HELP! Flashing question mark on startup

Hi. I have a MacBook Pro 17" 2.33GHz. I was using this the other day, as per normal, and all of a sudden it crashed. I had to restart the laptop by pressing the power button down and when it restarted I got a flashing question mark. What can I do to get back into my laptop? I have a lot of data on my hard drive and need to get on with some important work.

Your hard drive has not failed. You probably have directory damage. Diskwarrior or Techtool Pro will locate your hard drive and repair the damage. You should not use your computer until the damage has been repaired.

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A flashing question mark on startup

My Mini is displaying a flashing question mark after startup. How do I fix it?

The flashing question mark indicates that your Mini cannot find a valid startup disk. Restart with the Install disk in place and hold down the C key and the Mini will start up from the CD. Repair the Mini's hard disk using Disk Utility on the Install CD (Look under the Apple menu). If this does not work, you may need to obtain a startup CD with a third-party recovery utility such as Disk Warrior to attempt to rebuild the Mini hard disk directory.
Here's a link to an Apple document to help you:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042
Bob N.
Mac Mini 1.5 GHz; iBook 900 mHz; iPod 20 GB Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Flashing question mark on startup, plzz plzz help

Hello,
I know there are many post on this topic, but not getting exactly for this machine.
was normal yesterday, today when i turend on, i see flashing question mark with grey folder.
i really need help with this, how can i sort this out? what will be the problem?
i tried holding command key on the restart, it ends with below image...... what is this??
please let me know, i have very important files, i'm worried. your any reply would be appreciated. thanks

The blinking question mark indicates that the firmware could not find a valid Operating System on your machine.
Your harddrive may have failed. Your filesystem may have bcome corrupted.
You may want to seek professional help here. You need to decide how important you data is to you. Be sure to specify that you want your data back.
In addition to the fix your mac places, there are professional firms the will attempt to recover data from a failed harddrive. Recovery does not come cheap.
diy...
I suspect disk corruptions.
verify & repair your startup drive
To verify & repair you file system on the startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from you installation DVD.
This article will tell you how to get to disk utility. Once in a disk utility, you can go and attempt to recover the disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
To repair your startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Mac OS X 10.4: About the utilities available on the Mac OS X 10.4 Install DVD
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2055
How to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Insert your startup DVD into your reader. Power down your machine. Hold down to the c key. Power on your machine. This will bootup your startup DVD.
This will bring you to a panel asking you for your language. Pick your language.
You you come to the Install Mac OS panel. Do not install.
Click on Utilities menu item. This will give you a pulldown list of utilities.
Click on the disk utility.
You are now in disk utility. Pick your disk. Click on repair it should be on the lower right of the panel.
Once the repair completes successfully, you should update your permissions.

HELP PLEASE-- flashing question mark on startup, none of remedies working

I'm using my Powerbook one night, everything is working fine. I wake up, go to use it and I get the spinning color wheel; tried to close an application by force quit and I get no response, so I restart using the power button, and the flashing question mark / mac OS icon pops up.
I immediately did some research on what to do; I put the OS cd in, tried restarting holding the C key and later the X key; nothing. Tried resetting PRAM, didn’t solve the problem. Tried holding command-S to check disk/repair, didn’t work. I then held the option key to choose the location to boot off: and neither the HD nor cd showed up: just the circular arrow to re-scan, and the straight arrow to enter the selection.
I have 2 install discs: I'm not sure if they are the same or not; I may have put the wrong one in. So I tried to eject it and now it wont eject.
Firstly, how to eject the cd? I tried holding the eject button, F12, command + . , as well as the trackpad. I don’t see a place to put a pin or paperclip in like some cd drives have to force it open.
Secondly, what else can I try to get my computer working? I'm no expert, but it sounds like this might be a hardware problem aside from the HD, being that the computer is not recognizing neither HD nor cd. However, the cd I have is a copy of the OS disc I made, and it may or may not be the right install disc, or properly made copy.
How difficult is it to open up Powerbooks and replace the HD? I'd like to have it up and running as soon as possible, but most importantly I hope that my data is still safe. And no, unfortunately I hadn't backed up my data. Please advise.

Maybe the copy of that disk is not bootable. Do you have the original or can you get it?
Here's a faq to remove disks.
DALE

File with flashing question mark on startup?

So my MacBook Air just recently started this, with the white screen and grey box with a flashing question mark in it upon starting it up. Safe Boot did nothing, the question mark file continued to appear.
Holding down the Alt button seems to be the only thing that has yeilded any other response. When I hold the Alt button down on startup, it asks me to connect to a wireless internet (which I have). After connecting, it goes into Internet Recovery, where it shows a rotating globe and loads up, usually taking a couple of minutes.
Then I get the white page with the apple logo, and a loading circle.
After that, I get the grey page with Mac OS X Utilities.
From here, I have no idea what to do. My computer was only recently returned to me after a login error, where all my files has been removed and deleted, so it was at Factory settings. Since then, I haven't had enough things on my compter to use Time Machine Backup or anything like that. so I have no backup sources for it to restore from.
I have been able to get onto the internet, but only in a small box on top of the grey background.
I tried to reinstall Mac OS X Lion from here, but when I agree to the terms and conditions, it gives me no disk to install it too, so therefore I cannot continue ahead with the installation.
As for Disk Utility, when I click on the left hand side Mac OS X Base System, there is nothing under First Aid that is highlighted for me to click (show details is also checked)
Nothing under Erase is highlighted for me to click on either.
In the Restore selection, The source (Mac OS X Base System) has Image highlighted beside it. I can click onto that, but from there I have no clue what to do.
This about the sum of all the options my computer is giving me at the moment.
I have no speakers or cords that hook up to my computer (seeing how its a MacBook Air)
As far as I am aware, I have no disks or CDs or external drives that have any programme to help me restore it. I also am not entirely certain what my current systems were, with how up to date everything was, before this happened, but I assume they were all the latest seeing how it was only just fixed a month ago.
If there are any suggestions, your help would be great.
If my files can be saved, that is awesome. But if they have to be cleared, I am not at all phazed by doing that either.

If Disk Utility left panel shows only "Mac OS X Base System", it would seem that it is not detecting your main drive at all.
I would take the system into an Apple Store for diagnosis.

IN DESPERATE NEED FOR HELP flashing question mark appears MacBook

Hello everyone, I got this White MacBook Mac OS X 10.4.11 yesturday I was updating limewire and iTunes, I was downloading some songs from Limewire when all of a sudden my macbook frozed. I was not able to do a thing. Not even minimizing nor quiting the app nor even opening another aplication, so I decided to shut it down by holding the power button until it shut down (about 8 secs). So I restart my macbook and I got this grey=blank screen whit a flashing question mark on it. I've tried EVERYTHING on this link http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440?viewlocale=en_US even these one http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1533 and all I was able to accomplish, was to hold the mouse (/trackpad) button to eject a Cd, and while pressing Shift during startup (in order to start in Safe Boot mode) all I get is this lock image and this space to type a password. I've tried typing every password I know and I can't fix my macbook. Can anyone please help me out on this one?

It means certain system files needed for startup are corrupted. You will have to reinstall OS X. If your hard drive is unaffected you can try the following:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

White Macbook gives Flashing Question Mark on Startup

Hi,
I'm in need of some advice & help in what to do with an old White Macbook (06/07 vintage).
I gave this to my mother a few years ago to bring her into the internet age while I conveniently bought a Macbook Pro
A few days ago it stopped working and on startup gave the flashing question mark symbol.
I read through various forums and discussions and have performed the following:
Held the option key down during startup - Resulted in being able to see the mouse pointer but no icons
Inserted the original startup disc (OSX 10.4.8) while holding down C on startup - I decided to go ahead and reinstall the original OSX and upgrade it after everything was back to working. However at the step where you 'Select destination' there is nothing to select. Its as though there is no hard drive on the macbookI selected Disk Utilities at that point and tried to verify the drive (as I could select it at this point) but an error message appeared and said that the volume needed repair. I then tried the repair Disk option but the process stopped almost immediately with the following error:
1 non HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
I have held down the D key during startup to get a diagnostic of hardware but this has not worked.
I would like some help with diagnosing what may be wrong to see if its economically viable to repair and get another year or 2 which would be ideal.
Am happy to open up the backside to investigate further if need be.
All help appreciated,
Thanks

I have replaced the hard drive and tried to reinstall OSX but it still does not work. I still cannot select the hard drive in which to install OSX. I tried system utilities but it does not recognize the drive and says there is an I/O error.
I am going to source a HD ribbon cable as a last ditch effort. If its not either then it will be the logic board and that is not economically viable

Random Flashing Question Mark at Startup Mountain Lion

Suddenly out of the blue my screen at startup shows a flashing question mark on a folder. I cannot press D, cmd, alt or shift immediately after startup - It doesn't change anything....
Then occasionally after some time it boots up just fine as nothing has happened...
Is there anything that I can do? Does apple have any advise on this?
So sad !
Thanks for your help in advance! I know there are threads on this in this forum but
Maybe mountain lion os has change something?

If you want to try to restore Lion, here are the instructions:
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10727
Before you go try through the entire install process, when you see the menu bar, click on Utilities and select Disk Utility. See if you can repair the disk. If you can, your problem may have been solved. If not your HDD has expired.
If this does not get you into Disk Utility, try your original installation disk.
Ciao.

PLEASE HELP- flashing question mark in folder

Hi everyone,
last night I was just on my macbook as usual and suddenly it froze, so I turned it off. When i went to turn it back on, all that appeared was a flashing question mark in a folder.
I have tried all the suggestions on this page http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042 , but none of them worked because it didn't even recognise/find the harddrive in the disk utility section. I don't have apple care ($419 is a lot of money for a student!) but I only bought the macbook about 6 months ago, so it is still within warranty. What should I do now?
Any help is much much appreciated!
Melissa

Melissa,
I just had the same exact problem last night too. I called the apple technical service number and nothing they did helped because the hard drive wasn't found. I even got a fire wire cable and tried to hook my MacBook up to another Mac and tried the target disk mode hoping I could pull off data that I needed, but the other mac couldn't find the disk either. I'm kind of worried about losing some of my data. If you could let me know if you find any solution that would be awesome! I plan on going to the apple store this weekend to get it looked at.
-Michelle

Flashing question mark on startup Mac Pro 1,1

hi everybody, I have an issue with my Mac Pro 1,1. I bought this computer last week.
Occasionally, at the start up, the screen show a flashing question mark inside a folder. I know this is a HD problem.
Since it doesn't show the question mark every time, I don't know if I resolved my issue following the instruction provided by Apple (resetting PRAM).
Both times that I saw it is when I have unplugged and plugged the power cable of my Mac pro. Now is all ok, but I'm afraid...it is maybe a power supply problem? Or a logic board problem?
Sorry for my english!

The hatter wrote:
When you reset PRAM you 'cause' the flashing "?"
No, I've seen the flashing "?" only when I have unplugged the power cable. (Two times.)
System Preferences : control panel : Startup Disk - set the boot drive
Ok, I've done it yet.
Now the Mac starts up normally.
I only fear that the problem is the logic board or power supply.
Can I exclude this possibility?
I'm ready for a failure of the drive.
Thank you very much!

Hey, My macbook is giving me a flashing question mark on startup. When I hold down the command key to get to system preferences it asks me for a firmware password, that I did not set! Any ideas on how to bipass this?

Hey, My mac book is giving me a flashing question mark on start up. When I hold down the command key to get to system preferences in order to help it find the system software it asks me for a firmware password, that I did not set! I also do not have the start up DVD/disk anymore. Any ideas on how to bypass this?

Contact Apple or an authorized Apple service provider.
(116347)

Macbook Displays Flashing Question Mark on Startup After Leopard Upgrade

Hello, I have a first Generation Macbook that I tried to Upgrade to Leopard. I put in the install disk and everything went smoothly until I checked on it an hour later and it said "Install Failed" without specifying a reason and it asked me to restart. So, I restarted with the disk in and then the installer claimed it couldn't locate my hard drive. I popped out the disk and now all I have is a flashing Question mark on my screen. I know there is a help article related to this, but I was wondering if there is something different due to this being a result of an attempted Leopard Upgrade, also I was wondering If I do put in the OSX Tiger Disk that came with my Macbook and re-install it will it erase everything I had on the computer?
Thank You Any help is Appreciated!!!!!!!

The Tiger install discs will need to erase your hard drive to allow for Tiger to be installed.

Random flashing question mark on startup

Every once in a while when my mac mini cold boots, I get the flashing question mark. Turning the mac off, and booting it back up again usually fixes the problem. I ran verify disk permission and verify disk; both came back ok. S.M.A.R.T status was always "verified". I have also booted into single user mode and ran FSCK. No problem there either.
I didn't have this problem until I upgraded to 10.6.3. Just wanted to find out if anyone else is having the same issue and if there is a way to figure out what is causing the problem.

On the face of it, this sounds like a temperature-dependent problem: when the hard drive is cold, it either isn't spinning up on the first try, or the calibration is slightly off and the Mac doesn't recognize the drive as being bootable.
When it is slightly warmer (second try) it spins up, or the calibration is now within limits and therefore it boots and now can pass all the DiskUtility tests.
If it were me, I'd make sure that I had this drive fully backed up onto another external drive -- just in case.
(In terms of it perhaps being a spin-up issue, I'll note that I have 640Gig 2.5" external that doesn't always mount when I turn it on. Generally the second time is a charm. I attribute it to the drive not spinning up.)
Just in case the issue is something else, I'd suggest going to Apple Menu > System Preference > Startup Disk and explicitly setting the drive to be your startup drive.
It might also be interesting to hold down the Option key at startup and explicitly choose the drive. Do this for a few days and see if the problem continues to occur. Holding down the Option key should give the drive a bit more time to spin up.

Flashing question mark on startup, no Macintosh HD on disk utility

I had to do a hard shutdown on my 2011 MacBook Pro, and when I went to restart it I got the gray screen with the flashing question mark folder deal. I restarted it and went through Internet recovery, but under disk utility there is no option for Macintosh HD, only disk0 and Mac OS X Base System.
Any fix to this?

Possibly:
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
         button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
         After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. After you finish Setup Assistant will complete the installation after which
         you will be running a fresh install of OS X. You can now begin the update process
         by opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your
         installation current.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Help fix flashing question mark on startup

I replaced my familys Macbook Pros HDD but didn't back anything up cause everybody had way too much junk saved onto it. Now when i turn on my mac, this question mark on a folder keeps flashing. Can i fix this by just purchasing another operating system disk? or is there more things i have to do. I just want a newer operating system running, and everythings set back to factory settings.

@volleyball...
You'll have to either
Get out your old boot DVD (Snow Lep) or OSX thumb drive (Lion) and boot from that, then select "Reinstall OS X"
Have someone saavy build you a bootable drive for the same purpose. Most any 16GB drive should suffice for Lion or Mt. Lion. Depending on what is on the drive when you boot it, you should be able to use this to either reinstall (as above) or download Lion/MtLion from the App Store.
Bring in your Mac to an Apple store for them to reconfigure for you
Good luck

HELP! Flashing question mark on startup

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