Cannot boot from any bootable CDs.

I have a flat panel Imac g4 and have already reset pram/nvram. This mac won't boot from any cd's. I hear no spinning of the drive either. The screen just comes up gray and I get the folder showing a question mark alternating with the system face on the folder. I really just want to be able to boot from but the cd to try to format the drive but the cd doesn't seem to be working either. Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks
imac g3 os 9.2, Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi Mazz
I have an old G4 iMac as well as my Macbook and I have just had this very thing happen to my iMac. I was told it was the hard drive that has died on me. I'm waiting for my new hard drive to turn up to fit it but I feel I have lost ALL the data on the old drive. I'm lucky I have all the very important files on my Macbook.
I hope this helps you out.

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Cannot Boot from Any Device... ThinkPad Edge e250.

Hey Guys
I Have a major issue i can't boot from any device. I bought a bigger hardrive and the hard drive works fine (works in my desktop) I have a couple of different windows installation and operating systems all bought from Microsoft and they work fine on my other computers. Ive tried booting to one of these CD's and even copied it to a USB and i cant boot to any one of them i have no idea what else i can do ? Is there anyone that can help me ?

What other devices have you tried to boot from? Is your HDD functional with an OS installed on it?
The laptop is defaulting to PXE (network) boot - either because it doesn't find another bootable device, or because PXE has been set first in the boot order. (or something is badly broken...)
Hit F12 during boot and see if you can boot from HDD or a CD/DVD. Check BIOS for the boot order.
Z.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
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Cannot Boot From ANY Optical Install Disk

My trusty old iBook circa mid 2005 is overdue for an overhaul but refuses to boot in Target disc mode or boot from any of my install disks, 10 or 10.3 or 10.4. When I choose the disk from Startup Disk it begins to reboot until the Apple screen comes up with some pixelly artifacts onscreen and it hangs. Holding the 'C' key down does nothing. Please help I need to wipe this baby clean and start from scratch.
Message was edited by: Craig Harvieux

If you are interested in the resolution to this question go to the thread in 'Using Your iBook'

Cannot boot from any device

Hej Lenovo...
I got a lenovo T60 and cannot use it... when i turn it on and everything is goes, it checks something and then writes:
PXE-E61: Media Test Failed, check cable
PXE-M0F:Exiting Intel Boot Agent
How can I fix that by my self?

What other devices have you tried to boot from? Is your HDD functional with an OS installed on it?
The laptop is defaulting to PXE (network) boot - either because it doesn't find another bootable device, or because PXE has been set first in the boot order. (or something is badly broken...)
Hit F12 during boot and see if you can boot from HDD or a CD/DVD. Check BIOS for the boot order.
Z.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
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Help diagnos. flashing question mark on monitor, cannot boot from CD drive

Any ideas? This is an older G3 tower which was "souped Up" wtih USB and Firewire cards, memory
Mac froze in midst of work last week. Now only get flashing question mark supermimposed on image of a floppy drive.
Tried to re install system (OS9) but cannot get ANY CD to boot from CD drive. I reboot, hold down "C" Key with CD in tray ( and i can hear the CD drive working). But the tray opens and ejects/rejects the CD).
I now suspect the problem is NOT the OS but rather a hardware issue.
Am I correct in this assumption? what else could this be?
I am trying to help an older gentleman who has no backups and has some important documents on the HD.If I can boot up, might be able to retrieve those itesm. (and get a newer Mac!)

Not the answer,Dale (thanks anyway)
I read that article.
I cannot boot from any bootable CD.
Inserted the OS install disk as well as third party bootable CD.
with CD in the CD drive tray, I restarted and held down the C key.
Mac restarted but the CD tray popped open. Would not boot from the CD.
That is why I posted query
not only do we have the flashing question mark but bootable CDs are not booting this Mac. So I can do no diagnostics, no repair, not salvage of files.
I am trying to understand where the problem lies. am guessing Hard Drive failure but why should CD also not work?

Equium L40 - cannot boot from Recovery CD

Hi, can anyone help?
I want to use the Recovery cd, but when i press f12 on startup and cd drive from menu nothing happens.
After a short while the laptop starts as normal. Its an equium L40.
Please help

Did you try to change the boot order in the BIOS to CD/DVD firstly and then to boot from the CD?
There is also another possibility for booting from the ODD.
You can press the C button immediately after notebook was switched on. This would enable the booting from the ODD drive.
But Ive got some questions;
Did you try to boot from different bootable CDs like Win XP, Linux, etc.? Is it possible?
Possibly the drive malfunctions?
I think this could the main reason why the notebook misses the CD.
What do you think?

Satellite U925t cannot boot from USB

Hi
I cannot boot from USB flash drive on Satellite U925t. I use bootable USB flash drive inserted (Hiren Boot 15.2, sure booted on another laptop), restart the system. When the splash screen is displayed, press F12 to access the boot menu, selecting USB - but laptop no boot from USB.
Please, Help me.
Thank you very much

From within Windows, try holding SHIFT when you select Shut down. Is there any change then?
Also, try entering the UEFI settings, disabling Secure Boot, and changing UEFI to CSM.
- Peter

Satellite M45: Cannot boot from CD-ROM or HDD

I'm getting the following messages...
WHEN BOOTING FROM HDD: "Invalid partition table"
WHEN BOOTING FROM CD-ROM: "No Bootable CD in ATAPI CD-ROM"
Consequently, even though I have the recovery CDs the computer cannot read them.
I tried changing boot order to no avail. Created a Bart's bootable CD which works in my other computer but not in this laptop. Are there special drivers I need for this CD-ROM?
I am at wits end on this one.
Thanks

Hi
I think your partition on the HDD is corrupt and therefore you cannot boot from the HDD.
In such cases the HDD should be completely formatted and then you could try to install the OS.
It seems also that your drive cannot recognize the bootable CD (WinXP???) and therefore its not possible to boot from the drive.
Well, its really stupid situation :_| really stupid!
However, did you try booting from other CD? For example original Microsoft Windows CD?
If not I would recommend to do it and possibly the drive will be able to read the other CD.
If not so I think the drive must be checked. Possibly its also corrupt.

Satellite A200 - Cannot boot from Recovery disk - code 1

I have Vista business and my laptop is currently running slow and is full of rubbish.
I have in the past used my recovery disc to completely re-install vista and start from a fresh version.
However, i have tried this time and it says that it cannot boot from cd - code 1.
Can someone tell me what this is and how to re-install vista?

Hmm... so its definitely not a ODD issue but there is something wrong with the shipped CDs. From my knowledge this error would appear if the CD would NOT be bootable!
Its strange for me that this notebook has been preinstalled with the Vista business.
Usually the notebooks are preinstalled with Vista Home Premium and usually you have to create the own Recovery disk using the preinstalled tool called Toshiba recovery Disk Creator.
Anyway, if you are not able to boot from these disks then you would need other disks.
You could order it from the ASP in your country or from this page:
https://backupmedia.toshiba.eu/landing.aspx
Cheers

Cannot boot from USB-DVD on HP Envy 13

Even when the USB DVD drive is selected as the primary boot device or selected as boot device after pressing ESC and F9, I cannot boot from DVD.
According to another post I have:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-e-g-Windows-8-and-Software/Boot-problem-but-...
I have problems booting from HDD as well, and now I also have problems booting from DVD. I have tried 3 different bootable DVDs.
Does anyone have any ideas to how the booting process could be corrupted any further and how I can regain the boot-from-DVD function? Now I cannot even run the recover DVD and recover the PCs factory settings.
However, I can still boot from HDD following the description from the other posting.
Thanks with best regards

Could you please give me the exact product number for your notebook?
If you need help finding it, you can use the following link:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/findModel?cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en
Thanks,
Kyle
-------------How do I give Kudos? | How do I mark a post as Solved? --------------------------------------------------------

G4 won't boot from any Linux disc I put in it and c key no longer boots cd

I have a G4 Powermac (sawtooth, DVD drive, 512 MB RAM, 30 GB HDD) which has started refusing to boot from any Ububtu discs I have all of a sudden.
I'll be more specific. I've previously been able to boot from Ubuntu 6 cds (originals from shipit, not burnt) as well as Ubuntu 7 (burnt disc). I haven't made any changes to the system that should stop it booting from them. Currently installed on the hard disc is System 9 and Puma. It is still booting ok from my System 9, Puma, Panther and Tiger discs; but when trying to boot from my ubuntu discs (I've tried all of them to eliminate the possibility of a stuffed disc) the screen goes black for a second as if it is starting to boot, but then it kicks me to the flashing folder screen you get when it can't find a startup disc. Oddly enough the background colour of this screen isn't grey like usual. It's orange. I've never seen that before. If I leave it sitting at this screen after about 30 seconds or so it starts up from the hard disc on its own.
Another odd thing: the c key no longer forces the machine to boot from the cd when held on power up. This is extremely odd, as holding down option brings up the startup disc selector, and cmdopt+shiftdel also works. I've tried everything I can think of. Used a different keyboard, reset the NVRAM (by cmdopt+pr and my manually going into open firmware and doing a "reset-nvram" and "reset-all"). I've tried the PMU reset switch on the logic board. I've tried using different drives. In all cases it still refuses to boot from cd when holding c.
I don't think that the mac refusing to boot while holding the c key is coincidental. I believe that whatever the issue is that's causing this issue is what is also causing the mac from not booting any Ubuntu discs. It's a very strange problem and upon searching around, it seems this doesn't seem to have happened to anyone else before. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, yoshi -
I just have to be rush to get the cd in the drive and then to hit cmdshift+optdelete before it's too late...
You should also be able to use Startup Manager to choose the CD as the boot volume -
Article #HT1310 - Startup Manager: How to Select a Startup Volume
A feature not discussed in that article -
Once Startup Manager has loaded, if the CD is not in the drive you can press Command-. (Command-periodkey) to open the drive - this should work even if another disk is already in the drive. Insert the disk you want to use, close the tray, wait a few seconds for the disk to spin up and get recognized, then click the circular arrow icon on the left - this forces a rescan of the available drives, which should result in an icon of the new disk appearing in the array. Click it to select it and then click the straight arrow icon on the right (or press Return).

Help: Cannot boot from leopard disc anymore, everything else fine

I was working on an ibook and messing with it in firewire mode and was going to install leopard on it that way from my macpro. (just letting you know the context)
I tried to restart my machine(mac pro) and boot leopard both by pushing C and by running the installer.
I get the "You need to hold the power button panic message" everytime I do this. I unplugged external devices and tried this also and it has the same problem.
I cannot boot from the dvd anymore. If I eject the disc, osx loads normally.
Any ideas what I can do? (I have tried safe boot, pram clearing and hold option on boot to check options)
Here is the kernel panic when it finally loads into osx.
here is the kernel panic log when it reboots into OSX
Sat May 17 14:13:09 2008
panic(cpu 1 caller 0x001A7BED): Kernel trap at 0x894ec373, type 14=page fault, registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x00000018, CR3: 0x00df8000, CR4: 0x00000660
EAX: 0x00000000, EBX: 0x00000000, ECX: 0x00000000, EDX: 0x0a5a1004
CR2: 0x00000018, EBP: 0x817c3bc8, ESI: 0x0a4c5c00, EDI: 0x0a4c5c00
EFL: 0x00010246, EIP: 0x894ec373, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x0a3c0010
Error code: 0x00000000
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x817c39d8 : 0x12b0e1 (0x4555b4 0x817c3a0c 0x133238 0x0)
0x817c3a28 : 0x1a7bed (0x45e568 0x894ec373 0xe 0x45dd24)
0x817c3b08 : 0x19e517 (0x817c3b20 0xa83c980 0x817c3bc8 0x894ec373)
0x817c3b18 : 0x894ec373 (0xe 0x48 0x10 0x10)
0x817c3bc8 : 0x894db540 (0x0 0xa83c980 0xa4c5c00 0x1)
0x817c3c08 : 0x78d45139 (0xa4c5c00 0x1 0x0 0x13)
0x817c3c68 : 0x78d3e940 (0xa4c5c00 0x2407 0x817c3d2c 0xa4c5c00)
0x817c3c98 : 0x40c515 (0xa4c5c00 0xacd8130 0xacd8130 0x0)
0x817c3ce8 : 0x437535 (0xa4c5c00 0xacd8130 0xacd8130 0x0)
0x817c3d48 : 0x18c8aa (0xa4c5c00 0xacd8130 0x0 0x0)
0x817c3db8 : 0x12d165 (0xa525c78 0xaa76b90 0x817c3df8 0x11ee04)
0x817c3df8 : 0x126247 (0xa525c00 0xa2f9254 0xaad84b0 0x0)
0x817c3f08 : 0x196afc (0x817c3f44 0x0 0x0 0x0)
0x817c3fc8 : 0x19eb34 (0xab382a0 0x0 0x1a10b5 0xa63f208)
No mapping exists for frame pointer
Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0xbffff378
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.NVDAResman(5.1.6)@0x894d8000->0x89704fff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.5)@0x78cc5000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.4)@0x78ac0000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.5)@0x78d36000
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.5)@0x78d36000->0x78d51fff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.4)@0x78ac0000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: WindowServer
Mac OS version:
9A581
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 9.0.0: Tue Oct 9 21:35:55 PDT 2007; root:xnu-1228~1/RELEASE_I386
System model name: MacPro1,1 (Mac-F4208DC8)

I really appreciate everyone's help.
I am certainly not above taking the machine in but I will say this.....
I have been building and working on PC's for 15-20 years. I have never once used or had the need for a repair shop. It is my hobby. I recently switched to osx to give the mac a try and I love it.
I will say that vista/xp has four times as many problems but at least i can fix whatever comes my way hardware or software.
Any more ideas how to settle this without making my first trip to the repair shop ever?...
Chad

G4 that will not boot from any disc EXCEPT the Apple Hardware Test CD

We have a DP 1ghz Quicksilver PowerMac G4 that will not boot from any disc EXCEPT the Apple Hardware Test CD that came with the machine.
We were in the process of installing 10.4 Tiger before placing it for sale.
The Mac was originally OSX Server 10.1 that we later converted to a worksation running 10.3 Panther.
It has 1 GB of memory, 80GB hardrive, 250MB Zip Drive and a Radeon 7500 video card.
Since this machine only has a CD-R drive and not a DVD-R, we installed Tiger using another Mac via Target Disk Mode. The installation process went well, but when I tried to reboot I got a Kernel Panic right after startup screen with the grey Apple logo.
On some reboots we get to the blue startup screen, others it stops at the grey Apple logo, others a black box like the a Kernel Panic - but with no text. Twice it went directly into Open Firmware.
We have done the following during our troubleshooting:
- Reseat RAM, Video Card, Hard Drive, Zip & CD-R connections
- Remove RAM 1 stick at a time and reboot
- Replace RAM with RAM from another working Quicksilver
- Replace Video Card with one from another working Quicksilver
- Zap PRAM
- Reset CUDA switch
- Unplug the MAC and remove everything (RAM, Battery, etc) for 30 minutes and try to reboot
- Tried booting from the Macintosh Server G4 Software Restore CD
- Tried booting from Mac OS X Server CD
- Tried booting from AppleCare Protection Plan CD with TechTool
- Tried booting from Diskwarrior CD
- Tried booting from an external FireWire drive with a disk image of Tiger OS Install
- Tried booting with the hard drive disconnected
The Mac WILL boot from the Apple Hardware Test CD and will pass ALL of the extended tests.

Conventional wisdom says that any Mac that will not boot up from a System/Install CD OS 9 or an Install CD Mac OS X, has a Hardware problem.
The diagnostic CD is a red herring because it uses a very primitive method of reading the CD, and so does not properly represent the machines general ability to read CDs.
I would look at the CD drive cables, etc, and see if another drive gives different results.
You have not mentioned using the Startup Manager (option key at Startup) to do any checking:
HT1310- Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume

Cannot boot from DVD since 10.4.6 update.

My Quad cannot boot from the Superdrive at all.Upon updating I decided to repair permissions from the DVD but everytime I got to the Apple logo the fans powered up,full tilt. I had to turn the Quad off from the power button and start up holding down the mouse, in order to eject the DVD.
As far as I remember, I allowed the computer to start up twice, and disconnected all peripherals whilst updating.
I've tried zapping the pram and resetting the nvram to no avail.I've inserted Disk Warrior and that will not boot. The computer runs fine from the HD (although there was one occasion when, briefly, a small OS9-style Mac monitor appeared with a question mark, then made way for a proper boot), but I'm really concerned at this problem. I do not want to wipe the system drive and start from scratch,since I've only just finished migrating a whole buch of software from another G5, and I have TV job looming.
Incidentally, both my other G5's and Mac Mini updated with no perceptable problems. Can anyone shed any light on this and, perhaps, offer a solution (other than a wipe ! ).
Thank you.
G5 Quad 2.5,G5's DP 2.5/2.0,Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.5) MOTU 2408's Mk3x3,24i/o,Hammerfall HDSP 9652x3

Any installation can theoretically cause harm. If you aren't backed up, you may be forced to use Target Disk Mode if you can't boot a DVD, or an external DVD burner that supports booting. Both LaCie and Otherworld Computing have external Firewire DVD drives that support booting. Target Disk Mode is described here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
Fortunately when you boot via Firewire or use Target Disk Mode, you bypass the hard drive's bootloading software, which you don't when you use the internal optical drive.

Z87-GD65 wont boot from any drive, please help!

I desperately need your help on this issue. And thanks in advance for any answer!
I have a brand new Z87-GD65 Mainboard.
When I select my boot device in BIOS all I get is: "Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key"
In BIOS I can find all my hardware (CPU, Drives, HDDs, DVD,... RAM) everything is shown correctly. Nothing missing there, all parts shown by correct values.
I cant boot through my DVD Drive or external USB Drive (on both I have Windows 7 which I want to install on my new system). The Windows DVD is also working properly, I checked it on my old PC.
No matter what Boot priority/device I choose (I think Ive tried them all by now) "Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key" is what I get after "save & reboot".
My BIOS Version is E7845IMS V1.8.
Any suggestions, what am I missing?
thank you very much for any help!

Quote from: Jimmy_123 on 09-May-14, 01:26:52
Ok, thanks for your help, I found the problem!
It was my DVD Rom Drive that could not read the DVD!!!!
What I Still dont understand is that it also didnt boot from a bootable HD through USB.
thanks for your help!
Glad you got it working....probably the controller got confused from the faulty DVD rom....

Cannot boot from any bootable CDs.

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