Question Mark Folder on start up on an iMac; USB "doesn't work" unless...

I am having a very difficult time with an old Indigo iMac (slot-loading). The symptoms are as follows:
Blinks between Smiley Face and ? on start up
Keyboard doesn't work unless in the Developer mode(? mode with the white screen and some command options. I think it's developer mode...)
I do not know what to do really. Even using alternative methods to try and get the computer to boot such as hooking up another drive from a different computer to it via an IDE to USB and trying to get it to boot, but to no avail. Is there anything I can do in the Developer mode that would help?
Power Mac G3 800 mhz   Mac OS X (10.4.2)  

Hi, Lezard -
If it is a 333MHz model, it is not a Slot-Loading model; it is one of the last of the tray loader models (designated as the Five Flavors models), as indicated in the right-hand column for that model (fourth one down) in the KBase article you linked to, Article #58669.
In that case it is not USB bootable.
Is there a way I can possible change the start up disk through Open Firmware?
Not that I'm aware of - Open firmware is not that flexible.
Have you tried booting it to an OS Install CD, one valid for that model? Such would be the original Software Install CD that came with it (OS 8.5.1), or any retail OS 8.6 or OS 9 Install CD. If you can get it to boot to a CD, you can change or reset the boot volume using Startup Disk control panel.
Also, if you can get it to boot to an OS Install CD, run Disk First Aid from the Utilities folder on the CD - let it have a look at the drive, and repair whatever it can.
While booted to the CD, take a look at the System Folder on the hard drive - does it show the Mac OS glyph superimposed on the folder's icon, or is the folder icon plain? If it is plain, that System Folder is no longer blessed, which is relatively easy to fix.
Note - when using keyboard startup commands, for most of them be sure you press the key(s) early enough, usually about the time the startup chime sounds; and keep them held down until you are sure the command has been accepted or been invoked.

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