Can't start up iMac using install disk or anything else!! Fml!

My iMac started to slow down gradually a few weeks ago, when the SBBoD came and escalated, i got worried.
I have no backup and time machine would not finish its initial backup, did all the troubleshooting Etc. And no luck.
Then I got the folder with question mark flashing during start up, resolved it, Then I got the gray screen during startup and followed all the instructions at the support pages. The last step was to use the startup disk/installation disk, but that don't work either - i Get the folder with q mark after it spits out my installation disk. FML! Is there anybody out there who can help me? At all?

Yeah, even if it's a Windows KB.
You don't need n Apple Mouse, in fact they're the worst mice.

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Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks - Josh

Hi, Josh -
An iMac DV (Slot Loading) model originally came with OS 8.6, which means that it should be able to use any version retail OS 9 Install CD (white label with gold 9).
Since it boots okay to an OSX install disk, that the machine's firmware has almost certainly been updated, and that the optical drive is okay. Nonetheless, I would suggest using an audio CD cleaning disk in the drive to clean its lenses.
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Hi,
I ran the Mac Disk Utility on my MacBook Pro's HD and I got this screen:
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l320/brunotapia/help.gif
[IMG]http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l320/brunotapia/help.gif[/IMG]
So I inserted the install disk so that I could boot up from the CD and run disk utility to repair my HD.
But the MacBook Pro keeps spitting out the disk. It reads other disks fine and this install disk reads on my friends computer so I know that both the MacBook Pro drive and the install disk are ok. So what could be causing my problem?
I have also tried to boot the computer from the disc holding the "C" key down, but the computer spits out the disk and boots up from the HD.
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Are you using the OS X Installer Disc One that came with your computer? To startup from the installer disc first insert the disc in the optical drive (label side up.) If the computer does not allow the disc to mount on the Desktop then either your optical drive is bad or the installer disc is damaged or is not a valid installer disc for your model.
If the disc mounts on the Desktop then restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the "C" key until the spinning gear appears beneath the dark gray Apple logo.
If this still doesn't work then boot the computer into single-user mode by restarting and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-S keys until the computer starts up to a black screen with white print. At the prompt enter or paste in the following:
/sbin/fsck -yf
Press return and wait. If you receive a message that the drive required repairs, then re-run the above command line until you receive a message that says the filesystem is OK. If you have to repeat the command more than seven times without receiving a filesystem OK message, then that means the drive cannot be repaired by fsck. If you have a utility such as Disk Warrior 4.0 or TechTool Pro 4.5.2 then you can boot from their CDs and attempt to repair the drive. If either or both fail then the drive will need to be reformatted.
I highly recommend backing up.
Yes, you can boot from any external drive provided it has a bootable copy of OS X installed on it. If you have a second Mac with Firewire ports then you can connect it to the MBP via a Firewire cable. Boot the MBP into Target Disk Mode and the other computer normally. The MBP's hard drive should appear on the other computer's Desktop. You can then repair the drive using Disk Utility or other disk repair utility.
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How do you NOT start up from the install disk if it is in the CD drive?

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Snow Leopard is currently running on this MBP 15", late 2011 model, due to my need to run an old version of FileMaker.
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If the Reset doesn't work, try a Restore. Note that it's nowhere near as quick as a Reset. Connect via cable to the computer that you use for sync. From iTunes, select the iPad/iPod and then select the Summary tab. Follow directions for Restore and be sure to say "yes" to the backup. You will be warned that all data (apps, music, movies, etc.) will be erased but, as the Restore finishes, you will be asked if you wish the contents of the backup to be copied to the iPad/iPod. Again, say "yes."
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I’m currently running OS X v.10.5.8 on my iMac. I’d like to update it to OS X 10.6.
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Can't use Install Disk for startup

Hi
Having a perplexing problem with my macbook Dual Core 2GHz that I bought at an auction Starts up fine from it's hard disk. However, as I want to erase the hard drive I was trying to start up from a an OSX install disk. When I put the OSX disk in, select it and and click restart as instructed, the computer shuts down and tries to restart from the disk but then keeps shutting down and restarting until the OSX disk is removed without ever getting to the apple logo. I also tried swapping the hard drive with the same result as well as trying an external boot hard drive (using the option command a startup)- same result again. I thought this might be because the previous owner might have set an open firmware password and tried the removing some RAM and doing the Resetting PRAM trick. This did nothing. Anyone please have any ideas about this as it has become very frustrating

Hi macnaughty and welcome to Apple Discussions!
There are a couple of possibilities here. First, is the install disk the one that came with the computer? Such disks are machine specific, so if the seller gave you one that came with another model of computer, even if it's a MacBook disk, it won't work.
Also, any retail install disk that has an OS on it that is earlier than what came with your MacBook will not work.
Lastly, it is possible that the disk, even though it is the correct one, may be damaged.
You can contact Apple and they will generally be able to get you the correct disk. There is usually a small charge but you'll get what you need.
Best of luck.

Can't login even after resetting password using install disk

I have been unable to login in using the password on this computer. Twice now I have reset the password using the install disk that came with the computer. After resetting. I quit the installer and then reboot using the computer's startup disk. When I try to login with the new password, it won't let me uses the password even though the new hint is correct. How can I solve this?

I think you have two choices...
Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD...
http://theappleblog.com/2008/06/22/reset-os-x-password-without-an-os-x-cd/
It'll boot like a newly setup Mac, but all your stuff should still be there once filling out the stuff.
Or, an Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Just be sure to select Preserve Users & Settings.
But first...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Tiger Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes. (May or may not work)

How do I erase and install iMac to factory settings using Install disk?

Once in a while I like to do an erase and install to boost performance and get rid of extra unused files/applications on my computer that are inevitably slowing things down. I have already tried disk repair and that isn't helping.
The problem is now that Lion/Mountain Lion no longer support PowerPC applications, I can't figure out how to use the Install Disk that came with my computer. My computer came with 10.4 (Tiger). I have been unable to erase and restore my computer to it's original factory settings.
I have read a bunch of threads that say to hold down the "C" key, but nothing happens when I do this. The computer just starts up like normal.
The reason I want to do this is because my computer is going slower and slower all the time. I have the "Free Memory" app and I can see my memory decreasing slowly day by day. It goes from about 3GB to less than 1GB in a few days. If I restart, I'm back up to 3GB again.

You had to use Snow Leopard to install Lion or Mountain Lion, so you can downgrade to Snow Leopard:
Downgrade Lion/Mountain Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.
Booting From An OS X Installer Disc
1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.

Can't use install disk

Hello I'm Elliot. And I just got my MacBook and whenever I insert the install disk because it was wiped clean for security reasons it wont take it, it gives me "Alert, You cannot use this install disc" or something. Could anyone please give me some help? Thanks.

The computer model is
Apple Model No:
A1181 (EMC 2139)
Model ID:
MacBook2,1
and I just figured out I have the wrong install disks they are for iMac.
but they are 2Z691-6022-A
6023

IBook G4 won't boot using Install Disk

My iBook g4 won't boot from its original Mac OS X Install Disk (10.4.2).
When I try to start by holding down the 'C' key, the drive starts to spin up the disk, but then starts up from the hard drive.
When using the System Preferences to select the install disk as the start up drive, it shows in the preference pane, I can select it, but when it restarts, I get a flashing question mark before the computer continues by booting up from the hard drive.
I've also tried holding down the 'Option' key to run the Apple Hardware Test on the disk, but my internal hard drive is my only option when trying this.
I find it odd that the drive would work normally for all other purposes (reading/writing CD and DVD's), but will not start up from it.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions!

An update:
I tested the startup disk using an external FireWire DVD drive and received the exact same results as when attempting to boot from my iBook's internal drive.
Since it's definitely not the drive, I'd have to agree with you that my install disk is bad (although I'm still at a loss as how an undamaged install disk goes bad).
You mentioned that Apple Support would replace the disks for a fee. I went through the Apple Support page and which led me to a page informing me that I had to pay $50 to talk to them once about this issue. I'm hesitant to spend $50 on a call where they'll tell me I can purchase new 10.4 install disks for the discounted fee of $50+shipping for a total investment that's almost the cost of simply upgrading to 10.5.
Has anyone actually purchased replacement install disks from Apple? I'd be interested in knowing what you were charged.
Or is there another method of contacting Apple regarding this issue that won't cost me $50?

Can't start up iMac using install disk or anything else!! Fml!

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