My Cube has gone CRAZY..

[ForumApple]

HELP!! My G4 CUBE450 has gone crazy recently!

1. It turns on and off by itself all the time.
- It turns on for few seconds and then off.. and few seconds after.. it goes on and off for hundred times until I unplug it.

2. When I insert 2 USB to the CPU, the Cube can not be turning off.
- When I tried to turn off the computer in that situation, it restart again. Sometimes it goes on and off and on and off ...... until I unplug the biaaaach.

3. My Apple LCD's sensor sometimes work sometimes doesn't.
- I usually turn on the Cube with the sensor on my Apple15"LCD by moving my hand in front of the LCD power sensor. but sometimes it doesn't work at all! I had to TOUCH the power sensor to turn on the computer.

I'm using
____________
G4 Cube450 DVD
RAM:384MB
APPLE15"LCD
____________

If any of you got the problem! please share your experiences!
Thank you!
forumapple@yahoo.com

 

[madamimadam]

Re: My Cube has gone CRAZY..

Originally posted by ForumApple
HELP!! My G4 CUBE450 has gone crazy recently!

1. It turns on and off by itself all the time.
- It turns on for few seconds and then off.. and few seconds after.. it goes on and off for hundred times until I unplug it.

2. When I insert 2 USB to the CPU, the Cube can not be turning off.
- When I tried to turn off the computer in that situation, it restart again. Sometimes it goes on and off and on and off ...... until I unplug the biaaaach.

3. My Apple LCD's sensor sometimes work sometimes doesn't.
- I usually turn on the Cube with the sensor on my Apple15"LCD by moving my hand in front of the LCD power sensor. but sometimes it doesn't work at all! I had to TOUCH the power sensor to turn on the computer.

That was a known problem...interesting that you are only getting it now, though.

I think there is a firmware update or something... I'll try to get back to you with a link.

 

[madamimadam]

Try this

It might not work but it was all I could find... it does not mention the problem

 

[ForumApple]

thanks!

Cool! thanks man! I'll try it now!
hope that works!

Actually I just got it second hand! too bad the previous user didn't fix it up!


P.S.
My local dealer is going to charge me about 55USD for fixing this problem. I can't believe users like us are PAYING the fix for a KNOWN issue. I hope the firmware works! Thanks a lot!!!

 

[madamimadam]

Tell us how you go

Unfortunately, our head of service just went on holiday for a couple of weeks which puts me in his shoes, ie. no one else for me to ask the specific details of the fix

 

[ForumApple]

>_<..

duhhhhh...
the~~fireware~~~of~~my~~~cube~~is~~~up~~~to~~date~

MAN.... any other solutions?
thanks!

 

[richie]

Same thing happened to many many Cubes, including mine. I rang up Apple, they sent some guys over the next day, they picked it up, and the next day, bam, back it was, all fixed up. I was impressed.

Of course, since the Cube's been on ice for so long, maybe Apple support won't be quite as helpful... but it's worth a shot. As somebody said, it is a known issue, and they seem willing to fix it at no cost.

 

[dobbin]

This is indeed a well known issue with cubes. Some people were affected immediately, and others only after a period of time like you.

My cube has a 'seizure' about once every 4 months and it will do this for an hour or two and then correct itself and be fine again.

There have been numerous causes and solutions suggested and it appears that different things work for different machines.

The usual cause is the proximity switch - the touch sensitive one on top of the cube. Most people report that the switching on and off is caused by a badly fitting or loose gasket around this switch inside the cube.

Some people say that making sure this gasket is seated firmly will cure the problem, and others have had this replaced (for free) by Apple.

I have never found this to be the case with mine, it just seems to have a mind of its own, for short spells every now and again.

Some people have also reported that this happens on hot days or when the air-con is swithed off. I've not noticed this (as I live in the UK it never gets hot!).

There have been hundreds of discussions on this topic since the cube was introduced and you can probably find some useful info on the web.

I'm not sure why Apple have not provided more help on this topic given what a widespread issue it was/is, but I just searched Google for "Apple Cube Switch problem" and it came back with a lot of links. Bear in mind that the solution for one cube may not help yours! I guess this is the price we have to pay for having the coolest computer the world has ever seen

Cheers,
Dobbin

 

[benixau]

Originally posted by dobbin
I guess this is the price we have to pay for having the coolest computer the world has ever seen

Cheers,
Dobbin

WHAT!!! As if. All of apples headline style computers are way cool. We shouldnt have to put up with faults. A fault would mean it is no longer the coolest looking machine ever.

 

[j763]

Dude, it's apple. you need to b*tch like anything to them to get it fixed. Ask to be transferred to second tier, yell down the phone, whatever it takes... You just have to be really $#!++y with them and then they'll co-operate. that's the only way i could get my base station replaced. trust me, i tried the nice approach, doesn't work, you've just got to be pissed off enough to make them want to fix the problem so they don't have to hear about it any more.

 

[tjwett]

I had a Cube with a 15" Apple Studio LCD. You must upgrade to OS 9.2 if haven't yet. In the Energy Saver Control Panel there is now an option for disabling the button on the Cube. I forget what it's called exactly but you'll see it. You'll then have to turn the machine on and off with the monitor. This should work fine. They actually added this feature because of the problem between the Cube and the LCDs. Sorry if that's not the fix you need.

 

[rainman::|:|]

i swear, i remember a quick fix for this that involved sliding a piece of paper between something in the switch... does anyone know what i'm talking about? it's not an easy task but didnt seem that difficult...


pnw

 

[cubist]

Yes, it's the power switch gasket.

You have three choices:

(a) Take the gasket out and use the monitor to turn on the computer. Yes, you are supposed to TOUCH it, not just wave past it.

(b) Take the gasket out, and turn it over.

(c) Put a piece of paper on top of the gasket. This works for some folks.

I've never had the problem myself, but it is a very common problem. See http://www.cubeowner.com for details.

 

[King Cobra]

j763, get off the phone with AOL and return to calmness.

I experienced a similar situation with my Cube, with it not turning off until I unplugged it. Even Apple couldn't find what the problem was.

My problem was how I had the USB set up. I had the speakers set up in port 1 and the monitor in port 2.


Plug in your monitor to USB port 1, and your speakers to USB port 2. That may fix the problem.

 

[madamimadam]

Originally posted by benixau


WHAT!!! As if. All of apples headline style computers are way cool. We shouldnt have to put up with faults. A fault would mean it is no longer the coolest looking machine ever.

What has a fault and a look got in common????

It might not work at all but it would still look damn cool.

Get a grip man.

 

[ForumApple]

thanks folks!!
I'll try all the solutions that you prodvided. If my cube gone crazy again, I'll just remove the gasket!

thanks a lot people! I'm new here, and this is a great forum with lots of great users!

 

[beez7777]

this is hardware rumors, right?

 

[medea]

That's what I was thinking bee7777, posts like this should go in the Mac Help Questions forum, but I dont like bugging mods about every little thing.

 

[neilt]

remove the cube from its shell

place a sticky note where the power switch would be on the inside of the shell
replace the cube in its shell
turn it on
no mpre problem

for added fun, experiment with different colors of stickies to change the color of your power light (yellow and blue make ....)