iMac G4 Install Issues

I just bought an iMac G4 and I'm trying to reinstall the OS so the old users things are wiped and it's fresh for my daughter to use (she's 3 so she'll just be using the web browser for ABC Mouse). No matter what I do I can't seem to get anything to work. I've tried the original 9.2.2, 10.0, and 10.5 and even some linux OS's (mintPPC, Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Elementary OS). There is always either a booting from the CD issue or something just doesn't work right.

First, make sure you are using the proper disk to boot the iMac G4. The disks for any Mac are specific for the model unless a retail version is used. Also, if the CD drive in the machine is defective that might be why the disks are not working. You can forget about using the Linux disks since they're for Intel only. The G4 is a PowerPC machine. You might be able to find a Linux PPC disk if you look around on the web. But since you have Mac OS disks, it's best to work with them if they are correct for your machine.

And Leopard OS X.5 will not install either. Only for machines with over an 867MHz CPU. You need the black full retail install DVDs for either Tiger OS X.4 or Panther OS X.3. Note silver/gray system discs will simply not work.