Here's an update to this point: I attempted to boot the unit from a firewire hard drive which contained a working OS 9.2.2 system folder, and the required firmware update, but it refused; even though using the Option key had the external drive showing up with a system folder, selecting it would result in the drive just sitting there doing nothing, and the standard flashing '?' icon. I managed to get the iMac booted using a series of disks containing OS 9. The first time I got it booted, I saw that the internal hard drive was showing up, but it was only registering as an 800MB drive (and 99% full, at that!).
The first CD I got it to boot up from was a Norton Utilities disk, which employed OS 9.0.4. I tried running Disk Doctor on what showed up as the internal HD, but it kept freezing on the Media Test. In addition, the firewire drive didn't show up on the desktop while booted into this OS. I then tried a iBook G3 boot disk, which had 9.1 on it. The firewire drive showed up, but trying to run the firmware update from it resulted in an error that the OS had to be on a local disk. I went through the shutdown and programmer's button press thing anyway, and even though the update didn't run, the computer then proceeded to boot from it's internal hard drive! The internal drive (which was now showing a capacity closer to it's true size) had 9.0.4 on it, and immediately started the iMac demonstration program when everything loaded (weird, no?). I copied the firmware update to it from the firewire drive while booted from the 9.1 CD, but an error message came up saying that the updater required 9.1. I then decided to format the internal drive, and install 9.1 onto it in order to do the firmware update. When trying to copy some of the applications from the old drive to the Firewire drive, the old drive started making funny noises, and I had to abort the copying. Even so, formatting the old drive and installing 9.1 went through swimmingly. I copied over the firmware updater, ran it while booted from the internal hard drive, got through it, but the screen was still blank. I then shut the system down, unplugged the external monitor, turned the iMac on, and voila, the internal screen came to life! I then took the computer to a local store, and replaced the internal HD (which failed a test performed at the store) with a 20GB drive. That is the point I am at at this time. A bit later on, I'm going to install OS 9.2.2 onto the drive, then I will install OS X. Hopefully, the system will continue to run correctly for the near future. A question: why do Airport cards which fit this model cost so much? I'd like to give this computer wireless capabilities, but paying $200+ for a Airport card/adapter for a computer which originally cost me $10 is not what I'd like to do (for $300 more, I could get a whole Mac mini!). -Adam -- Adam Vaughn Collector of old computers, video game systems, radios and other electronic equipment... Visit my page at http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/index.html > Well, I think I have it all but pegged. I hooked my 21" Hitachi monitor to > the > VGA output on the DV, and voila, video! The internal monitor, of course, > stays > blank. Starting from the HD alone causes the click-click-whine noises and the > flashing '?' icon which goes with it. Starting from the OS 8.6 CD I have, > meant > for a PowerMac G4 (Yikes! version, IIRC), it starts to boot, but then goes > into > a System Bomb ("address error"). Booting into Open Firmware with the monitor > attached, I get to see what happens when I type in the typical commands > non-blind. reset-nvram goes through OK, but set-defaults gives me this: > DEFAULT CATCH!, code=300 at %SRR0: ff80af1c %SRR1: 0000b030 > then reset-all performs a couple of rapid 'fixes' (as far as I tell, they > come > and go fast) before resetting the machine, and working as it usually does. > The > RAM was bumped up in this machine (has one DIMM with chips on one side, and > one > DIMM with chips on both sides), so I'm assuming that someone tried to install > OS > X onto this machine without doing the prerequisite firmware update. What can > I > possibly do to rectify the situation? Once again, thanks in advance. > -Adam > > -- > Adam Vaughn > Collector of old computers, video game systems, radios and other electronic > equipment... > Visit my page at > http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/index.html > > > > > > On Oct 3, 2005, at 6:46 PM, Adam Vaughn wrote: > > > > > > A further question: might this possibly be due to OS X having been > > > installed on it without updating the firmware? I've heard about > > > that causing blank screen issues, but with the HD making noises, > > > I'm not sure. > > > > IIRC, yes, this is a symptom of an OS X load on a non-firmware > > upgraded imac. You can try putting an OS 9 HDD in to see if it boots > > normally, I think. > > > > - Dylan > > > > > > -- > > The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... > > > > Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | > > - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | > > > > Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> > > > > iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> > > --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; > > Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> > > To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > iPod Accessories for Less > > at 1-800-iPOD.COM > > Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal > > www.1800ipod.com > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > -- > The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... > > Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | > - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | > > Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> > > iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> > --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; > Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> > To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > iPod Accessories for Less > at 1-800-iPOD.COM > Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal > www.1800ipod.com > --------------------------------------------------------------- > -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
