Apple Discussion About Power Macintosh Frequently Asked Questions

This article contains a number of frequently asked questions (FAQ) that have come up on the Apple Discussion About Power Macintosh in the Apple Discussion area at the Apple Support site. Each question is followed by one or more pointers to articles in the Apple Knowledge Base, which provide answers, suggestions, or troubleshooting advice to help you deal with the issue that creates the question.

Some of the answering articles have pointers to useful suggestions posted on the board by other users. These may or may not also have an official Apple answer, but this will be noted where applicable.

Questions answered in this article:

1. I have a Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) computer. Are there any updates I need to install?
2. I have the Apple DVD-ROM and decoder card. I sometimes have difficulty playing movies. What can I do?
3. Does my computer support the master and slave IDE mode?
4. Audio CD-ROM discs appear to stop playing periodically. Why is this happening?
5. Sometimes the computer pauses for a few seconds before doing anything. It sounds like the CD-ROM drive is trying to start up when it happens. Is there anything I can do?
6. I have a Power Computing Corporation computer and I'm trying to get warranty support for it. Who do I contact for this?
7. I have an older Power Macintosh computer and the computer starts up, but I don't get any video. Sometimes if I turn it on and off it will work. What can I do?
8. My computer seems to freeze for no reason at all. What can I do to get it working or to find out what is causing the freeze?
9. I have a Power Macintosh G3 computer and I have difficulty using various sound applications.
10. I have a processor card I removed from a Power Macintosh 8600/250. Can I use that in my Power Macintosh 7600?
11. I purchased one of the build-to-order SCSI cards from Apple for my Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White). I'm not sure which card I got or what I can connect to it.
12. I'm having difficulty with my Power Macintosh modem. Sometimes I can't connect at all or sometimes I get disconnected. Is there anything I can do?

Question 1: I have a Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) computer. Are there any updates I need to install?

Answer: Article 31002: "Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): When to Install Available Updaters"

Question 2: I have the Apple DVD-ROM and decoder card. I sometimes have difficulty playing movies. What can I do?

Answer:

• Article 58402: "Power Macintosh G3: DVD Troubleshooting"
• Article 58273:"Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): Displaying DVD Video on Second Display"

Question 3: Does my computer support the master and slave IDE mode?

Answer: Article 24342: "Power Macintosh G3: IDE Master and Slave Support and Configuration"

Question 4: Audio CD-ROM discs appear to stop playing periodically. Why is this happening?

Answer:

• Article 20287: "Energy Saver: Causes CD-ROM Discs To Stop Playing"

Question 5: Sometimes my Power Macintosh pauses for a few seconds before doing anything. It sounds like the CD-ROM drive is trying to start up when it happens. Is there anything I can do?

Answer: Article 30376: "Power Macintosh: Pauses For Several Seconds"

Question 6: I have a Power Computing Corporation computer and I'm trying to get warranty support for it. Who do I contact for this?

Answer: Article 24325: "Power Computing Corporation: Support Information"

Question 7: I have an older Power Macintosh computer and the computer starts up, but I don't get any video. Sometimes if I turn it on and off it will work. What can I do?

Answer:

• Article 20328: "Macintosh Computers: Low Battery Can Cause No Video"
• Article 11751: "Macintosh Family: Batteries & Part Numbers"

Question 8: My computer seems to freeze for no reason at all. What can I do to get it working or to find out what is causing the freeze?

Answer:

• Article 19468: "Macintosh Computers & System 7.5: Freeze Troubleshooting"
• The Basic Troubleshooting area of Tech Exchange may also help in troubleshooting this type of issue.

Question 9: I have a Power Macintosh G3 computer and I have difficulty using various sound applications.

Answer:

• Article 22146: "Power Macintosh G3 Sound Input Settings"
• Article 24290: "Power Macintosh G3: No Internal Modem Sound"
• Article 30517: "AudioTuneUp 2.0 Update: Read Me"
• Article 30307: "Power Macintosh G3: Using PlainTalk Speech Recognition v1.5"

Question 10: I have a processor card I removed from a Power Macintosh 8600/250. Can I use that in my Power Macintosh 7600?

Answer: Article 24801: "Power Macintosh 8600, 9600: Processor Card Compatibility"

Question 11: I purchased one of the build-to-order SCSI cards from Apple for my Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White). I'm not sure which card I got or what I can connect to it.

Answer:

• Article 58204: "Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): SCSI FAQ"
• Article 58256: "Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): Differentiating Between Available SCSI Cards"

Question 12: I'm having difficulty with my modem. Sometimes I can't connect at all or sometimes I get disconnected. Is there anything I can do?

Answer:

• Article 30893: "Remote Access: Modem Not Responding Alert"
• Article 24803: "Troubleshooting Unreliable Modem Connections"

This article can help you locate the software update mentioned here:

• Article 14724: "Where To Find Apple Software Updates" - Lists online services for free Apple software updates.