Solid blue screen - is the computer dead?

Question

My 2004 iMac has been a champ.  But it would not reboot yesterday -   I get a solid blue screen with the pointer .......pointer works - nothing else loads.  Is this the end for my iMac?

Answer 1

Do you hear a chime when it starts up?  Have you tried booting from the install disc and running
Disk Utility
   1. Insert the Mac OS X Install 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.
And run the Apple Hardware test that came with your machine install discs as well.
Let us know how you make out,