[Harleyc]

Hello out there. Let me open with saying that I have an intermediate level of experience with windows software, mainly XP(pro) but am a complete and total newcomer to Macintosh.

The Mac I'm having trouble with is an iMac G3, it's the snow white version if that makes any difference. I know this is a relatively old Mac, but it's something I picked up to learn the ropes with and make a decision on whether or not to purchase a newer model.
I've had it for about a week (bought it from a local computer shop) and up until last night it worked great. This morning though when I attempted to boot it up I get a grey screen with a little blue folder icon on it flashing between the Mac logo and a question mark. Nothing seems to work beyond this. I've tried booting with the OSX (10.4) disk that I have by both holding 'C' as the machine boots with the disk inside of it, and also trying Apple/Ctrl/Option which a friend told me can bring up a boot options menu. Being a new user with Mac software I really don't know what else I can do in this situation other then reformat the hard drive.

Am I missing something here about how to boot from the Mac disk? Every time I try the machine just spits the cd back out. When the machine is on, as it's booting, anything. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm totally lost on what to do with this thing.

Edit: Correction

[Will_5600]

you may be having the same problem as thig guy here i sergest you read other posts before posting ur problem others may have already posted it and it may have already been solved (if i mis read any thing in ur post and ur not having the same problem sorry for my mistake)

http://forums.techguy.org/apple-maci...ue-screen.html


and yes i would sergest getting a mac because they are cool ... even though i use a pc as my main computer i still like and respect macs even though others dont

[VegasACF]

The computer is searching for, and not finding, a valid OS with which to boot. There are a variety of things that could have happened, none of which I could say with any certainty since I am not there with the machine and know little of its history.

If the disk you are trying to boot from is a retail version of Mac OS X it should work. If, on the other hand, it is a disk that shipped with a computer different from yours (that particular machine shipped with either OS 9 or an early copy of OS X with 9 on it for use in Classic) it will not work for booting the machine. You'll need the specific disk for that machine or a retail version of OS X, if this is the case.

Best of luck.

[Pensacola Tiger]

My first thought would be that the hard drive has failed.

It should boot from an OS X install disc, though.

If you can't get it to boot from that, will the local computer store be any help? What kind of a warranty did they give you?

[Harleyc]

All of the resolutions I've seen so far involve either using software on the machine that I cannot access, or booting from the disk that the machine will not allow me to boot from. I believe that the OSX disks I have are retail copies. Two grey disks with all the software information on them, unless they're a copy of the software that may have shipped with a different machine somehow.

My attempts to resolve this issue thus far are as follows.
-Took it back to the store I bought it from, only for the guy to tell me that he "ain't a mac guy" and referred me to this website. This was my first time dealing with that shop and is apparently going to be the last.

-Popped the Mac open and took the harddrive out. Attempted to hook it into my windows machine as a slave drive thinking that I could use my WinXP disks to quick format, then reinsert the hard drive into the Mac and finish reformatting it with the Mac disks. My windows machine recognizes that a new hard drive is installed but won't allow me to do anything to it, even from the WinXP disk boot options. Just popping the machine open was a learning experience in itself. Mac's are like jigsaw puzzles.


To clarify and update my original post a bit. I've discovered why the CD's aren't working. They're actually DvD's that came with a powerbook, while this g3 does not have a dvd drive in it. Yea.. I felt pretty dumb when I figured that out.
The shop that I bought this from basically told me that I'm stuck with this machine. They don't deal with Mac's and won't accept a return on it since it's not in the same condition it was in when I bought it. The guy couldn't come up with an answer when I asked him why they sold me the Mac in the first place if they "don't deal with Mac." I won't even get into that further, it ended with me leaving the shop yelling things I haven't yelled since high school.
The only option that I'm aware of at this point is to get ahold of my friend that has a Mac, firewire our machines together and use his to format mine. I found a tutorial on how to do this that will hopefully protect us from messing the process up.

The short version: Reformatting a Mac that wasn't sold to me with the correct software for it is a nightmare. But I'm going to stick it out to give this OS an honest shot.

[VegasACF]

Originally Posted by Harleyc

All of the resolutions I've seen so far involve either using software on the machine that I cannot access, or booting from the disk that the machine will not allow me to boot from. I believe that the OSX disks I have are retail copies. Two grey disks with all the software information on them, unless they're a copy of the software that may have shipped with a different machine somehow.

You've found the answer to this riddle below. Sorry to hear that.

Originally Posted by Harleyc

My attempts to resolve this issue thus far are as follows.
-Took it back to the store I bought it from, only for the guy to tell me that he "ain't a mac guy" and referred me to this website. This was my first time dealing with that shop and is apparently going to be the last.

I would take it a step farther and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, or whatever is the equivalent wherever you are (I don't recall off the top of my head--sorry!). This is horrible customer "service". I would also tell all friends and acquaintances not to darken their doorstep. When I worked in retail (this was pre 9/11, mind you, so the language may seem a bit insensitive, given what has transpired), my company had terminology that equated to this: make "friends", not "terrorists", when you're working with customers. A "friend" will go out and tell one or two people that he had a good experience at your establishment. A "terrorist" will tell everyone she knows about how bad her experience was, and will cause more damage than one hundred "friends" would be able to remedy. These people at the shop you're dealing with obviously have never heard of such a concept. Make sure they learn from their mistake.

Originally Posted by Harleyc

-Popped the Mac open and took the harddrive out. Attempted to hook it into my windows machine as a slave drive thinking that I could use my WinXP disks to quick format, then reinsert the hard drive into the Mac and finish reformatting it with the Mac disks. My windows machine recognizes that a new hard drive is installed but won't allow me to do anything to it, even from the WinXP disk boot options. Just popping the machine open was a learning experience in itself. Mac's are like jigsaw puzzles.

You're correct about those particular iMacs being beastly to open up. Laptop Macs have, until fairly recently, been the same (though the new ones allow for easy access to the disk drive, battery, RAM and AirPort compartments). Desktop Macs have, since the mid 1990s, been a dream to open up and get inside. I just don't want you to judge Macs by your (so far, lackluster) experiences with this particular Mac. It's not representative of the current state of affairs for the majority of the line (mind you, I've not tried to open one of the new flat-panel iMacs, so they could be a beast, as well).

Originally Posted by Harleyc

To clarify and update my original post a bit. I've discovered why the CD's aren't working. They're actually DvD's that came with a powerbook, while this g3 does not have a dvd drive in it. Yea.. I felt pretty dumb when I figured that out.

Don't feel dumb. You had no way of knowing (at least not without stopping by here, first). If this were a shop that "dealt with Mac" I would report them to Apple, but since they are not they're probably more akin to a pawn shop and took what they got from the previous owner, no questions asked. You can probably find the correct disks on eBay, if it's worth the trouble to you. Just make certain they are the exact disks that would have come with your particular machine.

Originally Posted by Harleyc

The shop that I bought this from basically told me that I'm stuck with this machine. They don't deal with Mac's and won't accept a return on it since it's not in the same condition it was in when I bought it. The guy couldn't come up with an answer when I asked him why they sold me the Mac in the first place if they "don't deal with Mac." I won't even get into that further, it ended with me leaving the shop yelling things I haven't yelled since high school.

I would check the laws in your jurisdiction to see if they have a leg to stand on. If it was sold on an "as is" basis then, yeah, you're probably stuck. But you may have some remedy, even if it's small claims court.

Originally Posted by Harleyc

The only option that I'm aware of at this point is to get ahold of my friend that has a Mac, firewire our machines together and use his to format mine. I found a tutorial on how to do this that will hopefully protect us from messing the process up.

The worst that would happen is nothing. I'm not sure if that computer can start up in FireWire Target Mode or not. There may be another workaround that you've found that doesn't involve this necessity, though. So best of luck to you!

Originally Posted by Harleyc

The short version: Reformatting a Mac that wasn't sold to me with the correct software for it is a nightmare. But I'm going to stick it out to give this OS an honest shot.

Just don't blame the Mac. Blame the seller. It's as if someone sold you a gasoline-powered car in a place where only diesel was sold. It would work until you ran out of gas. Then you'd be hosed. Again, good luck to you. Let us know if we can provide any further assistance!

[Pensacola Tiger]

If you are going to try FireWire Target Disk Mode, you might be interested in this article:

http://www.lowendmac.com/misc/06/0914.html

LowEndMac has a lot of other resources you may find useful.

And, of course, this forum can help you out.

Best of luck.

[Harleyc]

Well.. Disk Target Mode didn't work. When I try booting the G3 with "T" held to enable Disk Target Mode nothing happens, and after about 30 seconds the system shuts off again.

Any other suggestions on how I could try reformatting this thing? That was my metaphorical ace in the hole and it didn't work, hah. Seems that I'm going to be learning more then I thought about Mac before I even get the operating system running smoothly.