Imac G5 not starting up..

Hello...

i own a 24'' G5 iMac iSight(2007mid) , 2.2ghz intel based dual core 1gb of RAM 250gb of HDD space.
Yesterday night i started to download a movie and after like 2 minutes my iMac suddenly got freezed,the colorate circle was rotating till like 10 min but nothing..total wipeout.So after that i shutted down the machine by holding the power button for 5 sec.I waited like 20sec and i started it again...but it didn't wanted to start again.When i press the power button i hear the starting sound and after that the gray/white screen pops up and nothing happens...after 2 3 minutes the apple logo appears but the circle is not rotating under it, i leave it like that and after 2 3 minutes the machine Restarts.

i mention that i used the fallowing commands to start up:
shift - safe mode/single user mode --> not responding
command s --> not responding
holding d --> not responding
holding x --> not responding

practically told my iMac is responding only for one key combo which is the PRAM reset command-option-P-R.

i tried to unplug all cables things, SMU reset , PMU Reset....--> not responding.

but my biggest Problem comes now...
When i insert the original Mac OS X Leopard disc and i start the machine and holding the C button --> not responding...infact after like 2 minutes it ejects the disc.
After that i tried to start the machine and hold the option/alt key to enter boot manager and select the boot device manually...but the problem is still continuing..after the mouse pointer appears the machine stays like that for like 3 minutes and after that the CD drive and the HDD appears.i click on the CD drive to boot it but nothing happens...the machine freezes again...and after 5 minutes it ejects the CD and restarts.same thing happens when i choose as boot device the HDD.

Please help me out with some tips if you know some...i will apriciate it.

ps:my opinion is that the HDD drive failed. --> but why the **** i cant BOOT from the CD? :O

lehelx said:

Hello...

i own a 24'' G5 iMac iSight(2007mid) , 2.2ghz intel based dual core 1gb of RAM 250gb of HDD space.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info...just one small correction. There is no such iMac model as a "24" G5 iMac iSight 2.2ghz intel based".

The terms "G5" and "Intel based" are like Apples & Oranges. You either have one or the other. G5 iMacs have a "PPC" cpu, and Intel iMac's have an Intel cpu.

I'm assuming this is the model Mac you have:

iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.16 24-Inch Specs (Late 2006 - 24", MA456LL, iMac6,1, A1200, 2111) @ EveryMac.com

Technically speaking it has a 2.16ghz cpu...rather than a 2.2ghz cpu. For those of us that know a lot about Macintosh computers...random rounding of a cpu speed can be confusing.

Ok so to the problem. Wow...you really did a thorough bunch of troubleshooting before you posted. One thing that I can think of is...how full is your computers hard drive? Sometimes a VERY full hard drive can start to cause some "funky" problems to occur.

Of course since you tried starting from your original Leopard disk...that should have at least temporarily bypassed any hard drive issues.

Another question. You mentioned the original Leopard disk. Is this the disk that came with the computer when new...or is it a disk you obtained after you purchased this iMac?

If you purchased or obtained this disk after purchasing the iMac...is is a bray or black colored disk?

Hope this helps,

- Nick

p.s. If you think that the problem is your hard drive...was it making any strange noises lately (before the problem)...and/or it is still spinning or making unusual noises now that you have a problem?

pigoo3 said:

Thanks for all the info...just one small correction. There is no such iMac model as a "24" G5 iMac iSight 2.2ghz intel based".

The terms "G5" and "Intel based" are like Apples & Oranges. You either have one or the other. G5 iMacs have a "PPC" cpu, and Intel iMac's have an Intel cpu.

I'm assuming this is the model Mac you have:

iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.16 24-Inch Specs (Late 2006 - 24", MA456LL, iMac6,1, A1200, 2111) @ EveryMac.com

Technically speaking it has a 2.16ghz cpu...rather than a 2.2ghz cpu. For those of us that know a lot about Macintosh computers...random rounding of a cpu speed can be confusing.

Ok so to the problem. Wow...you really did a thorough bunch of troubleshooting before you posted. One thing that I can think of is...how full is your computers hard drive? Sometimes a VERY full hard drive can start to cause some "funky" problems to occur.

Of course since you tried starting from your original Leopard disk...that should have at least temporarily bypassed any hard drive issues.

Another question. You mentioned the original Leopard disk. Is this the disk that came with the computer when new...or is it a disk you obtained after you purchased this iMac?

If you purchased or obtained this disk after purchasing the iMac...is is a bray or black colored disk?

Hope this helps,

- Nick

p.s. If you think that the problem is your hard drive...was it making any strange noises lately (before the problem)...and/or it is still spinning or making unusual noises now that you have a problem?

Click to expand...

yes you were right about my CPU....sorry , it's my bad.i have an intel CPU
About your questions..
1.my HDD has a full capacity of 220 GB...and last time when my Mac worked i had exactly 89GB of free space...i can remember it very well.
2.yes you are right again...this disc it isn't the one i received with the iMac.i have 2 CD which i received with the Mac and 1 DVD which i bought after that...its in a black box with a big X on it it's the 10.5.4 version...i will try with those old ones but i need to go to my old place cuz i left it there.
3.about my HDD sound...yes i forgot to mention that..when my mac freezed i heard the HDD working...but it was the same ''thinking'' sound over and over..thats all i heard...and it sounds the same when i start it now...i didnt heard any clings or so,HDD failure sounds...(i know how that sounds) but no.

lehelx said:

yes you were right about my CPU....sorry , it's my bad.i have an intel CPU
About your questions..
1.my HDD has a full capacity of 220 GB...and last time when my Mac worked i had exactly 89GB of free space...i can remember it very well.
2.yes you are right again...this disc it isn't the one i received with the iMac.i have 2 CD which i received with the Mac and 1 DVD which i bought after that...its in a black box with a big X on it it's the 10.5.4 version.
3.about my HDD sound...yes i forgot to mention that..when my mac freezed i heard the HDD working...but it was the same ''thinking'' sound over and over..thats all i heard...and it sounds the same when i start it now...i didnt heard any clings or so,HDD failure sounds...(i know how that sounds) but no.

Click to expand...

Ok...so it sounds like a full (or almost full) hard drive isn't the problem.

The reason why I asked about the discs was...many many new members post about OS install problems. In many many cases...folks are using the gray OS install disks that DID NOT come with their computer. They obtain these disks later on. The problem is...these gray disks are model specific...and in almost all cases...do not work with any model Macintosh than the exact one the discs were made for.

But since you have a retail "universal-black" install disk (10.5.4)...you should have no problems with that disk.

It's really quite possible that your hard drive has died...and I would hope that if you had any irreplaceable files...that you had them backed up.

One reason why the "gray" disks that come with a Mac when it is new are important is...one of the disks contains a "hardware test" program...which you can run to help see what is wrong...and it might identify the hard drive as the problem.

You can also use the black Leopard disk you have to check the hard drive. You boot from the "black disk"..when the installer starts, you move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen to get access to the menus...and launch "Disk Utility". Then use Disk Utility to check the hard drives functionality.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Ok...so it sounds like a full (or almost full) hard drive isn't the problem.

The reason why I asked about the discs was...many many new members post about OS install problems. In many many cases...folks are using the gray OS install disks that DID NOT come with their computer. They obtain these disks later on. The problem is...these gray disks are model specific...and in almost all cases...do not work with any model Macintosh than the exact one the discs were made for.

But since you have a retail "universal-black" install disk (10.5.4)...you should have no problems with that disk.

It's really quite possible that your hard drive has died...and I would hope that if you had any irreplaceable files...that you had them backed up.

One reason why the "gray" disks that come with a Mac when it is new are important is...one of the disks contains a "hardware test" program...which you can run to help see what is wrong...and it might identify the hard drive as the problem.

You can also use the black Leopard disk you have to check the hard drive. You boot from the "black disk"..when the installer starts, you move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen to get access to the menus...and launch "Disk Utility". Then use Disk Utility to check the hard drives functionality.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Click to expand...

yep but as i told..i cant boot up the mac from the Leopard disc...when i hold C nothing happens...white screen...and when i select from boot manager(holding action/alt button) the mac freezes again..and ejects the disc after several minutes...tomorrow i will try with those grey ones.
or tell me what else can i do....some hardware resets or so...but i pretty much tried all.

lehelx said:

yep but as i told..i cant boot up the mac from the Leopard disc...when i hold C nothing happens...white screen...and when i select from boot manager(holding action/alt button) the mac freezes again..and ejects the disc after several minutes...tomorrow i will try with those grey ones.
or tell me what else can i do....some hardware resets or so...but i pretty much tried all.

Click to expand...

Sorry...I forgot about that part. It would be VERY unfortunate if both your hard drive & optical drive were bad at the same time.

How often do you use your CD/DVD drive? When was the last time you used it...before you had the most recent problem?

If you don't use the optical drive very often...maybe it went bad some time ago...and now that your hard drive is giving you problems...you're also finding out about the bad optical drive.

It's probably a long shot that...but since your hard drive isn't working & your optical drive is spitting out the Leopard disk...just a possibility to consider. Also...with both drives not working properly at the same time...maybe it's a logic board issue! Hopefully not!

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Sorry...I forgot about that part. It would be VERY unfortunate if both your hard drive & optical drive were bad at the same time.

How often do you use your CD/DVD drive? When was the last time you used it...before you had the most recent problem?

If you don't use the optical drive very often...maybe it went bad some time ago...and now that your hard drive is giving you problems...you're also finding out about the bad optical drive.

It's probably a long shot that...but just a possibility to consider.

- Nick

Click to expand...

yeah this is the part which i hardly CANT understand also...why is my optical drive not working?
i used it like 3 4 days ago..and worked fine...burned cd etc.and when i insert the disc it reads it because in boot manager section it appears with label Mac OS X installer or so...so i have no idea

i forgot to say that...when i start the mac holding the D key it shows the grey folder icon and the question mark in it...

lehelx said:

yeah this is the part which i hardly CANT understand also...why is my optical drive not working?
i used it like 3 4 days ago..and worked fine...burned cd etc.and when i insert the disc it reads it because in boot manager section it appears with label Mac OS X installer or so...so i have no idea

Click to expand...

Ok...if the optical drive worked 3-4 days ago it is probably ok.

Maybe a dumb question. Is your black Leopard disk dirty or scratched? That might explain why the optical drive "spits" it out. If you can try a 2nd disk (like the gray disks)...that would help figure out if the optical drive is bad or not.

BUT...the gray disks need to be the ones that came with the computer when new. Otherwise they won't work.

- Nick

lehelx said:

i forgot to say that...when i start the mac holding the D key it shows the grey folder icon and the question mark in it...

Click to expand...

Holding the "D" key on startup just tells the computer to boot from the internal hard drive. If the internal hard drive is bad...then the "D" key action wouldn't help.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Ok...if the optical drive worked 3-4 days ago it is probably ok.

Maybe a dumb question. Is your black Leopard disk dirty or scratched? That might explain why the optical drive "spits" it out. If you can try a 2nd disk (like the gray disks)...that would help figure out if the optical drive is bad or not.

BUT...the gray disks need to be the ones that came with the computer when new. Otherwise they won't work.

- Nick

Click to expand...

it has some minor scratches but those are not a problem i think...anyway tomorrow i will try it with those grey ones which i received with the mac.

this is a **** annoying thing...i had such problems before but zaping the PRAM resolved all....till now.

ok so...keep in touch i will try the gray CD's tomorrow and we will see what happens...

ps: i pressed that onboard button also ,under the power cable there is a little space where u can press it with something sharp. (with all the cables unplugged ofc)

lehelx said:

ok so...keep in touch i will try the gray CD's tomorrow and we will see what happens...

Click to expand...

Ok...I will keep my fingers crossed that the gray disks work!

- Nick

When booting from the "Black" disc have the disc in the machine,restart, hold down the C key before the chime. It should of booted from the full Retail disc... Hope the grey disc work for ya.

My close friend just bought a used iMac 2.16Ghz 24" just like the OP's. Worked great for a month and yesterday locked and is doing the exact same thing as the OP's.

I went over and tried the 10.4.? original DVD that came with the iMac as well as 10.5 and 10.6 Black Retail. Sits at the gray screen with nothing. I took over a external FW400 drive with 10.6 installed and bootable on every intel Mac in my house. Held down the Option and just that drive popped up but clicking gets you no where.

I did some searching when I got home and on that machine at least, if the Hard Drive is really messed up, it will react that way and not boot from anything from a DVD to even an external HDD. Getting the iMac over here tomorrow and will take out the HDD and see if it boots. I am told it will.

Will report back. This is the first time I have ran into this issue but many on the net have and this has worked for all of them.

Be back tomorrow with my report.

thank you for the replies...i just waked up and soon i am going to my old place to get they original grey discs..i will report back soon

so i was at my place and i got the 2 discs which i received with the iMac...but sad news..it does the same, ejects the disc after 1 min.(both discs)

i am wondering if a real PMU reset will work...i mean if i take down the mac's rear cover and press the pmu button ONCE....anyone tried it?

dtravis7 said:

My close friend just bought a used iMac 2.16Ghz 24" just like the OP's. Worked great for a month and yesterday locked and is doing the exact same thing as the OP's.

I went over and tried the 10.4.? original DVD that came with the iMac as well as 10.5 and 10.6 Black Retail. Sits at the gray screen with nothing. I took over a external FW400 drive with 10.6 installed and bootable on every intel Mac in my house. Held down the Option and just that drive popped up but clicking gets you no where.

I did some searching when I got home and on that machine at least, if the Hard Drive is really messed up, it will react that way and not boot from anything from a DVD to even an external HDD. Getting the iMac over here tomorrow and will take out the HDD and see if it boots. I am told it will.

Will report back. This is the first time I have ran into this issue but many on the net have and this has worked for all of them.

Be back tomorrow with my report.

Click to expand...

Sounds Bad....Something new to think about..put the OSX repair manual back on the self.

Well, loading the owners Snow Leopard on the new 1TB WD Black hard drive. That was the issue.

Again for the OP and anyone else with this issue:

This is a 24" iMac Intel 2.16Ghz C2D. Last of the White Plastic iMacs.

Symptoms. Owner was trying to load a game and it would not load. Mail took forever to open and check Email.

So he rebooted and it got a White screen that never changed. Boot with OSX DVD holding down C, still stuck at White Screen, same holding down Option. Tried Firewire drive with Bootable install of SL and got icon but never would move past that screen when clicked!

It was the Internal Hard Drive. If that gets really messed up, some iMacs like this one will not ever go past that White screen.

I Disassembled the machine, took out the old 250GB WD 7200 RPM SATA drive and put in the new WD 1TB Black. Put it back together and Vola, OSX DVD booted right up, used Disk Utility and partitioned the new 1TB drive, booted with the 10.6 DVD, install is running now as I type this!!