i put the disk in, start up, and hold c. normally here, it freezes. if i let it just start up, the blinking mac folder comes up and flashes a question mark for a long time. any idea now?
Boot the iMac, and hold down command-option-P-R all at the same time (quickly), it will chime again, let it chime a few times (some say 2, some say 6)... See if that clears this up...