Just want to say Hi ...

[kfdan]

I bought my G3 when it first came out.  It's getting old and I've got some issue with electrics ... so, I'm going through every circuit to find the culprit.   

[Petros90]

I've just resurrected mine, I've been curating it for 15 years thinking it was bust - turned out to have been a simple mechanical case design fault.

The power button is an almost friction-fit in the case, the mfrs may have incorporated a trace of lube into the power button aperture when new? Who knows, this problem appeared, sometime it would boot, sometimes it wouldn't, then it wouldn't boot at all.

I took it to the repair shop, they were able to boot it successfully several times a day. I collected it, phoned them when it wouldn't boot, was told that it was very hard to diagnose an intermittent fault and I could replace various components - all of which cost more than a new Pentium 4 ... I jumped ship and never looked back until this year.

So - power button. It could be that simple. Press it too hard and nothing happens.

Try pressing it oh! so gently, it only needs to make the briefest, gentlest contact to illuminate the button.

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As a matter of interest, when did you buy your G3 and how much did it cost? My system cost c. £4,500 /$6300 then, around
£5450 / $7600 today, with upgraded memory, video card, SCSI card, plus scanner, printer, Zip drive, CD-burner and unlimited high-end software - Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier, Quark, Fontographer etc etc etc, all needing no serial numbers and in most cases no installation just copy/paste. I still have them on CD.

[DieHard]

I've just resurrected mine, I've been curating it for 15 years thinking it was bust - turned out to have been a simple mechanical case design fault.

The power button is an almost friction-fit in the case, the mfrs may have incorporated a trace of lube into the power button aperture when new? Who knows, this problem appeared, sometime it would boot, sometimes it wouldn't, then it wouldn't boot at all.

That would be the rarest of exceptions. Usually, a G3 or G4 that appears to have a faulty "Power button" is almost always the Power supply.  Usually a "trickle power" issue.  After having literal dozens of clients come in over the years saying "it's just the power button, I know it's simple, I play with it and then it powers on" it is NEVER the button, on a Mac anyway (cheap PC power click switches go bad all the time)... as far as G3/G4 maybe 2 to 3 times in over 20 years.  Also, some areas that are humid create oxidation/corrosion issues, clean the button board with electronic cleaner.  Lastly, try the "hair dryer" trick (search for it here and on the web); if that works, then definitely the PS is going.  sometimes with a PS that is going, you will not see the issues again until you unplug it for a few days and then re-plug it is and try it; just cause it boots every time now with it plugged in, I am not convinced that the issue will not return

[Petros90]

DieHard,

Thank you for that,  I defer to your superior wisdom and experience.
I mean that and apologise for any misunderstanding that may have been caused.
I'm sure you're right.

Just to clarify, in my own example the power button did actually stick in the case, controlled
powering up/down and could be felt doing so, to the extent that the machine powered up and instantly
shut down in exact time with the "felt" sticking of the button, which could be controlled depending on
the amount of pressure exerted.

By trial and error I found just how much pressure was needed to be exerted on the power button -
minimal, the merest touch - to avoid this happening and for the machine to power up.

My only thought was to offer a potential alternative solution based on my own limited experience, I
was trying to be helpful.

Now I'm thinking I was probably mistaken. Probably the power supply is on the way out, and the
power button incident is merely coincidental.

It would probably be best if I avoided offering suggestions from henceforth, as I lack the relevant
experience.

I say all this without a trace of irony, sarcasm or resentment. This site has been a fund of support
and encouragement and extremely helpful to me, I do not wish in any way to be a thorn, or detract
from its success.

Respectfully etc - Petros

[DieHard]

My only thought was to offer a potential alternative solution based on my own limited experience, I
was trying to be helpful.

Now I'm thinking I was probably mistaken. Probably the power supply is on the way out, and the
power button incident is merely coincidental.

It would probably be best if I avoided offering suggestions from henceforth, as I lack the relevant
experience.

I say all this without a trace of irony, sarcasm or resentment. This site has been a fund of support
and encouragement and extremely helpful to me, I do not wish in any way to be a thorn, or detract
from its success.

Respectfully etc - Petros

Petros,

Your experience and comments are very valued here, please do feel that I was upset in even the mildest way; I just wanted to post another possibility and leave it there for reference since we get a ton of google hits from non-members.  What this forum is about is exactly what you did... observe, post, and share. There is no right or wrong, for all I know it IS a power button, I was just explaining that the odds are low on that one, NOT that is was impossible.  This purpose of this forum is to collect ALL data, find patterns, and distill the information and pass it on; there are no egos here, an I have been thankfully corrected by many members with their experiences and knowledge and I always appreciate learning something new.  So don't clam up, you have NOT offended anyone and users always appreciate a response when asking for help, so keep it coming.