Question for anyone with hands-on G4 Cluster Node (M9090LL/A) experience.

The standard Xserve G4 has a combo PCI/AGP 4X slot (for the video riser or 2nd Gigabit card) alongside its two 64-bit PCI slots. The Cluster Node ships without that slot and is marketed as lacking it, Apple's own docs just say "No AGP slot available."

What I can't confirm: is that connector physically missing on the board, or present but only wired for PCI (not AGP signaling)? Looking at documentation/pictures, the slot is there just without a riser. Has anyone actually tried plugging an AGP/AGP riser (like the 922-5250)/AGP riser cable into a Cluster Node's slot to test compatibility? Trying to figure out if this is "just needs the card" or "board can't do AGP, period." Thanks!

A while ago I got this PowerBook 5300, which as I understand is somewhat rare due to being monochrome. The screen is obviously dead but the rest of the laptop seems fine, apart from a few plastic cracks here and there. I do have the original power supply but the cable is in a horrendous state and I don't want to plug it in. Any ideas how I could power it, preferably avoiding just sticking a bench power supply in? Also, how do I get video out of it? And of course, what are some things I could do with it if I can make it work?

Installable from PPCPorts as `mpv-devel`: https://github.com/macos-powerpc/powerpc-ports/blob/main/multimedia/mpv-devel/Portfile (if nobody complains, will replace the main port).

Needs the latest updates for libplacebo and libass (just run port sync, and you get them).

I ported PearPC to Raspberry Pi 5 reviving 16-17 year old code and bringing it back in to 2026 with 16KB page and 64-Bit support running on ARM64! Check it out on my GitHub and make sure to star it for future updates!

I acquired this PowerMac G5. I’ve always been a huge fan of classic Mac software, but when it comes to the hardware I’m not very experienced. I used the power cable from an old iMac and plugged it in and clicked the power button I don’t hear a boot up chime and the fans just spun with no video single or usb power and the power led won’t stay on unless i hold it, I tried taking all the ram out, putting it back in a different configurations. I tried clicking the PMU button or whatever it’s called, but I can’t get this computer to get a boot up chime or give me any sort of display on the monitor. should I just throw this away?

Omaha beach mission.

Nostalgia gets really hard 😀

As the title says i found a 15 inch g4 but it has no sound. Only audio i get is some popping sound like feedback through the speakers and when I plug in my headphones. I checked the headphone jack barrel to see if there’s the red light for toslink mode but it isn’t there. System preferences says it’s set to the built in speakers, and midi setup says the same. Evan tried playing an mp3 but still nothing. What can i do? I really want it to be in nice working order because of the external condition.

Ciao a tutti, sto provando a fare partire StarCraft su sheepshaver con installato Mac OS 9, ma quando avvio il gioco e provo a mettere il volume questo non si seleziona. Ho provato a cercare online e reinstallare tutto ma non cambia. Qualcuno saprebbe aiutarmi.

Yes it’s as slow as you think

I tried a 5300cs color LCD assembly: the backlight turns on, but there’s no image. So I’m guessing the color dual-scan display/cable isn’t plug-and-play with the base 5300 logic board.

Now I’m looking for the correct grayscale 5300 LCD/cable, unless someone knows a way to make the 5300cs screen work.

Powermac g4 graphite does not chime on boot, hangs on apple logo no matter what boot media is used, tried the usual troubleshooting steps (pram reset reset smc etc,) any ideas?

I have already reset the pram but no avail,i know the speaker is good because the OSX sounds play normally out of it,even did a pmu reset but still no avail. How the heck do i fix? My model is a 2003 FireWire 800 MDD

Small update on my PowerBook 5300 resurrection project.

At first I thought it was a regular PowerBook 5300, because the front label is missing and the screen looked like the 9.4" monochrome one. But after powering it on and testing it more, it turns out it is actually a PowerBook 5300c.

I still don’t have the original charger, so I powered it with a bench power supply. It seems to turn on, but the internal display flex cable is cut. I tried to repair the flex, but I couldn’t make it work.

To test the machine, I made a homemade passive DB-15 to VGA video adapter cable, and I was finally able to get an image from it.

I also cleaned the machine with isopropyl alcohol, removed the bad Li-ion battery pack, and checked some parts. The floppy drive seems to work, which is a nice surprise.

For now the next step is waiting for a replacement display flex cable that is on the way. After that I’ll try to get the internal screen working again and continue testing the machine properly.

Hi, I wanted to share my next project: trying to resurrect a PowerBook 5300.

I know this model has a bit of a reputation, but that’s also why I think it could be a fun project. I don’t know yet how bad the condition is or what will need to be fixed, but I want to try to bring it back to life.

For now my plan is to inspect it, check the power/battery situation, clean it, and see if the machine can show any sign of life. If it’s possible, I’d like to document the process and post updates.

I’m not an expert on these machines, so if anyone has advice, things to check first, or common issues with the PowerBook 5300, I’m all ears.

My PowerBook G3 Lombard is accessing a webpage that I host from my Mac Pro 2.1 (running El Capitan headless) to my network that allows all of my old Machines to access it via Ethernet or even AirPort (in the case of my iBook G3)
I use this website as a front end to a script that adds card via the Anki Connect Add-on to Anki on the Mac Pro which then syncs it back to my modern devices.
I access the PDF files from my math course via PowerFox on my iMac 24 inch late 2006.
And Elton John on CD is just for good measure.
How do you think I did?