Two iMac G5 issues

[AppleDApp]

I'm not familiar with PowerPC but I have two in my hardware repair class that need to be fixed.

Both iMac's are G5 17" 2GHz 1gb of RAM
160gb HDD


The first Mac on Startup you get the usual Apple chime then the white screen apears with the Apple logo. From there nothing. Any suggestions? Where could I find an OS disc to try and reinstall the OS? Could it be a failing hard drive?

The second Mac on Startup you get the Apple chime then greyish screen with folder appears. The folder has a question mark on it a few seconds later the iMac shutdown.

Any types on how to get OS X running on either machine or perhaps get linux is much appreciated.

 

[rjcalifornia]

Ok, you should get a Mac Disk Utility DVD to check if the hard drive is good or not.

Linux on a Mac... Yes or no?

No, unless you have to. Linux is a good operating system for Intel computers. Power PC is not that lucky in terms of stability and linux apps. There's no working flash plugin, it is very heavy even if you have enough RAM and worst of all, it crashes most of the time.

Stick with Mac OS Leopard, it might be 'outdated' but at least you'll find websites that let's you download applications for Leopard.

 

[AppleDApp]

Ok, you should get a Mac Disk Utility DVD to check if the hard drive is good or not.

Where can I get a Mac Disk Utility DVD?