[konabyte]

Oh please help me...
I did something stupid--I changed my startup disk preference to
a volume that can't boot my system...1.25 G4 imac 17" 512MB...when I turn the system on, I get a flashing Earth icon, then the finder/? flashing icon, and then the white screen with the Apple logo with circle/progress icon...never goes farther than this. I've tried to open the drive by holding the mouse when turning system on, tried booting in safe mode (shift key after start up tone), tried holding option key while turning system on, did the X key thing, all to no avail...I was using a wireless keyboard and mouse combo when faux pas occurred, switched to my wired versions thinking that they would work, but no response...argh. Please..I'm thinking if I can get the optical drive door open, I can try to reinstall...argh again, please, any ideas before I take it to my nearest Apple retailer...$$$

[albloom]

Try booting with the OPTION key pressed.
That'll get you a screen showing you the possible startup
volumes. It's slow, so be patient. When it finishes, click
your regular OSX boot drive.

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
1) Press the power button to boot your Mac
2) Immediately after press and hold Command (Apple) Option O + F to boot into Open Firmware
3) It may take a bit but you should get to a screen with a white background and black text saying "Welcome to open firmware"
4) Type

code:
eject-cd

---

5) Press Enter/Return...The CD tray should open.
6) Insert the CD you wish to boot from
7) Close the drive
8) Type

code:
mac-boot

---

9) Press Enter/Return...This should make your Mac leave Open Firmware and boot normally...You may have to restart to actually boot from the CD using.

[konabyte]

Thank you so much for the advice, but I'm still stuck.
I'm hoping the official "fix" won't be too costly...especially
for such a stupid self-inflicted snafu.

[Mojo_Jojo]

If I understand correctly, you have two problems - keyboard doesn't get recognized by the system and a non bootable cd stuck in drive. And you think ejecting cd might help?
Have you tried openning your drive door and ejecting cd by inserting a safety pin in that small hole which every optical drive has for this exact purpose?

[konabyte]

I've heard about this pin-sized hole...but for the life of me I can't
find it on my iMac. Nor can I find any info regarding this in my User's Guide. Any suggestions where to find this?
iMac G4 17" flat panel superdrive

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
I think the manual eject "pin hole" is behind the casing on the iMacs. That's why I didn't initially suggest it. You'd probably have to disassemble your iMac just to get to the manual eject.

[hmgcarr]

I had this problem, and none of the suggestions on the forums worked. I finally hit on the idea of opening the flap with my finger nails under the left and right edges to expose the drawer. A couple of plastic cogs are clearly visible with a torch under the tray on the left. With a small screwdriver or similar it is an easy matter to turn the larger cog and lo and behold, the drawer opens. You can assist it by pulling it gently out. Naturally the computer should be switched off during all of this as it will otherwise keep a firm grasp of the cd.

[dougster]

Try the F12 key to open the tray.