PRoblem with tranny?

Well I just bought this car off my landlord (1997 z24 cavalier 5-speed) and I have driven it 1038 km since ive bought it.

All smiles so far...but i was just out driving my car...and after stopping at a stop light, I tried to put the car in what seemed to be first gear (far top-left) but it started off in third gear (around 900 rpms) and all the way home I couldn't get the car to go into first gear once! I could ony get it into second gear one time... when i was moving around the shifter it seemed to move freely around the box...i dont think this is a good sign...

so anybody could you please give some advice on what the problem could be and what im going to have to do to fix it?

thanks.

i had a very very similar problem and it turned out being the shift cables

yeah, this morning i tried to take a looik uynder the car but i cant seem to see the transmission...anyone have any online manuals for a 97 cav?

Well thanks to everyones wonderful help (<--sarcastic), i Found out what the problem was.

In the shifting mechanism just above where the shifter connects to the pullets a small washer fell off and a pin was released from the assemply wich made the car stay in the middle track (only third and fourth gear) the pin was only a push-in and the washer is what fastened it to the assembly. So we welded on the washer (you would think they would of done this in the first place...) and now the shifter is back to normal.

again thanks for nothinnnnnnn
hopefully this will help others with the same problem.