Imac G5 17 Kernel panic

[5a2r3c3]

-When starting up, get message to Restart your computer in smaller black box in center!
-Then long error message about system failure/system crash/ kernel panic etc.
-Tried using reinstall disk and Hardware test disk/tech tool 3.05 both same results
-Took back off reset SMU/PMU and checked to see if leds 1,2,3, light and they do
-Don't know where to go from her?

 

[Makosuke]

To be clear what you're describing, when you try to boot from the Hardware Test disc and/or Techtool boot disc, you also get a kernel panic?

If so, there problem is either a very broken hard drive/optical drive that's crashing the computer at boot, or the motherboard is failing. The former can probably be tested by first disconnecting the hard drive and seeing if it will boot from the optical drive, and if that doesn't work disconnecting the optical drive and seeing if it will boot from the hard drive. You could also try disconnecting both and booting from an external drive, if you have one available.

If it won't boot in any of those situations, it's almost certainly the motherboard--find one on eBay and replace it, or buy a new computer. You might also glance at the capacitors on the motherboard (they look like little cylinders sticking up with a shiny metal top that has a + shape on it--a Google search will tell you what specifically to look at.) while you've got the back open--those systems are known for having high failure rates due to bad capacitors. If the capacitors have bulging tops (rather than flat), then your motherboard is almost certainly toast.