Flashing Question Mark Icon

Hi All,
My iMac will not start up. I am getting a flashing question mark folder icon.
What should I try?
imac G5 20; 1gig RAM; 160HD; airport; bluetooth keyboard & mouse; bose companion 3 speakers   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

If you can get hold of TechTool or Disk Warrior thay can run diagnostics - have you checked the status of your SMART at the bottom of the Disk Utility window? It should say Verified, if not, your drive is indeed failing.
Disk Utility can't 'see' the hard drive so I can't run a repair. Nor can the install programme. It only shows the Tiger Install DVD (and a Network install, in the case of the install). I have tried lots of time booting up with the 'C' key held down, but the same happens. I thought my wireless keyboard might be the problem as a screen comes up to prompt me to replace the batteries in the mouse, but they are fine. I tried again with a wired keyboard, but still no luck. I have replaced the batteries in the keyboard too. I will try again with another keyboard.
Any thoughts?
imac G5 20; 1gig RAM; 160HD; airport; bluetooth keyboard & mouse; bose companion 3 speakers   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

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