Yesterday, I decided to boot my new G4 into OS 9 for the first time to determine if the noise I have been hearing in the subwoofer was OS related, as the HK technical support person told me. I changed the startup disk and rebooted. System booted into OS 9 and then automatically launched the registration program. This application froze on me. I could tell because the mouse stopped responding. I powered off the machine and restarted. The system would power on, I could see lights on the CPU and monitor, I could hear fans, but no video output. I also did not have a red light showing from the underside of the mouse.

I called Apple support and explained. The tech on the phone asked a bunch of questions, partially because this was my first call into Apple on this machine. Eventually, he had me open that case and press a button near the battery. This button is used to reset the power module. After this, when the power button on the CPU was pressed, the light would briefly glow, only for as long as the button was pressed. No light on the monitor. The tech said he wanted to escalate.

Several hours later, another tech called. We tried several things. None worked. He said I was going to have to send the unit in for repair. I am planning on taking the CPU to the Clarendon store sometime today. My case number is 11142231.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2002

Answers

The package was received by Apple on Jun 4, 2002 11:08 A.M. Delivered to: ELK GROVE, CA, US. Signed by: PHELAN, Service Type: GROUND. Need to verify that roughly $120 was credited to my account.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2002

I packaged up the iSub and Apple Pro Speakers this weekend. Brought the package to the Crystal City Copy Center and send it via UPS ground. Tracking Number is 1ZX3X2330342560251.

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2002

Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from Allison Monroe, an Apple Federal Sales rep who serves Mark Olson. Her phone is 703.264.5384 and her email is << a href="mailto:aamonroe@apple.com">amonroe@apple.com. Allison has been in the email loop since the initial problem with the G4. She sent me an email explaining that the iSub is not compatible with the G4 1Ghz DP machine. She told me to contact Apple and return the iSub and the Apple Pro speakers. I made the call yesterday afternoon. It took a few tries to get Apple to allow me to return the stuff without having to pay a restocking fee. I received two RMA numbers. The first is for the Apple Pro Speakers. 7400144570. The second is for the iSub. 7400144571. Return all merchandise, including cables and manuals to the following address ...< br> Apple Computer Inc.
2811 Laguna Blvd.
Elk Grove, CA 95758
I also explained to the fella at the other end of the phone that I did not have the original boxes. He hemmed and hawed for a minute, and then agreed to allow me to just carefully pack up the stuff.

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2002

This is a note to document the ongoing problems I have been having with the iSub subwoofer I purchased from Apple with my G4 system. Since the system was delivered, the iSub has always had a popping / crackling noise. I can make it stop by removing the power source from the iSub. It will then work for a brief period of time before the problem occurs again. This noise would appear in both OS 9.2 as well as OS X. This would indicate that it was not operating system related, but rather hardware related.

It should be noted that I did not boot my system into OS 9 until after I called the Harmon Kardon technical support. They told me the problem was because of crappy OS X USB drivers. The first time I booted into OS 9, my system locked up. I could not recover from this lockup. I took the system into Apple and had to have the dual 1GHz CPUs replaced. I assumed, at this point, that perhaps the noise on the USB bus was related to the failing CPU.

When I got the system back, I slicked the hard drive and reinstalled only OS X. during the first screens after the installation (the registration screens), the noise was back. So much for the clean install theory!

This weekend, I slicked my G4 again. This time, I partitioned the 80GB hard disk into three partitions. One for OS 9.2, one for OS X and one for data. I then installed OS 9.2 on it's own partition. The installation went fine. I did notice that the iSub began crackling. I installed OS X. Same noise. Two clean installs both experiencing the same problem. Must be hardware.

I put the subwoofer into the trunk of my car, thinking I will initiate an Apple support call first think in the morning and then take the iSub back to the Apple store when they open. I called and initiated a ticket. The case number is 11213932. The person who logged the call said that I would have to contact Harmon Kardon and work with them to resolve this issue. Needless to say, I was not pleased.

I spend $6000 on a computer. The audio system on this computer has never worked properly since installation in my home. I trying to diagnose the problem, one or both of the CPUs fail, initiating return of the hardware back to the Apple store. Less than two weeks since delivery and already a major failure. Now, I am still without a working subwoofer and Apple tells me I am going to have to deal with Harmon Kardon to make it right. If I purchase a new car with a Pioneer stero system and the stero never worked properly, I would take the car back to the car dealership and the dealership makes it right. I expect no less of Apple!

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Yesterday morning, I went to the Clarendon Apple store and picked up my CPU. I took it home and it booted up just fine. I burned a CD of existing data and then reinstalled OS X onto the machine, re-formatting the hard disk. When the Apple technician called me, he told me they discovered some disk errors on the hard drive, but the Disk First Aid program could not fix these errors. Rather than purchase a professional tool at this time, and because I wanted to rid the system of OS 9, I decided to slick and reinstall.

It should be noted that I am still having a subwoofer popping sound, even after the reinstall.

-- Anonymous, May 15, 2002

I had a message on my voice mail at work from the Apple Clarendon store. They have ordered a new CPU and expect it to arrive by Monday. They hope this fixes the unit. They will call when the CPU is replaced, whether it fixes the unit or not.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002