In article <060420231449062391%nospam@nospam.invalid>,
nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> In article
> <super70s-557307.13343306042023@reader01.eternal-september.org>,
> super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
>
> >
> > But could you tell me approximately where the video card is located in
> > this old tower and what it looks like? lol.
>
> there's probably only one card, but if not, it's the one where the
> cable to the display connects.

I thought I'd make this update.

I finally got the nerve to switch the video cards between the two G4's.

Before I made the switch -- and what helped me decide to do it -- was
running an old TechTool Deluxe program (v. 3.1.2) I remembered I had. In
the "Video RAM" test, it returned a "FAIL" answer.

After I made the switch, I ran the program again and it was a "PASS."

Also the vertical bars that were giving me the problem have gone
(hopefully permanently).

So it apparently was a damaged video card causing the problem.

Thanks everyone for your help! :)

On 2023-05-17 22:19, super70s wrote:
> In article <060420231449062391%nospam@nospam.invalid>,
> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
>> In article
>> <super70s-557307.13343306042023@reader01.eternal-september.org>,
>> super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> But could you tell me approximately where the video card is located in
>>> this old tower and what it looks like? lol.
>>
>> there's probably only one card, but if not, it's the one where the
>> cable to the display connects.
>
> I thought I'd make this update.
>
> I finally got the nerve to switch the video cards between the two G4's.
>
> Before I made the switch -- and what helped me decide to do it -- was
> running an old TechTool Deluxe program (v. 3.1.2) I remembered I had. In
> the "Video RAM" test, it returned a "FAIL" answer.
>
> After I made the switch, I ran the program again and it was a "PASS."
>
> Also the vertical bars that were giving me the problem have gone
> (hopefully permanently).
>
> So it apparently was a damaged video card causing the problem.
>
> Thanks everyone for your help! :)

Nice that it worked!

--
“Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present
danger to American democracy.”
- J Michael Luttig - 2022-06-16
- Former US appellate court judge (R) testifying to the January 6
committee

In article <Hcq9M.556867$Olad.115812@fx35.iad>,
Alan Browne <bitbucket@blackhole.com> wrote:

> On 2023-05-17 22:19, super70s wrote:
> > In article <060420231449062391%nospam@nospam.invalid>,
> > nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> >
> >> In article
> >> <super70s-557307.13343306042023@reader01.eternal-september.org>,
> >> super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> But could you tell me approximately where the video card is located in
> >>> this old tower and what it looks like? lol.
> >>
> >> there's probably only one card, but if not, it's the one where the
> >> cable to the display connects.
> >
> > I thought I'd make this update.
> >
> > I finally got the nerve to switch the video cards between the two G4's.
> >
> > Before I made the switch -- and what helped me decide to do it -- was
> > running an old TechTool Deluxe program (v. 3.1.2) I remembered I had. In
> > the "Video RAM" test, it returned a "FAIL" answer.
> >
> > After I made the switch, I ran the program again and it was a "PASS."
> >
> > Also the vertical bars that were giving me the problem have gone
> > (hopefully permanently).
> >
> > So it apparently was a damaged video card causing the problem.
> >
> > Thanks everyone for your help! :)
>
> Nice that it worked!

The strange thing is I ran the TechTool program on the spare G4 with the
apparently bad video card and it returned a "PASS" in the Video RAM
category! No bars problem either, so far.

Maybe it was just a "bad contacts" problem as some suggested.

Oh well, since everything is working normally I'm just going to leave it
as it is.

Funny how just switching components sometimes can fix the problem.
Earlier this week the local power company kept cutting off for about a
split second several times during the day, but that was enough to cause
the TV and the computers to have to reboot. My OS running Mojave
developed an apparent temporary system glitch when the capital "W"
didn't work at all. So I switched that keyboard with my OS running El
Capitan, and there was no more glitch on the Mojave system (and the El
Cap system was fine also).

Also I have sometimes fixed problems after a weather-caused power outage
just by switching the external SSD and the backup SSD's USB outlets.

Pure voodoo, lol.

On 2023-05-18 14:45, super70s wrote:

> Earlier this week the local power company kept cutting off for about a
> split second several times during the day, but that was enough to cause
> the TV and the computers to have to reboot.

UPS' are not expensive and certainly do very well with power co.
glitches (which also can occur during harsh weather).

--
“Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present
danger to American democracy.”
- J Michael Luttig - 2022-06-16
- Former US appellate court judge (R) testifying to the January 6
committee

In article <LmK9M.2049077$Tcw8.1825722@fx10.iad>,
Alan Browne <bitbucket@blackhole.com> wrote:

> On 2023-05-18 14:45, super70s wrote:
>
> > Earlier this week the local power company kept cutting off for about a
> > split second several times during the day, but that was enough to cause
> > the TV and the computers to have to reboot.
>
> UPS' are not expensive and certainly do very well with power co.
> glitches (which also can occur during harsh weather).

Can you elaborate on "UPS" and maybe provide a URL? As a matter of fact
I posted in a stereo newsgroup a few months ago about some solution for
an old Sony stereo receiver of mine losing its radio station settings
when short power outages happen but I didn't get any satisfactory
responses (they all said I must have a problem with a circuit board in
the receiver but I'm pretty sure this particular receiver doesn't have
"elephant memory" to begin with to keep the radio station settings after
a power outage).

On 2023-05-19 17:34, super70s wrote:
> In article <LmK9M.2049077$Tcw8.1825722@fx10.iad>,
> Alan Browne <bitbucket@blackhole.com> wrote:
>
>> On 2023-05-18 14:45, super70s wrote:
>>
>>> Earlier this week the local power company kept cutting off for about a
>>> split second several times during the day, but that was enough to cause
>>> the TV and the computers to have to reboot.
>>
>> UPS' are not expensive and certainly do very well with power co.
>> glitches (which also can occur during harsh weather).
>
> Can you elaborate on "UPS" and maybe provide a URL? As a matter of fact

Uninteruptible Power Supply. Basically a device with a battery and
inverter that reacts very quickly to voltage changes on the line. Your
computer won't see the power drop. When voltage recovers, it switched
back to the mains.

Lower end models are on the order of $70 .. $100 and will keep your
computer going for 10 - 20 minutes or so (depending on actual load,
naturally) giving you time to decide if you want to do an orderly shutdown.

Some (most?) come with a USB connection to your computer so that you can
(using appropriate s/w) set a time for the computer to shut down
automatically after a power failure.

> I posted in a stereo newsgroup a few months ago about some solution for
> an old Sony stereo receiver of mine losing its radio station settings
> when short power outages happen but I didn't get any satisfactory
<s>

Using a UPS for such would indeed help keep the settings. OTOH - when
the UPS is supplying current from the inverter it may not be compatible
with the sound system's power supply. Inverters output a 'choppy'
waveform, not the smooth AC your mains supply normally. A really good
sound system might have enough power filtering so this would not matter
- esp. when not at high volume.

You'd want to look into that before using a particular UPS with your
sound system.

--
“Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present
danger to American democracy.”
- J Michael Luttig - 2022-06-16
- Former US appellate court judge (R) testifying to the January 6
committee

In article
<super70s-3A400E.16343219052023@reader.eternal-september.org>, super70s
<super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

> > UPS' are not expensive and certainly do very well with power co.
> > glitches (which also can occur during harsh weather).
>
> Can you elaborate on "UPS" and maybe provide a URL?

<https://www.apc.com/us/en/product-category/88972-uninterruptible-power-
supply-ups/>

nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> In article
> <super70s-3A400E.16343219052023@reader.eternal-september.org>, super70s
> <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
>
>>> UPS' are not expensive and certainly do very well with power co.
>>> glitches (which also can occur during harsh weather).
>>
>> Can you elaborate on "UPS" and maybe provide a URL?
>
> <https://www.apc.com/us/en/product-category/88972-uninterruptible-power-
> supply-ups/>

I have been using these for many years here. I have one upstairs and one
downstairs, connected to lamps with LED bulbs. When we lose power, the
house no longer goes all dark.

Even the small units can run a 10 watt LED bulb for many hours. Back in
the day when we were still using incandescent light bulbs, it would run a
60 watt bulb for a couple hours.

On 2023-05-19, Bob Campbell <nunya@none.none> wrote:
> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>> In article
>> <super70s-3A400E.16343219052023@reader.eternal-september.org>, super70s
>> <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>> UPS' are not expensive and certainly do very well with power co.
>>>> glitches (which also can occur during harsh weather).
>>>
>>> Can you elaborate on "UPS" and maybe provide a URL?
>>
>> <https://www.apc.com/us/en/product-category/88972-uninterruptible-power-
>> supply-ups/>
>
> I have been using these for many years here. I have one upstairs and
> one downstairs, connected to lamps with LED bulbs. When we lose
> power, the house no longer goes all dark.
>
> Even the small units can run a 10 watt LED bulb for many hours. Back
> in the day when we were still using incandescent light bulbs, it would
> run a 60 watt bulb for a couple hours.

I've used APC's UPSs for decades for my home computer equipment and
entertainment centers. I don't worry about power outages, and if I'm
away from home when one happens, everything gets shut down gracefully.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

In article <190520231749142093%nospam@nospam.invalid>,
nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> In article
> <super70s-3A400E.16343219052023@reader.eternal-september.org>, super70s
> <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
>
> > > UPS' are not expensive and certainly do very well with power co.
> > > glitches (which also can occur during harsh weather).
> >
> > Can you elaborate on "UPS" and maybe provide a URL?
>
> <https://www.apc.com/us/en/product-category/88972-uninterruptible-power-
> supply-ups/>

That APC Back-UPS 600VA was just what I had in mind, thanks.

Can't believe any of those turkeys in the stereophile group weren't
familiar with them or if they were they didn't recommend them for some
reason.

I called the power company and raised hell with them -- told them I felt
like I was living in Mexico or something and this had been going on for
a week -- and the multiple power outages stopped the next day so it
isn't as urgent a situation now.

I have a Power Mac G4 1.25 DP (MDD) running Tiger 10.4 that I do a lot
of work on (before you start feeling sorry I also have a 2009 Core 2
iMac running El Capitan and a 2017 Core i5 iMac running Monterey).
Lately the Power Mac has begun to display these very faint vertical bars
about half an inch wide all across the screen. I tried another monitor
and had the same problem so the problem appears to be with the Power Mac.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced a problem like this, could it
be the sign of a weakening power supply? The bars problem isn't bad
enough to make the computer unusable but if the power supply is gettting
ready to go I'd like to make sure I'm prepared for it.

I do have another G4 just like the first one, but last year I switched
the SuperDrive out of it to the first one after the SuperDrive in it
died (no luck running down a used replacement drive on eBay). So I'd
have to hassle with switching it back again if I starting using the
second G4.

In article <super70s-BC9338.18323805042023@reader5.news.weretis.net>,
super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

> I have a Power Mac G4 1.25 DP (MDD) running Tiger 10.4 that I do a lot
> of work on (before you start feeling sorry I also have a 2009 Core 2
> iMac running El Capitan and a 2017 Core i5 iMac running Monterey).
> Lately the Power Mac has begun to display these very faint vertical bars
> about half an inch wide all across the screen. I tried another monitor
> and had the same problem so the problem appears to be with the Power Mac.
>
> Just wondering if anyone has experienced a problem like this, could it
> be the sign of a weakening power supply?

likely the video card.

> The bars problem isn't bad
> enough to make the computer unusable but if the power supply is gettting
> ready to go I'd like to make sure I'm prepared for it.

do you have a spare video card to test?

In article <super70s-BC9338.18323805042023@reader5.news.weretis.net>,
super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

> I have a Power Mac G4 1.25 DP (MDD) running Tiger 10.4 that I do a lot
> of work on (before you start feeling sorry I also have a 2009 Core 2
> iMac running El Capitan and a 2017 Core i5 iMac running Monterey).
> Lately the Power Mac has begun to display these very faint vertical bars
> about half an inch wide all across the screen. I tried another monitor
> and had the same problem so the problem appears to be with the Power Mac.
>
> Just wondering if anyone has experienced a problem like this, could it
> be the sign of a weakening power supply? The bars problem isn't bad
> enough to make the computer unusable but if the power supply is gettting
> ready to go I'd like to make sure I'm prepared for it.
>
> I do have another G4 just like the first one, but last year I switched
> the SuperDrive out of it to the first one after the SuperDrive in it
> died (no luck running down a used replacement drive on eBay). So I'd
> have to hassle with switching it back again if I starting using the
> second G4.

I would try swapping the video card and cable also.

I had the power supply repaired on this MDD G4 a couple years ago.
There was (maybe still is?) a guy on eBay offering the repair. My
symptoms were that it would not boot up. You could press the power
button and it would light up and fans would come on, but it would
immediately shut down.

It was basically a matter of replacing electrolytic caps and some
resistors. I probably could have done it myself (having done LOTS of
power supply work on antique tube radios), but since this guy obviously
knew what he was doing I let him do it. Reasonable pricing too.

On 2023-04-05 19:32, super70s wrote:
> I have a Power Mac G4 1.25 DP (MDD) running Tiger 10.4 that I do a lot
> of work on (before you start feeling sorry I also have a 2009 Core 2
> iMac running El Capitan and a 2017 Core i5 iMac running Monterey).
> Lately the Power Mac has begun to display these very faint vertical bars
> about half an inch wide all across the screen. I tried another monitor
> and had the same problem so the problem appears to be with the Power Mac.
>
> Just wondering if anyone has experienced a problem like this, could it
> be the sign of a weakening power supply? The bars problem isn't bad
> enough to make the computer unusable but if the power supply is gettting
> ready to go I'd like to make sure I'm prepared for it.
>
> I do have another G4 just like the first one, but last year I switched
> the SuperDrive out of it to the first one after the SuperDrive in it
> died (no luck running down a used replacement drive on eBay). So I'd
> have to hassle with switching it back again if I starting using the
> second G4.

Pull the video card and clean all the contacts with alcohol. Try to
clean inside the MB mount too (emery paper). Vacuum.

Examine the video card for obvious defects.

Can you take the video card from your other G4?

--
“Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present
danger to American democracy.”
- J Michael Luttig - 2022-06-16
- Former US appellate court judge (R) testifying to the January 6
committee

Thanks everyone for your input, much appreciated.

But could you tell me approximately where the video card is located in
this old tower and what it looks like? lol.

In article
<super70s-557307.13343306042023@reader01.eternal-september.org>,
super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

>
> But could you tell me approximately where the video card is located in
> this old tower and what it looks like? lol.

there's probably only one card, but if not, it's the one where the
cable to the display connects.

In article <060420231449062391%nospam@nospam.invalid>,
nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> In article
> <super70s-557307.13343306042023@reader01.eternal-september.org>,
> super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
>
> >
> > But could you tell me approximately where the video card is located in
> > this old tower and what it looks like? lol.
>
> there's probably only one card, but if not, it's the one where the
> cable to the display connects.

OK thanks, I will check it out. I remember taking the AirPort card out
of the one I don't use and putting it in the one I do which didn't even
have one a few years ago. Even though I never could figure out how to
get the two machines to talk to each other with AirPort and buying one
of those "flying saucer" looking jobs, lol.