Power Mac G5: Keyboard commands don‘t work during startup

Normally, when your computer starts up, you can use certain keyboard shortcuts to tell the computer to start up from an optical disk, reset PRAM, start up in FireWire Target Disk mode, start up in verbose mode, and so forth.

In some circumstances, a Power Mac G5 may no longer function as expected. If you find the computer isn't responding to any of these startup keystrokes, follow these steps to troubleshoot the issue.

1. Disconnect all USB devices except your Apple keyboard and mouse. (Make sure the keyboard and mouse work correctly before you shut the computer down.) Test from this configuration to see if a USB device is interfering in any way.
2. Make sure that the Open Firmware password is not enabled.
3. Start up the computer and keep the power button held in until the Open Firmware screen appears. When you see the Open Firmware screen and prompt, type reset-nvram and press return to clear NVRAM. On the next line, type reset-all and press return to restart the computer.

If the issues persist after trying all these steps, your computer may require service. Please contact your local Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider for further assistance.