iMac G4 ?mac will not mount HELP!

[shellsmac]

My iMac will not start up. I get a ?Mac then an error that tells me to shut off extensions and restart but then it locks up. Bomb and all. Is my hard Drive dead? The computer is only 2 years old. Please Help! If it is dead is there any way to retreive the info on it. Send it off somewhere? Some important info in there.

 

[pncc]

Don't panic (yet) Most likely the system is corrupted and won't boot the CPU.

Try booting from the hardware test CD or the install CD and see if the CPU starts up.

If it Does, do NOT reformat the drive. Run Disk First Aid and see if it fixes the drive. Restart again and see if the CPU boots after repair.

If DFA doesn't see any drives, you are in trouble.
Make a decision NOW about your data. Just how important is it?

Do you have any backup? Sending the drive out a recovery service is expensive ?$1000 or more, but you WILL get the data back almost certainly. There are other things you can try on your own to get the data back, but every attempt you make will REDUCE the chances of by professionals.

 

[shellsmac]

It will mount from other disks but the drive does not show. I've tried zapping the Pram etc. nothing has worked so far. It worked fine one day and then the next is was in sleep mode and wouldn't wake. I've worked on other Macs for over 10 years and never had a hard drive go bad.