Got this M5521 Indigo G3 off someone locally, they told me the PRAM battery just needed to be replaced but it worked otherwise. provided me with what i assume are original install discs too (8.5.1, like a mustard yellow, both install and restore discs). got a new battery and replaced it, and heres where I'm starting to lose it a little. it chimes when i power it on, stays on a black screen for about 30 seconds, goes white for a few then back to black. its only after a few minutes i see the? file icon flashing. when i first turned it on, it immediately went to the flashing ? icon. every time after it did/does what i described.
1 learned the hard way that the disc drive (slot loading) is shot. tried putting the disc in and it required a degree of force it shouldn't have. made some gnarly noises, so i shut it down and got the disc out with two bent plastic cards. purchased a veloCD firewire disc reader on ebay. it works fine as far as i can tell, except when plugged in it still won't boot to the disc. ive reset the NVRAM and PRAM in open firmware also. when i press option to see boot options, nothing shows up. i assume that whoever owned it (not the guy who sold it to me, it was his retired friends) wiped it first. Its unclear whether the hard drive is in good shape. the only other thing I've noticed is that right after the startup chime, the caps lock key on the keyboard (original) lights up for a few seconds and then stops. not sure if that would be considered "one long beep" in terms of failing to post.
so now I'm at a loss - i found a new slot loading disc drive online, along with a hard drive and new memory should i need it. before i take the plunge and start dumping more money into this, is there anything im missing? i consider myself a novice with older apple products, but im well familiar with repairing newer models.
tl;dr this G3 is infuriating and haunted, which is fitting as i got it from a funeral home. i posted some pictures of the machine and some innards, along with the model and SN. thank you to whoever can point me in the right direction!
1 learned the hard way that the disc drive (slot loading) is shot. tried putting the disc in and it required a degree of force it shouldn't have. made some gnarly noises, so i shut it down and got the disc out with two bent plastic cards. purchased a veloCD firewire disc reader on ebay. it works fine as far as i can tell, except when plugged in it still won't boot to the disc. ive reset the NVRAM and PRAM in open firmware also. when i press option to see boot options, nothing shows up. i assume that whoever owned it (not the guy who sold it to me, it was his retired friends) wiped it first. Its unclear whether the hard drive is in good shape. the only other thing I've noticed is that right after the startup chime, the caps lock key on the keyboard (original) lights up for a few seconds and then stops. not sure if that would be considered "one long beep" in terms of failing to post.
so now I'm at a loss - i found a new slot loading disc drive online, along with a hard drive and new memory should i need it. before i take the plunge and start dumping more money into this, is there anything im missing? i consider myself a novice with older apple products, but im well familiar with repairing newer models.
tl;dr this G3 is infuriating and haunted, which is fitting as i got it from a funeral home. i posted some pictures of the machine and some innards, along with the model and SN. thank you to whoever can point me in the right direction!
