Powermac G4 hangs on boot - noob alert!

Am in the process of refurbishing a Powermac G4-400 which currently has OS 9.2. The machine works well for the most part, but since this is my first Mac, I'm unsure if the boot time is "normal."

After the desktop loads, but before the Control Strip appears, the machine seems to "hang" for about three minutes. I can move the mouse but cannot open any apps or do anything until I hear a "beep" in the speaker, and then the Control Strip appears and the machine runs fine. Is this normal?

Any help in diagnosing this glitch greatly appreciated, and thanks.

Well, I solved the problem myself: installed OS X 10.3 on a new hard drive. Thanks anyway.

This is another one of those where I (tongue firmly in cheek!) say, gee, I am glad we were able to help!! :dive:

Welcome to Mac Forums!!

Hey, that's okay. I'll still be around, and am getting ready to ask another question soon.

Powermac g4 500 stuck on blue screen

I'm running into a similar situation where I'm refurbing a powerbook G4 500. My system will lock up on startup after the gray apple, but before the osX startup. All I get is a blue screen that never changes. At first I thought it was the HD, but I replace the component and the problem remains. I can boot from CD and into safe mode. I am using tiger. I have tried a majority of ways to get things running eg. reset pram, fsck, but with no response. If anyone knows of something so i can get in other than safe mode please help.

Welcome to Mac-Forums. Have you tried Resetting PowerBook and iBook Power Management Unit (PMU)?

did u repair disk permissions? and reinstall?

I've done both, but it did not help