G5 iMac wont boot - Blinking system folder and question mark

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My G5 does not give the apple logo on boot. Instead the screen is black, then turns gray...after about 2 minutes it turns to a gray screen with the animated "Where is the system folder disk" icon.

I have booted with techtool pro and the install CD. Disk first aid and tech tool are unable to see my hard drive. In fact they dont see anything. Booting off DVD is REALLY slow also. (slower than usual).

If the hard drive is dead, so be it (there are no odd sounds), but I dont want to waste money on gear if the controller is out (like I need a new logic board for instance)
 
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I would recommend tossing techtool and going with disk warrior. DW has recognized and been able to repair many, many more HDs for me than TT.

My guess is that it's a disk issue rather than a board issue - the machine is old enough for it and you won't necessarily hear the clatter of the platters when a HD poos the bed.
 
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Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
Take it the Disk Utility you refer to is the utility once booted from the install disk? If so agree with above you have hard drive problems.
 

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