Pleeeeez help - grey death!

I have an old G4 powermac / imac (bought second hand/no disks ) osx:
10.5.8
powermac 6,1
powerpc G4 (3.3)
processor 1 GHz
memory 1.5 GB DDR SD RAM
cpu's 1
version 4
Boot rom
version 4.5.9f1

all of a sudden when we switch on we get a blank grey screen and nothing else ! Tried re-setting PRM ( hope that's right) + tried holding down shift key on start up, but nothing ! It was working fine, this is out of the blue, no new software installed or anything.

Have tried unplugging power cable/ mouse and keybaord usb cables, but makes no difference

Have bought a boxed version of osx 10.4 bought new ( on e bay) and happy to instal that if it will resolve this issue. Nothing vital we need to save on this comp - it is used purely for internet surfing......but tried runnign the disk and can't see anything on screen !

Not computer savy , so would appreciate any advice in idiot proof style language.

Thanks........

Can you hear any spinning sounds coming from the hard drive? Is the hard drive making any "weird" noises...such as grinding or clicking?

From what you describe...it sounds like your hard drive may be dead. This is only a guess based on the info so far.

You could try booting the computer from the OS 10.4 disks you have...just to see if the computer will boot properly (don't install the OS at this point).

- Nick

p.s. Is there anything on the hard drive that you are in fear of losing if the HD was erased/reformatted or the OS was reinstalled?

thanks for quick reply........yes, it seems to be making all the right noises, nothing unusual, you get the boot up sound as well, but it's a blank screen......did insert new os cd, but can't actually view anythgin on screen so have taken it out....nothing to save/ happy to reinstal new os even though its an earlier version, but dont know how to ! thanks

Sabrina2000 said:

thanks for quick reply........yes, it seems to be making all the right noises, nothing unusual, you get the boot up sound as well, but it's a blank screen......did insert new os cd, but can't actually view anythgin on screen so have taken it out....nothing to save/ happy to reinstal new os even though its an earlier version, but dont know how to ! thanks

Click to expand...

If you're not concerned about losing anything on the hard drive. Just boot from those OS install disks you have (hold down the "c" key when booting)...and then follow the on screen instructions.

- Nick

okay, will try that and report back

quick question - do we insert the cd before swithcing off? and then boot by clicking on C?

we've tried booting and holding down the C button but still nothing - blank screen. We inserted the cd, then shut down, the started up whilst depressing the C button constantly - blank screeen.....how do we get it going? thanks

Still no luck - can't see the OS cd when its in - tried booting/clicking C but nothing - still grey screen

Sounds like your screen or your motherboard are dead.

I'd try starting in Target Disk mode and copy all your important files.

Do you know if you had remote access On? If so you could try VNC or ssh to control the computer.

If you can't get it fixed for less than $150, it's not worth it, IMHO.

gsahli said:

Sounds like your screen or your motherboard are dead.

I'd try starting in Target Disk mode and copy all your important files.

Click to expand...

You probably need to explain how to do this.

- Most folks have never heard of "Target Disk Mode"...let alone how to do it.
- To do this two computers are needed...and we don't know if the OP has a second Macintosh computer.
- And both computers need "firewire".

gsahli said:

If you can't get it fixed for less than $150, it's not worth it, IMHO.

Click to expand...

The OP's computer is probably only worth about $50-$75 bucks (at best)...so spending $150 (or a little less) probably isn't worth it.

- Nick

it's making all the right noises at every stage, inclduing when the cd is in, but it's consistently grey ! Is this the end? Only had this comp around 6 months and paid £100 for it......don't know how to start in target disk mode or how to do anything else as long as the screen is blank! could it be worth getting this to a genius bar??
oh, yes - we do have a second imac - a more modern one with the aluminium frame/stand , but no fire wire....if we get a fire wire could we do something that way? and what/which fire wire do we need to buy? thanks anyway...

Sabrina2000 said:

Only had this comp around 6 months and paid £100 for it......

Click to expand...

Yeah...used computers in the UK do run a lot more expensive than here in the United States.

Sabrina2000 said:

...could it be worth getting this to a genius bar??

Click to expand...

I seriously seriously doubt it. This computer is around 8 years old...and some of the employees at the Apple Store (Genius Bar)...have probably never even seen this model computer. Plus what they're going to charge you to troubleshoot it may be more than it's worth (or a significant portion of it's worth).

You said you have had this computer for like 6 months...was it working all that time...and only "died" recently?

Sabrina2000 said:

oh, yes - we do have a second imac - a more modern one with the aluminium frame/stand , but no fire wire....if we get a fire wire could we do something that way? and what/which fire wire do we need to buy? thanks anyway...

Click to expand...

If your 2nd computer does not have firewire...then it doesn't have firewire. You can't "get" firewire for a computer that doesn't have it.

- Nick

About Target Firewire mode:
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode

If you were asking about which firewire cable to get, get the one that matches the firewire ports on each computer.

is there a name for the fire wire ? It'll connect to imac ( bought new Jan 2010). Sorry, we really are computer illiterate and need idiot proof step by step instructions....
woudl apple genius bar be abel to sort it out if we took it in there?
also, what does fire wire achieve? will it enable us to fix the computer?

yes, the computer worked perfectly throughout the 6 months and only died at a precise moment in time last week, just like that, out of the blue !

have got a genius bar ( free I think) slot booked tomorrow morning and will be along to see what the genius says.......will report back. Thanks for input - didn't read all the replies before my last post.

apple genius thinks its a display problem...says the fan sounds like its working fine and seems to be making all the right noises. Would ahve sorted it out for me ( free of charge) if they had the right adaptor or something/parts but as the comp is now obsolete they don't have the right stuff available. Suggested I contact a third party apple authorised dealer to see if they might have the right stuff......will see if I can find anyone...any ideas welcome in the meantime if there is a simpler way....thanks

To reset or 'zap' the PRAM, reboot and hold down the Command, Option, P and R keys all at the same time and keep held down until after the third chime and release and cross your fingers.

Hi

Long shot but did you find a solution? I've got exactly the same problem

took it to a third party apple technician who said he's never seen anything like this - the yellow orange light powers up, it makes all the right noises ,but no display - he said he could probably fix it for about £100 after first identifying one of 3 possible problems which it could be ( cant remember what they were) ,but obviously not worth it due to age of comp ......very frustrating as we are so used to this particular comp and not good at handling change; to make matters worse we rushed a little and bought a G4 powermac just over £50 and have just got it home but it has no airport card and cant connect to internet wirelessly ( & its panther OS - the last one was Tiger upgraded to snow leopard) and it occasionally squeaks as well as though something is trying to turn inside it ! ......our fault of course for not checking in advance. We really need the wireless internet connection and are wondering if there's an idiot proof way to remove the airport card from the old one and use it on this one - not sure if it would be compatible for a start or how on earth to check.

and to top it all my windows keyboard delete button is typing dots and I dont know how to re-set it.

we're going from bad to worse at the moment, very frustrated really, wasting time and money.
.

cant even get on internet with ethernet cable on the new G4 - we can get to the apple site and navigate that but every time we try to get on internet we get a message saying safari has crashed....have we been sold a dud?\\didnt get any disks with it either except some copies of something....would our Tiger 10.4 os disk instal on this and resolve the safari crash issue ? the new comp specs are as follows

Memory: 256 MB Release Year: 2003
Hard Drive Capacity: 80 GB Release Month: September
Processor Type: PowerPC G4 Product Family: iMac G4
Processor Speed: 1 GHz Screen Size: 15"
MPN: M9285B/A

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Detailed item information
Product Identifiers
Brand Apple
Product Family iMac G4
Model ID PowerMac6,1
Model Number M6498
MPN M9285B/A
EAN 0718908525630


Processor
Processor Type PowerPC G4
Processor Speed 1 GHz


Motherboard
Video Output Interface AGP 4x
Bus Speed 167 MHz


Display
Screen Type CRT Display
Screen Size 15"


Hard Drive
Hard Drive Capacity 80 GB
Hard Drive Interface DMA/ATA-100 (Ultra)


Memory
RAM Technology DDR SDRAM
Manufacturer's RAM Capacity 256 MB
Installed Cache Memory 256 KB


CD / DVD
Optical Drive Type CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Optical Drive Read Speed 8x (DVD)
Optical Drive Write Speed 32x (CD)


Video
On Board Graphic Processor NVIDIA GeForce4 MX
Installed Video Memory 32 MB


Audio
Audio Output Sound card


Modem
Modem Type Fax / Modem


Networking
Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
Networking Type Integrated Network Card


Dimensions
Depth 27 cm
Height 32.9 cm
Width 38.4 cm
Weight 9.6 kg


Miscellaneous
Form Factor All-in-one
Release Date September, 2003
Exterior Color White


RAM UPGRADE TO 768mb