MacBuild PPC Checklist

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This is the in-progress checklist for PPC desktop and laptops. Please go to the discussion pagefor the in-progress Intel instructions.

OS X Triage

Getting Started

Attach keyboard/mouse, monitor, network cable, and power cord (as necessary)

Install components for triage

Only install tested components if working on a standard desktop system (PowerMacG4 and PowerMacG5); do not install tested components on hard-to-open systems

  • Install a tested/wiped HDD
  • Install the appropriate amount of tested RAM
  • Install a tested battery if it is easily accessible
  • Install an AirPort/AirPort Extreme wireless card (depending on build specs) if not already present

Hardware Testing

Wipe the Hard Drive: ONLY COMPLETE THIS STEP IF YOU WERE NOT ABLE TO SWAP IN A WIPED HARD DRIVE

If it isn't easy to replace the hard drive with one that is wiped we'll need to wipe the hard drive that is in the computer. This specifically applies to all Mac laptops and iMacG5s with iSight:

  • Boot to the network by starting the computer and holding down the N key.
  • At the first boot prompt choose w (ltsp disk wiper).
  • When the computer stops at a log-in prompt, change to alternate terminal 7 by selecting the control+alt+F7 keys simultaneously. You may need to hold the FN key on laptops as well. Note: you may have to try these key combinations multiple times for them to take effect.
  • When you get the tty7 prompt, type disktest and select return. This should start the S.M.A.R.T. test.
  • Wait for confirmation of the HDD, then press enter.
  • If the drive passes the S.M.A.R.T. test it will automatically start the badblocks test which will wipe the disk. If it fails the S.M.A.R.T test it will tell you to recycle the drive.

The badblocks test usually takes 4 or more hours to run.

NOTE: On a few macs, primarily iMac G5s, when you boot to the network and choose the w (ltsp disk wiper) option the machine will freeze with a white screen error. For these machines wipe the hard drive by using the OS X disk utility and the Zero Out Data option:

  • Boot to the external drive
  • open disk utility
  • select the internal drive in the left panel
  • select the erase tab
  • select Security Options and click the Zero Out Data option
  • click the erase button and confirm your choice

Reset the NVRAM and set the date

To reset the NVRAM we must first boot into Open Firmware. We do this by starting the computer and holding down the option-apple-O-F keys simultaneously. When the Open Firmware screen comes up look at the date. If the date is incorrect (most commonly the year is 1904) you can set the computer real time clock using the following command:

decimal dev rtc sec min hour day month year set-time

So to set the clock to 10 seconds past 11:15PM on December 31st, 2005, the command would be:

decimal dev rtc 10 15 23 31 12 2005 set-time

The Open Firmware prompt should type ok after this.

NOTE: if you want to set the clock to Greenwich Mean Time add 7 hours (during the summer - daylight savings time) or 8 hours during the winter to the local time.

To reset the NVRAM you can type the following commands in the specified order:

  • reset-nvram
  • set-defaults
  • reset-all

The system will reboot after the reset-all command is entered.

Booting into OS X

From Network:

  • Connect ethernet cable from the wall to the system
  • Hold down the N key on the keyboard while the system starts up to enter the network boot screen.

From External HDD:

  • Connect the OS X 10.5 USB HDD to the system
  • Connect the USB HDD to a power source
  • Make sure the USB HDD is turned on (there's a power switch on the back of the drive)
  • Hold the Option key on the keyboard while system starts up to enter the Startup Manager
  • Select the USB drive (OS X Testing HDD) from the Startup Manager to boot into OS X

Log into OS X

  • If a warning box appears while you are logging in, just click "ignore"

Confirm hardware

  • Click on the System Profiler icon in the dock.
  • Check the ATA and Memory sections of System Profiler to confirm that it matches what you've added to the system so far
    • If it fails to see the HDD or reports the amount of memory incorrectly, the system may have a bad logic board and end up getting recycled. Ask an instructor for troubleshooting assistance
  • Check the Disc Burning section of System Profiler to see what the optical drive in the system can do

Test CD writing

If you determined that the optical drive in the system can write CD-RWs, do the following:

  • Erase a rewritable CD disk
    • Insert a CD-RW disk
    • Open up Disk Utility (Click on the Disk Utility icon in the dock)
    • Click on the optical drive on the left sidebar of the Disk Utility window
    • Click on the Erase tab that comes up on the right side of the window
    • Confirm that it will perform a quick erase, and click on the Erase button
    • When the erasing is complete you'll get a dialog box. Choose Open Finder from the drop down menu and click OK. This will mount the disk on the desktop.
  • Write to a blank rewritable disk
    • Select the burnme.cdr file in the left panel of Disk Utility and click the Burn button at the top of Disk Utility.
    • The disk should automatically eject when finished. If the disk icon still appears of the desktop, drag it into the trash.
    • Leave Disk Utility open for the following step.

Erase the internal hard drive so that the Mac OSX installer will recognize it

    • Select the hard drive in the left panel of Disk Utility
    • Choose the Erase tab
    • Clock on the Erase button at the lower right
    • Quit the disk Utility application

Check if WiFi works

  • Click on the AirPort icon near the upper-right corner of the screen
  • Check to see if the Freegeek wireless network shows up on the list

Disconnect the wired network, select Freegeek from the list, open up a browser, and navigate to any web page. If you see the Free Geek click-through page, it works.

Test the memory

NOTE: This test should only be run if you were not able to install all tested memory (in the case of laptops and iMac g4 internal memory).

  • Open "rember" by clicking on the icon in the dock.
  • click ok, leave selected default settings, and run the test.
    • The test should take 5-30 minutes depending on the amount of RAM and the speed of the processor. With large amounts of RAM (over 1.0 GB) it may take up to an hour.
  • If any memory fails the test, replace it with good tested memory

Stress test the cpu

  • Click on the cpu test icon in the dock
  • choose primenet as the test type and start test
    • This should take 3-10 minutes
  • If this test fails, mark the printme sheet with the test results and sell the computer as-is, or recycle it - ask your instructor

Stress test the gpu

  • Set up the screen saver for the gpu test.
    • Under the Apple menu select System Preferences > Desktops and Screen Saver
    • Scroll down to the bottom and select GPULife
    • Select Options, unclick limit framerate and click show framerate
    • Set Zoom to 1 and click OK
  • Drag your mouse arrow to the very bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
  • A black screen should come up with lots of colorful moving dots which are being generated by the gpu.
  • Look for any artifacting (obvious glitches, lines, popping lights, cross hatching). Any artifacting points to gpu failure.
  • Also check to see that the frames per second number at the bottom left-hand of the screen stays consistent.
  • If everything looks good after a minute or so, you can exit the screen by moving your mouse out of the corner.
  • If there are any gross artifacts, such as lines on the screen or a plaid screen, then note the defects on the printme sheet and sell the computer as-is or recycle it - ask your instructor. Occasional white pixels are OK.

Test the iSight camera (if installed)

  • Double click on the OS X Testing HDD icon and then double click on Applications. Double click on the Photo Booth application to open it. If you can see yourself in the Photo Booth application the camera works.

Check The Battery (laptop only)

  • Select the Coconut Battery icon from dock. Note the battery capacity (not the current charge) and remember that we will need to enter this value in the Notes portion of the printme sheet. For example: "according to Coconut Battery the battery has 67% of original capacity".

Test the Keyboard (laptop only)

  • Double click on the OS X Testing HDD icon and then double click on Applications. Double click on the TextEdit application to open it. Test the keyboard by typing all numbers and letters and symbols, both lower case and upper case. Make sure that the keys all work correctly.
  • This test is for laptops only. We don't need to test desktop keyboards because they are tested in receiving.

Preparing Computer for End User

Generate "printme" report for system

  • In a terminal, type printme
  • Enter your volunteer ID in the Volunteer ID field
  • Job should be Builder
  • Type should be Apple or Apple Laptop
  • Choose whether the computer is covered or not (if it has an Uncovered Electronic Device sticker on it somewhere, it's NOT covered. If it does NOT have a Uncovered Electronic Device sticker, it's covered)
  • Choose whether the computer is an FG-PDX system or not (if it has a FG-PDX sticker, it's covered. If it does NOT have a FG-PDX sticker, it's NOT covered)
  • Notes should include the following information:
    • no OS installed
    • processor type and speed
    • Hard Drive size
    • memory size and speed
    • optical drive info
    • wireless card info
    • Battery test results for laptops
  • Print to HP LaserJet 4000 series (C344E7) which is located in Laptops. (This printer is referred to as Laptop when on an Ubuntu Operating system at Free Geek).

Prep system for the store

  • Clean the system and remove any stickers from the previous owner
  • Add small Free Geek sticker to the system
  • Bundle system with a power supply (if a laptop)
  • Take the system to the store or place on storage shelf as appropriate.
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