Q: iMac G3 refuses to attempt a boot after failed OS X install

EDIT: Never mind--I just noticed yours is a tray loader--don't know about them

Not sure, but the firmware number looks wrong. Could be the wrong Firmware update for this model iMac?

Here's the proper firmware update for your model iMac.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1263

Do you have Mac OS 8.5 or Mac OS 9 system discs you can start your iMac from?

You may need to boot from an install disc and then download and reapply the firmware update.

You may have to back up all of your data on this iMac to an external hard drive or optical discs.

You may need to reinstall the Mac OS

It's been a long time, but I also believe you need a higher Mac OS ( Mac OS 9.1 or higher) version to be able to boot into OS X. Not sure on this since you attempted to boot into OS X 10,3

Hopefully, someone with a better info (or better memory) than I can be of more assistance with your issue.

Since you have a grape-colored iMac, it's a 333 MHz model.  Your problem sounds identical to one discussed seven years ago.  The inability to run the 1.2 Firmware Update was attributed to a quirk with the last batch of 333 MHz models manufactured and the specific firmware version (3.0.f3) that shipped with them.  You can read about it here.

Wow Jeff!!

Never, EVER would've a guessed an issue like the one you linked to!

What a fiasco with that model iMac!!!!

Did Apple ever fess up to the five flavor 333 MHz iMacs having a major issue as this!

What a mess!!!

If this is the case with the OP original issue, will the OP have to find another iMac model that has the lesser 266 MHz CPU to swap out?

Unbelievable!

"...will the OP have to find another iMac model that has the lesser 266 MHz CPU to swap out?"

If I had to do that - just to run Panther, I'd rather find a 500, 600, or (preferably) 700 MHz slot-loading iMac.  The system hardware specs are much better than those of the tray-loading iMacs.  It's interesting that the O.P. listed OS 8.5 as the installed version, when the 333 MHz models shipped with 8.6 and can't run 8.5.  Additionally, the 266 MHz fruit-colored iMacs shipped with OS 8.5.1, and only the latter-production 233 MHz models shipped with OS 8.5.  Perhaps this iMac - if secondhand to him - has been modified with a logic board and/or processor card swap by a previous owner.

iMac PPC wrote:

 

No sir, it is a 233 MHz model, I can guarantee that. I can also guarantee that it come with 8.5

According to MacTracker & my memory, you have an iMac 233 revision B.  Revition b came with 8.5 and 6meg of graphics memory. The revision c 266  & d 333 were the fruit flavors.

forced it into a 10.3

How did you accomplish this?  Should not need to.  It should work without any special effort.

It's probabably in open firmware.

Sometimes if volumes don't appear in Startup Manager (what you get when you hold down the Option key at startup), you need to reset the Mac's PRAM, NVRAM, and Open Firmware. Shut down the Mac, then power it up, and before the screen lights up, quickly hold down the Command, Option, P, and R keys, until the Mac has chimed twice more after the powerup chime.

Then, before the screen lights up, hold down Command-Option-O-F until the Open Firmware screen appears. Then enter these lines, pressing Return after each one:

reset-nvram

set-defaults

reset-all

"The reset-all command should restart your Mac. If so, you have successfully reset the Open Firmware settings."

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1812?viewlocale=en_US

Should the fail...

Try taking the battery out for 10 minutes.  Put battery back in.  Cross fingers. Power the machine back on.

How to eject a cd from the internal cd drive:

eject cd

List of devices:

devalias

List of variables:

printenv

More than you ever wanted to know about open firmware

http://www.firmworks.com/QuickRef.html