iMac won't boot

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pechorin - 25 Feb 2006 18:46 GMT

Hello everyone,

This is my first encounter with a Mac, and I have no idea what I am
doing. Anyway, it may even be a wrong topic to post to.

Recently, I acquired an older iMac which I want to salvage. The model
is, I think, a DV (400mhz, 64mb ram, 10gb hd). The way I found it,
the plastic around DVD tray (I think it's a DVD) is ripped, and the
tray itself seems damaged. I don't know what's the story behind it.

Anyway, I tried to turn it on. All I get is a welcome sound, a bright
empty screen which quickly turns into a blue/gray (some color of that
sort) blank screen. And nothing happens.

What I tried so far: I tried to unplug the DVD unit from the
motherboard, but still the same. I tried moving the RAM card from
one slot into another (making sure the slot is not broken). That's
where my knowledge stops.

I don't have a keyboard for this machine (yet), so I couldn't try any
fancy key combination on startup.

Anyway, if anybody has any idea on how to even start troubleshooting
this machine, please let me know :)

Thanks in advace!

P.S. On the side, there is a place to plug in things. Two USB slots,
ethernet, modem, audio, reset button, and two other plugs which I
have no idea what they are. Any idea what the two plugs are?

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spudnuty - 25 Feb 2006 22:34 GMT

>The way I found it,
> the plastic around DVD tray (I think it's a DVD) is ripped, and the
> tray itself seems damaged.

These machines had: 24x-speed, slot-load ATAPI CD-ROM drive (good)
-4x-speed, slot-load, ATAPI DVD-ROM drive (better/best

>I don't know what's the story behind it.

Well if it's a DV it will be a slot loader the ripped bezel is no big
deal. There is no tray as such. There are fingers that sense when a CD
is inserted and pull it into the drive.

> Anyway, I tried to turn it on. All I get is a welcome sound, a bright
> empty screen which quickly turns into a blue/gray (some color of that
> sort) blank screen. And nothing happens.

That sounds good so far. Usually the PAV board goes out on these. (see
manual below) and you'll get no video at all.

> I don't have a keyboard for this machine (yet), so I couldn't try any
> fancy key combination on startup.

When you get one you can try doing a PRAM reset and Open Firmware
reset. Then you'll need a bootable CD to try to get the machine to boot
up. Press "c" on startup.

> Anyway, if anybody has any idea on how to even start troubleshooting
> this machine, please let me know :)

The take aparts and troubleshooting guides for this machine are here:
http://home.earthlink.net/~strahm_s/manuals.html

> and two other plugs which I
> have no idea what they are. Any idea what the two plugs are?

There should be:
two FireWire ports, 6-pin 400 Mbps (better/best)
Good luck.
Richard

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Mac Forum / General / Hardware / February 2006

iMac won't boot