IMac G5 won't start

I've just suddenly had this problem - for no apparent reason as far as I can tell. The night before last I switched off my iMac as normal, and yesterday morning switched it back on. At first it would start, but crashed as soon as I tried to start any applications. Then it wouldn't start at all, and just got as far as the gray screen with the apple on it. After trying resetting the PRAM, switching on and holding the on button for 10 seconds, it was no different...
So, I tried doing a archive-reinstall from the original leopard DVD I bought from apple. This did a successful disk verification, but then said it couldn't install mac os due to a problem with the basesystem package. After that it wouldn't let me try another archive-install and only gave the options to install as new, or erase and install. The latter I don't want to do, and the former just gives the same basesystem error... All I get now is a flashing folder with a question mark and not even the gray screen...
I have tried using the diskutility to verify/ repair the hard drive and it says all is well...
I have heard this may all be due to dodgy RAM chips, but I have never messed with them or altered them. It just seems odd they should suddenly fail when they were working fine before.....
Any ideas would be much appreciated. A lot of data at risk
Dan.
iMac PowerPC G5 Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Did you use Disk Utility from the install disc and not your internal drive?
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc ( or your retail Leopard 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. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.
Do you have access to either DiskWarrior or TechToolPro? Try booting from one of those and see if that helps. If you have access to another Mac, try using Target Disk Mode to retrieve your data and to verify the hdd.
Let us know what happens,

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My iMac G5 won't start up.

My iMac G5 won't start up, and I don't know why. Before I had this problem, my iMac was working fine, but slower than my expectations. So, I decided to reinstall Mac OS with the erase and install option, and the installation went ok. When I turn on my iMac, I usually see a brief glimpse of a light gray screen, which changes to the white screen, and then shows the Apple logo and the spinning indicator. Now however, whenever I press the power button of my iMac, it doesn't get past the light gray screen. I hear a chime, and it changes to the light gray screen, but it never gets to the white screen with the Apple logo and the spinning indicator. If I leave the computer on at the gray screen, after a while, the fans start to spin at full speed. I didn't know what to do, so I tried to turn it on while pressing option. It kept searching for my operating system, but it never found anything, the watch indicator kept spinning and spinning and never stopped. So next, I tried to reinstall my operating system with the archive and install method. It worked, but after my computer went to sleep, it got frozen when I woke it up and the colored disk kept spinning at the password request screen (requests password when I inturrupt the screensaver or sleep).
My questions are:
1. What is the problem, and what can I do to solve it?
2. Could my computer be affected with the problem at: http://www.apple.com/support/imac/repairextensionprogram/ (my serial number is in the range that Apple said that is effected)
3. I have not reset the SMU. Should I try that?
Thanks!

Here's what I did. (bold text represents what the computer did after what I did)
1) I opened the back cover.
2) I plugged in the power cord.
The first green light went ON
3) I pushed the top internal button (internal power button).
Lights 2 and 3 went ON.
4) Even though the lights went on, which means that everything is fine, I still pressed the bottom internal button (reset SMU)
The computer stopped everything. Fans stopped, the computer turned off, etc.
5) I don't know if I did it right, so I put the back cover back on my iMac, and pressed the external Power Button.
The computer still has the same problem.
What should I do? First call Apple Care and then take my Mac to the Apple Store to repair?
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IMac just won't start up!

I'm running out of ideas here, fellas.
My first-generation iMac G5 won't start up. I turn it on and it only goes up to the screen with the gray Apple logo. It never gets to the point of the spinning gear. After a while, the fan makes a constant loud sound.
I have read similar posts but I have a more complicated situation: even before this start-up problem, my iMac's internal optical drive had died out, so I've been using an external one.
So far I've done the following (with peripherals removed):
Reset PRAM
Reset SMU
I've also tried doing the following with the external drive:
Hardware Test
Run Mac OS X Install CD (Both original and Tiger)
Nothing going, and my warranty's out.
Help?

Might be worth trying a new PRAM battery, alternativeman. It is a CR2032 lithum button battery - used in many calculators, remote controls, etc etc and available from any electronics part store (and many other places too) for a couple of dollars (or from an Apple dealer for about $50).
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IMac G5 won't start up

I have an iMac G5 (iSight) 20" that won't start up. Press the power button, the power light comes on, but no startup chord, screen stays black. I can hear a quiet humming sound if I put my ear to the case, either the fan or the hard disk spinning (but no access sounds, if it's the disk). After about a minute the fan comes on high and loud. That's it.
I've tried (twice) resetting the System Management Unit (SMU), as described in http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301733, but that hasn't helped.
I tried resetting the PRAM (hold down opt-cmd-P-R and press power button): Fan comes on high immediately, it makes three beeps (not the startup chord), and fan continues while the power light blinks three times - pause - blink three times - etc.
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+I live in San Diego, Ca and that week it had been pretty hot, perhaps it over heated.+
It's possible; I work mostly with portables, so don't have much experience with this model, but it does have a lot of parts stuffed into that flat case, and I get a feeling it could overheat. The one I'm working with I noted the fan intake on the back was covered with crud, which can't be good; it's not mine and I haven't been to where it was, but apparently there was a lot of dirt around, and a lot of dirt inside it now.
+I was furious at Apple for selling me an iMac that would break after only 1+ year of use.+
All technological products fail eventually. Some fail early, some fail later. Apple warrants Macs for a year, which is about normal in the industry. Past the first year, you can either gamble that you'll be among the +great majority+ whose Macs last five years or more, or you can buy AppleCare (which I've never done). You don't even have to buy your AppleCare from Apple; if you shop around a bit you can save 20% or more.
+I know that the logic board alone is around $600-$800, not including the labor. I could buy another computer, not an Apple, but a pc with that amount of money.+
As a 20 year Mac user, with 15 years as an independent Mac support guy, I confess I'm just a little tired of the common complaints about the cost of Macs. Macs are not for everyone, no. If a $600-$800 PC would have satisfied your needs (and wants), that's what you should have bought in the first place. It's like going into a Mercedes showroom and complaining to the sales guy that you could buy a Chevy for a fraction of the price. You're just wasting everyone's time.
Actually, a look at eBay shows this model now selling for ca. $600-$800. That's how the computer world goes.
You're lucky to be in California, where there are a lot of independent Mac repair providers. (I'm in New Mexico, which is less convenient.) For a computer out of warranty that's what I usually recommend, using refurbished parts rather than the expensive new parts from Apple. For instance, I've done a lot of business in past years with DT&T Service, who will replace a logic board in an iMac G5 iSight for $425-$495 + shipping:
http://www.dttservice.com/imacg5.html

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Message was edited by: peganian

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Hi.
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First off, the kid is grounded - second, which model do you have? Have you tried resetting the SMU? Resetting the SMU can resolve some computer issues such as not starting up, not displaying video, sleep issues, fan noise issues, and so on. If your computer still exhibits these types of issues even after you've restarted the computer, try resetting the SMU. To reset the SMU on one of these iMacs:
1. Turn off the computer by choosing Shut Down from the Apple menu, or by holding the power button until the computer turns off.
2. Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord.
3. Wait 10 seconds.
4. Plug in the power cord while simultaneously pressing and holding the power button on the back of the computer.
5. Let go of the power button.
6. Press the power button once more to start up your iMac.
Let us know if this helps,

IMac G5 won't start

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