Clock not retaining time

The system clock on my iMac (350Mhz G3 Slotloader) has started forgetting the date and time.
aprestn5 wrote on :

The system clock on my iMac (350Mhz G3 Slotloader) has started forgetting the date and time. It has to be reset every time the machine is turned on, (a nuisance, but easily doable), otherwise it thinks it's 12 am on 1 January 1904.

There was a widespread power outage in our region for about one second on Friday evening, and I'm wondering if that might have affected the clock circuitry somehow, possibly killed a clock battery. Any idea how to get at the thing to check it out, or is it simply a matter of pulling the whole machine apart and looking for a fried component. Everything else seems to be working fine.

Al Preston

morenuf replied on :

In article fOBUf.723$Ph4.231@redacted.invalid, aprestn5 aprestn5@redacted.invalid wrote:

The system clock on my iMac (350Mhz G3 Slotloader) has started forgetting the date and time. It has to be reset every time the machine is turned on, (a nuisance, but easily doable), otherwise it thinks it's 12 am on 1 January 1904.

There was a widespread power outage in our region for about one second on Friday evening, and I'm wondering if that might have affected the clock circuitry somehow, possibly killed a clock battery. Any idea how to get at the thing to check it out, or is it simply a matter of pulling the whole machine apart and looking for a fried component. Everything else seems to be working fine.

Al Preston

Most likely this the PRAM battery that has failed. Most are 3.6v lithium battery (Radio Shack about $10, online about $5). Not sure where it is or how to get to it on your model (not familiar with it). Usually is on the motherboard. The batteries last about 3-5 years or so.

G'Day & Good Luck

Morenuf

Hans Aberg replied on :

In article morenuf-F36346.13463523032006@redacted.invalid, morenuf morenuf@redacted.invalid wrote:

The system clock on my iMac (350Mhz G3 Slotloader) has started forgetting the date and time. It has to be reset every time the machine is turned on, (a nuisance, but easily doable), otherwise it thinks it's 12 am on 1 January 1904.

There was a widespread power outage in our region for about one second on Friday evening, and I'm wondering if that might have affected the clock circuitry somehow, possibly killed a clock battery. Any idea how to get at the thing to check it out, or is it simply a matter of pulling the whole machine apart and looking for a fried component. Everything else seems to be working fine.

Most likely this the PRAM battery that has failed. Most are 3.6v lithium battery (Radio Shack about $10, online about $5). Not sure where it is or how to get to it on your model (not familiar with it). Usually is on the motherboard. The batteries last about 3-5 years or so.

Actually, lithium batteries can last for up to ten years, though I do not know how long those in Mac's last. Some Mac's with Mac OS 10.0-3 had apparent battery problems that went away after an upgrade to 10.4

morenuf replied on :

In article haberg-2403061923230001@redacted.invalid, haberg@redacted.invalid (Hans Aberg) wrote:

In article morenuf-F36346.13463523032006@redacted.invalid, morenuf morenuf@redacted.invalid wrote:

The system clock on my iMac (350Mhz G3 Slotloader) has started forgetting the date and time. It has to be reset every time the machine is turned on, (a nuisance, but easily doable), otherwise it thinks it's 12 am on 1 January 1904.

There was a widespread power outage in our region for about one second on Friday evening, and I'm wondering if that might have affected the clock circuitry somehow, possibly killed a clock battery. Any idea how to get at the thing to check it out, or is it simply a matter of pulling the whole machine apart and looking for a fried component. Everything else seems to be working fine.

Most likely this the PRAM battery that has failed. Most are 3.6v lithium battery (Radio Shack about $10, online about $5). Not sure where it is or how to get to it on your model (not familiar with it). Usually is on the motherboard. The batteries last about 3-5 years or so.

Actually, lithium batteries can last for up to ten years, though I do not know how long those in Mac's last. Some Mac's with Mac OS 10.0-3 had apparent battery problems that went away after an upgrade to 10.4

I had one last in a G4 450 for 4 years, another last 5 years in a G4 933. My G4 iMac 1.25GHz says to keep the iMac plugged in to keep the PRAM battery charged. My desktop G4s had no such information. Not had the iMac but 1.5 years or so, not sure how long its battery will last.

4-5 years seems good guess for G4s. Less I guess if the batteries are drained somehow.

Morenuf

aprestn5 replied on :

Hans Aberg wrote:

In article morenuf-F36346.13463523032006@redacted.invalid, morenuf morenuf@redacted.invalid wrote:

The system clock on my iMac (350Mhz G3 Slotloader) has started forgetting the date and time. It has to be reset every time the machine is turned on, (a nuisance, but easily doable), otherwise it thinks it's 12 am on 1 January 1904.

There was a widespread power outage in our region for about one second on Friday evening, and I'm wondering if that might have affected the clock circuitry somehow, possibly killed a clock battery. Any idea how to get at the thing to check it out, or is it simply a matter of pulling the whole machine apart and looking for a fried component. Everything else seems to be working fine.

Most likely this the PRAM battery that has failed. Most are 3.6v lithium battery (Radio Shack about $10, online about $5). Not sure where it is or how to get to it on your model (not familiar with it). Usually is on the motherboard. The batteries last about 3-5 years or so.

Actually, lithium batteries can last for up to ten years, though I do not know how long those in Mac's last. Some Mac's with Mac OS 10.0-3 had apparent battery problems that went away after an upgrade to 10.4

I'd read somewhere that there was an apparent battery problem with the earlier versions of OS 10 - 10.2, but didn't think it was of concern since I don't have OS 10, but OS 9.2.2. I'm not sure that I can upgrade to 10.4 since there's no DVD drive or Firewire on the machine.

Al Preston

Hans Aberg replied on :

[I do not recall creating this article subject, but merely replyiing to another article. Please do not create new article threads in my name.]

In article 554Vf.8891$%H.7698@redacted.invalid, aprestn5 aprestn5@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'd read somewhere that there was an apparent battery problem with the earlier versions of OS 10 - 10.2, but didn't think it was of concern since I don't have OS 10, but OS 9.2.2. I'm not sure that I can upgrade to 10.4 since there's no DVD drive or Firewire on the machine.

You can upgrade by using an external DVD drive, by putting in a Firewire card. You need at least a G3, and in order to run 10.4 comfortably, it is recommendable with at least 512 MB RAM and 10-20 GB hard drive. Before upgrading to 10.4, check the Apple site, support, for Firmware updates, which must be run under Mac OS 9.

Tom Stiller replied on :

In article haberg-2503060826190001@redacted.invalid, haberg@redacted.invalid (Hans Aberg) wrote:

[I do not recall creating this article subject, but merely replyiing to another article. Please do not create new article threads in my name.]

In article 554Vf.8891$%H.7698@redacted.invalid, aprestn5 aprestn5@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'd read somewhere that there was an apparent battery problem with the earlier versions of OS 10 - 10.2, but didn't think it was of concern since I don't have OS 10, but OS 9.2.2. I'm not sure that I can upgrade to 10.4 since there's no DVD drive or Firewire on the machine.

You can upgrade by using an external DVD drive, by putting in a Firewire card. You need at least a G3, and in order to run 10.4 comfortably, it is recommendable with at least 512 MB RAM and 10-20 GB hard drive. Before upgrading to 10.4, check the Apple site, support, for Firmware updates, which must be run under Mac OS 9.

Installing Tiger requires that one boot from the DVD. A reputable seller of external storage devices told me that Tiger would not boot from external optical media. Can you confirm that 10.4 will boot from an external DVD?

Hans Aberg replied on :

In article tomstiller-96A8D8.07244525032006@redacted.invalid, Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

You can upgrade by using an external DVD drive, by putting in a Firewire card. You need at least a G3, and in order to run 10.4 comfortably, it is recommendable with at least 512 MB RAM and 10-20 GB hard drive. Before upgrading to 10.4, check the Apple site, support, for Firmware updates, which must be run under Mac OS 9.

Installing Tiger requires that one boot from the DVD. A reputable seller of external storage devices told me that Tiger would not boot from external optical media. Can you confirm that 10.4 will boot from an external DVD?

It did on a PowerBook G4 from around 2000 with only an internal CD-ROM reader without DVD, and an external LaCie DVD; I cannot recommend LaCie, though, as it is said to overheat with frequent burnings. It might be better putting in a Pioneer DVD, which was said to not overheat, no matter how often one burns.

Tom Stiller replied on :

In article haberg-2503061413170001@redacted.invalid, haberg@redacted.invalid (Hans Aberg) wrote:

In article tomstiller-96A8D8.07244525032006@redacted.invalid, Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

You can upgrade by using an external DVD drive, by putting in a Firewire card. You need at least a G3, and in order to run 10.4 comfortably, it is recommendable with at least 512 MB RAM and 10-20 GB hard drive. Before upgrading to 10.4, check the Apple site, support, for Firmware updates, which must be run under Mac OS 9.

Installing Tiger requires that one boot from the DVD. A reputable seller of external storage devices told me that Tiger would not boot from external optical media. Can you confirm that 10.4 will boot from an external DVD?

It did on a PowerBook G4 from around 2000 with only an internal CD-ROM reader without DVD, and an external LaCie DVD; I cannot recommend LaCie, though, as it is said to overheat with frequent burnings. It might be better putting in a Pioneer DVD, which was said to not overheat, no matter how often one burns.

Thanks.

aprestn5 replied on :

Hans Aberg wrote:

[I do not recall creating this article subject, but merely replyiing to another article. Please do not create new article threads in my name.]

I was the one who started the thread to which you responded....

In article 554Vf.8891$%H.7698@redacted.invalid, aprestn5 aprestn5@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'd read somewhere that there was an apparent battery problem with the earlier versions of OS 10 - 10.2, but didn't think it was of concern since I don't have OS 10, but OS 9.2.2. I'm not sure that I can upgrade to 10.4 since there's no DVD drive or Firewire on the machine.

You can upgrade by using an external DVD drive, by putting in a Firewire card. You need at least a G3, and in order to run 10.4 comfortably, it is recommendable with at least 512 MB RAM and 10-20 GB hard drive. Before upgrading to 10.4, check the Apple site, support, for Firmware updates, which must be run under Mac OS 9.

In my original post, I mentioned my machine was a 350Mhz slot-loading iMac, which is a G3. At the moment it has 256Mb RAM and a 10Gb hard drive, both of which I'm considering replacing. I don't think I can put a Firewire card, since it has no card slots. Would a USB external DVD drive work?

Al Preston

Hans Aberg replied on :

In article QVkVf.5065$Ph4.1313@redacted.invalid, aprestn5 aprestn5@redacted.invalid wrote:

You can upgrade by using an external DVD drive, by putting in a Firewire card. You need at least a G3, and in order to run 10.4 comfortably, it is recommendable with at least 512 MB RAM and 10-20 GB hard drive. Before upgrading to 10.4, check the Apple site, support, for Firmware updates, which must be run under Mac OS 9.

In my original post, I mentioned my machine was a 350Mhz slot-loading iMac, which is a G3. At the moment it has 256Mb RAM and a 10Gb hard drive, both of which I'm considering replacing. I don't think I can put a Firewire card, since it has no card slots. Would a USB external DVD drive work?

In any case, first check the Apple site for Firmware updates, and do it if available for your model. Then, it could be that Firewire is required; the easiest way to find out is probably to borrow a DVD-reader and install disk and try - US copyright law admits such use for maintenance purposes. http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/index.html http://www.ascap.com/licensing/generalfaq.html If you cannot put in a Firewire card, check for an update of your internal disk reader. If you succeed to install 10.4, you can then put in more RAM and a larger hard disk at need.