IMac crashed & on reboot I get the folder with a question mark

This happened last night when I went downstairs to put my computer to sleep, it was frozen. On reboot, I would get the chime, but not the apple logo—just the gray screen. Finally, after a minute or two, the folder with a question mark appeared. I tried resetting my PRAM and that didn't seem to work. I tried rebooting from the install disk to repair permissions, but my volume wouldn't even mount. It wasn't there.
Since this was 10:30 at night, I just went to sleep and when I woke up this morning, I turned it on just to see what would happen and lo & behold, it turns on, apple logo appears and ultimately takes me to my login screen. Needless to say, I was thrilled.
However, when I went to login on either my account or my husband's account, neither of our passwords will work now.
I have tried everything—typing the letters one by one. Nothing. How on earth am I supposed to login now? I'm afraid of restarting for fear of that infamous folder with the question mark appearing.
Any suggestions on how I could possibly login? Not only that, why are our passwords no longer working? Our names and avatars show up (they're custom avatars), so something is showing up on my HD, but why don't our passwords work? Weird.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, my specs are below and the only thing that I have done differently is I upgraded to v10.5.6 a few days ago. Otherwise, this never happens. No, I have not installed new RAM or anything like that.
Thanks!!!
Suzanne

Thank you so much for your replies, but I wanted to give you a heads up.
After speaking with tech support yesterday morning, and trying to verify disk via install disk, it was recommended that I bring my computer into Apple to have my HD replaced. I took it to the Genius Bar yesterday and yup, I need my HD replaced. Pain in the butt, but oh well, it could have been worse.
I pretty much back up all of my work (I'm a graphic designer) on a regular basis, but hadn't backed up my recent iTunes purchases, which I was told yesterday I could easily transfer from my iPod back to my "new" iMac—since they're purchased from iTunes. What a relief.
I guess the only thing that's a pain is pretty much all of my bookmarked websites (and there were a lot) and my photos, which I believe for the most part, were backed up.
Regardless, a lesson learned—never take advantage of the fact that your computer is what you think brand new (less than a year and a half old), and thinking it won't die, because you never know. This guy that was sitting next to me at the GB had a brand new MacBook Pro and it died after one week. Ouch!
I am going out right now and purchasing an external HD and having Time Machine back up on a regular basis. What a pain, but a harsh lesson learned.
Thank goodness for Apple Care.

Similar Messages

MacBook Air will not reboot. A file folder with a question mark in the center of it appears. What is the problem?

MacBook Air will not power on or reboot. A file folder with a question mark in the center of it appears. What is the problem?

Go step by step and test.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
Startup Manager to select Startup disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310
Repair Disk
Steps 2 through 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reset PRAM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
Reinstall OS X
If this does not help, contact Apple.
Best.

Why do I get a folder with a question mark on bootup

why do I get a folder with a question mark on bootup
my daughters Mac and she doesn't remember which osX version she had.
can't seem to get past that flashing folder with a ? in it

A flashing question mark at boot means no start up drive can be found. Solutions vary based on what OS is installed.
Try the command and r keys held down at restart to see if it enters "recovery" mode. Use the Disk Utility to find out more about the drive.

What does the folder with a question mark mean?

When I power on my black Macbook a white screen appears with a folder with a question mark flashing. what does the folder with a question mark mean? I just replaced the hard drive. When I put the install disc in the cd drive makes a very loud whirring noise then eventually the disc pops back out. Any ideas?

You will need to reinstall:
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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 Utilities menu. 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 click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro 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. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.

Just installed new hard drive in mac book pro 15", when trying to boot OSX from original disk I still get a folder with a question mark in it. How can I reinstall the OS?

Can't seem to get my mac book to boot from the CD after installing new hard drive.
I keep holding down "c" while restarting the machine with the disk in but it just keeps ejecting the disk and giving me a folder with a question mark.

If your on 10.5 with a Intel Mac, I think Apple has jinxed the firmware so you can't boot from the 10.5 disk anymore.
So far several people, myself included, can't boot from a 10.5 OS X disk on a Intel Mac.
Your going to have to buy a 10.6.3 Snow Leopard retail disk, it's wayyy better than 10.5 anyway, faster and most stable even better than Lion. Have to buy iLife though as it doesn't come on the 10.6.3 retail disks, only free with grey disks.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

HT4718 What do I do if I get a folder with a question mark?

I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro and just installed a brand new SSD hard drive after my original HD crashed. According to this document and others that I found online, I thought I could boot up while pressing Command+R and follow instructions to install Mountain Lion, which I had purchased before and was on my old HD. However, almost a dozen times I have tried following those instructions (including trying to hold down just the option key) but all I get is a flashing folder with a question mark icon.
Does anyone know why? Am I actually supposed to boot from the disk that came with my computer? If so, won't it install the old OS, or am I not understanding something? Or am I supposed to boot from Time Machine?
I'm pretty sure from what I've read that I can't boot from my old HD because it died, but is there something I'm missing?
Thanks for any help you can give.

If your computer originally shipped with 10.6.8 or earlier and you swapped the drive out, you need to use its original disks; there won't be a recovery partition on the new one.
If your computer originally shipped with 10.7 or newer, pressing those keys will load the recovery partition from Apple's website.
(80677)

IMac wont boot Past Grey Screen, finder folder with blinking question mark

iMac G5 won't boot Past Grey Screen. The G5 froze and i restarted, It will not go past the grey screen and it has the finder folder with blinking question mark, also the fans kick on wide open. As it atempts to boot a sound plays "beepda beepda beepda beep" that starts quiet and gets louder and repeats a couple of times. I ran a hardware check on the startup disk and all hardware passed. I thought it might be the RAM any suggestions?
I have restarted using the troubleshooting methods in the guide.

Sorry for the late reply. The drive shows up when booting to disk, but it will not allow you to verify disk or repair. Also it will not allow you to select the hard drive to reinstall the software. Under disk utility Maxtor sabre shows up with total capacity:0 bytes.
I've taking the Mac to the Apple store to get looked at, and its probly the hard drive. Now Im trying to see if theres a way to recover the data myself. I've used software like "Data Rescue" the hard drive shows up "Maxtor Sabre" totally capacity: 0 bytes, and it will not recover anything.
Did this test just to see if it was power problem.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2173
Thats when noticed the beeps are coming from the hard drive. So its getting power.
Now just wondering how to recover data.
Any suggestions?

Macbook has the folder with flashing question mark

Yesterday as I was watching Netflix my Mac froze. I was skipping around an episode and then started opening a folder to do something else while it loaded and then it just froze. I thought maybe I was clicking on too many things at once or whatever and it got screwed up a bit so I closed it for a minute or two. When I opened it back up it had a (light) blue screen that wouldn't go away so I shut it down with the power button. Then when I turned it back it just had a white/gray screen for like a minute before the folder with the flashing question marked appeared.
I've googled possible solutions but nothing seems to work. It won't boot up in safemode. One answer suggested trying to do comm-opt-P-R (can't remember what that was trying to do) and that didn't work. The screen would just go black and then start up over and over. When I just press the opt-key it takes me straight to Internet recovery. However, none of the options available work. I don't have the TimeMachine thing, I don't have a disk to reload the Lion software, and there's nothing to click on at all in the disk utility. All that's available in that is a disk0 and the Mac OS X Base System and I can't click on First Aid/Erase/Partition/Restore. I've opened up the startup disk and there's nothing that shows up.
Is there something else I can try at home or should I just go ahead to the apple store? My Mac is under a year old still, but I spilled soda on it back in like October and had to get all the parts replaced so I don't know if that would do anything to the warranty....And if something does have to get replaced will I lose all my stuff? It was bad enough losing four months worth of data, I don't want to lose seven.
Thanks for any help.

As long as the parts were replaced by someone authorized to do the repairs, you should still be fine. This error indicates that they computer isn't able to find a disk to boot to.
The "disk" to reload Lion is that internet recovery (also can be launched from command + r).
Seeing as how you don't have the startupdisk in Disk Utility, I would recommend getting it into a store to see why that drive isn't detected. It could be something as simple as a loose SATA cable, or as catastrophic as complete hard drive failure. While you're at the store, I'd look into investing in an external drive to start running Time Machine...

Boot problem: sometimes I get a folder with a question mark at start up

I am having a problem lately which I think might be hardware related. I get a question mark in a folder icon on start-up This happens randomly. In most occasions it occurs when I do a cold boot (so the system has been off for a while). As soon as I switch it off and switch it on again, my Mac Pro starts fine. The hard-drive is "verified" in the disk utility and I tried to fix/repair permissions. I also cleared the PRAM, did a firmware reset (option key on startup) and repair disk using the installation DVD. All these thing do not seem to work. I also had this issue sometimes in Tiger.
I do not have a library/receipts folder as someone indicated. I am running 10.5.1
I haven't had any other issues with Leopard so far.
I am wondering if this issue might be hardware related. The S.M.A.R.T. status of my boot up disk is "verified" and I have no other issues in Leopard (no crashes/freezes). So if it is my hard-disk, why does this only occur at startup and not randomly when using other programs?
Any suggestions? I have 3 year Applecare so if there are no solutions... I might use that.

This may occur for several reasons. One may simply be that you need to set the startup volume in the Startup Disk preference - open Startup Disk, select your startup volume, click on the Restart button.
However, more often this is indicative of a problem with one or more required system files for startup. If the problem is simply cache related then you may fix the problem by using a utility such as TinkerTool System or Leopard Cache Cleaner to clear out the system caches then do a restart. However, if you truly have a bad system file then only re-installing OS X is going to fix the problem. You may be able to do this by Archive and Install which doesn't require erasing the drive provided your drive is OK and you have adequate disk space.
How to Perform an Archive and Install
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, 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger, 4.6.1 for Leopard) 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.

I have a folder with a question mark and I hear the drive running I think my drive crashed

I have an imac intel duel core I run OSX 6.8 lately the gear has been hanging up a lot I keep haveing to shut down and force quit and reboot. yesterday a folder with a question mark showed up. today nothing shows up but I can hear the hard drive. I booted up the os dvd for SL and it wont see the hard drive. only the dvd player and idisk (which I can't use anymore ) I have disconnected my external storages. I am now on my mac airbook chatting to you.
Do you have any suggestions as to what to do?

Probably a crashed HD. Please carefully read Apple's Flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac article for trouble shooting steps. As long as you have been backing up the system it's minor inconvenience of replacing the Internal HD and restoring from your backup. If you haven't been backing up then you are about to learn why backing up it's optional it's critical.

My MacBook Pro turns on and only shows a folder with a question mark and blinks. The computer will not continue start-up. Suggestions/Advice?

I'm not sure how this screen is appearing, but I tried powering up my computer this morning and it immediately presents a grey screen, then displays a blinking folder with a question mark in the middle of it.
I am looking for troubleshooting advice and procedures to bypass this screen and allow my computer to complete it's start-up.
Thanks-
Gary D. Aston, Jr.
[email protected]

The folder with a question marks is usually an idication that the Mac can't find the system file to boot from.
Since you never told us which system your Mac was running there is nothing more to say.
Allan

What does a folder with a question mark mean?

When starting up my computer I get a folder with a question mark inside. How can I fix this problem?

There are four general causes of this issue:
1. The computer's PRAM no longer contains a valid startup disk setting when there aren't any problems with the disk itself. This can be checked for by pressing the Option key and seeing if the drive appears.
2. The internal drive's directory structure has become damaged. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to perform the repair.
3. Critical system files have been deleted. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to reinstall them.
4. The internal drive has died or become unplugged. This is the most likely case if the computer took a sharp impact or there are unusual sounds coming from the hard drive's location.
(67155)

HT1310 when i starst my mac i get a flashing folder with a question mark. i tried rebooting and holding the option button then i get 2 boxes, one with a refresh arrow and one with a forward arrow neither of them seem to do anything. now what

when i starst my mac i get a flashing folder with a question mark. i tried rebooting and holding the option button then i get 2 boxes, one with a refresh arrow and one with a forward arrow neither of them seem to do anything. now what

Here is an article that describes what it is supposed to do:
Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume
If no Volumes are shown, it is telling you there are no potentailly bootable Volumes attached. That means your boot drive has died or the bootable image on it is unrecognizable.
What Mac Pro ? by year, GHz, number of processors, screen size?
What Mac OS X ?

My screen has gone blank on startup and occasionally a grey folder with a question mark appears. I have tried rebooting either by pressing the start up with power or pram.. Neither attempts have worked ! My iMac is 2008. Please help :)

My screen has gone blank on startup and occasionally a grey folder with a question mark appears. I have tried rebooting either by pressing the start up with power or pram.. Neither attempts have worked ! My iMac is 2008. Please help :)

Hey Carolinearnold!
I have an article for you that seems to address this issue and can provide some troubleshooting steps for you:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!
-Braden

Have a flashing folder with a question mark on start-up but cannot hold option as wireless keyboard won't connect, how do I get it to connect if I cannot turn on the machine?

Hello all, I've registered here because I can't work out how to get my keyboard and mouse to connect.
The issue is that when I turn my mid-2010 iMac on it doesn't load up, but instead shows a flashing folder with a question mark. I've Googled this and have some idea how to fix it, the first step in all guides to fixing the problem states that you should hold the option key upon start-up. The problem I'm having is that I've just had to change the batteries on my keyboard and mouse and they are now not connecting. I can't see how to get the keyboard and mouse connected with the Mac stuck on the flashing folder screen, and I can't get the Mac past said screen without using the keyboard. Does anyone know how I can connect the two devices?
Thanks.

The flashing folder with the ? mark indicates that a bootable system can't be found. You'll need to borrow a wired keyboard so you can boot into the Recovery volume (boot with the Command + R keys held down). From there you can reinstall the system and try a normal reboot.

IMac crashed & on reboot I get the folder with a question mark

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for