iMac G5 startup disk woes :(
Hi all,
I've been having trouble with my old iMac G5 (17" iSight). It wouldn't boot up properly. To make matters worse, the SuperDrive doesn't work properly any more so I can't just boot off the Mac OS install disks.
Here's the story so far:
- Switched iMac on, chimed, got Apple logo. Fan went crazy and didn't get any further. Tried rebooting a few times but same result.
- Zapped the PRAM (command-opt-P-R) and tried again, but still no joy.
- Found some instructions on the web about booting in Open Firmware mode (command-opt-O-F). Tried this, with the reset-nvram and reset-all commands (I think!) and then rebooted. Again, nothing.
- Decided to be sneaky, using another computer: Switched my PM G5 on in Target Mode, plugged it into the iMac and held down the option/alt key. Chose the PM's Target disk as bootup disk. iMac started up.
- While it was up and running using my PM's drive as the startup drive, I ran TechTool Pro 4, scanning hardware as well as the iMac's own drive. All passed with flying colours.
- Ran Disk Utility on iMac disk... Repair Permissions found a few issues but nothing major, and Repair Disk found no errors at all.
- Rebooted the machine holding down the alt key, selected the iMac drive as the startup disk. Computer booted up successfully. Removed FireWire connection completely.
- At this point, I thought I was sorted. But the following morning when I tried to boot the machine, it flashed the question mark... Couldn't find the startup disk. So I held down alt again, selected the drive and booted up. At this point I went into the Startup Disk control panel to make sure the internal drive was selected.
- However... Now since I've rebooted, I get nothing, even on the Startup Disk (alt) screen. The cursor spins for ages, but no drives come up. 😟
So hardware-wise, it seems okay, so I'm guessing it's repairable, don't you think? I did have one thought... The machine's getting on, do you think it might be the PRAM battery?
Thanks for any advice!
:-Joe
iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8), G5 (17" iSight) 2.5GB / 160GB