Ejecting a CD from the G3 iMac

[Mac+]

I just bought my mum a G3 iMac and went to install Panther on it. Only thing is, the computer asked me to press the reboot button, which I did, and now it will not read from the CD drive - where the 10.2 installation disk is.

I want to eject the disk and perform a drag and drop installation using Firewire target disk mode - but I cannot figure out how to get the CD out of the iMac.

No OS loads up - and I *have tried* hitting the eject key on the keyboard.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[goldfish]

Is it not just a question of holding down the mouse button when you restart? :confused:

Simon

[LoCash]

Sometimes holding the button down on reboot doesn't work. I had this problem when installing OS X on a cube for a client. I actually had to open up the cube and remove the disc with a pair of pliers.

[windowsblowsass]

is it tray or slot load?

[Mac+]

Slot load - but don't worry now - I just found the manual eject hole and stuck a paper-clip in there to get it out.

Question - is it worth repairing the CDRW drive on this machine or should I purchase an external one ... not sure whether Mum will want to burn CDs or not, but it bums me out that the whole Mac is not working perfectly. :\

Btw - thanks for the help and suggestions though everybody. :)

[SKMDC]

I'd get an external, which i did for my imac G3 that my kids use.
the hard drive and the optical are both starting to get a little funky and i was tired of having to go fix their "frozen" NEMO game.
you can get a read-only or a CDRW dirt cheap these days.

[Mac+]

Well, I think I have it all configured now. Mind you that installing by Firewrie target mode was a bit disconcerting at the end.

The old version of 10.2 came up on the screen of my PB and I though I had wiped my drive - even though I had specifically pointed to the Firewire drive for the installation. After shutting both machines down (the iMac would not eject itself off the PowerBook's desktop for some reason) I rebooted. The PowerBook would not let me view the "About This Mac" info - which was a worry. So I rebooted that and all is fine.

Now I have hooked Mum's iMac to the 'net (I'm posting from it at the moment) and have just completed Software Update - when I restart, this thing should be running 10.2.8 and Safari (not IE).

I hope she likes it since I'm instigating a switch from the Colour Classic (running System 7 which she uses to type up letters and do the occasional spreadsheet) and other hand-me down PCs she has been using! :D

[Luca]

Last edited by Mac+ : Today at 11:14. Reason: typos

Colour

ocassional

Missed two.

;)

[Mac+]

SKMDC - thanks for the advice on the "dirt-cheap" drives. I still wish that this internal drive worked properly though. But, eh , hopefully my folks won't notice or ever have a need to use it. An external drive might be handy for them to archive their stuff, but this iMac has a 20GB hard drive so that should be enough for them.

My next question is: Should I buy Panther now and install it on this iMac? I have not bought it for my PB, since I plan on upgrading pretty soon. But, the thing is, I will be moving to China for three years in January and I want to make sure that Mum and Dad are pretty well set-up. 10.2.8 might just do them fine on this G3, but maybe it is worth having Panther on board before I leave.

On the other hand, should I just wait for Tiger - skipping Panther - order a copy and get a friend to do the installation whilst I'm away? (Of course, if Tiger were to be released in January, then I'd buy and install it before I left.)

[Mac+]

Missed two.

;)Damn it! :grumble:
Good finds, though! :)

[edit] ... wait a tick - it was released as the Colour Classic in Australia! :p