IMac G3 force to start in OS9 - cdrom not working

iMac G3 slot load 350 MHz - starts up in OSX with blank white screen with "prohibited" sign. How can I switch it back to OS 9 when the CDRom drive doesn't work?

If the optical drive spins and spits out the CD, try cleaning it with one of the commercial disks. If it doesn't work at all, working replacements on eBay are quite reasonable - $20 to $40. Takeapart and replacement pictorial here Takeapart for swapping drives - slot load. It's for replacing hard drives, (which you may want to do also), but the CD drive is even easier to replace.
Try reseating the drive cables just for laughs. Occasionally they get loose or suffer from micro-corrosion. (Beats replacing the drives)
A working CD drive is essential. 'Bummer, eh?
David

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I HAVE IMAC 27 INCH MY MOUSE RIGHT CLICK IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY .ANY ONE HAVE HIS PROBLEM

I HAVE IMAC 27 INCH MY MOUSE RIGHT CLICK IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY .ANY ONE HAVE THIS PROBLEM

Have you tried going to System Preferences>Mouse and making sure that right click is set to secondary click?

Imac shuts down 5 seconds into start up. Troubleshooting not working.

Imac shuts down about 5 seconds after starting.

Aubrey2320 wrote:
iMac, purchased last year
If you are still under warranty and/or have AppleCare, call them. Let them deal w/it.
OOW: Take your Mac to your local Apple Store or an AASP. Diagnostic testing is FREE!
Other OOW options:
How to save money on Mac repairs with your credit card’s extended warranty
Troubleshooting not working.
There is nothing anyone here can do as you did not provide any of the steps you've tried to solve your problem. Need details to avoid the been there done that scenarios.

Need Help with iMac 350 - Won't boot - keyboard or mouse not working!

Hello,
I've scoured the web looking for answers, and can't find any, so maybe someone here would be kind enough to help. I'm working on an imac 350 blueberry for my sister and I'm having all sorts of trouble.
She bought it last week, it started up (8.6 os) no problem. Powered up and down a few times, then all of a sudden, it won't boot. I'm currently getting blinking folder/happymac/question mark when trying to start up.
Here's the big problem - the keyboard and mouse do not work now. I've tried three different mice and three keyboards and no dice with any of them. I have the 8.6 CD from her previous imac (bondi), and I can hear it spinning, but there is no way to start up from cd.
I've also tried 2 other hard drives with the same results.
Tried resetting CUDA on logic board, taking out battery, no change. Bought new battery- no change.
I would love to at least get the keyboard working to see if I can even startup from cd, anyone have any clues on how to get it working? The strange thing is that the keyboard has a power on button, and it works to start the thing up, but dies when it tries to boot. Sometimes I just get a grey screen with the pointer icon, and I can move the pointer with the mouse for a second or two, then no response.
I appreciate any help or suggestions on locating the issues!
Thank you!

When I said "but dies when it tries to boot" and "..then no response." I meant that the keyboard works to power up the computer, but won't work for anything else. So, I am figuring that the usb ports are supplying power to the keyboard and mouse, but the usb ports aren't relaying information from the keyboard or mouse.
How do you know the mouse isn't working? Won't you have to wait until later in the boot to tell?
The poweron key is a special case. I think that it works by lowering/changing the voltage on one of the usb cables. I read about this somewhere. Anyway, this function was eliminated from later usb keyboards and macs. Maybe a working power button doesn't mean what you think.
I would love to boot into open firmware
Could you try powering up from the machine? Is there a power button on the lower right of the machine?
Have you tried this key combo?
commandoption+of
The letters are in lower case. Hold all down then poweron the machine. I'd poweron from the machine as apposed to the keyboard.
You could try another usb keyboard.
We actually did boot up the computer several times with it upside down. Not for any reason, except it's become a real PIA to flip it over every two minutes to start it, then take it apart and boot again. When booting either upside down or right side up it shows the same thing - blinking folder w/finder icon and question mark.
Yes, I agree. You could try removing the clear plastic around the bottom of the machine. At least you will not have to slide in the carriage. Note. The tv portion will still be surrounded by plastic! Don't remove the plastic around the tv!
Hope I am not interfering with Richard and his comments.
Richard: Is this the orginal keyboard? When did Apple get rid of the poweron key from the keyboard? My iMac 600 didn't have the key and my iMac 233 does.
Robert
Robert

Ichat - getting started for first time NOT Working ..please help

I opened the Ichat application for th every first time today. When I open the app a box pops up and asks you to enter your user name and password and with which type of account you want to log in with, etc. First, I chose my mobile me account ( I also have a mac.com account and teh same thing I am going to describe happens with it as well for it is not an apple id dependent problem). I do so and click continue. The next screen comes up in the box and it is titled " encrypted ". Then in the box it says you are now ready to use ichat" . At the bottom of the box it says click done to begin using ichat.
Thus, is my problem. There is no "done" option to click on. The only button options to click on are: "learn more" , "go back" or "continue" . If I click "continue" nothing happens and I cannot do anything or begin using ichat. If I like "learn more" nothing happes at all - thus, the same result as clicking "continue". If I click back it will goto the previous screens but nothing changes.
Has anyone experienced this before? It seems strange and odd for an apple software to be so deleterious. How do i fix it so I can use iChat?
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Hi
Welcome to the  Discussions
Unfortunately although very rare some people do find that iChat does this.
Do this first.
Open your Home Folder (Little House icon)
Go to the Preferences Folder within and then find all the com.apple.iChat(xxx).plist items and delete them.
Try iChat again.
You should see several Start Up Screens.
1) A Welcome Screen.
2) A Valid AIM name (Includes options for MobileMe and @mac.com as well as AIM) plus confirming your Name (Your name maybe Prefilled from the Address Book)
3) the Bonjour Enable (or not) screen.
4) The Jabber option (Includes GoogleTalk) This Screen includes options to change Server Names and Ports under the text fields for the Jabber ID.
5) A Video Preview pane. (You can use this to take a Snapshot for your Buddy Pic)
6) a Details of Accounts you have set up screen.
7) the Done Screen.
More on this with Pictures here
If this does not work we may have to get you to Reinstall iChat.
How much work this entails depends how far your OS has been updated above the Install Disk Level.
Could you tell me what OS version the Install Disk is (What came on your Computer when new) ?
And what OS level you are currently using ?
7:23 PM Friday; December 3, 2010
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

Windows Vista on T500 doesn't start, recovery CDs do not work

I have T500 with Windows VISTA, but the system cannot start.
When I turn it on, I can see Vista loading progress bar showing up for some time, and then I get the blue screen with this error:
UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
When I insert the Recovery Disc, it starts, but I can see only the welcome screen with the rescue wheel, no option to start the recovery.
One note: I have two sets of recovery CDs. My T500 came with Windows XP and CDs for Vista. I re-installed to Vista shortly after purchase using the Vista recovery disks (so the CDs are OK). I made windows XP recovery disks that time, and they do not work now too (I end with the rescue wheel screen). When I had Windows XP I had a lot blue screens from the beginning, that's why I reinstalled to Vista.
Second note: I've already tried the chkdsk /r and fdisk /mbr using FreeDOS CD - no change. (these are recommended programs to run when you have UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME, as I can see on the net)
Anybody could help with this ... well, quite critical issue?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Could be your hard disk drive is going down:-
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=351354
Although the solutions below are pointing that you need an XP CD:-
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=495819#p495819
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=415687#p415687
Hope it helps.
Maliha (I don't work for lenovo)
ThinkPads:- T400[Win 7], T60[Win 7], IBM 240[Win XP]
IdeaPad: U350
Apple:- Macbook Air [Snow Leopard]
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Key Command troubles: Set Region/Event Start to SPL Position not working?

Hello,
I'm simply trying to find a key command that will allow me to move regions quickly from one part of a song to another without dragging with them with the mouse in the arrange window. I thought I found the solution with the key command "Set Region/Event Start to SPL Position", however it doesn't seem to be doing anything!
Here's what I've tried: First I select the region I want to move, then I move my SPL to a location using the "go to Position" key command and typing in a bar. I then try to use the "Set Region/Event Start to SPL Position" key command (which I set to Shift-Control-L) and nothing happens. Shouldn't it be moving my region to the SPL? Note: the region is still selected, but refuses to move. Am I doing something wrong? Is this not what this key command was designed to do?
In my attempts to get the darn thing to work, I also discovered that lock screen-set (Shift-L) key command also does not seem to work (it is not toggling the black dot after the screen-set number like usual). Does this mean my key commands may be corrupted? (which would be a real drag!!) Oddly enough, these are the two are the only two that do not seem to be working, as all others seem to be working fine (AFAIK).
I've had this problem in the past with the lock screen-set key command not working, and rebuild all key commands and templates when I upgraded to tiger. I thought everything was working fine!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help!!

I assigned F5 to two functions. In the key commands
window, pressing F5 highlighted the first assignment.
Pressing it again highlighted the second assignment.
So just keep pressing the key to see whether it's
assigned to more than one command...
Well, now when I type "Shift-L" into the finder in the top right of the key commands window, no key commands at all are show. However, which I search for the word "lock," the lock screenset key command comes up as "Shift-L." Oddly, if I search any other key commands (such as F1, "cmd-k," or even other shift ones like "shift-," the associated key commands show up.
To test, I changed the screen set lock from Shift-L to "opt-ctrl-L" and it now works again. However, it still will not come up in the key commands window through searching by "opt-ctrl-L"
On what may be a side note, the search feature seems very buggy! Tell me if I'm doing this right: First I open the key commands window, which opens with nothing selected. Now, in order to search by key command I go up to the top right corner where the magnifying glass is, place my curser inside and type in the key command correct? When I do this, it shows me the highlighted key command in the left, and my curser is no longer flashing up in the magnifying glass, correct?
Now, in order to search again, I have to place my curser in the search field again, right? However, now when I search by key command, not all of them register! For example, my "go to position" key command is simply ; but when I type it, nothing comes up in the search, and instead of the magnifying glass window being blank like before, the actual ; is in the box. Oddly enough, searching with "Cmnd-K" still works!
What is going on? Am I doing something wrong? How do I fix this, as it is very frustrating!! thanks again for your help

Windows 8 - SC6 started doing weird things, not working correctly

Windows 8 and CS6 - Liquifying tool not working and and actions not working correctly, back ground screen flickers and changes color and does weird things. I have done a complete D&R and it does the same thing. Someone with the same problem suggested a D&R and deactivate, then reinstall and reactivate, could this possibly work? if so, how would you do that? Thanks

Yes, one I can think of. Get the make and model of your video card and head over to the card manufacturer's website.
Check for and install the latest drivers for your card.
Also see if changing the settings of your GPU helps. Uncheck everything (OpenCL Anti-alias 30 bit displays) and start at Basic. then work your way up to Normal and Advanced.

[solved] Start X at Login not working for me

I'm stripping down my system and decided to get rid of my login manager (slim) and just make the system boot straight into the GUI on boot-up. I followed directions found at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/St … sh_profile , but it's not working on this system. I just get dumped at a command prompt login when I reboot the system and, after having logged in, no X gets started. The system just sits there awaiting input at the prompt. If I enter startx, the GUI starts. But it's not starting at login as I'd like. Actually, it'd be even better if the system automatically logged me in and started X--like we used to do using inittab, once, etc. But that method's obviated now because of systemd, no? My WM is jwm, by the way. Tips on resolving this issue will be appreciated.
James
Last edited by jamtat (2013-01-25 21:59:42)

You can still set up automatic login ("like we used to do using inittab, once, etc"): https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Au … al_console
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[[ -z $DISPLAY && $XDG_VTNR -eq 1 ]] && exec startx
Last edited by 2ManyDogs (2013-01-25 20:31:30)

24inch iMac with Mini-Dvi to VGA adapter, is not working correctly!

OK, I PLUGGED MY ADAPTER TO THE VGA CABLE FROM THE OPTOMA PROJECTOR AND THEN CONNECTED THE ADAPTER TO THE 24IN IMAC. I USED THE REMOTE FOR THE PROJECTOR AND SELECTED VGA 19(WHAT PORT COMPUTER IS CONNECTED TO) AND ALL I SEE IS MY WALLPAPER, NOT ONLY THAT, IT IS PURPLE! I REALLY NEED HELP? I HAVE TOYED WITH IT A LITTLE BIT AND GOT IT TO WHERE IT SHOWS MY ENTIRE SCREEN, BUT IT IS STILL PURPLE! CAN ANYBODY HELP? I COULD USE IT.
24in iMac Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2gb of Memory, 500gb Hardrive, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT

Hi Josh,
To start, it is considered extremely impolite to type in all capital letters as you have done. Please use all lower case, or preferably properly capitalised text, in future.
With regards to the problem you're having.. the reason you only see the desktop background is due to screen spanning. If you want the external display to display the same thing as the internal display, go to the displays system preferences pane, and check the box that says "Mirroring"
The color problem is probably due to a loose connection somewhere, either between the iMac and its adaptor, the adaptor and the cable to the projector, or between the projector and the cable plugging into it. If you're still having problems, try different adaptor cables, or try plugging it into a different monitor to try to work out which one is causing a problem.
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Adobe reader will not start. I can not work on my taxes.

I've tried uninstalling, uninstalling with the Adobe clean uninstall tool, repairing windows, repairing Adobe reader, and TDSSKiller, and nothing works. Every time I try to start the reader it comes up with the message: "acrobat failed to load its core DLL". I'm running windows 7, and have tried to restore the OS to a previous version, but the corrupt file always comes up as not being able to be repaired. Also get message from Reader_sl.exe that the Application was unable to start correctly 0xc0000006.

Sort of. I can not update windows or adobe without risk of losing everything again. MS and Adobe should work together better if the IRS is going to require everybody to use Adobe. The computer guy changed a lot of settings on my computer in order to get Adobe 10 to work, and now my mail program and Internet explorer programs keep locking up. Adobe customer support is non-existant; i.e. sucks. This is Adobe/MS problem is forcing me to buy a new computer, probably just how they planned it.

Start up keyboard commands not working

My IMAC is running slow. I've verified the hard drive and repaired the disc via disc utilities several x w/ improvement. I am trying to reset the pram but keyboard commands do not function at start up. I cannot start in "safe" mode either. Any suggestions?

Hello again:
is there a preference to be deleted or something???
Not, to my knowledge, with a wired KB.
my concern is that no keyboard commands work during start up.
If they all work at other times, that is very strange. I know you have to be quick (to reset PRAM, for instance). I never open in safe mode, so I have no insight there.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/26871.html
Barry

ITunes will not start up, FAQ did not work

Hi, I have a problem with starting up iTunes. I first double clicked on the icon on my desktop and then it comes out with an error message, "iTunes has encountered a problem and needs to close." When I click on the error report it says, "AppName: itunes.exe AppVer: 7.3.2.6 ModName: unknown
ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 10001040"
I have no idea what it means but I tried restarting my computer which didn't work; as well as reinstalling, which also didn't work. Then I went here and found the troubleshooting start up instructions. I opened up Quicktime on the Control Panel, clicked "Audio" and a red error message came up saying, "Buffer overrun detected!" Programme: C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe, A buffer overrun has been detected which has corrupted the programme's internal state. The programme cannot safely continue execution and must now be terminated."
I have no idea what it means but I sense that something isn't right. Can someone please help me?
Thanks,
Linda

Yes, the storm codec is known to cause buffer overrun problems with Quicktime.
You need to remove the storm codec.
Then download the stand alone version of Quicktime (The one without iTunes):
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Then remove Quicktime using the method here (just Quicktime not the other programs):
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93698
Restart your computer and install the stand alone Quicktime.
If either the uninstall or install of Quicktime fails we will need to do some further cleanup so let me know how you get on.

OS wont start up, PRAM reset not working :(

Hey all,
I came home one day to my dual 1.8 power mac frozen and fans
blowing on high. I shut it down, and when starting up...I just got thegray screen with the apple logo, nothing else. I read through the support advice and after multiple combinations of SMU, PRAM, NVRAM
resets, I was able to FINALLY get OS up and running. As soon as I shut
it down, the start up issue began once again. After spending 20 min on
the phone with tech support, learning about holding down the power
button and waiting for the high pitch tone,resetting the PRAM( 4 - 5x)successfully (but only after many failed attempts) with the option-command-p-r key hold and then performing an archive and reinstall...it all happened again after using the computer for 1/2 the day.
Except now (as before) I cant seem to reset the PRAM no matter when I time the command-option-P-R or in what sequence I do it in. Ive plugged/unlplugged, waited to hold/immeditately held the keys down, pushed the SMU
button on the board/didnt push the button, opened firmware page and
reset all and tried it from there...nothing reproduces the multiple
chimes and PRAM reset I was able to do the 2 previous times this
occured. I even went out and bought a new battery for the
board(installed correctly)and nothing is helping. When holding the
command optionp r keys, I dont even get the grey screen with the apple. If I leave the keyboard alone and perform all other possible resets...the gray apple appears, no other graphics show up, and definitely never get the
spinning gear...just a steady increase in fan speed the longer I let it
sit. It's like the PRAM is not able to reset, and when it
does, all is good. The timing of the push and hold on the keys seemed
to be crucial the last 2 times, some time after the chime, but before
thegray screen. The tech associate told me to push and hold them immediately...that has never worked.
Any thoughts anyone? Is there another way to reset the PRAM? Any help or advice would much appreciated.

Alright. Here's the update.
The computer continued to give me startup issues. Unfortunately,
the logic board pressing must have been coincidental. And an archive install of 10.4 didnt help. The machine is
definitely behaving erratically. It starts up when it decides, I seems
to cycle through few and many (50) startup attempts . I recently backed
up all my data, erased my drive, and did a clean reinstall. my last
hope that this is a software issue was about to be
tested. And sure enough, the computer worked well for 24
hours.When I was about done updating OS 10.39 with 2007-2008 security
update when suddenly...frozen again. I've read a few horror stories about this update so I wont make that mistake again.
It then took me close to 100 attempts to get the **** thing to boot, but I did...attempted
to reinstall windows and during the process or loading disc 2, the
machine just went to sleep. Never has this occured. I had the fans out
of the machine and felt the problem may be temperature related. SO now im
back to trying to start it up again. Anyone know how to startup to CD
from open firmware? Besides the usual mac-boot, or holding down C at startup? Is this sounding more like a power supply issue to anyone? Thanks. Gonna try and part this thing out if I cant narrow down the problem.
I have already given up on this machine and just bought at macbook pro from Feb 08 on amazon. Im definitely getting apple care. I was so close to going back to PC. Grrrr.

Flashing Question Mark At Start Up/ Disk Utility Not Working

I am having the old flashing question mark in a file show up when I try to start my computer. I went through a lot of the forums and I have attempted the Disk Utility. When I put the 10.3 install disk in and restart it takes me to the opening screen. If go to disk utility and start it and I have three options: 734.6 MB Pioneer DVD, Session 1, and Mac OSX Install Disk all with a CD icon by them. Not sure which one to pick. Even when I select any though, it does not give me the option to push the repair disk button. It is never available. Anyone know what to do here?

Exactly this happened to me two weeks ago. Unfortunately in my case it was a result of hard disk failure - my heads had burnt out and I had total data loss (I was fortunately backed up recently).
I would suggest taking your mac to a reputable computer firm, preferably Apple who can diagnose hard disk failure immediately. If that is the case you will need a replacement HD, which might be a good opportunity to expand HD size on your system (prices are always coming down; I took the opportunity to go from 60 to 120GB, for £140).
If you are not backed up and ABSOLUTELY NEED YOUR DATA then do NOT give your machine to Apple there and then however; despite assurances, you may never see your HD again, and at any rate once it has been removed it should be handled extremely carefully to prevent platter damage and compromising future data retrieval. It may not be treated with proper respect whilst a replacement is being fitted. Therefore take it to a data retrieval specialist first, who may also replace the HD for you anyway, at similar or lower cost. The cost of data retrieval is very variable but is generally about £500 if an 'invasive procedure' (HD repair) is necessary.
I hope this isn't your situation, but as I say these were exactly the symptoms of my HD failure 2 weeks ago.
Fulvio

IMac G3 force to start in OS9 - cdrom not working

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