I recently bought one of these with the failing caps problem..... described thusly
"... as spares and repairs because I dont have the time to reinstall Mac OSX boots up to statup then sits on mac loading screen may just need reinstalling ." [image: Photobucket]<http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/qq312/rubblemania/1-1-2-9.jpg>this was how it arrived (seller's photo). ....basically for spares for my other eMacs and because I like a challenge, and it *may just* have needed a re-install (another one I bought for spares came without a System folder that had been trashed somehow so nice kernel panic when I turned it on - an OSX install sorted that one although since it is clogged with sawdust I need to strip and clean it before I dare use it for anything!) While I can wield a soldering iron I'm not intending to repair it but I've been playing with it as a result of email conversations with an ebayer who had one up for sale. She said that hers will surf in safe mode, so I dug mine out with a view to trying this out. When I turned it on I found that I was in the middle of re-installing OSX on it when I got fed up some weeks ago. I started it in Safe Mode and was able to complete the installation satisfactorily, then started it in Target Disc Mode and moved a few files across, including the combined update. So now I have an eMac running 10.4.11, and in safe mode it seems quite happy. Trying to boot it normally, it sometimes freezes at 'Starting OSX', sometimes gets as far as a desktop, but then the mouse freezes - basically, as expected, no functionality. So a couple of questions. I usually share my internet connection between my Macs using a firewire cable (why - because it just works beautifully!) In safe mode I do not seem to be able to invoke this functionality - system prefs only shows ethernet as an option. Am I missing something obvious or can I only do this in full bells and whistles mode? Everything *seems* to work fine in Safe Mode - I've installed a couple of small apps - Onyx, Neo Office, my printer - and they seem to work OK. (not actually tried printing yet though!) VLC 0.9.9a doesn't seem to output video and sound - having just checked System Prefs, it shows no input or output devices found, so do I lose sound and video options in safe mode? The eMac seems stable enough in Safe Mode, no video artifacts, random freezes, mouse hanging - what kind of voodoo is going on here - I would have thought that dodgy caps would cause problems in safe mode as well? Looking forward to the group's erudition on this1 Dan. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list