Mac mini ppc finder in infinite loop

Question

I have a ppc mac mini, a few days ago after logging in the finder seems to wig out. It flashes to the front. If I try to open a finder window it flashes on the screen then it is gone, it comes back for a second and gone again. To do anything on the computer is near impossible.
I have tried booting from disc and it does not like any of the 3 I have. I tried booting in safe mode and it sits at the apple with the gray wheel spinning endlessly.
I can access the hard drive through my network and am in the process of grabbing all important files off.
Does anyone have any ideas that I should try?

Answer 1

Can you tell us if the mini actually boots so that you can reach the finder and desktop? If it can, but it hangs at the Apple logo on the grey screen during a safe mode boot which your first post suggests, then this is an unusual problem indeed!
Have you rescued all your data from the system now?
If the mini is as unresponsive as you suggest, and given that it's not entirely clear what symptoms you are describing, it may be rather difficult to run any of the normal software to try and diagnose this.
However, there are a few things to try before going any further.
First, reset PRAM. This is the area of memory which the Mac users to store basic settings.
To reset it...
-Shut down the computer.
-Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in the next step but one.
-Turn on the computer.
-Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
-Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
-Release the keys.
You'll know it worked if you can see the desktop after the system starts up because the clock and date will have reset too.
If that doesn't help, try a PMU reset:
To reset the PMU
-Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord.
-Wait 10 seconds.
-Plug in the power cord while simultaneously pressing and holding the power button on the back of the computer.
-Let go of the power button.
-Press the power button once more to start up your Mac mini.
If that doesn't work, let us know if you can access the finder at all on the system, sufficient to run anything. If not, I fear it may be necessary to reinstall MacOS, though your earlier comment that you'd tried booting of the disc and nothing happened despite trying 3 that you have is not inpsiring confidence!
Hopefully though, that'll get the ball rolling after a couple of weeks waiting!