Can I turn a bad video card iMac g5 into headless server? I have an iMac G5 that won't display anything because (I believe) the video card is malfunctioning. Could the machine still be functional as a headless server? I could modify the settings with a target disk mode boot to make it available over the network then manage it over ssh from then on. Is there anything I'm overlooking? Has anyone done this that can advise me of the pitfalls? Also, should I consider installing a server-grade hard drive?
No reason you couldn't do this. If you have already enabled remote login for ssh or screen sharing then you are good to go! If not then as you say use target mode to amend the settings. No real reason to install a server grade hard drive, although if it has the original hard drive in it then you might want to consider replacing it with a new one before you trust your data on it.