I've been asked by a friend to try to sort out an iMac G3 that he's
bought. He reported that it will sometimes boot normally, but often the
screen just remains blank.

I can't get it beyond the blank screen. The startup bong sounds as
normal and the HD clatters a little, but it doesn't appear to be
attempting to boot.

The HD has OS 9 on it I believe, but it's possible that someone tried to
put Mac OS X on it without applying the necessary firmware updates. That
would explain the blank screen. I've tried plugging in an external
display, but no joy there either.

I'm wondering where to go from here. There's plenty of info on the net
about various incantations which may get a iMac with firmware problems
back on the go. But before I try anything, has anyone here got any
recommendations?

TIA

Mark

iMac G3, graphite, FireWire, 600MHz, 512MB RAM (2x256MB Crucial sticks)

--
Mark Etherington