iMac G3 Question mark folder

The older G3 iMac requires a Firmware Update to be able to run early OS X 10.1.5, or 10.2.

Before attempting to boot from any OS X volume. Also, an old HDD may be worn out.

Much later OS X may not run at all. But the best you could hope for may be Panther 10.3.9

if supported. An upgrade requires the hardware to be capable of supporting the OS X.

So it would appear a few things are not quite right with your configuration and not ready to

run an OS X. The old hardware, if a slot-loading iMac G3, usually may support 10.3.9...

And even that, only if a correct Firmware Update was applied in a system prior to OS X

because even attempting to start from Any OS X volume, may mess up the hardware.

Did you check specs at everymac.com to see what the various hardware versions could support?

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/index-imac.html#specs

To correctly identify the unit and its limitations, and see about any firmware update, is first.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

Now when I boot it shows the annoying question mark folder. I have operating system discs from 10.0 - 10.4. When holding down c it never boots into the upgrade cds or the restore cd that came with the iMac. I also have a OS 9.2 upgrade cd but I don't think you can boot from that right?

The question mark means the firmware could not find a valid OS on the harddrive. I the case of the c key, it should first look for the cd then the harddrive. Is this the same harddrive you removed earlier? Jumpers need to be set master (???) not cable select. Cable select doesn't work.

I do not know why the c key didn't work. You did hold down the c key then power on your computer with the cd in the closed tray?

I think if you mess around with the hardware, you can get a regular size cd drive attached in place of the laptop cd drive. Maybe you put the standard cd drive in the harddrive slot. Don't know where you put the harddrive. USB attachment??? Harddrive would not boot but might load software slowly. Worth a try to see if you can get the cd to boot. I've read about some odd way of doing this don't remember the details.

The maximum official os for this machine is 10.3. You can force 10.4 on the machine by installing on another machine then moving to the tray iMac I have heard.

I upgraded the firmware before running X on this imac. I do not think the c key not working is a firmware problem.

Extract the harddrive. Attach the 'bare' harddrive to the adapter. Attach the adapter to a Mac. Try reading the data. Run a household fan on the harddrive.

examples:

http://www.cablewholesale.com/products/usb-firewire/usb-2.0-products/product-40u 2-01000.php?utm_source=Nextag&utm_medium=cpc&zmam=54972865&zmas=1&zmac=4&zmap=44 77

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=32765 54&CatId=3770

Robert

"I upgraded it to Mac OS 10.0.1 and then put it back into the iMac. Now when I boot, it shows the annoying question mark folder. I have operating system discs from 10.0 - 10.4. When holding down c it never boots into the upgrade CDs or the restore CD that came with the iMac."

Did you use another model Mac's (OS 10.0.1) Restore disk to install that software build on the iMac's hard drive, or were you using a retail OS X (universal installer) disk? Even if the latter were used, when you transfer the hard drive into a Mac having a different form factor, the software build that's written to the drive may lack critical components needed by the original target computer to boot properly. As for your "system disks from 10.0 - 10.4," are they retail installer disks or a collection of Restore disks from an assortment of Macs? You should avoid Restore disks if you want a trouble-free installation.