Hi there,
I'm new to the forum. I'm writing from Milan, Italy. I've searched for a topic on this subject, but can't find any, so I'm writing this. My apologies if I missed something.
I have some 15 RUNNING PowerMacs: they are mostly silver G4s, running on OS 9.2.1. They're running without a glitch from the late nineties, 24/7. There are 2 dns, 2 Eudora mail server and several WebStar servers, running actual services.
One example is MacExchange, the most respected italian site to trade used Apple items. I don't know if I can post a link, just ask if interested (or just add .it at the end).
Coming to the subject, every now and then the WebStar servers go down, mainly due to some kind of attacks. I have four APC devices that I can access remotely to simply cut the juice off and back on. This worked perfectly until earlier this year. The G4s now refuse to restart when the power is cut off and on, as the PRAM batteries were dead, which they're not. I always carry spare batteries, changed them, tested them and everything is fine. Except it doesn't work anymore as expected.
To add to the confusion, 2 G4s are behaving as expected!
It seems that a date has been reached, after which the PRAM mechanism became of no use.
Is anyone of you aware of an explaination or, better yet, a workaround to this?
Thanks in advance for your answers!
Kind regards,
Guido