Emac model number A1002

You have a hung operating system - perhaps a file is mis-located or corrupted. Insert Disk 1 of your eMac install set, then hold down the power button until the computer turns off. Press it again to restart, then immediately press and hold the "C" key. This should force the computer to start from the install disk. Once you get the installer screen, look in the menus for "Disk Utility" and select that. In the Disk Utility screen, click on the Hard Disk icon in the left pane, then click the "Repair Disk" button. Once you see the process has started, you can go do something else - this takes a while. When this is done, click "Repair Permissions" and wait for that to finish. If all goes well, Disk Utility will find and untangle a file directory problem and your system will work again.
If you do not have an install CD, you could try fixing things in "single-user" mode. On start-up, hold down the Command (Apple) and "S" keys until the screen turns black and starts scrolling a lot of white text. When the system finishes start-up (you will see the main account user name followed by a flashing cursor mark), type (without quotes) "fsck -f", then <enter>. If the main account requires a log-in password, you will be asked to provide that. The "fsck" command starts a Unix routine similar to Disk Utility. You may have to repeat the fsck to ensure repairs are complete. (Note to gutter-minds: fsck is not an obscenity, it's an acronym for "File System ChecK".) When you are done with fsck, type "reboot" to restart the computer normally.
If the files system repair fails, or an important file is hopelessly corrupted and you don't like trying to fix it in Single-User command-line mode, the simplest fix is to reinstall the OS using the CDs. Your account information may be lost. On the other hand, if you are willing to hack Unix, you may be able to find the system log files in Single-User mode and trace down the error that prevents normal startup. If it is a corrupted preference file, you can simply delete it and try starting again.

I've never used a hair pin-- a straightened paperclip has always worked for me.
One alternate solution (if you have another computer available) would be to boot the eMac into target disk mode by holding T during startup. It should show a firewire icon on the screen, and should act like an external hard drive when you connect it to another computer via a firewire cable. You can use this method to install the OS onto the eMac from another Mac. You can try Googling "Target Disk Mode" if you need more information.

I have a possible solution, but it would be helpful to know what operating system you have on your eMac. Mac OS X is the Mac operating system. Do you have Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3, or 10.4, for example.
Solution:Do you have your system discs for your eMac or an Mac OS X installation disc? You'll need it to fix the problem. Use the newest disc you have.
WARNING: There is a _slight_ risk of loss of your data (pictures, documents, etc.) when reinstalling your operating system. Backing up your precious photos and other documents is critical!

1. If the eMac is on, hold down the power button until it turns off. 2. Turn the eMac while holding down the mouse button. 3. When the CD/DVD drive opens, put the system disc in (use disc #1 if you have more than one disc). 4. Turn the machine off again by holding down the power button. 5. Turn the machine on while holding down the C key on the keyboard to boot from CD (or DVD). 6. Wait until the eMac boots from your system disc. 7. You should see the install screen. There should be an Options button. Click the Options button. 8. One of the choices will be to do an "Archive and Install". Go ahead and do an "Archive and Install", which will reinstall the operating system but leave your photos and other files. See cautions above. **Do _NOT_ click the option to ERASE the hard drive** or you'll lose all your photos, etc. 9. Once it's all done (expect it to take an hour or more), you should be able to use your computer normally.
Good luck. I hope this is understandable. If you need more help, please post again. *Please rate me if this helped.* Thanks!

Your best bet is to reset the System Management Controller;

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

...and then reset the Parameter RAM:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

If it persists after that, try Safe Mode:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455

...if that persists, try booting to your install DVD and running Disk Utility:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1417

..also note in this article that if for some reason you are unable to boot into your Install DVD the instructions for using fsck will do the same thing.

If that fails to resolve the issue, you'll want to reinstall the system:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1710.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, it will likely need repair at an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Store.

Your hard drive has lost a file needed to start up the machine. The folder with the question mark means it cannot find a useable Operating system. I hope you backed up your files you needed becuase the only real way to recover the machine is to reinstall the OS from the install disk. You must format the Hard Drive from the format option on the install disk and reinstall the OS.

If you are not concerned about any of the files on the computer, I suggest just wiping it and reinstalling the OS from the original software discs - this will ensure there's absolutely no issues with the files on the computer. If you are concerned about saving data, this could get tricky - as it sounds like you've moved something in the user that the OS needs to boot. If that's the case, there's an "archive and install" option when you go to install, more info on that here. When performing this archive and install, be sure not to check-mark the box that says "preserve users and settings", as the user is corrupted - what it will do is stick the user in a folder on the drive called "previous systems", and you can access the data later from the new user created during the repair installation.

Good luck!

In OS X, if you're the administrative (or only) user, you can reset the admin/user password using the OS X installation disk #1. Put the disk in the CD drive & restart the eMac while holding the "C" key down (Restart is also on the Apple menu, top-left corner of your screen). When the Installer opens, click "Utilities" then Restart. When the Installer asks you what language, pick one (maybe English?) 8¬), click continue (arrow) then Utilities again & choose "Reset Password"; the system will guide you through the steps. Once you've reset the user password, restart the eMac, then you can log in using the new password. You'll probably want to reset your "Keychain" password to match your new login password – otherwise it'll ask for your password every time it needs one for a program. "Keychain Access" is in the 'Utilities' folder, which is inside the 'Applications' folder.

—> Important: if the old Users Home Folder was encrypted ("FileVault" protected), you'll need the old user's password, or the eMac's Master password to access the files in the Home Folder – otherwise, the Home folder's files will be lost. As a new user, you'll have your own Home Folder & access to all application programs.

The flashing folder means that the computer can't find the boot system on the hard drive. If your girlfriend's step-dad has removed some parts of the OS, then the system will not start giving the 'flashing folder' result. You will need to re-install the OS from the system disk.
Insert the disk into the computer and it will boot from that and take you through the install procedure.

Is it a file or Folder on the screen?
Are you booting in OS9 or OSX?

Simple answer without knowing the answer to the above questions could be the hard drive is bad. Try rebooting with the install cd's that came with the machine. If you see a disk image it is good if not it is bad. If in Os9 it is a corrupted system folder and that could mean many issues have occurred.

The bootup permissions file has become corrupted in your system folder. Booting up and running an"archive and install" from the installation cd, or better, from an external hardrive, should solve the problem.