Big Problem!!! Please Help!!

[theCaptain]

So my mom is running the new AOL version on OS X on her 400mhz G3 iMac this afternoon when all of the sudden the screen flickers to blue and the system freezes. I then restart the machine and I get a flashing ?. Since I am only running OS X on this machine their is no escaping back to OS 9. I first try the restarting with the option key held down to select a startup volume, I get nothing. I insert an OS 9.04 disc [the latest version I have] and I boot off the CD into OS 9. When I try to select a start-up disc my hard drive has dissapeared. I cant select anything as a startup disc except the cd which I already have in there. Its almost as if the drive in my G3 iMac has simply died. Will someone please help to figure out the problem and get OS X booted again.

Thank you for your time.

TheCAptain

 

[pezagent]

Originally posted by theCaptain
So my mom is running the new AOL version on OS X on her 400mhz G3 iMac this afternoon when all of the sudden the screen flickers to blue and the system freezes. I then restart the machine and I get a flashing ?. Since I am only running OS X on this machine their is no escaping back to OS 9. I first try the restarting with the option key held down to select a startup volume, I get nothing. I insert an OS 9.04 disc [the latest version I have] and I boot off the CD into OS 9. When I try to select a start-up disc my hard drive has dissapeared. I cant select anything as a startup disc except the cd which I already have in there. Its almost as if the drive in my G3 iMac has simply died. Will someone please help to figure out the problem and get OS X booted again.

Thank you for your time.

TheCAptain

Don't worry Ed, I'm not even going to touch this one...

 

[edX]

have you tried running any disk repair programs? i would start with disk first aid. if that doesn't work, i would suggest diskwarrior from www.alsoft.com or even using the fsck command in single user startup mose if you can get that far. (do a site search for 'fsck' to get complete instructions on how to do this.)

but i am still unclear about a few things. you say your HD is missing when you go to select a startup disk. startup disk shows systems, not drives per se. When you are booted from disk, is your HD icon still there? if so, you aren't totally screwed. if not, then there are a host of possibilities. could be hardware - like a connection or bad drive. it could be system file corruption - very likely considering that aol was being used. also it could be a virus. they are rare, but do exist. and aol would be the perfect place to plant one.

hopefully you can provide us with more details so that perhaps someone will recognize the answer.

 

[adambyte]

If your Hard Disk doesn't show up in any disk utilities or anything like that, don't worry TOO much. Your data is probably still on the drive. however, The motherboard, or your connection TO the hard disk may be fried. I saw that happen to my dad's PowerBook after it was exposed to extreme heat. It simply didn't understand there was a hard disk there.

 

[henksmets]

If got this disappearing HD (when booting with option) when a changed several times from startup disk. Possibly corrupted P-ram.

Have you booted in OS9?

And run Disk First Aid?

If this doesn't solve the problem, try to install OS9 on it, don't wipe your hard drive or partition it. installing OS 9 won't hurt.

You can also try to boot in single user mode and run "fsck -y" after "mount /" (its explained there when you boot in SU). Hold down command+s. But that probably won't work if you don't see the HD.

You can also rest PRAM. hold down command+option+p+r until you've heard the startup chime.

 

[chemistry_geek]

Could be a couple of things: Parameter RAM somehow got corrupted, Open Firmware may need to be reset, or hardware failure.

Reset the Parameter RAM
1. With the computer OFF, press the ON key.

2. Hold down the following key combinations:

Option-Command-P-R

Let the computer chime 4 times, then let go.

3. The computer might startup.


Reset the open firmware
1. With the computer OFF, press the ON key.

2. Hold down the following key combinations:

Option-Command-O-F

3. A UNIX-like prompt will appear: ">"

4. Type the following WITHOUT SPACES.

reset-nvram [press return/enter]
reset-all [press return/enter]

5. The computer will automatically restart after the last command.

If these suggestions do not help, you likely have a hardware failure. These two commands cost me $49 this past weekend, they do work, and they will help your computer starup properly provided a hardware failure is absent.