Member Avatar for ubertoby

You guys are my last hope of solving this, when i got my mac i wasnt told that you had to buy the apple care policy within 90 days or your out in the cold!

A few weeks back I had a problem with "word" freezing the entire imac, switching it off & restaring it solved the problem & good ol mac bought the file back up from where i left it

Over the weekend my mac suddenly wouldnt boot at all. Each time i reset it, it would get one step colser to working; eg black screen- restart. grey screen, restart, grey screen with apple logo- restart. Apple logo with spinning wheel- restart. Blue screen- restart. Blue screen with password- Booted! Hooray!

This stopped to work the very next day, thankfully I had backed up my important files expecting the worst.

Read the manual. Held down down option, apple, P & R, heard the 2nd chime- nothing!

restarted & put tiger disk back in, failed to boot- restarted & help down option & went to purple screen with tiger dvd & hard drive as options. Tried to boot from hard drive & failed. Restart & selected to boot from disk. At this satge I was so angry I just thought a fresh start was the best thing & totally formatted & reinstalled Tiger! All went well & i got another 24 hours of usage.

Booted tonight now nothing is working, i cant even bring the purple screen up to select where to boot from. I tried over & over. I can hold option, apple, P & R but it goes nowhere, same goes for just holding option!

What the hell is going on??????

Worst thing is that I have had to admit defeat & I write this post from a windows PC!!!!!

Please help, I'm totally lost here & its my 1st Mac since switching!!

Regards

toby

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Short diagnostic checklist and next steps for an iMac G5 that sometimes boots but now won’t respond to startup keys. This expands on the thread replies from , and others with a focused, safe order of checks to isolate hardware vs software before paying for repairs.

  1. Remove peripherals and use a wired USB keyboard plugged directly into the iMac (no hubs). Hold Option immediately at power-on to show Startup Manager; if the keyboard is Bluetooth or on a hub it may not be seen during early boot. (support.apple.com)

  2. Reset NVRAM/PRAM (safe, quick): shut down, power on and immediately hold Option+Command+P+R until the Mac restarts (release after the second chime). This clears startup-disk and firmware settings that can block normal boot. (support.apple.com)

  3. Reset the SMU/PMU on the G5 (power-management controller). Start with the simple power-cycle method (unplug, wait ~15–30s, plug back in, then power on). If comfortable and the manual covers it, the iMac G5 has an internal SMU button under the memory bay you can press once to reset; follow the service/manual instructions and take ESD precautions. (cdsassets.apple.com)

  4. Run Apple Hardware Test / diagnostics from the original discs or by holding D at startup (or Option‑D for internet AHT when supported). This can catch failing RAM, GPU, or other board faults. If AHT reports errors, record the codes. (support.apple.com)

  5. Isolate RAM and drive problems: reseat RAM, try one stick at a time, and try booting from an external FireWire/USB drive or use Target Disk Mode (T) to check the internal drive from another Mac. OWC and similar guides explain safe RAM testing practices. (eshop.macsales.com)

If those steps don’t produce a reliable startup (no chime, fans at full speed, or no response), the fault is most likely hardware (power, logic board, GPU or I/O). At that point arrange service with an Apple Authorized Repair provider — Apple’s support pages outline when service is needed. (support.apple.com)

Notes: avoid pressing internal buttons repeatedly, use antistatic precautions when opening the case, and keep a log of any AHT/error codes or LED patterns (those are very useful for a repair tech).

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Member Avatar for yellow

First off, you have 365 days to purchase AppleCare. 90 Days is only for free phone support. Your warranty lasts for a year. If you have erased and reinstalled the OS and you're still having problems, you need to take the Mac into an Apple Certified Repair Center and have it looked at, as it's likely to be a hardware issue.

Member Avatar for ajwitherby

So, what happened?

Member Avatar for John A

>So, what happened?
Nothing really over the past two years.

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