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.

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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

Folder with question mark on startup after using boot camp!!!

im getting a folder with a question mark on startup after using boot camp. it shows up for a second, then the apple logo pops up and OSX boots normally. i wouldnt be concerned except this folder with the question mark usually shows up when the computer cant find the startup disk or OS. so in fact what is happening is that my macbook cant find the startup disk for a second and then seems to find it. is anybody else having this problem. i dont like it and want to get rid of it. help!!

This is correct.
I wonder how it can be that in the System Preferences - Startup Disk - OS X volume can become "deselected" like it was... I had to re-highlight the OS X volume and all is well.
b
MBP & Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.6) http://www.therottenapple.net/phpbb

TS1365 What does it mean when my Macbook pro displays a question mark at startup, and won't boot?

My MacBook Pro won't start up. It displays a Question Mark for a while, and you can hear the HDD spinning, as well as some clicks, but nothing happens. It started after I accepted and began a recommended upgrade download and install. I started the upgrade install, rebooted, and walked away. An hour later, it displayed the progress bar as about 50% complete for the install. 24 hrs later, it was still at the same status. Several hours later, still no progress, so I hit the on/off button, shutting down the computer. After that, it would not restart...it gives the start-up chime, I hear the HDD spinning, and also hear some ominous "click click" sounds. Then a question mark pops onto the screen, and that's all. Any suggestions?

It means that it cannot find certain startup files. In your case it's probably because you interrupted the installation or the installation failed and files were corrupted or lost. Do the following:
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. 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 main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

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)

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.

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)

Macbook pro flashing question mark folder, won't recognize hard drive

My 2010 macbook pro froze and after restarting I was greeted with a flashing question mark folder. I then restarted again and held down "option" key and went into Mac OS X utilities then into disk utilities. In disk utilities, my only drive options are "superdrive" "disk0" and a subfolder of "disk0" labeled "Mac OS x Base system". My hard drive is no where to be seen. I also tried to install a new hard drive but the same thing happened, the computer could not recognize that there was a hard drive present. What can I do to fix this??

Hi bigdubee,
The exact same thing happened to my 2010 MacBook Pro today. Restarting with the "option" key held down, I get only 2 of the 3 options you listed in disk utilities ("disk0" and a subfolder of "disk0" labeled "Mac OS x Base system".
Did you take your Macbook Pro to the Apple store? And were they able to fix it?

Persistent Flashing Question Mark Folder Icon, after Repair & Rebuild-THX!

Hello All,
Thank you in advance for any insights.
For the past week, one/two days after a force re-boot, my Quicksilver Mac (OSX 10.4.11 and OS 9 Classic) starts up with the dreaded flashing question mark folder.
The start up disk has always been on "Mac OS X, 10.4.11 on main stuff" ("main stuff" is the name of the hard drive.)
The first time, I ran DiskWarrior and rebuilt the hard drive, which is kind of new as it was replaced in April 2009. Then I ran OnyX and got a clean bill of health. The Mac was shut down at the end of the day as is my habit via turning off the power strip.
If it helps, here's part of the DiskWarrior report:
• 13 files had a directory entry with an incorrect text encoding value that was repaired.
• 340 files had a damaged extended attribute that was repaired.
• 3 folders had a directory entry with an incorrect custom icon flag that was repaired.
• Incorrect values in the Volume Information were repaired.
Disk Information:
Files: 370,719
Folders: 85,161
Free Space: 92.55 GB
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Block Size: 4 K
Disk Sectors: 268,171,472
Media: WDC WD5000AAKB-00H8A0
The next day, the flashing question mark folder reappeared. This time I used the original system installer CD (labeled Power Mac G4 OS X Install). Disk Utility made its repairs. And this time, the computer was put to sleep instead.
In the morning, it woke up, the wireless optical mouse worked for a few seconds, the hard drive is humming along then all of a sudden the arrow (mouse) froze and none of the keys on the keyboard functioned.
After some research, I deleted the energy saver preference (powermanager.list?) and ran Disk Utility again. And again, I shut down b/c I wasn't going to use the Mac for a day or two.
This afternoon, the pesky icon reappeared at start up. At first Disk Utility didn't see the hard drive then I restarted and the hard drive was selectable though not mounted. It was repaired and verified yet once again. Btw, when I did hard drive test, the message says something to the effect that it appears to be working properly.
My question is, might anyone know what's wrong? I've been backing up after every use and I have a laptop. But I love working on the desktop and if this issue can be fixed, that would be perfect.
As an aside, I've read that I should do a clean install. Would doing a clean install mean I need to re-install OS 9 as well as all other all other software programs-Adobe Creative Suite, Quickbooks, Verizon DSL, printer drivers etc.?
One final question, can I continue to boot up from the CD, repair then restart or will I damage the computer? Once it restart, everything seems to work normally and well.
Many, many thanks for reading and any help would be greatly appreciated!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sam

Disk damage can also affect the startup sequence, but I think what you have already done should have repaired any disk damage, or given you more information.
Once you have ruled out Disk damage, you get the flashing question mark when your Mac cannot find:
• the preferred operating System
• of the preferred version
• on the preferred startup drive.
All these items are stored in the parameter RAM, backed up by a 3.6 volt, non-recharging 1/2-AA size battery that lasts three years or so, unless you turn off all power at night.
If you cannot remember when you last changed that battery, now is a good time. Be sure to reset the PMU/PRAM after installing the new battery.
Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

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.

Imac displays flashing question mark and nothing works

Hey everyone, my just the other day i turned off my imac (when it still was working normally) and the day after i turned it back on but all it does is showing me a flashing question mark!
This is what i've tried so far to fix this:
- Hold down option at startup with a snow leopard retail disk in it, nothing appears except the mouse cursor.
- hold down c at startup, nothing happens
- Reset NVRAM
- Hold t at startup, nothing happens
- Hold shift at startup, nothing happens
- Hold command-v at startup, nothing happens
- Hold command-s at startup, nothing happens
How can i fix this?? please help me because i'm going crazy!
Greetz, rutger

Hi, a few days ago I had the same flashing question mark. I had just emptied my trash in iPhoto for the first time, (a few thousand pics), and was browsing in the main photo library when suddenly everything just froze. I left it for awhile, came back and nothing had changed. I switched off using the power button, and when switching on again, the flashing question mark appeared. None of my attempts to reboot worked as it appeared there was no drive to be found.
I have to add that iPhoto would often just quit for apparently no reason, and unexpectedly, having 'encountered a problem'.
I have now been told that my HD is dead, (my iMac only 8 months old), and that i wont be able to retrieve any data (20000 photos that stupidly I hadnt backed up!)
I had too much faith in this product, having only recently converted from Windows, (which was always backed up!), and now feel very disapointed and let down....... this has been a very costly lesson,and one I wont repeat!!
good luck, and I hope you are backed up!
rubeyc

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.

Macbook air flashing question mark

any solutions for flashing question mark on start up?

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 its location.
(90832)

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!

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.

Macbook Displays Flashing Question Mark on Startup After Leopard Upgrade

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