Powermac G4 randomly shutting down

[Derick Centeno]

It does make sense to check that your computer area is properly cooled. 
  However, you must not only check for heat you must also check for 
humidity.
You can check the computing environment simply with a nice clock which 
has a temperature and humidity dial, some also come with barometric 
pressure dials.
Of course that is only useful if you know the manufacturer's published 
recommendations as to what environmental tolerances your computer (and 
each individual peripheral) should operate at best AND worst.  That 
information is there, just for this kind of situation.

The behavior as you describe it is typical of computers protecting 
themselves without notifying either users or system administrators 
which is why serious systems serving lots of people have always been 
located in one centralized environmentally controlled area which was 
constantly monitored.  Don't be surprised that a lot of people don't 
know about this or won't discuss it.  Expertise and knowledge regarding 
all this have moved upscale.

Another source of problems computers is power, such as too much 
(powersurges), too little (brownouts), Lightning strikes, and more.  
Most, if not all can be handled with a sufficiently stable and reliable 
UPS.  If you don't want to screw around, and your equipment matters to 
you, get an APC ups.  Get a UPS which will support your system (that is 
run (as in provided power to) your ENTIRE computing environment  
(printers, servers, routers, etc.) just from it (all by it's lonesome) 
for at least 15 minutes.  Giving you time to backup and then shutdown 
everything.  Without a UPS, you have exactly the kind of behavior you 
describe.

All this means that one behavior can have several different causes.  It 
is up to you to identify which it is.

OK.  Let's imagine you did all that.  What next?

Double check that your system settings are what you expect them to be.  
No auto-shutdown presets on. No powersavers on unless you control 
precisely when.  And so on.
Of course, some people would check those settings first.

Best wishes...

On Jul 18, 2005, at 3:59 PM, Jackson Jones wrote:

> I have a Quicksilver Powermac G4 Quicksilver Tower that randomly 
> powers off (not a clean shutdown).
>
> 933Mhz G4 (single Processor)
> 1 Gig of RAM
> YellowDog Linux 4.0.1 with all "yum update"
> Stock kernel
> NVidia GeForce 2 video card
>
> Has anyone seen this, or run into this before.
>
> Thanks
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