iMac with G4 Processor refuses to Boot

[Snarkbox]

I just bought an iMac with a G4 processor from a friend... The only problem is that apparently some vital file was deleted and as a result, it will not start up. I have a Tiger recovery disc, but because I'm only being shown the gray apple screen and the loading circle, I can't actually use it. Any ideas?

 

[three]

I'd say to reinstall OS X.

 

[Snarkbox]

Right... but how would I go about getting to the point where I'd be able to run the disc? At this point, it's totally unresponsive. I can eject the disc drive by holding the mouse button at power-up, but other than that, I can't do anything. I ran a firewire cable to my macbook, and the hard drive isn't even being detected.

 

[4JNA]

hold down the 'C' key at the bong (power on) to boot from the optical drive. with the X disc in the drive of course...

 

[Snarkbox]

Thank you so much! Booting from the optical drive worked, OS X is now installing, and hopefully all will be well from here on in.