I have 2 problems with my G5 Dual 1.8 GHz PowerPc -1GB DDR SDRAM, running 10.4.10. The first problem is that suddenly on the desktop all the icons and the dock have 3 or 4 horizontal lines of black dashes and dotted lines around each icon and 2 of these under the mouse cursor. It is as though they are part of the icons and the cursor - they move with them. I have done some online searching and some say it may be the video card, some the logic board. I think I have ruled out a software problem because I tried to login under another user account and the "ghosting" was still there. I have rebooted a few times - no change. I have run applejack with no change. The only change was when I booted up in safe boot, the ghosting went away. My other problem is that I tried to run the Apple Hardware Test from the disk, but I got a message that said Apple Hardware Test can not be used for this G5. What's that! Can someone help me? Thanks, Kim
Hey Kim,
You most definitely have a video card problem, I have seen it many times. The AHT is different for each Macintosh, which version are you using? let me know the serial number of your computer and the version and I will tell you the correct AHT to use.
709 views
Usually answered in minutes!
G5 Power Mac (late 2004) tower: I also have dark lines and hash marks that remind me of bar codes, around System items like cursor, dock icons, and anything that is associated with OS X. I also have display problems with images in System apps. In other words, a photo opened in Preview or a video file played in iTunes has little blocks of color all over it, but a photo opened in Photoshop CS3 or embedded in page layout apps like Quark Xpress does not. I did research and found the best video card replacement for this G5 (which is an older dual but not a dual intel) is the ATI Radeon 9800, 256mb dvi/vga/s-video for powermac G5 ($250-350 depending on where you buy it). HOWEVER, I too have heard it could be the motherboard going out, which would cost a lot more!!! Is there a way to find out which is the problem, the video card or the motherboard? I've zapped the Pram and restarted, recalibrated, all the usual stuff, started in safeboot, etc. but the problem remains. Thanks for any help. Barb at [email protected]
Just started happening today. Can anyone assist me in identifying the proper replacement card? Thx.
Model Name: Power Mac G5
Model Identifier: PowerMac7,3
Processor Name: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1 GHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.1.8f7
Serial Number: G84303QXQPR
Chipset Model: ATY,R360
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: SLOT-1
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x4e48
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-A14404-118
×