iMac frustration ...

[embrr]

I have a 17" 1.83 GH iMac that was working just fine up until about 3 days ago. I did not run any updates, I did not perform any installations. Now all I get is a grey screen with a flashing folder with a question mark in it.

I tried to boot up using the CD, no dice. I tried to reboot it from another machine, no dice. I went online and read everything I could find on the subject. I rebooted it to firewire mode and backed everything up off of it and then did a zero all data and clean install of the OS (older OS, 10.4.2) onto the drive from another machine. I rebooted and I still get the flashing screen, so I booted it up from the other machine and it started up just fine. I have run disk utility, I have repaired permissions, I have repaired the disk. I then tried to boot up again, still no luck.

I thought, maybe it's a firmware issue, so I tried to get into open firmware (command-option-o-f) but it wouldn't. Could there be a problem with the boot data? I tried updating the open firmware, but it said it was up to date and wouldn't install. Can I do a clean install of open firmware instead of an update?

So, I can't access open firmware, I can't access the cd, it does boot as a firewire drive, but I wonder if the install is as effective done remotely.

Any thoughts on what my next step should be? If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

Thanks for any help you can provide!
Chris

 

[Egidio]

Chris, I'm not sure this will help. The question mark you get when booting is an indication your Mac cannot find the start-up disk. Can you start your Mac using your installation disks? If you can, once that happens, go to your System Preferences > Start-up Disk and select the OS system for your Mac. Then re-start and see if things improve. If you can't start, then chances are your system got corrupted and will require re-installation.

 

[embrr]

Thanks for your response Egidio, but as I said in my post, I cannot access the cd drive at all and I have already done a complete clean install with no positive results. The iMac does not recognize the start-up disk on start-up as well as not allowing for any of the variant start-up options. I can zap the PRam to my hearts delight, but with no positive results.

If I reboot holding option, a cursor appears and is controllable, but it goes no further, giving me no options for start-up disks, even though I have another machine connected as a firewire device, an OS CD in that computer's drive, an OS CD in it's drive and a working System folder on the iMac itself.

The iMac refuses to see the CD drive on boot, but when it's booted as a firewire drive, I can see anything in it's cd tray from my other mac, so the drive is functional, just not accessible during the boot sequence.

Quite bothersome ...

Thanks again for your quick response Egidio!
Chris

 

[embrr]

anyone? still looking for help

 

[embrr]

Update!

OK ... this is too weird ... now when I reboot while holding 'option' and connected to my G5 PowerMac (which is booted as a Firewire drive), instead of getting the normal list of system folders, I get one option, a Firewire drive listed as Windows. My G5 desktop is not Windows. I am not doing any Windows sharing, no Samba stuff, no nothing ... it was connected to a PC last week to do some file transfers ...

Could something have been over-written in the boot with a PC file so that it only looks for PC System Folders? I have no idea how that could have happened, but here I am, sooo

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Chris