try unscrewing the bottom cover to expose the logic board,and near the processor there is a small button to reset the pmu (power management unit) then put everything back together,boot the imac and immediately hold cmd option o and f key altogether.
this will boot into open firmware,type nvram-reset press enter,then reset-all and press enter. this MIGHT help. if not,i'd say your little friend is cactus.
Man, Ive got a 10.2 Jaguar disk if you want that ill send it to you free if you want if your interested in it comment back i just thought that i had a spare disk and you might need if because os 9 is crap and maybe thats the problem contact me back if your interested Bye matie!
where do you get those updates? my imac g3(lime gree) at boot up at classic imac symbol i get lines top to bottom of whole screen, but when at desktop, only very faint red lines, and annoying white rectangle next to mouse cursor. and when i surf, i get red lines at different parts of screen. i want to do clean install from 9.0 to 10.0.4 cuz i only have those discs. so what are links to firmware update for those please?
ya so when you were replacing the ram you or the previous owner must of hit the two knobs on one of the sides of the imac(i forget which one but when you take the bottom case off there two knobs one is like contrast and the other is brightness i would guess that the brightness was moved so just take a screw driver or even you fingers and turn it on and play around with it until with it until you get it right. as for it turning off the mainboard probably just needs to be secured.
maaaaaaaan!!! I cant belive, after 7 months, it finally works! i just opened it up, took those things into the right position and now everything works kickass! dont know how could i say: THANKS MAAAAN, that really helped.
I just read your description and it defo is that analog board prob
In most cases anyone selling g3 imacs with no HD or ram have already fucked it up, but for one you need 9.2 to upgrade to the FW for OSX and second you dont update the FW with no batt or a dead batt
It looks like an analog video board prob.. it happens when you screw up a firmware upgrade....that would explain the ghostly images and that flickeing power button is the monitor trying to refresh but the firmware wont match the OS
Google stuff like "imac g3 no video after firmware update" and youll see lots of stuff to try... theres a way of getting the image back long enough to boot and fix the firmware
probably yes. but i dont really care about it now. i got myself a PM G4 500 sawtooth. Its pretty good. and now i'm on the way to get an LCD (adc) studio display for it, to make a nice apple-ish setup. i think i'm gonna post a video about it.
i know... i bought a powermac g4 instead. its a 500 mhz sawtooth with 704 megs of ram and if everything goes right, its gonna get tomorrow a geforce2 mx400 64meg flashed pc video card with quartz extreme support, i'll post a video about it.
While the iMac G3's are beautiful machines (aesthetically) their main problem is the fact that its a CRT and the analog board is notorious for going bad after a few years of use. (google the term "imac fly back" with quotes)
The strange thing is if the problem would be with anything on the pav board, then i should not get any screen. The imac g3s with bad pav board are like, you push the power button, and it immediately turns off 1-2 secs later. This is strange, that i get to the booting screen then it only turns off after that. AND it doesn't even turns off, it just stops booting, shuts down the hard drive and the screen, but the power button keeps showing that the computer is turned on.
So it worked before, but i think the pav board is living its last days. Whatever i do... NO WAY to boot the machine because you can do everything, it will die 15-20 seconds after turning it on. The problem is not the firmware upgrade.
No way... The lack of the pram battery can not cause such serious problems like that. It can cause boot problems (computer freezes when booting) at some models, but not at this one.
its your motherboard or cpu overheating if u took the logic board off u broke a heat sink seal u need to take off the board and add some heat sink grease
Thanks for the comment, but i didn't take out the logic board. So no problems with the heatsinks. I'm gonna buy a new PAV board for it. I think that causes the problems.
Sounds like the HD
BLASR24 2 months ago
firmware
Macintoshmani12 6 months ago
try unscrewing the bottom cover to expose the logic board,and near the processor there is a small button to reset the pmu (power management unit) then put everything back together,boot the imac and immediately hold cmd option o and f key altogether.
this will boot into open firmware,type nvram-reset press enter,then reset-all and press enter. this MIGHT help. if not,i'd say your little friend is cactus.
heathirving 6 months ago
My screen turns on then off, and the speakers pop, then nothing
iUseiMacs 7 months ago
im geting one but heres my best suggeestion go on eay buy a hd,ram,motherbord,and a power supply that should fix your problem!
EEEE1110lol 1 year ago
you have to hit the side really hard until it boots.
torinsundberg 1 year ago
@torinsundberg i hit the side of my working imac G3 and it boots.
Avondalelily 1 year ago
new HD and new ram
lol666 2 years ago
just...just.. get the new 27 inch i7 imac....
decepticon792 2 years ago
@decepticon792 Sorry but he isnt an idiot and would not waste money on a new imac.
I bought a perfectly working G3 for £11 and not a problem with it
i dont want to pay £2000 for a computer that isnt that much better
my mac with 1GB of ram boots faster than my gaming pc and my laptop both post-2007 machines
this mac is 2000. Apple products are good but im never buying them new
360ownez 1 year ago
From the sounds and flickering, it's Poltergeist. Clearly.
pronova33 2 years ago 4
Man, Ive got a 10.2 Jaguar disk if you want that ill send it to you free if you want if your interested in it comment back i just thought that i had a spare disk and you might need if because os 9 is crap and maybe thats the problem contact me back if your interested Bye matie!
JamieDude777 2 years ago
do you still have the 10.2 jaguar disk?
jacktravel1 2 years ago
Reset the pram.
FlowFusionxxx 2 years ago
is there any loose cables, i know it sound silly but it can make a difference
ThePCTutorialWorld 2 years ago
where do you get those updates? my imac g3(lime gree) at boot up at classic imac symbol i get lines top to bottom of whole screen, but when at desktop, only very faint red lines, and annoying white rectangle next to mouse cursor. and when i surf, i get red lines at different parts of screen. i want to do clean install from 9.0 to 10.0.4 cuz i only have those discs. so what are links to firmware update for those please?
rockbutt123 2 years ago
ya so when you were replacing the ram you or the previous owner must of hit the two knobs on one of the sides of the imac(i forget which one but when you take the bottom case off there two knobs one is like contrast and the other is brightness i would guess that the brightness was moved so just take a screw driver or even you fingers and turn it on and play around with it until with it until you get it right. as for it turning off the mainboard probably just needs to be secured.
iloveyomomma63 2 years ago 4
maaaaaaaan!!! I cant belive, after 7 months, it finally works! i just opened it up, took those things into the right position and now everything works kickass! dont know how could i say: THANKS MAAAAN, that really helped.
mobilzzone 2 years ago
replace that hd than install tiger or panther
The1every1thing1Show 2 years ago
try re-installing OS, but this time try OSX 10.3 or 10.4. This shall solve your problem...
enigmaenigma88 2 years ago
this is not about the OS, it dies even when there is no drive to boot from
mobilzzone 2 years ago
Whats Wrong With The iMac G3 Running Mac OS 9.1
maskdguy 2 years ago
ur os has to be 9.2.2 and ur firmware must be 4.1.9 to update to mac os x
linfan854 2 years ago
who is talking about os x? there is just os9 and a firmware upadte....
mobilzzone 2 years ago
is it a error
maskdguy 2 years ago
i was just saying that to anyone who needed help
linfan854 2 years ago
I just read your description and it defo is that analog board prob
In most cases anyone selling g3 imacs with no HD or ram have already fucked it up, but for one you need 9.2 to upgrade to the FW for OSX and second you dont update the FW with no batt or a dead batt
PoChopper 2 years ago
They can run on dead Pram batts.. so its not that
It looks like an analog video board prob.. it happens when you screw up a firmware upgrade....that would explain the ghostly images and that flickeing power button is the monitor trying to refresh but the firmware wont match the OS
Google stuff like "imac g3 no video after firmware update" and youll see lots of stuff to try... theres a way of getting the image back long enough to boot and fix the firmware
although that HD turn off is strange
PoChopper 2 years ago
What r u doin to the G3? you should try fixing it because i have an Imac g3 like that one but mine has 10.4.11 and it is my favorite computer
Tttyyyman 2 years ago
PRAM Battery you need
youleon21 2 years ago
I bought one.. it did not help.
mobilzzone 2 years ago
It Did Not Help You
maskdguy 2 years ago
yes, the flyback's been tweaked, or the psu is on its way out.
samssoftwareuser 2 years ago
probably yes. but i dont really care about it now. i got myself a PM G4 500 sawtooth. Its pretty good. and now i'm on the way to get an LCD (adc) studio display for it, to make a nice apple-ish setup. i think i'm gonna post a video about it.
mobilzzone 2 years ago
is it The RAM And Hard Drive
maskdguy 2 years ago
wipe it clean and reinstall
Toothpick356 2 years ago
face it. your computer is possessed.
pancakewafflebacon 3 years ago
i know... i bought a powermac g4 instead. its a 500 mhz sawtooth with 704 megs of ram and if everything goes right, its gonna get tomorrow a geforce2 mx400 64meg flashed pc video card with quartz extreme support, i'll post a video about it.
mobilzzone 3 years ago
oh sweet. I have a powermac g4 digital audio with dual 533 mhz processors. it's pretty sweet
pancakewafflebacon 3 years ago
Firmware doesn't do anything, I "had" to install it on my iBook Clamshell to run 10.3 but I didn't and it works.
YouMightHaveAIDS 3 years ago
While the iMac G3's are beautiful machines (aesthetically) their main problem is the fact that its a CRT and the analog board is notorious for going bad after a few years of use. (google the term "imac fly back" with quotes)
rkmugen 3 years ago
The strange thing is if the problem would be with anything on the pav board, then i should not get any screen. The imac g3s with bad pav board are like, you push the power button, and it immediately turns off 1-2 secs later. This is strange, that i get to the booting screen then it only turns off after that. AND it doesn't even turns off, it just stops booting, shuts down the hard drive and the screen, but the power button keeps showing that the computer is turned on.
mobilzzone 3 years ago
Redo the firmware update again and see what it does. Zap the pram before and after to see if clears up the situation.
NorCalExplorer 3 years ago
So it worked before, but i think the pav board is living its last days. Whatever i do... NO WAY to boot the machine because you can do everything, it will die 15-20 seconds after turning it on. The problem is not the firmware upgrade.
mobilzzone 3 years ago
Need some more information. Did it work under os 9.1 before you tried to update firmware to 4.1.9?
NorCalExplorer 3 years ago
The problem is that you have no pram battery.
ItachiUchihara 3 years ago
No way... The lack of the pram battery can not cause such serious problems like that. It can cause boot problems (computer freezes when booting) at some models, but not at this one.
However, thanks for the idea.
mobilzzone 3 years ago
Please put the battery in so as to eliminate any possible problems even though it most likely has nothing to do with what is wrong with the computer.
NorCalExplorer 3 years ago
its your motherboard or cpu overheating if u took the logic board off u broke a heat sink seal u need to take off the board and add some heat sink grease
ilikefriedfood 3 years ago
Thanks for the comment, but i didn't take out the logic board. So no problems with the heatsinks. I'm gonna buy a new PAV board for it. I think that causes the problems.
mobilzzone 3 years ago