Start up problems, including from installation disc.

Question

Hello everyone in the Apple ether, I need your help!
I have a powerpc based iMac G5 at home that I set up for my mum to use once I bought my macbook. I finally managed to win her over with talks of how much easier it would be for her to manage her photos in iPhoto, and everything was going really well. I recently came home after my final year at uni and some travelling to find that the computer is taking a long time to start up. This can be in both the grey apple loading screen but also once it logs in it can take a long time to display anything over than the desktop background, and even once it displays other items any attempt to open anything just results in a spinning wheel icon. At the worst case it has taken about 20 minutes to get going.
Once it has fully booted, the machine doesn't appear to be working any slower than normal. I tried using disk utility in mac OSX and verifying permissions etc and that didn't do anything. I then tried googling the problem and came across this article on the apple web site. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
Starting in Safe Mode did not resolve the issue so after backing everything up I tried starting from the installation disc. This is not something I have ever done before and as someone that never really delves beneath the surface of her machines I was a bit scared of doing it. But I put the disc in and restarted and held down C just after I heard the chime, and shortly after it all went wrong. The screen went grey and all I could see was the image you get when it crashes (you know, the power sign with text over it saying you need to restart) with lines of code all down the left of the screen. I took a photo of the screen on my camera so can give details of the code if you need them. The last line said
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.8.3: Wed Oct 18 22:00:38 PDT 2006; root:xnu-792.15.4.obj-4/RELEASE_PPC
panic: We are hanging here...
After a few minutes on this screen the fan started working overtime and after about 5 minutes of that I just turned it off using the power button on the back. The machine has since started up normally (ie slowly) but is working fine.
So I was wondering if anyone had any ideas how to fix the slow start up problem without booting from my install disc, or indeed if anyone could suggest why I can't boot from my install disc? Thanks very much for your time and help.

Answer 1

It appears you experienced a kernel panic which is hardware related. A few suggestions for you to try:
Except for the keyboard & mouse, disconnect all devices from the computer & try the suggestions mentioned in the following:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106805 Mac OS X: "Broken folder" icon, prohibitory sign, or *kernel panic* when computer starts
User Tips: Kernel Panics
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Boot up from your Tiger or Leopard Install DVD while holding down the "c" key.
Select the language you wish to use, and then choose *"Disk Utility"* from the menu bar.
Your HD should appear in a panel on the left hand side of the window which opens. Select it and then click on the *"repair disk"* button in the right hand section of the window.
Once this process has been completed restart your computer and run *repair permissions* from Disk Utility.
* If Disk Utility (from the install DVD or HD)is unable to complete the repair, you will need to use a stronger 3rd party utility like DiskWarrior, Techtool PRO (not Deluxe) or Drive Genius.
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How much HD space is left on the iMac?
How much RAM is installed?
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Which "model" & "generation" G5 iMac does your mother have?
Need this info so that the knowledgeable users can provide you with the proper troubleshooting solution(s).
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301724-en How to identify your iMac
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh355.html Getting information about your computer
You can have this info displayed on the bottom of every post by going to 'My Settings' which is located in the column on the right under your name, and filling in the information asked for.
Thank you