Power PC can't find Install discs

Question

Hello,
I have inherited a Power Mac G4 2002 Quicksilver. It was diagnosed with a bad hard drive at the Genius Bar. A new hard drive was installed and now it will not start up from the OSX install discs that came with the computer. I also tried to start up from Jaguar and Panther install discs. All I get is the alternating folder icon and “?”. I am holding down the “C” key while starting up. What should I do?
Thanks

Answer 1

If the Panther install disc is only an Upgrade disc and not a retail full install disc,
it may well lack the ability to start up from what it does not have. If you had a
newer OS X retail installer disc set supported by the hardware in that Mac, an
effort could be made to attempt to solve the first problems & install a newer OS.
Have you tried booting in SafeBoot, then repair disk permissions, then restart?
Sometimes that may help the computer do things it may be unwilling but able.
The computer may be unwilling to boot into Jaguar 10.2 after having run in Panther
10.3.x for awhile and seeing updates, etc. Sometimes, resetting PRAM/NVRAM
may help the computer (or not) to boot from another disc it should. If there is nothing
else going on in it. A Tiger retail disc would be a better test of the bootability of a new
replacement optical drive; while booted, the hard disk drive could be repaired.
Some file vault or other issues, including a firmware lock on the computer, can
sometimes be reset by removing RAM modules and other accessed privilege
means that could not be performed remotely; and where physical access is a
way to overcome such chosen types of secure control over the OS itself.
I'd try to dump the older OS X, and if the other hardware issues are things you
can work around or have resolved, the other ones would be in using old OS X.
Some days, I almost could be talked into getting an all-new Mac. If not for the
want of some extra money to legally do said deed!
Good luck & happy computing!