Macbook won't boot up anymore after trying to reformat

So my White Macbook won't boot up anymore after trying to reformat. While trying to install a fresh copy of Snow Leopard, the Macbook just froze and I had to reset. Now, while trying to boot it up, it hangs at a white screen with a folder with a question mark.
My install disk is still in there, so when I try to boot up while holding C, nothing happens. It either goes to the folder with a question mark or the screen stays white. So after that I tried holding option to go to the drives nothing happens. I just see a white screen and a cursor.
I tried resetting PRAM and tried booting in safe mode and everything but to no avail. Everything results in just a white screen or just a folder with a question mark.
Can I do anything before I have to bring it to the Apple Store? The optical drive should work because before I reformatted it, I could see that the disk was in the drive because the icon was in the upper right.

it hangs at a white screen with a folder with a question mark
Startup your Mac while holding down the Option key. That should prompt the Startup Manager window where you can select the startup disk.
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

Similar Messages

  • My MacBook won't boot anymore. What can I do?

    Hi,
    yesterday I upgraded to Mountain Lion. After the installation, my MacBook booted and everything seemed fine. I started using Mountain Lion. Then I shut my MacBook down and I won't boot up anymore today. What can I do?
    Additional Information:
    MacBook Pro 13" Early 2011
    Upgraded HDD to SSD (OCZ Petrol 256GB)

    What did you do to fix it?

  • MacBook won't boot - stuck showing the Apple logo and the spinning circle.

    Hi.
    My MacBook suddenly froze when I was using it today. Displaying the spinning beach ball.
    It never came out of it, fan running at max speed, so I tried to force restart it (Control-Command-Power), but that didn't work, so I forced the MacBook off (holding the power button pressed.)
    When trying to start the MacBook again it couldn't boot. It kept displaying the grey screen, with the Apple logo and the spinning circle below the Apple logo.
    I left the MacBook like this for 10-15 minutes, but nothing happened.
    Went on to try the following.:
    *- Removed the AC-adapter and battery for 5 minutes.*
    *- Command-Option-P-R (Resetting PRAM and NVRAM).*
    *- Resetting System Management Controller (SMC).*
    *- Command-S (singleuser boot)*
    And checking the HDD with sbin/fsck -fy
    = "The volume ** appears to be OK."
    *- Command-V*
    Stops on the following line, and fan ramps up to full speed.:
    DNSServiceRegister("ssh.tcp."): -65537)
    Force reboot didn't work. Had to force it off.
    But, nothing helped.
    It simply won't boot.
    I also tried to boot Ubuntu 7.10, but it hangs after a short while displaying "Kernel panic".
    Force reboot didn't work. Had to force it off.
    Also tried the option to boot from the first HDD (in the boot menu on the Ubuntu 7.10 disc), but that didn't work either. Only got a black screen, with a blinking cursor top left, and fan ramping up to max.
    Again, force reboot didn't work. Had to force it off.
    The only thing that has worked so far is exiting the Ubuntu 7.10 CD boot menu, and pressing enter on the prompt that appears.
    But, after rebooting, the MacBook still refuses to boot into Mac OS X.
    I left the MacBook alone, hoping it would work its way out of the spinning circle, but after 2 h 38 min nothing had happened.
    Does anyone know how to fix this?
    :. nattugglan

    This happened to me last night.
    I was updating my iPod and I got a message saying that it needed to do an update. I installed the update and went on ahead putting new songs on my iPod. When it was finished i ejected as I usually do and closed down.
    When I went to check me e-mails this morning the Macbook would not boot. It sticks on the grey screen with the Apple and the spinny disc underneath, then it restarts and sticks on the same screen. The last software to be onstalled was Norton 11 on Monday but I have used the Macbook since. I cannot think why it will not boot.
    I am loathed to do a reinstall as I have some things on the Macbook that I had not yet backed up.
    Any advice?

  • Mdworker deny mach-lookup. But macbook won't boot in safe mode

    I have a common problem, I get theese messages every now and then in console:
    2/8/13 6:38:24.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(793) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd
    2/8/13 6:38:24.534 PM sandboxd[793]: ([791]) mdworker(791) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd
    2/8/13 6:38:24.556 PM sandboxd[793]: ([792]) mdworker(792) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd
    There is a solution, which should resolve it, like here https://discussions.apple.com/message/19750564?searchText=mach-lookup%20com.appl e.ls.boxd#19750564
    I have just boot in safe mode. (holding Shift during boot)
    but my macbook won't boot in Safe mode. It just freeses with a grey screen for hours and wont boot.
    I tried to leave it overnight to boot, but it didn't.
    Please help me make my macbook to boot in SafeMode.
    my configuration is the following:
    MacBookPro8,1
    OSX 10.8.2

    There is a bug in fsck_hfs that is affecting a bunch of people.  Basically as your comptuer starts in safe mode, it runs a file system check (fsck) against your hard drive, it gets to a certain point and... just sits there.  No one knows why outside of apple.
    Lots of info here, including a way to get around it by tricking the system to think fsck had been run, though the fsck will not be complete so it is not a good solution.
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/21389737?ac_cid=tw123456#21389737

  • MacBook won't boot when iPod is connected

    I have the same problem as described here :
    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=4112865
    My MacBook won't boot if my iPod 5G is connected to the USB port.
    If I unplug it, it will boot normally.
    Does anyone know what could cause that ?

    <When iPod is plugged in at startup, the MacBook does not startup; unplugging iPod lets it startup.
    yes, it seems that the kernel is not loading
    <After resetting the iPod and BEFORE synching it, there is no problem. Any type of synching seems <to make this problem recur.
    only syncing music make the problem occur.
    the other syncing works ok
    <Even if iPod is connected directly to Mac and it is the only USB device connected, the problem still <occurs.
    yes
    <The iPod and MacBook work fine if iPod is connected after startup.
    Yes
    <If the iPod is set to NOT mount to the desktop, the problem with startup does not occur.
    Yes, but there are some problems in the boot/halt process.
    something like "killing all" fails and unmounting /home fails (45) blabla...
    and the stopping process takes very very long, about 2 minutes.
    thx robert

  • Macbook won't boot up - grey screen only

    Hi,
    I have a core duo MacBook from summer 2007.
    All of a sudden the MacBook won't boot up. The battery is fully charged and AC adapter plugged in (same symptoms if not plugged in). The following occurs upon pressing the power button:
    1) Start-up chime sounds
    2) Can hear hard drive and fans start up
    3) Screen turns grey
    4) Nothing happens (screen still grey)
    Thoughts? I tried resetting PRAM and PMU with no changes.

    I have the same problem, just the grey screen and tried
    - resetting PRAM (second chime, so this should be OK)
    - Safe Mode (just the same)
    and pressing Option (or C) to choose the Mac OS X Install Disc gives me the wonderful cursor which can be moved by moving the mouse. No harddisk and even no Install DVD are displayed on the screen.
    Also The Apple Hardware Test (by pressing D) doesn't get further than the, now familiar, grey screen.
    I pressed the keys with different keyboards, with the original white keyboard and with the aluminium keyboard.
    As I've tried everything, I think there's something seriously wrong. Does anybody have some last tips that I can try?

  • MacBook won't boot up power light on

    My MacBook won't boot up without the system disk, has Lion with 4 Gb Ram all updates, has a DVD stuck n the drive any suggestions

    Have you tried booting into Lion recovery mode? Boot holding the command and R keys down.

  • MacBook Won't Boot just on AC.

    My recent issues are power related.
    Won't boot. Reason: Dead battery at 0 mAh.
    Won't boot with dead battery even on charge...
    When I take out the battery, it won't boot anyways.
    I got lucky since I plugged it in when I left it off charge for the night, and went away about 10 minutes, and it boots. Now that won't boot it up... I take out the battery and tried to boot it since I know it's dead. Nothing.
    I have 2 MagSafe adapters (One is OEM and is spliced (Charges and fine), and another is not OEM (stupid eBay lied) ) and when I remove the battery to boot just on AC power, nothing. Tried both chargers, both plugs, 2 tips and extension cable, Nothing.
    I noticed the light is a dim green when I plug in my OEM charger to my MacBook.
    So how can I get it to boot on just AC power? Noone I know has any type of Mac...

    If your MacBook won't boot on just the AC adapter, and you are certain the AC adapter is not damaged, then there is a hardware issue with your computer that needs to be repaired.
    ~Lyssa

  • IPOD WON'T TURN ON EVEN AFTER TRYING TO RESET IT

    PLS. HELP! MY IPOD WITH VIDEO WON'T TURN ON EVEN AFTER TRYING TO RESET IT. THE BATTERY IS FULL. IT WILL JUST TURN ON AFTER 24HRS. WHEN THE BATTERY IS DRAINED EVEN WITHOUT USING IT BECAUSE IT IS IN FROZEN STATE. FOR INSTANCE AFTER DISCONNECTING FROM THE COMPUTER SAFELY AFTER CHARGING IT I KEPT IT OPEN BUT WHEN IT TURNED OFF AUTOMATICALLY IT WILL NOT TURN ON.

    Ok well, if you do not have the Ipod starter disk, you can’t do very much to save it anymore. It is completely gone.
    At this point I would recommend you calling Apple and setting up a repair. I would suggest you buy their warrantee plan, ($50 and good from 2 years) and it starts as soon as you buy the plan, NOT when you got your Ipod. The reason I would suggest that is, because if they deny your problem (like they did to me 5 time before finally replacing mine) it will save you a LOT of money. There may also be further issues as well with your Ipod.
    Apples SoS number is:
    1-800-767-2775
    Open 6am-6pm EST.
    They might even have a few ideas on how to fix it as well!
    As for “Viruses” I would highly doubt it. Viruses are programs designed to destroy certain parts of computer. Such as, a virus that destroys windows computer, does not do anything to Mac computer. It does not have the same components. The same thing goes for Ipod, PSP, etc. Files my contain viruses in them, but it would not effect the product in most cases. Only if you transfer the file on it to another computer, could it do anything.
    Your problem is, most likely your ipod just broke. Or should I say, just stopped working. Ipod’s are notorious at doing such things. Apple will take care of it. BUT GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY! That is the only way to make sure they fix it. It is cheaper than buying a $350-$400 new 60 gig Video.
    Good luck my friend, God Life

  • Macbook won't boot properly.

    Macbook won't boot. When turned on, it starts clicking; after a while, I get a gray screen with a blinking folder in the middle that has a question mark on it.  After a minute or two, it shuts off.

    That folder with the question mark icon means that the MacBook can't find the boot directory. That can either mean it can't find the hard drive or the Operating System data on the hard drive is somehow corrupted.
    Put your install DVD into the optical drive (CD/DVD drive) and reboot. Be sure to either use the disc that came with your Mac, or, if you installed a later Mac OS X version from disc, use the newer disc. As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the "c" key on your keyboard (or the Option Key until the Install Disk shows up) until the apple shows up. That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
    Or if you are running 10.7 Lion, boot from the recovery partition (Command +R on boot) and use Disk Utility to repair your OS 10.7 partition.
    When it does start up, you'll see a panel asking you to choose your language. Choose your language and press the Return key on your keyboard once. It will then present you with an Installation window. Completely ignore this window and click on Utilities in the top menu and scroll down to Disk Utility and click it. When it comes up is your Hard Drive in the list on the left?
    If it is, then click on the Mac OS partition of your hard drive in the left hand list. Then select the First Aid Tab and run Repair Disk. The Repair Disk button won't be available until you've clicked on the Mac OS partition on your hard drive. If that repairs any problems run it again until the green OK appears and then run Repair Permissions. After repairing use Startup Disk from the same menu to choose your hard drive for restarting from your hard drive.
    If your hard drive isn’t recognized in Disk Utility then your hard drive is probably dead.

  • My macbook pro keeps booting up, then after a few seconds, goes back to the sign in page. This happened after I was doing software updates and my computer restarted in the middle of an update. Help! Thanks.

    My macbook pro keeps booting up, then after a few seconds, goes back to the sign in page. This happened after I was doing software updates and my computer restarted in the middle of an update. Help! Thanks.

    Start up in Safe Mode.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ph14204
    Repair Disk    Section: "Try Disk Utility"
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203176

  • 22" iMac desktop OSX 10.6.6 Snow Leopard and it won't boot. I've tried shift start, option command+P+R. It's stuck at the restart, all I see is the spinning wheel below the apple logo.

    I have a 22" iMac desktop running OSX 10.6  Snow Leopard and it won't boot. I've tried shift start, option command P R. It's stuck at the restart, all I see is the spinning wheel below the apple logo. And I lost my OSX DVD is there any way to fix this? I just did a software update yesterday and have about 20GB left on my Hard drive. The last thing I did was try to install some plugin's for Pro Tools 8, but it wouldnt let me install so I restarted and now I'm screwed. Please Help!
    other specs for my computer: 3.06GHz Intel core 2 duo processor 500 GB Serial ATA hard drive, iSight, magic mouse, wireless mac keyboard
    iPod classic 160GB (Late 2009), Mac OS X (10.6.6)

    You have to consider the possibility the hard drive may be dying.    If your data isn't backed up, try one of the tools below:
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1689
    Once you are sure your data is backed up, we can examine other possibilities.  In the meantime call AppleCare for your original installation DVDs.  You may need them.

  • My Macbook won't boot up because there isn't enough free space for my start up disk. It's now stuck on a blue screen. How am I meant to delete files to free up space if I can't access the computer?

    My Macbook won't boot up because there sin't enough free space to run the startup disk. My Macbook now won't go past the blue screen so exactly how am I meant to be able to delete files if I can't access the computer?

    Do you have a bootable backup?
    What operating system are you running? If OS X 10.6 or lower, boot from your original OS X DVD or a retail OS X DVD and then delete files as needed. Your goal should be to get to 10% of your disk capacity free.
    If you have OS X 10.7 Lion or 10.8 Mountain Lion, you don't have many choices in recovery mode (boot holding the command and r keys down).
    If you have a FireWire or Thunderbolt connection, you can try target disk mode with another mac.
    If none of those work, perhaps your local Apple store can help with a bootable external drive.

  • Oh, shoot! My MacBook won't boot! Silver screen is all I see!

    Oh, shoot! My MacBook won't boot! Silver screen is all I see

    Try a PRAM reset:
    Shut down your Mac.
    Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
    Turn on the computer.
    Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
    Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
    Release the keys.
    Any unusual noises coming from it?    

  • Macbook won't boot, black screen, no chime

    My macbook won't boot at all.  It is a white non unibody one.  When you press the power button the screen breifly blinks and a clicking sound is heard but no other sounds or chime or anything.  I'm suspecting the worst but thought i'd submit it on here first.  Any help is appreciated.  Thanks.

    Thanks for the reply but it isn't a hard drive issue.  I have tested the hard drive in an external enclosure and it's working fine.  I even put in another hard drive i have and it wont boot that either.  I'm thinking its a logic board issue.  Any one know best place to get logic board replacement near london for cheap

Maybe you are looking for

  • How to reflect a new field in Bank data while making payment through F-53?

    Hello Experts, How can i reflect a new field (payment reference) in bank data while making payment through F-53? I have tried to do it by Field status group(OBC4) but the same is replicating in vendor invoice but not in vendor payment. I tried it at

  • Please wait while windows configures microsoft visual studio professional 2013

    After installing visual community 2013 and rebooting visual studio works fine but all other microsoft office programs display "please wait while windows configures microsoft visual studio professional 2013" and continues the installation for about 1

  • IE8 back button not working in Login page

    Hello all, I have a problem. When I go from one page to a Login page, Back button on IE(my IE version is 8) doesn't work. I use theme 16 - Dark Blue, APEX version - 4.0.2.00.07. Is that a problem from APEX or the theme, or the problem is in IE browse

  • 10.5.3 update lost apps - how do i restore?

    Hi  - When I upgraded my iTunes to 10.5.3, it lost sight of all my music, movies, apps, etc.  I've managed to restore all the music, movies from my HD back up, but the apps are gone.  How can I get them back (still on all my devices, but gone from iT

  • Folder lock app for nokia lumia 800 ???

    Hi , Can anyone suggest any good FREE app for Nokia Lumia 800 which will help me to keep some of my folders locked with password or  encryption  to keep it confidetial l ???