# iMac startup problem / question



## macibo (Mar 16, 2012)

Hi All, i been messing around with some iMac's. trying to get working. wondering if anyone has done any work on them before, as its like starting all over again with these things.

Basically its a 2006 Core 2.

No apple sound when it starts, then the grey screen with the folder with question mark appears. Hard drive is not the problem as i have tested it with and without to see if it makes a difference. I put a tiger cd into it, it doesn't do anything cd spins up and sounds like its reading it, but does not progress, does not spit it out or anything. I cant boot it up with ctrl+alt + O + P etc.. its like the keyboard isn't active in whatever state it is currently in. Mouse light is on, however the keyboard you cant turn on num/caps etc.. I have used this keyboard on a similar iMac before so it should work.

Only response i can get from the system is if i press and hold the power button it does a continuous beep followed by doing the same as above.

Really puzzled if anyone could put in your two quarters...

Cheers


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

It's command + option + O + F to get into the firmware to eject disks, or point it to a bootable disk. But unless you know the exact commands to use, _*DO NOT*_ enter the firmware. You _*WILL*_ hose the Mac permanently!!! Instead, hold down command + option + P + R. This will reset the PRAM and should allow it to boot unless there is a hardware failure. As soon as you turn it on, hold the 4 keys until you hear the bong, and keep them held until you hear it 4 times. If you don't hear it, but the screen is flashing, keep it held until the screen flashes 4 times. Then let go and see if it boots from the CD. If not, restart it and hold the option key. This will give you the boot menu, and if the CD doesn't show up there, then the Mac needs to be repaired by Apple.


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## macibo (Mar 16, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. I have tried rebooting and holding down those buttons, but no response... If there is a major hardware issue would the mac still show the file question mark blinking thing?

I am using a PC usb keyboard, could this have anything to do with me not getting a response? Also someone told me that the cd i put in has to be the intel type not powerpc.. the cd that is stuck in there at the moment is a powerpc model from memory.. could this be causing problem?

but i just cant get any response from the keyboard commands...


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## macibo (Mar 16, 2012)

Just had some major progress. I burnt the rEFIt startup cd. Put it in and it read the cd and booted! However i have tried two PC keyboards and there is no response from the keyboards... I thought they could use PC keyboards?

Since there still no chime at startup is there still a hardware problem with the computer?


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

No chime means either the sound is muted, or no signal going to the speaker for whatever reason. Being an Intel Mac, PowerPC disks will not boot it. Any USB keyboard should work, as long as it's plugged into the Mac, and not a KVM or USB hub. It could be that the SATA or USB controllers on the mainboard has died. Try booting from a Windows XP SP3 install disk via rEFIt.


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## macibo (Mar 16, 2012)

I booted up with the XPS3 CD. booted up all the way to setup. select partition (shows that hard drive exists)... but keyboard not working again.

Mouse light is on, keyboard does not power up (cant select numlock or caps lock) however if i plug a wireless logitec controler it lights up but still no response from the keyboard.

Is there anyway i can resolve this myself without replacing the whole board? the capacitors all look good no bulge at all (i have replaced caps before on other machines etc)

Can you suggest a way forward without going to apple..

Cheers


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

If it's not talking to the keyboard, I'm not sure what can be done. If you can try an Apple keyboard, that would narrow it down. But basically, it needs a new mainboard if no USB keyboard works. Apple doesn't repair boards, only replace them.


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