You may be able to attach another machine to access data off
the iMac G4 via FireWire cable, to another Mac. The defective
Mac has to be able to boot up through a process described here:
"Using FireWire Target Disk Mode"
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
-- -- -- -- --
Could be something may have failed. If the startup info on the HDD
is bad or the disk drive defective it may also fail to fully start. Can
you use the bootable installer system disc (#1) to see if it will boot?
There also should be an Apple Hardware Test on bootable media
with the original system software packet specific to that machine.
-- -- -- -- --
If only the built-in display is damaged, not the internal components
that drive the video/graphics altogether, you may see if the supplied
video adapter that came with the computer when new would work
with an external VGA or other suitable display of supported resolution
to allow you to use the computer. - Being able to get the external one
to work properly may be a problem, since you won't be able to see
the control panel in Displays to choose to "mirror" the internal one
on the external display. It could be a simple procedure at that point.
This ability to 'mirror' the internal display can be helpful if the video
and graphics components aren't damaged. If you can get it to work.
Also there are some third party software utilities that may help you
use and adjust an external display should you get there and it looks
odd. Sometimes, just the controls on an external display are adequate
but if the resolutions are not supported by the computer, that's different.
[SwitchResX is one of the software utilties some use with an external display.
It is free or donationware, and an easy search. It wasn't officially supported.]
