Weird Monitor Problem Options

[gavinf]

Hi

Can someone help?!?!? Please?!? I have this annoying thing where I switched monitors a while ago, and found when I booted my G4 into 9.2 with the new monitor the startup got about 10% through the bar (before any extension icons) and then flickered twice, then the bar moved a little more, and the screen goes black. Sometimes it won't reboot from the switch from there. Tried another monitor (original monitor gone). No change.

Funny thing is, it boots fine into 10.2 and in Classic, and it boots fine from a CD.

Tried base set of extensions. No change.

I tried an in-place reinstall of 9.1 (couldn't find the 9.2 disk). No change. Reinstalled 10 over that. No change. It's driving me completey bonkers.

Gavin

You should visit the Apple boards and post this question, if you haven't already. Be sure to list what Mac, monitor, and OS you have.

It could be a resolution setting thing, or you could have a bad cable, or you monitor may be unsupported or faulty.

[lepetitmartien]

Is your 9 a 9.2.2?
what is your monitor?
Which video card are you using?

anyway seem you may have a video card driver or extension problem (save the baghun hints thank you).

first thing to do (to secure thing a bit):
- verify your cables AND the video card on its port are secure (unplug then replug) (do the same for all ram and drives, in case, go on quietly it's not a trucker job)
- zap the PRAM (apple-shift-P-R on start up, let the keys down until you hear the mac sartup sound 3 times then let go, before that it must not startup as usual!
- re-initialise the motherboard: open the mac, find the lithium battery, near it one or two tiny buttons, press them a few seconds on start up then let go, don't touch anything else.
- then if no changes reinstall the card drivers (or the entire 9.2.2 system which would be safe)

[larryhuller]

Yikes, lepetitmartien, I don't know about holding down the CUDA switch while you're starting up (that's what the switch near the battery is called). I've _always_ been told to do it while the computer is off but plugged in. It disconnects the battery electrically and lets whatever current is left in there flow out. This erases all the settings that your computer relies on the battery for, like the clock and everything that's in PRAM.

gavinf, clearing your PRAM is always a good idea when you're having trouble, but I have another suggestion: Have you been able to get into system 9 _at all_ since this started? If not, it might be that the monitor settings in 9 are out of the acceptable range for your monitor. Strange that this occurred over two monitors, but possible. This also is almost certainly not true if "in-place" install of 9.1 means you got rid of 9.2 and put 9.1 on instead of it. But it's worth investigating. Unfortunately this setting is not in PRAM, but you can change it with an Applescript if you download the Jon's Commands Applescript extension (go to versiontracker.com). Write an Applescript to set your monitor to 640x480, 65hz, 256 colors, (which any monitor should be able to handle), and stick it in your OS 9 startup items folder. You still won't have any video until the finder loads and the script is opened.

Also, and more importantly, if you haven't already, post over at macfixit.com. That's where you should be asking these kinds of questions. We're just musicians here! Good luck!

[lepetitmartien]

Yikes, lepetitmartien, I don't know about holding down the CUDA switch while you're starting up

Done by a technician while trying to restart my G3 after changing the CD. (I managed to start it alone, but I'm a genius

Write an Applescript to set your monitor to 640x480, 65hz, 256 colors, (which any monitor should be able to handle), and stick it in your OS 9 startup items folder. You still won't have any video until the finder loads and the script is opened.

Very good idea, I've never been an applescipt guy, but that's the kind of thing that can help a lot.

Also, and more importantly, if you haven't already, post over at macfixit.com. That's where you should be asking these kinds of questions. We're just musicians here! Good luck!

Macfixit IS a great place, but you don't know half the truth upon our users, we have even people from A…e here, developers, famous engineers to artists… a real mess
And there's a lot of accumulated experiences, if we don't find, most of the tims it's desperate.

Now… I think of something, there' on bootup a switch between video drivers, the one to boot, then the real one in the system… maybe there's something there. Have you checked the video drivers are right? Just wondering.

[gavinf]

Thanks Folks

Tried the above, except for the applescript one, but I did try setting the resolution when running classic, surely that keeps the change when booting in 9 native? Still no luck. The pointed about the two drivers is interesting... the monitor goes momentarily black between the gray apple screen and the X screen with the bootup bar, and that feels kinda similar to the moment where the trouble happens. Would using the script cause it to preempt things?

Which is the actual driver extension in 9? Do you mean the driver for the card (as I said it's a stock G4/533) or is there a driver for monitors? Or both? I can see a thing called Video Default (PAL) as well as the bunch of ATI and NVIDIA drivers etc.

Oh, and I put this up on macfixit and noone answered...

Thanks for your patience. Um... by the way, don't use the latest Echo 1.1 driver unless you have upated your system to 10.2.3. It doesn't see the card unless you have.

Ta

gavin

[lepetitmartien]

I'm talking of the ATI/Nvidia stuff, the monitors don't need extensions (there was a time with Radius you needed some), check for the card model to know which one it is put elsewhere the ones you don't need. Check if there's none missing (make a search)

in 9.1:
ATI 8 extensions all with ATI in the name

I remember Nvidia had less of them, still Nvidia in the name

can't tell you for the 9.2, I'm still in 9.04 as my current system (9.1 is just a safety elsewhere)