IMAC will not turn on (boot)

[Jonathan]

hi there, i'm new to this forum and i need help with this.

yesterday when i went to turn on my imac i heard the usual noise it makes when it turns on (that twirling sound) but then it kept happening over and over again the screen was completly blank and nothing seemed to happen accept for the white light on the imac to start glowing and this noise

my mac has been fine up until this point and i have had no problems with it.

i looked around the forum and i found that this guy seems to have a very simmilar (if not exact problem) that i have.

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83041&highlight=boot

keep in mind that the operating system is not loading at all, nothing is happening and that noise that is only ment to happen once when it is turned on happens over and over again. sometimes the mac cuts out after a few seconds as well.

i'd appriciate and help that anyone can give me

 

[Kevriano]

You could try booting into single user mode and try fsck etc, to see if that solves it.
Also you could try restting the pram and nvram settings.
Let me know which OS you are using and I'll let you know how to do these things, or google them.

 

[MacHeadCase]

Welcome to Mac-Forums, Jonathan.

We don't have much to go on to help you at this point..

1- Could you give us a rundown of your iMac's specs? Which model is it? CPU? Amount of RAM?

2- Which OS version do you use (i.e. not OS Leopard but 10.5 or Tiger 10.4.10)?

3- When did this start happening? After a software install? After a software update? OS update?

4- Did you add a new peripheral to your setup?

5- Did you change any settings in your user account?

6- What troubleshooting procedures have you tried on your own so far?


A few things to try:

- boot into Safe Mode by holding down the Shift key at startup

- unplug your iMac from the electrical outlet, let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes, then plug it in and try starting up again

- resetting the PRAM

Did you try booting from your iMac's restore disk?

Give us the info and let us know how these go. Good luck!

 

[Jonathan]

thank-you for your replies

Kevriano, thank-you for your help. i tryied everything that you said, but nothing worked. i spoke to two of my tutors (both mac nuts ) one of them haddent heard of this happening before but suspected it was a hardware failure and the other one mentioned about the PRAM

googled all of it and unfortunatly nothing worked

MacHeadCase, thank-you also for your post (is Mrs Doyle your avatar?) i will try to tell you everything that i can remember about my IMAC

1 - IMAC, Intel core duo 2.0 GHZ processor, 2GB RAM, 250 hard Drive (i think) and a 128 mb dedicated graphics card (i think that its a ATI Radeon)

2 - to my knowledge i was using the most up-to-date version of Tiger

3 - thats the funny thing i did'nt install anything at all or update anything. the night before it happened i was on itunes, brousing websites, working on indesign and listening to music. turrned it of and went to bed, next morning i could'nt get the imac to turn on

4 - about three - four months ago i installed a 2nd gig of RAM (purchased it from crucial) the mac regonised and accepted it and i had no problems at all. last month i added a wacom intuos3 graphics tablet and once again no problems.

5 - i changed nothing in any user account

6 - booting in safe mode, booting in single user mode, restting the pram and nvram settings, removing the plug and letting it sit

the only thing left is to use the macs restore disk. i have been holding off it because with the operating system not loading if i put the disk in and it does'nt work i'll loose the disk.

ahh well i've got nothing to loose (apart from my disk ;D )

i'll give it a go and let you know what happens.

once again thanks for all of your help i really appriciate it. thank-you



P.S. MacHeadCase, Mrs Doyles good but she's no Father Jack ;D

 

[MacHeadCase]

No Mrs Doyle here, just good ol' Ernestine.

If you can boot from your restore disk, launch Disk Utility (it should be on your disk) and repair permissions and repair the disk. See if that doesn't help.

Also, try pulling out the RAM module you added yourself, see if that doesn't get your iMac to start up normally again.

And if you have Alsoft's DiskWarrior, now would be the time to use it.

 

[Jonathan]

i tried the system restore disk, and nothing happened apart from the fact that i did not hear the noise that i usually do when i turn on the IMAC.

the disk doesnt even seem to respond to the 'C' prompt.

its as if the computer has been complety wiped of the operating system.

ill try to remove the RAM module. but i'll have to take the IMAC to a friends house for him to help me open it as my IMAC needs a 'security screwdriver' (thats what i get for buying refurb )

and i've never used Alsoft DiskWarrior unfortunatly

anyhow thanks again for all your help

 

[MacHeadCase]

Even if it is a refurb, it still has a warranty just like any new iMac you buy. Has the warranty run out? If not, take it in for repairs.