able to say that I've never fallen foul of that one, but...
Hope you enjoy your new Mac!