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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Problems With Starting My G3 Imac
leonine - Jun 5, 2005 - 12:01 pm
When I try to start my G3 iMac a grey screen appears, with a finder icon and a question mark blinking alternately. Before this problem occurred, I was trying to burn my data onto a CD(R). I have not come across this problem earlier and I am not a techie. So please let me know the solution. I am using a OSX10 (guess its 10.3) version.
Thanks a million in advance
Thanks a million in advance
Macaholic G5 - Jun 5, 2005 - 1:18 pm
Try this troubleshooting page first. Ask if you have any further questions. Check here http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106464
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Donate your spare CPU cycles to help cure disease. Visit http://www.teammacosx.com to find out more. Thank you! Fold! It does a body good!
Macaholic G5 - Jun 11, 2005 - 10:03 am
Have you made any progress at all with your issue? Have you tried ALL troubleshooting steps related to the flashing question mark? Your iMac is having trouble finding an appropriated "blessed" startup folder? Have you tried starting your iMac from the install CD?
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Donate your spare CPU cycles to help cure disease. Visit http://www.teammacosx.com to find out more. Thank you! Fold! It does a body good!
--------
Donate your spare CPU cycles to help cure disease. Visit http://www.teammacosx.com to find out more. Thank you! Fold! It does a body good!
leonine - Jun 11, 2005 - 10:09 am
Thankyou Macholic G5,
I havent made any progress in solving my problem. I tried to start my computer with Mac 9.2 install CD as this version as well exists in my computer. But I could not repair the disk and I would not like to re-install as the existing data is of high significance to me. But I would try to start with the Mac OS10 install CD.
If there is any other alternative please let me know.
Thankyou well in advance
I havent made any progress in solving my problem. I tried to start my computer with Mac 9.2 install CD as this version as well exists in my computer. But I could not repair the disk and I would not like to re-install as the existing data is of high significance to me. But I would try to start with the Mac OS10 install CD.
If there is any other alternative please let me know.
Thankyou well in advance
Macaholic G5 - Jun 11, 2005 - 10:44 am
I would try to boot from the OS X install CD and then run Disk Utility. Since it is the OS X system folder your iMac cannot find, booting from the OS 9 CD really does not help. Try this and let me know if it works. More information here http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
How to use Disk Utility
1. Insert your Mac OS X CD-ROM disc or Restore DVD disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. Once started up from CD or DVD, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu.
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from disc to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume, if necessary.
6. Click Repair.
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Donate your spare CPU cycles to help cure disease. Visit http://www.teammacosx.com to find out more. Thank you! Fold! It does a body good!
How to use Disk Utility
1. Insert your Mac OS X CD-ROM disc or Restore DVD disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. Once started up from CD or DVD, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu.
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from disc to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume, if necessary.
6. Click Repair.
--------
Donate your spare CPU cycles to help cure disease. Visit http://www.teammacosx.com to find out more. Thank you! Fold! It does a body good!
leonine - Jun 11, 2005 - 6:23 pm
Dear Macholic G5,
Thanks a million for the immediate response.
I was wondering if I could use the "fsck" option to solve my problem as the Mac OS10 install CD would be available to me only on Monday(as the lab would open on this day). I happened to read about it, but was not sure if I could use this as I remember from somewhere that this would erase your existing data.
Would be looking forward to your reply.
Thanks again
Thanks a million for the immediate response.
I was wondering if I could use the "fsck" option to solve my problem as the Mac OS10 install CD would be available to me only on Monday(as the lab would open on this day). I happened to read about it, but was not sure if I could use this as I remember from somewhere that this would erase your existing data.
Would be looking forward to your reply.
Thanks again
Macaholic G5 - Jun 11, 2005 - 7:32 pm
Personally, I don't recommend that anyone use fsck unless they cannot use the Disk Utility's First Aid for some reason. Apple indicates that Disk Utility and fsck are essentially identical, it simply comes down to how comfortable YOU are with the command line interface.
If you use a Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) formatted volume, such as with Mac OS X Panther, I think you will probably not need to use fsck. If you do use it for some reason, be aware that benign error messages can appear.
Most Mac OS X 10.3 computers are using journaling on the boot volume, If you're not sure how your volume has been formatted, and you can't start from your Mac OS X volume to check, type: "diskutil info /". If after doing this, you see "File System: Journaled HFS+", then your volume is Journaled.
How to use fsck on Mac OS 10.3.x Panther
The fsck utility is run from the command line. This means that you must type a text command at a prompt (#), rather than using the mouse pointer to open an application. These examples include the Terminal application and single-user mode.
1. Start in single-user mode to reach the command line. Boot into single-user mode, by holding down Command S during the boot or restart.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, this is generally achieved by pressing the reset/interrupt button, which is marked with a triangle. On portable computers, this is generally achieved by pressing the Command-Control-power keys. If a portable computer does not respond to this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
2. At the command-line prompt, type: /sbin/fsck -fy
3. Press Return.
The fsck utility will go through five "phases" then return information about the disk's utilization and fragmentation. Once the check is finished, if no issue is found, you should see "** The volume (name of volume) appears to be OK."
If fsck alters, repairs, or fixes anything, it will display the message:
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command until it no longer appears. It's OK if you need to do several "passes" of fsck, because first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues.
4. When fsck reports that, "** The volume (name of volume) appears to be OK.", type: reboot OR, as the other user mentions adove type exit.
5. Press Return.
The computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
The -y flag: tells fsck that you want to answer "yes" to all questions about fixing, repairing, or salvaging information. This is the optimal approach, as answering "no" to any question causes fsck to stop. You cannot determine that all necessary repairs have been made until fsck completes and gives its final report.
The -f flag: Forces fsck to check "clean" filesystems when preening.
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Donate your spare CPU cycles to help cure disease. Visit http://www.teammacosx.com to find out more. Thank you! Fold! It does a body good!
If you use a Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) formatted volume, such as with Mac OS X Panther, I think you will probably not need to use fsck. If you do use it for some reason, be aware that benign error messages can appear.
Most Mac OS X 10.3 computers are using journaling on the boot volume, If you're not sure how your volume has been formatted, and you can't start from your Mac OS X volume to check, type: "diskutil info /". If after doing this, you see "File System: Journaled HFS+", then your volume is Journaled.
How to use fsck on Mac OS 10.3.x Panther
The fsck utility is run from the command line. This means that you must type a text command at a prompt (#), rather than using the mouse pointer to open an application. These examples include the Terminal application and single-user mode.
1. Start in single-user mode to reach the command line. Boot into single-user mode, by holding down Command S during the boot or restart.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, this is generally achieved by pressing the reset/interrupt button, which is marked with a triangle. On portable computers, this is generally achieved by pressing the Command-Control-power keys. If a portable computer does not respond to this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
2. At the command-line prompt, type: /sbin/fsck -fy
3. Press Return.
The fsck utility will go through five "phases" then return information about the disk's utilization and fragmentation. Once the check is finished, if no issue is found, you should see "** The volume (name of volume) appears to be OK."
If fsck alters, repairs, or fixes anything, it will display the message:
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command until it no longer appears. It's OK if you need to do several "passes" of fsck, because first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues.
4. When fsck reports that, "** The volume (name of volume) appears to be OK.", type: reboot OR, as the other user mentions adove type exit.
5. Press Return.
The computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
The -y flag: tells fsck that you want to answer "yes" to all questions about fixing, repairing, or salvaging information. This is the optimal approach, as answering "no" to any question causes fsck to stop. You cannot determine that all necessary repairs have been made until fsck completes and gives its final report.
The -f flag: Forces fsck to check "clean" filesystems when preening.
--------
Donate your spare CPU cycles to help cure disease. Visit http://www.teammacosx.com to find out more. Thank you! Fold! It does a body good!
leonine - Jun 14, 2005 - 7:46 am
Hello,
I have a problem again. Starting up from the OSX install CD does not help as my hard disk cannot be seen. Please let me know does that mean my hard disk is broken. If its broken please let me know if I can retrieve my data by any possible means, as this data is highly important.
Thanks again
I have a problem again. Starting up from the OSX install CD does not help as my hard disk cannot be seen. Please let me know does that mean my hard disk is broken. If its broken please let me know if I can retrieve my data by any possible means, as this data is highly important.
Thanks again
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