imac g4-- broken-- need help and advice.. thanks..

hucchund22 · May 16, 2010

hi there.. i just bought this imac ebay for 62 pounds.. the problem is that once you turn it on, a white screen with a question mark inside the folder(i'll show you the pics) will be displayed.. this is the first time i had an apple product, so any help will be great,,
-didn't came along with cd's.. :c

help pls..

specs are:

Product MPN
MPN M9168B/A

Key Features
Form Factor All-in-one
Processor PowerPC G4 1.25 GHz
Installed Memory 256 MB (DDR SDRAM)
Operating System Apple MacOS X
Display 17 in. CRT Display

Processor
Processor Type PowerPC G4
Processor Speed 1.25 GHz
Installed Qty. 1
Max Qty. 1

Display
Display Type CRT Display
Display Size 17 in.

Motherboard
Bus Speed 167 MHz
Video Output Interface AGP 4x

Memory
RAM Technology DDR SDRAM
Installed RAM 256 MB
Max Supported RAM 1 GB
Installed Video Memory 64 MB
Installed Cache Memory 256 KB

Hard Drive
Hard Drive Interface DMA/ATA-100 (Ultra)
Hard Drive Capacity 80 GB

CD / DVD
CD / DVD Type DVD-R
Optical Drive Read Speed 8x (DVD)
Optical Drive Write Speed 16x (CD), 4x (DVD)

Audio / Video
Audio Output Type Sound card

Modem
Modem Type Fax / Modem

Networking
Networking Type Integrated Network Card
Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet

Dimensions
Height 33.1 cm

there.. in the middle of the screen..

flopticalcube · May 16, 2010

It can't find the OS on the hard drive. Did it come with the original install discs?

kbfr08 · May 16, 2010

A hard drive may not be installed, or it has been formatted. You need to install a copy of mac OS X. I just used a mac mini G4 install disc for my imac.

hucchund22 · May 17, 2010

it didn't come with any cd's.. just the keyboard, imac and speaker..
amm,, what can i do? do i need to buy a mac os installer? and what version do i need to buy for it to run on my imac??

sorry, i dont really have any idea about apple products.. thanks for the reply..

by the way,, was this a great buy? or i just wasted my money on this pc?

Hrududu · May 17, 2010

I would highly recommend finding some PC2700 RAM and getting it upgraded past the 256MB installed. It will run 10.5 Leopard quite nicely if you can find yourself a disc.

flopticalcube · May 17, 2010

hucchund22 said:
it didn't come with any cd's.. just the keyboard, imac and speaker..
amm,, what can i do? do i need to buy a mac os installer? and what version do i need to buy for it to run on my imac??

sorry, i dont really have any idea about apple products.. thanks for the reply..

by the way,, was this a great buy? or i just wasted my money on this pc?

It was a good buy and considered by many to be the most elegant of all iMacs. You will need more RAM and the machine will unofficially support 2GB. You can install Leopard if you can find a disc but it can be expensive (about 100 pounds). You should be able to find a copy of Tiger (OSX 10.4) for much less.

hucchund22 · May 18, 2010

thanks for the replies mates.. i'll try to find a mac os x version 10.2, 10.4 and 10.5.. and i'll also need to buy a ram..

by the way, what's the maximum ram for the 1 slot available to users? 'cause other sites says 512mb and other says 1gb.. a little confused here..

i'll find everything in ebay..

thanks..

flopticalcube · May 18, 2010

Officially 512MB, unofficially 1GB will work, that is why there is conflicting reports. You can also call Apple and ask for a set of restore discs. In this case I think it will be 10.2. The cost should be less than $20 or your equivalent if not in the US.

hucchund22 · May 18, 2010

if i understand you correctly, i can put a 1 gig ram on the slot available to users and have a total maximum ram lf 1.2+ gig of ram.??? Thanks, i'm searching now in ebay the cheapest os i can find..

flopticalcube · May 18, 2010

Correct. 2GB with both slots filled with 1GB sticks.

TheAppFinder · May 20, 2010

The question mark/ finder icon on the folder means that your mac can't find an Operating system. The 2 Os' I would install would be Tiger 10.4 or Leopard 10.5. But with 256 MB RAM Tiger will work but barely, so try upgrading the ram to 1 GB. Leopard will work fine with 512 mb or more but not with 256 mb.

Remember to hold the "C" while you boot from the intsall dvd so your mac can boot from the disk.

MacHamster68 · May 20, 2010

a important thing about the ram of the g4 imac 1.25 ,
is the user accessible ram is a pc 2700 ddr so dimm 200 pin (laptop size ram)
but the top ram slot inside which is not considered user upgradeble
is also pc 2700 ddr but a 184 pin (desktop size ram)

and yes thats a good deal for the uk , consider yourself lucky

and here a video where you see how
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W25M01JVpos&feature=related

macbug · May 20, 2010

Dont get 10.2 - Find a 10.5 DVD instead. It's not worth installing anything but leopard if you've got to buy disks anyway…

That's a solid machine - Get the ram as everyone's saying, it'll make a huge difference.

hucchund22 · May 21, 2010

thanks for the replies..

i'm having a credit crunch right now so fixing it won't be done soon..and i'm also having second thoughts about spending more money on this.. hehehe..

the video looks great, gonna try is soon,, but my question is this,,,
what are my chances of doing the 2 gig ram upgrade when i don't have any experience in fixing apple products? i've tried cleaning my desktop pc's before and i didn't have any problems,, but with this, looks a little difficult to do and i think it's out of my league..

but sooner or later, i'll fix my g4.. but the problem is when.. hehe..

i'll let you know if i succeed,,

thanks,,

jbyun04 · May 31, 2010

I don't know much but could I ask why this is still considered a solid machine? I'm just looking at the numbers and I'm not seeing why there is still a demand for these apart from the looks

hucchund22 · Jun 2, 2010

it's not really about the specs of these macs that made it a solid machine but it's style(i'm just guessing).. later macs don't have the dome shaped base and swivel designed monitors that makes you the adjust angles of the monitor itself to suit your needs..

hucchund22 · Jun 2, 2010

one question: do i really need a thermal paste in assembling back the imac.? - i was planning to put more r.a.m in it.. Both slots. -
I read somewhere that i have to put some, but can i just skip this part.? Thanks..

CubeHacker · Jun 2, 2010

hucchund22 said:
one question: do i really need a thermal paste in assembling back the imac.? - i was planning to put more r.a.m in it.. Both slots. -
I read somewhere that i have to put some, but can i just skip this part.? Thanks..

If you don't mind your iMac overheating and possibly destroying the CPU, then yes you can ignore that part. Otherwise, heed the steps in the service manual, and apply the thermal paste where indicated. Its important for the heat transfer of the entire system.

hucchund22 · Jun 2, 2010

hehe.. thanks for the reply.. i guess, i have to buy that in ebay..

hucchund22 · Jun 3, 2010

help!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have installing a MAC OS version 10.3.4 and a MAC OS version 10.5.4 but both time the machine spits them out.. what's wrong with this? help me please.... the cd/dvd rom in my mac doesn't like the taste of my cd's (maybe).. hehehe.. any advise please?????????????

thanks...

MrMacintoshBlog · Jun 4, 2010

Ok are the install discs DVD or CD?

It almost sounds like you have a cdrw only even though it says dvd, and are trying to put a dvd in.

drewdle · Jun 5, 2010

Sometimes, these machines aren't smart enough to figure out there's an install disc in there unless you tell it explicitly to boot from the disc. Hold down the C key when you turn the power on and keep holding it until you get the grey Apple logo, then you know you're good. Make sure the disc is in the drive before doing this as it won't give the ability to put the disc in and boot from it on the same startup.

There should be no discrepancy with your optical drive unless the seller pulled a swticheroo on you. ComboDrives were standard on the entry level machines, SuperDrives on the more expensive ones or as a build-to-order option. You machine looks to have the factory SuperDrive, which means you can burn DVDs should you desire.

Good luck!

hucchund22 · Jun 6, 2010

someone already told me the answer to this problem of mine in another thread..

i simply bought the wrong install discs.. hahha.. stupid me..

apparently, i have the gray cd's and i suppose to have the black/dark colored install discs.. hehe.. anyway, it is expected.. i don't really know anything about macs and this is the first time i bought one..

thanks..

hucchund22 · Jun 23, 2010

it's alive!!!!! After so many weeks, i finally got it to run.. i've spent much more on install discs than thd machine itself..

I have an extra:
1. Mac os x 10.3 & 10.5 - gray cd's bought by mistake
2. 256mb ram 200pin-working
3. 1gb ram 184 pin- not yet tested but bought as new
4. 512mb ram 184 pin- working

Others: 10.3 full install- 23pounds, 10.4 retail dvd- 50pounds, 10.5 family pack-83pounds.. Everything bought in ebay..

Any1 want anything.?

MacHamster68 · Jun 23, 2010

congrats you got it working
a great deal on the iMac for £62 and a family version of osx 10.5 for £83 is a bargain

imac g4-- broken-- need help and advice.. thanks..

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