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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Mac Os 9.2 G4 Quicksilver

DanDickens2 - Aug 21, 2005 - 2:57 am

Went on vacation for a week, left my Mac G4 with OS 9.2 QuickSilver turned OFF.
Came home, turned it on, and I got the following message while booting up.

Caution ! (icon) with this statement:

"The built-in processor test had detected a problem with one of the processors. Please contact a service Technician for assistance."

However, the computer is working great.

It will not let me run Norton Utilities though.

I have backed-up all files onto a Western Digital external 250 gb drive.

Is there truly a processor problem, or has the built-in processor test gone loco?

Should I reload my operating system, or will it let me - based on Norton's system not being allowed on.

I have to run OS 9.2 cause I can not afford all the upgrading I need to do to take on OSX.

Thanks,

Dan

a2daj - Aug 24, 2005 - 3:21 am

Do you have the Apple Hardware Test disk which originally came with your computer? That should be able to run a test for the processor.

DanDickens2 - Aug 24, 2005 - 3:21 pm

Yes, I do have the Hardware Test Disk, and I ran it two times and it found no errors with the processors.

Is there a chance that this is a prank someone some how got to my system via Internet or Email?

Thanks,

Dan

a2daj - Aug 24, 2005 - 4:42 pm

No, I don't think someone's playing a joke. I've seen that message before when a processor upgrade I had went south. So the message is part of some official Mac code. There are a few possibilities:

1. The system detects something odd that may lead to impending doom but the AHT doesn't do the same test so cannot detect the problem.

2. The PRAM may be corrupt. You can try zapping the PRAM by holding down Command+Option+P+R directly after the start up chime.

3. Maybe the power manager memory is corrupt. You can reset this by pushing and holding the PMU button (AKA the Cuda switch) for about 5-10 seconds. This has similar results to zapping the PRAM but resets even more stuff including the date. I think on the QuickSilver machines it's somewhere near the side of the motherboard where the CPU is (the top if the door is closed). It's a small round black button set in a silver square.

I also found this old report regarding something similar to what you're experiencing:
http://xlr8yourmac.com/systems/dp800_cpu_error.html

DanDickens2 - Aug 24, 2005 - 9:11 pm

Yes, these sound like good ideas. I do know about the PMU button, and I did that upon replacing the battery.

PRAM is a good idea as well, will try that after I get done with this reply.

It was good to hear that others have experienced the same and still getting work done.

Thank you very much. God bless you...