iMac DV 400Mhz (M5521) Kernel Panic on CD Boot

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MBook pro 17.0", 2.33 Ghz, 320 GB HDD, 3.5 GB Ram
Howdy all, i've got another problem that has just plain stumped me. I have a friend who gave me an iMAC DV to revive. It boots fine and its a bit slow and has a bunch of junk on it. So like the genius I was decided to upgrade the ram to 256 MB from 64, and attempt to install OS 10.3 on it just for fun. However it never got that far. When I boot to the OS 10.3 CD by pressing "C" on startup I get a kernel panic and it spews out the usual white text and the machine freezes. I've zapped the PRAM and can successfully boot to the original OS 9 disk. I'm also under the impression that some iMac models cannot be upgraded as such. If I cant use OSX i'll happily Install 9.2.2 from the standard 9.0.4 it came with if 10.3 isn't doable. Any help is greatly appreciated!

- Jonny
 
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Look at the boot-rom version (system profiler). It should be: 4.1.9. If it's not, report back. (or go here: Firmware update iMac G3)

Important! If it is not 4.1.9, please do not insert the 10.3 disk again until you've upgraded the firmware.

Robbie
 
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Mr Jon
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Gaah no kiddin. I also discovered I need to upgrade 9.0.3 to at least 9.1 first before I can install the firmware update. Thanks for that!
 
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Mr Jon
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Well the FW has been upgraded to the latest, the os up to 9.2.1 however unfortunate though it does not seen to have solved the problem. How odd, I'm truely out of ideas now, but hopefully there are some last ditch attempts I can try! Hopefully somebody out there has an answer :D
 
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You have to upgrade the boot firmwear before you install Ten to 4.1.9 or you can kill the Imac,its called death by Ten. The unix code can burn up the video chip and the machine will not restart.
 
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What kind of 10.3 cd's do you have? Black (retail) or grey? Is the cd player OK? Do the cd's mount on another Mac?
 
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Mr Jon
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MBook pro 17.0", 2.33 Ghz, 320 GB HDD, 3.5 GB Ram
I had the Black retail disks, and I upgraded to 4.1.9. Oddly enough, I booted into 9.2.2, set the startup disk as the Panther CD and magic, it booted successfully and installed just fine. It runs quite well, though it reports 192 MB of RAM rather than 256, unless 64 MB goes to shared video. But after ripping my hair out i'm glad to have arrived at a solution without any noticeable problems except for incorrectly reported memory. I also think the HDD is about to fail, also the CD drive sounds rough. It's gonna be in service for proably another 5-6 months and will soon be replaced with a 24" iMac. This is why I love mac... the useable lifespan of them is incredible.
 

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