1st time stumped.. bluescreen and no key cmds work.

[just.in.luck]

helping my gf clean i came across her 2006 imac 17", 1.83ghz, 512mb ram, 160gb stuffed in a closet to be thown out... I was like nope! this is a beauty and mac never fails. we will have it up and running.

I hooked it up. turned it on. Got the chime, then the grey screen with apple icon, it loads, it then switches to the blue screen with the spinning (little grey tick) wheel, and the mouse appears. I can turn on the caplocks (indicator light on keyboard turns green) it then stays frozen here. flickering between light blue and dark blue screen.

I was like screw it I will reinstall the system from the start up disk. so I inserted the start up DVD disk 2 and held the power button till the computer shut down. i waited a minute then pressed power button. the chimes went and i held the "c" key to have the computer boot form the dvd drive. it didnt.... did the exact same as in when i first started the computer.

i have tried rebooting using all the key cmds. tried pulling all cords holding power button then restarting. nothing seems to be working.. always same start up to the blue screen flicker.

maybe keyboard keys are not working? although the caplocks light appears?
it is the keyboard that came with the computer. i tried other keyboard and same issue.

What other options are there? I know it can me fixed. mac has never failed me and i will not fail mac. this beaut needs to be resurected.

thank you very much

 

[hfg]

Did you perform a PRAM reset too (sounds like you did perform the SMC reset above)?

 

[just.in.luck]

Thanks for the reply. I did perform a PRAM reset as well. And then after rebooting it again went through start up process all the way to blue screen with mouse arrow. Then flicker to blue screen no mouse arrow. Then another ten seconds back to blue screen with mouse arrow. back and forth.
Also did the SMC ...
And the install disk is stuck in DVD drive. I put my ear to slot and can hear it spin when starting computer. But holding "c" still won't read. And cannot eject now lol...
Thank you

 

[hfg]

I always let the PRAM reset "cycle" through at least 3 chimes before releasing the keys ... that oddly seemed to fix some problems that a single cycle didn't.

As far as the stuck disk ... try holding down the left mouse button when starting the computer ... that should eject the disk unless there is a problem with the drive.

You might also want to reseat your RAM modules if they are accessible to clean the contacts of any oxide they might have accumulated.

Oh ... and welcome to MacRumors ...

 

[DeltaMac]

You can eject the DVD by shutting off the iMac. Press and release the power button, then hold the left mouse button. The DVD should slide out shortly after the screen lights up.

Anyway, you did say that you used DVD disk 2... That is not a bootable disk, it is a disk used to install extra apps.
You should have a set of 2 DVDs. The bootable DVD is disk 1. Insert that DVD, then restart holding the C key.
An alternative is to restart (with the DVD in the drive) while holding the Option key, which will display icons for any bootable partitions. You can click on the drive icon, then press enter to boot from that selected drive.

 

[just.in.luck]

Thanks for the welcome and reply.
OK so when I do the PRAM it doesn't even get to second chime. It chimes once and runs through start up to blue screen again.

I will try this new method of ejecting the WRONG install DVD. Darnit lol. Thank you very much. Emberrased. Lol

This is great. I will give this a try and post what happens.

Thanks

 

[just.in.luck]

All keyboard cmds from start up are not working.

 

[DeltaMac]

What keyboard do you have? Is it the white Apple keyboard with USB?

Press the keyboard boot command when you first hear the boot chime. Waiting till the boot chime stops is likely too late for some key commands.

 

[hfg]

If you are using a wireless keyboard, it is critical WHEN you first press the startup keys. Press the keys immediately when you see the green light on the keyboard OR hear the chime start, not before. Continue to hold them until you see activity on the screen, or in the case of a PRAM reset until after you hear the last chime cycle you are interested in.

I seem to recall SOME of the startup key commands must be pressed immediately after the chime starts even with a wired keyboard.

 

[just.in.luck]

Right on. Thanks, I managed to get the DVD out using the left click on mouse while restarting. Stoked. Now the next steps.
I will try booting from the install DVD 1. I have also included a pic of the computer, keyboard and mouse. So ya'll know what I am using.
Thank you very much.

 

[just.in.luck]

and.... stuck again.

PRAM not working.
All other boot cmds are not working and it just goes to the blue screen with the mouse cursour. that i can move.

install disk dvd 1 also will not read when booting holding the c key.

is it just timing the keys? i have tried before chime right at chime, right after chime. only when the caplocks light appears on keyboard. tried holding cmd from shut down to start up. nothing seems to be working.

thank you if you can help with any other options.

 

[leederek007]

Have you tried using a separate computer to install the OS?

In essence, you take out the hard drive of the iMac, put it in another mac with similar specs(32 bit processor etc..) and install it on that mac.

 

[just.in.luck]

I have not tried that yet. Was hoping to not have to. But its looking like I may have to. Thank you.

I will keep trying the boot cmds and timing. Plus dvd or external see if by chance it will work.

Thanks.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

You can reinstall via Target Disk Mode using FireWire, it shouldn't be necessary to pull the drive entirely.

 

[hfg]

The "green light" only applies to the Wireless Keyboard which you are not using. So the Caps lock doesn't apply either here.

Did you try reseating the RAM modules to clean any formed oxide that may be present on the contacts.

Usually pressing the key-combination when the chime starts, and then continue HOLDING it down does the trick.

 

[just.in.luck]

About the caplocks light. That makes sense. Thank you.. I was indicating that it turns on which makes me believe the computer is reading the keyboard.
I Will clean ram modules . so cool. Really appreciate all the help and learning.

 

[hfg]

About the caplocks light. That makes sense. Thank you.. I was indicating that it turns on which makes me believe the computer is reading the keyboard.
I Will clean ram modules . so cool. Really appreciate all the help and learning.

Yeah ... the caps lock light does indicate the keyboard is functional and getting power from the USB ports. Good sign!

After being in storage for such a long time, sometimes contacts, even though gold plated over nickel, can develop an insulating oxide on the point of contact and quit working.

It can also be a power supply issue, as capacitors can go bad after long periods of inactive storage.

 

[DeltaMac]

That keyboard is newer than the iMac. A 2006 iMac would have come with a white plastic keyboard.

Is there any response when you restart while holding the Option key? You SHOULD get the boot-picker screen.
Again, the green light when pressing the caps lock button doesn't tell you much more than you have power to the keyboard (the USB bus has power)
You should try a different keyboard. Although some PC keyboards may also tend to ignore the boot commands, most will work when you discover which keys to press. The main difference will be that the command and alt/option keys are reversed.