Imac G5 will not boot up. there is power but the screen is black. About 30 sec after turning it on, the fan comes on loudly.

I have an old imac G5 (non Intel) The screen went blank but the fan turns very loudly. I cannot reboot the computer.  whenever I start it I get power and black screen and the fan comes on loudly after about 30 secs. I have tried rebooting pressing varius keys, but no luck. I once got the flashing question mark, but I can't get that either. I'd like to reboot from the disc, but I cannot insert a disc. Any help out there??

If zapping the PRAM does not get it working, it's time for a new iMac.  Repairs will not be worth the cost.  Put it towards a new iMac.
I've been there, done that.  Had my burial last summer.

Similar Messages

  • My iMAC 24 will not boot up, I only get a blue screen

    My iMAC 24 will not boot up, all I get is a blue screen. I loaded my install disk but the problem remains the same.

    Failed hardware, take it in for service.

  • IMac  G4 will not boot. It shows only a gray screen, but without the spinning wheel.

    Hi Everyone,
    I tried to use my Imac G4 1.25Ghz today, after it had been stored for about a year.
    It will only show the gray screen with the apple logo, but with no "spinning wheel"
    I have tried "Command-Shift-P-R" immediately after pressing the power button, but nothing changes.
    Searching on line leads me to believe it could be the internal battery. Is this likely?
    If so, are all "half AA" Lithium batteries suitable? I have found the info for changing it on line, but would like some confirmation as to how to replace it.
    If not, what else can I try? Please explain in laymans language if possible as I'm not a techy! (but have a friend who can help me if needed)
    I can't remember what version of OSX it is running, other than it is Panther.
    The install/restore discs say 10.3.2 (but I thought it was more recent).
    Cheers
    Tim

    Although a dead internal backup battery could be the cause, you might first try reinstalling OS X:
    How to Perform an Archive and Install
    An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
    1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
    Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your OS X 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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
    3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
    4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
    5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
    6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

  • IMac will not boot up, all I get is white screen help

    MY iMac will not boot up, all I get is white screen?
    what do I need to do to start machine please?

    Start with a google search for white screen site:apple.com and peruse the many hits.

  • IMac G5 will not boot and if it does, it does not display any logo

    Hi everyone, any assistance with this issue would be greatly appreciated. This is my godmothers iMac G5 that my family gave her a few years ago, it is the 2.0GHz model with no iSight camera but has the built in WiFi and Bluetooth.
    I went to start it today, after it being off for a week and a half and it will not boot. I start it up and it displays the solid white LED light on the front and revs its fans until I stop it. I got it to get past this once by resetting the SMU but all it did was make the Apple hardware test sound noise and get a blank white screen. No Apple logo or anything. Entire time it rev'd its fans.
    Thank you! If it is broken I will most likely sell it for parts and either buy her an older unibody MacBook or wait for the next-gen iPad with FaceTime and a buy a keyboard dock.

    HI and welcome to Apple Discussions...
    If you have the install disc that came with this G5, try checking the startup disk for errors.
    Insert your install disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
    Go to Installer menu and launch Disk Utility.
    (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first from the installer menu)
    Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
    Select First Aid in the Main panel.
    (Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)
    Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
    If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
    If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
    When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
    Select your start up disk and click Restart
    While you have the Disk Utility window open, look at the bottom of the window. Where you see Capacity and Available. Make sure there is always 10% to 15% free disk space
    If it won't boot from an install disc, try booting in Safe Mode Launch Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities). It's possible to do a live verification in Safe Mode to check the startup disk for errors, but not repair disk but at least you might get some insight as to the problem.
    Carolyn

  • My late 2009 iMac 27" will not boot completely

    My late 2009 iMac will not boot-up completely.  I get the little clock/second hand thingy on a white background, but no matter how long I let my machine try to boot, it still will not boot. Is there a "Safe" mode to possibly to boot into to get my iMac straightened out?  Any other thoughts to try?

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    You bet, have a look at > Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode
    and/or > Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

  • Brand New 27" iMac i5 will not boot after installing software updates

    I just purchased my new iMac 2 nights ago. I have been getting it setup with my apps, mobile me account, etc, and luckily just setup time machine and let it do a full backup.
    I just ran Software Update for the first time, and now the machine will not boot. It hangs on the grey screen for about 1 minute before the Apple logo comes up. About 30 seconds after the Apple logo comes up, the grey spinning gear shows up, and about 1 minute after that I get the grey screen of death (You must restart your computer).
    Any suggestions? A little frustrated here....

    If you mean did I receive error messages, No, I didn't. However, the desktop reverted to the default purple night-sky looking thing, my applications and such all disappeared from the dock, and I couldn't open any files or folders (you don't have permission to ...), etc. I tried signing out and back in, rebooting, using a second admin account on the computer, creating a new admin account, etc. I ran Disk Utility, hardware checker, etc. No errors were found, and nothing changed. I could see all my files and folders, but they had a small red circle in the corner, indicating "locked" or "no permission".
    I'll find the lines from the console log if that will help. The error showed up immediately and is in the computer's attempt to access the user/library/application support/sync services and same path to user/library/logs/sync services/log. (or something reasonably close to this. If you can use the exact path, I will get it) The link between my settings and files, and a password is apparently corrupted or something, so that the computer won't even let me change the desktop or any file, so I can't save, edit or discard anything, and can't drag files to another computer on the home network.
    At least I'm still under the 90 day warranty, so I can call tomorrow. At this point, the SMART check says the drive is good, so I assume it's software. The only things new are the three auto Apple software updates I installed yesterday, so I immediately suspect them. But who knows?
    Does this help you at all?

  • IMac 2009 will not boot up 16gb ram

    Mac will not boot up have tried safe mode d mode and resetting
    The prim. Command opt PR.  Ideas or am I on the way to getting a new hard drive ?

    Did the problems start after upgrading the OS? If so you could try:
    a) Re-applying the update using the 'combo', if you haven't already. The combo contains all revisions to the OS since 10.8.0 in one update package and sometimes helps resolve odd behaviour after an update.
    or
    b) completely re-install the OS using the Recovery HD (re-installing the OS won't delete you data):
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
    Whatever you decide to do, ensure you have up-to-date tested backup of all your data by way of Time Machine or a clone. I doubt you'll need it, but it's an essential requirement so that you can roll back to a previous state in the unlikely event of things going wrong.

  • 1.8Ghz iMac G5 - Will not boot from HD or other startup volume

    Okay, thought I would post here regardless that this seems to be a "take it in for service" issue...
    The iMac was running painfully slow last night, so I walked away and did not manually sleep it. This morning, it seemed to be asleep except that the light was not pulsing, but was full-on bright. Attempts to wake it were fruitless, so I attempted to force it down via the power switch and restart. Upon rebooting (which took a few minutes longer than usual), it got to the apple and pinwheel/gear screen, then went black except for the arrow cursor in the upper left corner, which changed after a time to the "beachball" (not spinning).
    I then tried resetting the PRAM and SMU, no change.
    I tried rebooting in safe mode and got to the login screen, but the keyboard and mouse are not being recognized.
    I then tried rebooting in single-user mode to run fsck, but once at the prompt, the keyboard is again not being recognized.
    Attempts to startup from a system disk yielded the same thing—black screen, arrow cursor at upper left, etc.
    All devices except the keyboard and mouse have been unplugged throughout all attempts to restart.
    Since I am in the market (possibly now by necessity) for a new iMac, my attention turned to getting my files off the drive... Luckily, it was recognized by my old Powerbook in target mode (yay).
    Any ideas, suggestions?

    Update: Just ran the Hardware Test again, this time the Extended Test, and it reported "2GMC/3/16: built-in." Logic board failure, anyone?
    It seems like I've had more than my fair share of logic board issues with this machine... It was replaced while under the original warranty and again last December on Apple's dime when I raised a bit of **** about it, and now it seems to have failed again. The last replacement only had a 90-day warranty, so I guess I'm hosed this time.

  • My 13" MacBook Pro will not boot up - all I get is blank screen

    The MacBook Pro is only 10 months old and is up to date on all OSX updates. I have been using it all day and suddenly this evening it just went to a blank screen and will not boot up. No fan, nothing. Nada.
    I have tried the following:
    checked magsafe and it is clean of any dirt
    checked battery (pressed button on side of Macbook and got 6 green lights coming up)
    There are no USB peripherals connected
    tried pressing CMD+CNTRL+Start button and nothing happended
    tried holding down start button for 30 seconds
    The mac has not been dropped or had water on it.
    Any other ideas?
    Cheers

    Which OS do you have...if it is Snow leopard then press shift while starting up, i.e., immediately after pressing power button
    if the os is Lion or Mountain Lion press command+r to goto the restore thing and then disk utility to rectify your problem

  • I Have just downloaded the latest upgrade and now my Mac Book Pro will not boot up !! how can I get out of this ?, I Have just downloaded the latest upgrade and now my Mac Book Pro will not boot up !! how can I get out of this ?

    I Have just downloaded the latest upgrade (through software update) and now my Mac Book Pro will not boot up !! how can I get out of this ?,

    Try starting in safe mode:
    Ciao.

  • T500 will not boot from bootable CDs/DVDs, but will read and open files on them

     System: 2 T500s, both manufactured early April 2009, win XP, ATI Radeon 3650 graphics,4GB RAM, latest Lenovo drivers installed..
     Problem:-   Our 2 T500s cannot boot from any windows coded recovery CD -except Lenovo's rescue/recovery discs. Some -but not all- Linux code recovery CDs do boot the T500. Every other kind of CD and DVD such as audio and video works fine in windows XP.
    Here an example of our 2 T500s' failure to recognise bootable CD/DVD discs. All the files and folders on a Paragon Partition Mgr v8.5 Recovery CD can be viewed in windows explorer and files such as jpg, txt and zip can be opened. This CD will not boot the T500, however, it will boot our other -non-Lenovo- computers. The same applies when the media are DVDs with identical content.
    We have tried several different kinds of CD and DVD media to no avail. Burning the media on other computers and using several kinds of burning software does not help, ourT500s refuse to boot from them too.
    The problem seems clear enough, on starup our T500s fail to distinguish between windows coded bootable and ordinary CDs/DVDs -unless they are Lenovo recovery/restore discs.
    A solution would be gratefully received.

    Thank you for your very kind assistance,
    Q: "1. Did you apply the DVD firmware fix here?"
    A. It was` already installed on our 2 T500s. We have also applied just about every driver update from Lenovo.
    Q: "2. Did you try booting from a USB optical drive that you first attached to another system where you could verify that booting from it was possible?"
     A. Yes, many times from a USB CD/DVD drive, it failed too. We burned on that drive too, but the T500s will not boot from those CDs either.
    Q: "3. In this thread the solution was to use another burning program than Roxio..".
     A. We have used the Paragon internal ISO creator/burner, the Roxio burner that was preinstalled wth the T500, BartPE internal ISO/burner ,InfraRecorder and others too. Made ISOs and burned from them, burned CDs directly on the fly etc, all to no avail..
     For some reason, our two T500s' CD/DVD drive controllers or some intermediate software act as if the CD's boot sector is not present. Clearly, something (BIOS, software, unstable hardware, or ? ) is blocking the read or write of the data necessary to boot these CDs. Whatever that 'something' is, it has no effect on burning and booting Lenovo recovery CDs.
    The bizarre part of all this is that a`Lenovo recovery CD burned on the T500 drive WILL BOOT the T500. A Paragon v8.5 recovery CD or BartPE CD burned in one of our non-Lenovo computers will boot ithat and every other computer we have except our T500s.
    PS Thank you for the link to the new version of Roxio, will download and install it.

  • My MAcBook will not boot up. I get A white screen along with the light on the front of the mac with a beeping.

    My MacBook will not boot up all I get is a white screen with the light on the front of the mac blinking and a beeping.

    Check this Apple support article https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547

  • Imac G5 will not boot, Grey screen. Please help!

    Please forgive me if this posting is a bit lengthy!
    My Mac had been on sleep mode for 2 days, when I tried to wake it up a message popped up stating that a system failure had occurred (Darwin Kernal version 7.7.2: etc). I shut it down and tried to restart only to get a grey screen and with the spinning gearlike timer and after about a minute the fan started to run at full power upon which I turned it off via the power button on the rear. I tried several times to re-boot but the same thing happened each time.
    I have tried to start up using the ‘safe-boot’ mode (held down shift after chime and released upon seeing Apple logo and spinning gear timer). After a few seconds however, the screen goes blank and the start-up chime repeats only to be followed once again by the grey screen, spinning gear and fan running at full speed. No progress
    The Apple website suggests using the ‘Software Install or Restore’ disc which came with the computer. However, I don’t have this disc, only ‘Apple hardware test’ and ‘Mac OSX Install’ (3 discs) came in the box.
    I checked the system using the ‘Apple Hardware Test’ CD (by holding down the C-key during start-up) using both the quick and advanced check but no problems were reported.
    I then ran Disc Utility from the first installation disc to repair permissions on the HD which was successful. However, after re-starting the machine, once again the same grey screen appeared with no apparent progress.
    I then tried to check for damage using the ‘fsck’, recommended by Apple if ‘safe boot’ mode cannot be run. After starting up in single-user mode I typed the following prompt: /sbin/fsck –fy. It ran through a quick phrase list but then delivered the line ‘Volume Check Failed’. I faired no better when I repeated the process over again.
    I have never updated the software with Apple updates since I bought the machine (don’t laugh), mainly because I don’t have a broadband internet connection at home, could there be a bug in Panther OSX that needed fixing with a later update?
    I have no ‘add-ons’ plugged in other than the keyboard and mouse. I don’t think it can be a firmware problem, I am the only user and have not changed any settings relating to access permissions.
    This is my first Mac and so my experience of problem solving is quite limited. I am not a Mac expert and to be honest am confused by much of the jargon. The computer is now two years old and therefore out of warranty so I don’t want to take it to my local Mac shop if I can solve the problem myself.
    I’m a bit concerned as there are many documents that I have not backed-up (foolish I know).
    I don’t know how I can attempt to rectify anything if the machine will not even boot-up in safe mode!?!
    Could the problem be something to do with the PRAM settings, might the internal battery be dead bearing in mind that the machine is now 2 years old?
    Would it be possible to re-install Panther from the original discs, I have read that this will not loose any files but can somebody confirm this?
    Can anybody offer some advice as to what I might try to get the Mac to start-up and avoid any problems in the future? Any advice will be much appreciated.
    Imac G5   Mac OS X (10.3)   80Gb HD / 768Mb RAM

    Please accept my apologies regarding the time it has taken for me to get back to you. Since we last spoke I have been away on vacation.
    Upon my return I attempted to follow your advice but it would seem that my problems are more significant than I had originally anticipated.
    First, as you recommended I reset the PRAM by holding down the required keys from start-up, until the machine re-started.
    I then attempted to perform the ‘Archive and Install’ process for OS10.3 (Panther) from the original software discs, making sure to select ‘Preserve User Settings and Preferences’.
    My Mac first went through a ‘Checking your Installation Disc’ phase (10 mins) before starting the next phase ‘Checking Target Volume Consistency’. However, after only a few seconds it stopped with the pop-up message ‘There were errors installing the software’. I repeated the process but got the same message.
    I decided to run Disc Utility once again from Disc 1, upon which I realised that I had previously only run Verify & Repair Disc Permissions, not Verify Disc or Repair Disc.
    I decided to try to Verify Disc under First Aid, however, this was where the trouble started. I got the following message on screen:
    "The Volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
    Volume Check Failed
    Error: The Underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)
    1 Volume checked
    HFS Volumes verified
    1 Volume failed verification."
    Obviously I am assuming this problem is preventing me from performing an ‘Archive and Install’. Now I’m a bit concerned that my problem could be very serious, bearing in mind that so many of my files are not backed up.
    I’d be very grateful for more wise advice as to what to try next.
    Imac G5   Mac OS X (10.3)   80Gb HD / 768Mb RAM
    Imac G5   Mac OS X (10.3)   80Gb HD / 768Mb RAM

  • Imac g4 will not boot from restore cd

    hi there everyone today i tryed booting my imac g4 into the mac os 9 restore for my imac and it loads up to the box with the bar and you can move the mouse and then you see a bar that say's starting mac os 9 and then you wait abit and then the screen go's black with a mouse on the screen and you move it but no mac os has booted i do not know what this is i have reset the nvram and pram but still nothing plz help i want os 9 on my imac so i can play my games thank you

    It may need a new PRAM battery.  Especially if you are sure you have the discs that came with the computer.  No other discs except newer Apple retail discs will work.  Retail means not OEM, and not too new to run.  700 Mhz, and 800 Mhz with Superdrive iMac G4s are the only ones that will boot into Mac OS 9 using their prebundled OS 9 discs.  The combo drive 800 Mhz model can only use OS 9 in Classic.  Classic is only available up to Mac OS X 10.4.11, and under 1 GHz models can use up to 10.4.6 retail, and 10.4.11 combo PowerPC to maximize their operating system.  1 GHz and higher can use 10.5.6 retail and upgrade up to 10.5.8 combo, but lose Classic on the same partition if taken up to 10.5 and above.

Maybe you are looking for