Apple Emac G4 not starting!

[keith881]

my apple emac g4 is not starting as it should, i'm trying to reboot from the cd and there's just a round timer spinning round for a few mins and then the mac switches off! anyone have any suggestions how I can get the reinstall cd to do its job in the cd drive and how I can get the mac started again so that I can use it!?

 

[harryb2448]

G'day and welcome to the forums.

Well is the install CD just that and not a DVD as some eMac models, particularly those sold to schools, came with a CD drive only. What operating system is the disc, as Tiger and Leopard generally came on DVD only?

Next question is this a full retail install disc, black in colour, and not a silver grey system restore disc from another machine? These discs are very much model specific.

 

[keith881]

the emac won't go to any menu just starts with round timer with or without a install disc and then switches off - what is the problem with it?

 

[keith881]

The eMac was bought 2002 and is white in colour. The cd is grey and is eMac Mac OS X Install Disc 1

 

[keith881]

Mac OS Version 10.2, CD Version 1.0

 

[louishen]

Does the emac start-up at all - from its internal disc, and has the install CD got any scratches on it

 

[keith881]

no scratches on cd. The emac does start and you hear the generic Apple sound and then the timer just comes up spinning around, then few mins later it switches itself off!

 

[keith881]

it does not start up from internal drive and sometimes it ejects the cd. All you see is the round spinning timer below the Apple sign.

 

[Jamie-Jamie]

Power on the eMac while holding Command+S. Hold it down until you see a scary sight: White console text on black. In the end, you should be dumped at a UNIX command line. Run the following command and nothing else!

/sbin/fsck -fy

This will test your hard disk. Tell us exactly what happens.

 

[keith881]

Power on the eMac while holding Command+S. Hold it down until you see a scary sight: White console text on black. In the end, you should be dumped at a UNIX command line. Run the following command and nothing else!

/sbin/fsck -fy

This will test your hard disk. Tell us exactly what happens.

Right it has writting on the screen after pressing command & s as suggested!

I picked out the ones that seemed important:

applePMU: CLOCK RESET! PMU WAS PROBABLY RESET SOMEHOW

Security auditing service present

BSM auditing present

disabled

rebooting via boot-uuid from chosen

waiting on

singleuser boot -- fsck not done

Root device is mounted read-only

if you want to make modificatiosn to file /sbin/fsck -fy

/sbin/mount -uw /

if you wish to boot the system, but stay in single user mode:

sh /etc/rc

localhost:/ root#

 

[keith881]

Power on the eMac while holding Command+S. Hold it down until you see a scary sight: White console text on black. In the end, you should be dumped at a UNIX command line. Run the following command and nothing else!

/sbin/fsck -fy

This will test your hard disk. Tell us exactly what happens.

did: /sbin/fsck -fy

and now reads:

** root file system.
** checking HFS Plus Volume.
** checking Extents Overflow file.
** checking catalog file.

disc0s5: I/0 timeout.
Invalid key length
(4, 14078)
** volume check failed.

 

[harryb2448]

Looks like you need a new HDD in the eMac alas. Whilst you have it apart replace the PRAM battery. Here is a how to:-

http://lowendmac.com/evan/05/0201.html

That OS X disc you have MUST be from the identical model eMac you are using. Different models have different system install discs and they are not interchangeable.

 

[Jamie-Jamie]

Okay. Now put in your Mac OS X Install Disc and reboot while holding down the Option key. This should give you a screen that lets you choose what to boot from. If the Install Disc appears there, click it, then click the arrow (not the circle-arrow). It should boot from the disc and let you install OS X.

When you get to the stage to select the hard disk, there's a button at the bottom that says "Options" select it and then choose the option "Erase and Install."

Let's see how that goes!

 

[keith881]

Power on the eMac while holding Command+S. Hold it down until you see a scary sight: White console text on black. In the end, you should be dumped at a UNIX command line. Run the following command and nothing else!

/sbin/fsck -fy

This will test your hard disk. Tell us exactly what happens.

Okay. Now put in your Mac OS X Install Disc and reboot while holding down the Option key. This should give you a screen that lets you choose what to boot from. If the Install Disc appears there, click it, then click the arrow (not the circle-arrow). It should boot from the disc and let you install OS X.

When you get to the stage to select the hard disk, there's a button at the bottom that says "Options" select it and then choose the option "Erase and Install."

Let's see how that goes!

Ok so how do I eject the disk tray to insert the install cd? I have notice that the pc upto this point has not shutdown on itself!

 

[hughvane]

F12 key (hold it down, not just press quickly), or if using an Apple keyboard, the eject key. DON'T tempt fate by rebooting and holding down the L mouse key.

 

[keith881]

F12 key (hold it down, not just press quickly), or if using an Apple keyboard, the eject key. DON'T tempt fate by rebooting and holding down the L mouse key.

cheers, there's actually a small eject button under the flap of disc drive. managed to get it opened..now let's see what happens from here with the install cd..

 

[keith881]

nothing has happened now with the install disc in and pressing option (alt) button at same time and still has the round timer below the Apple sign...

 

[Jamie-Jamie]

You held down Option while pressing the power button? You kept Option held down? This isn't like on Windows where you push F8 once, or a PC BIOS where you hit Esc. Keep Option held down and you WILL see a screen that lets you choose what to boot from.

 

[keith881]

You held down Option while pressing the power button? You kept Option held down? This isn't like on Windows where you push F8 once, or a PC BIOS where you hit Esc. Keep Option held down and you WILL see a screen that lets you choose what to boot from.

I did everything as mentioned pressed option and then the cd icon came up and I clicked onto the cd icon and then clicked the arrow sign. The eMac now has the round timer which under the apple sign which has been like this for half an hour now. I don;t think it's booting.. any other options I may have?

 

[hughvane]

As Harry has suggested, this might be the time to look at replacing hardware. If you have the correct boot disk, and the hard drive is in operating condition, then it should start from the CD.

There is one other factor - and I hate to be a purveyor of doom - and that is the logic board (capacitors). You didn't describe any problems you (might have) had prior to your original post, so was there any freezing, screen going dark, impromptu shutdown, things like that?