A flashing question mark appears on the iMac screen during startup.

This article covers repair procedures for authorized service providers on selected Apple products, but we have published them in the Knowledge Base for the general public for educational purposes. At this time, there are a limited number of repairs that a customer can perform and these are covered under the customer installable parts program http://www.info.apple.com/installparts . If you have not been authorized to perform these procedures, please contact Apple (800-APL-CARE in the USA) or your local authorized service provider to schedule a repair.

DANGER ! This procedure exposes you to high voltages that can result in death or serious injury. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PROCEDURE IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN CERTIFIED AS AN APPLE-AUTHORIZED TECHNICIAN.

Products affected

• iMac (Slot-Loading)
• iMac (Summer 2000)
• iMac (Early 2001)

Solution

1. Start up from the system CD that came with the unit. Can you see the hard drive on the desktop?
Yes : The system software is most likely the cause. Reinstall system software. You must use the system software CD that came with the computer to get the correct version of Mac OS with the appropriate iMac enablers.
No : The hard drive or its software drivers are most likely the cause. Can you see the hard drive using Drive Setup?
Yes : Use Drive Setup to reinstall the software drivers for the hard drive. If the problem persists, use Drive Setup to reinitialize the hard drive Refer to article 22206: " Drive Setup 1.5 Read Me " for more information. Warning : You will lose all data on the hard drive when you reinitialize it. Back up the data first if possible.
No : Go to next step.

2. Check all cable connections to and from the hard drive.

3. Replace the HD/CD/DVD data cable.

4. Replace the hard drive.

5. Replace the hard drive power cable.

6. Replace the logic board.