Brand new iMac - Powers up, shows apple, then screen goes black.

I just bought a brand new iMac today as a gift for my mother. I was trying to set it up and get everything working before introducing it to her, but ran into a problem I can't figure out how to fix. When I power it up, it either repeatedly powers up and then shuts back off, or it powers up, shows the Apple logo, then drops to a black screen. In either mode, it is unresponsive. I have tried all the suggestions in the instruction manual for resetting it and interrupting this freezing and powering cycle, but nothing works. I have seen on another thread that this is possibly a problem with Leopard and Apple has some patches to fix it. The problem is, I can't even get the machine operating to the point where I can get to the Web to download those patches. Any suggestions? I tried calling Tech Support, but it was after hours. I'm hoping they offer Saturday help.

I’m disappointed.

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montanabeaverdam replied on May 13, 2008 16:00

I have this problem to. I'm taking it in to be checked tomorrow..

I’m frustrated

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Axey replied on May 17, 2008 05:57

I should've posted an update on this. I ended up taking the Mac to an Apple store. The Genius Bar fellows looked it over and took it in as a warranty service. They had to work on it twice to fix it. The problem ended up having to do with an electrical problem with the Mac. Some parts were replaced and we downloaded the OS patches while it was in the store. The Genius Bar did a fantastic job fixing my machine. It works great now.

I’m calm.

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Rob&Apple replied on June 28, 2008 15:46

Same problem here. First it was intermitent, like once every week. Now its every 3-4 minutes. Even after I unplugged all accessories, it just keeps crashing like that with the black screen.
Anyone out there know if this is software or hardware??

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bjtitus commented on August 16, 2008 03:39

Sounds like it could be hardware. You should run a hardware diagnostic test: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

This will at least give you a sense of whether it is a hardware problem or not. Post back with results.
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Axey replied on June 28, 2008 18:25

With ours it was a hardware malfunction. The offending part had to be replaced. There has been no trouble since then however.

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