After trying to backup my hard drive i can't get my G4 quicksilver to boot. I get the old icon of a folder with a split face that alternetes with a flashing question mark
My G4 won't boot. I have tried holding down the c key to boot from a 10.3 disc and it doesn't boot. I keep getting the icon of a folder with a split face that flashes to a question mark. I know that usually means that the startup drive can't be found, but I have 2 good drives i have tried to boot with and it won't start up. Any ideas from out there/ Thanks in advance.
I doubt it's CCC's fault, possibly a bad DIMM, or slot, or corrosion in the slot.
How large is the drive? Which G4? Some can only handle 128-123 GB Drives. Is it an old drive?
So we know more about it...
At the Apple Icon at top left>About this Mac, then click on More Info, then click on Hardware> and report this upto but not including the Serial#...
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: eMac
Model Identifier: PowerMac6,4
Processor Name: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Processor Speed: 1.42 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 1
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.9.2f1
If you don't know the model, find the Serial# & use it on one of these sites, but don't post the Serial# here...
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
How to find the serial number of your Apple hardware product...
Similar Messages
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After upgrading to a new hard drive, I can't drag songs to my ipod
I can only play them on my computer. I get an error message "itunes could not copy...because an unknown error occurred (-50)
Any clue what to do?
Just to complicate matters further, I'm going to move all my data back to the first hard drive next week (long story)After upgrading to a new hard drive
How did you get everything onto the new hard drive?
I'm going to move all my data back to the first hard drive
So you deleted it from the original hard drive?
How do you plan to get it back to the original? -
Hello, my old pc ran vista o.s. and the mother board died but the hard drive was good. I got a new system running windows7 and installed old hard drive to recover pictures and other data. How do I get my itunes and all my music back up and running.
See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2 -
Seems like a silly question but I had an appointment at my local apple store about a start up issue, ran some tests and passed them which was fine.
After this, I was left to reboot my mac and basically transfer files from my harddrive onto my macbook. However, I couldn't choose the files to be transferred and so I went with the reboot and the startup issue I initially had was fixed, although I need the files from my hardrive to be transfered onto my mac.
There are backups and documents I need.I'm not sure I understand, but are you asking how to copy files from your external drive? Open two Finder windows. In one find the files you want to transfer, in the other where you want to put them. Select the file and drag it over.
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Flashing Question Mark on Boot-Up
Any help would be greatly appreciated with a problem I am having.
I have a Mid 2009 2009 MacBook Pro that is showing a flashing question mark against a grey background when I try and start it up.
If i remove the HDD and place it in a USB caddy the system boots and runs just fine but the same drive does not appear in the list of bootable drives (in fact no drives appear)
I have tried with several known good HDDs from other Macs.
I have tried resetting the NVRAM with Command-Option-P-R but each time the same grey screen and flashing question mark remains - no options appear.
I have tried to resting PRAM via Terminal - refuses to recognise command.
I have removed hardware password using System disk.
I have pulled my hair out.
None of the above have worked.
Does anyone have any clues as to anything else I can try?
Many thanks.Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by:
Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
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.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD:
Boot From 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.
Reinstall Snow Leopard Without Erasing The drive
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 Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
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. -
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!
MelissaMelissa,
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 -
Folder with face and flashing question mark, what to do when this happens?
I'm sure this has been asked a million times, please help, my brother has a ibook G4, OSX 10.3.9, about 3 years old and now when he turns on the ibook it has a folder with a face in it and a flashing question mark. Do you just leave it and it will sort it self out or is there something to do to make it go away? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks
I have replaced a 40 G harddrive with a seagate 160 G drive. When I try to start it it only comes up with the flashing question mark. I have tried to boot off the install CD, but it only flashes the question mark. This is my daughters computer and she really needs it to work for school.
I have tried to "restore" using my new Mac Book and the old 40 G drive in an external USB case. But still is no good. I have used DiskWarrior and the drive will boot.
This is an ibook G4 running 10.4.2 -
I recently had a Hard drive failure, got the flashing question mark
Hello,
I recently had a hard drive fail on my IMAC. The power went out in my home and knocked the computer off. When I turned it back on I go the dreaded white screen with flashing folder/Question mark.
I tried all the tricks I could find (on my other computer search) but nothing worked. I also inserted the install disk and then tried the "disk utility" ... this is where I got really scared...the utility saw my Hard Drive, but showed nothing on it with 0 space available. I thought I was fried and actually ordered a new hard drive online. (This is the second time in 3 years this has happened ... and wouldn't you know my extended warranty expired 2 weeks ago)
The next day, I think ... well, let me just try booting up to see if a miracle will happen. Low and behold it booted up! My drive is there, all my data everything! (and a new hard drive on the way overnight! lol)
So my friends, what the heck is going on? I immediately repaired permissions once I brought it up. But I'm afraid to shut the thing off now in fear it won't come back.
Any Ideas?
Thanks,
RyanAssuming you have some backups:
Drive Preparation and OS X Installation
1. 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 Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
When formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Complete the OS X installation.
If the drive is not failing then the above process will find any possible bad blocks. If no bad blocks are found and the drive reformats, then reinstall OS X. If the drive does fail and you have another you can install, then try that. If this doesn't fix things then take it in for service. -
Installed new hard drive and flashing question mark appears
I bought a new hard drive for my macbook pro (mid 2009) because my original harddrive bit the dust... I purchased it off of amazon which states that its specifically for macbooks and the reviews appeared to back it up. I saw a lot of people with great reviews of the same model of macbook that I have so I figured it was the best solution.. I connected the new hard drive but I am getting the dreaded flashing folder/question mark. Is this normal before re-installing the OS x? Heres the problem, I am out of town on business and do not have the original OSx disc on hand. So my question is, is the flashing question mark normal upon installing a new harddrive? and if so, is there away to install the OSx onto the new harddrive without the disc?
my macbook was running mavericks before the harddrive went to poo, however I did try to re-install mavericks before i ultimately realized that I needed to new harddrive. I noticed that rebooting my mac with command+r would give me the option to reinstall mavericks without a disc or anything. the next question I have is, would this still be do-able on the new harddrive? I tried the command+R option on the new harddrive but nothing happens.
Can someone help me out here, I am getting a little desperate as I have gone over a week without my mac and theres so crucial things I need to get done! Luckily I have all my stuff backed up on an external hard drive, I just need to get the mac running again. Thanks for taking time to read!1. Yes, it is normal. If there's no OS on the drive, there's nothing to take the computer past that point.
2. No, there's no way on that Mac model. You need to use an existing system(see #4).
3. Not on that Mac model; it doesn't have the Internet Recovery system, and there isn't a recovery partition on the new drive.
4. If the backup drive contains a bootable clone of any compatible OS, or a Time Machine backup created from Mac OS X 10.8 or newer, connect it and restart the computer with the Option key held down. If it doesn't contain either, you can't.
(105476) -
Boots to flashing question mark folder and disc utility cannot locate internal hard drive
Bottling my MacBook Pro I end up with a flashing question mark folder. I reboot holding the option key to select discs and there were no options at all. I plug in an Ethernet cable and it shows a internet recovery option. I click and it downloaded a temporary recovery mode. From there I open disc utility but it doesn't find any internal hard drives. I reset the pram and I still get the flashing question mark folder. Thinking it was my internal hard drive that failed I bought and replaced the internal hd with a new one and repeated all the processes and still no internal hard drive was found. I'm stuck with the flashing question mark folder. Therefore I've concluded that it was my MacBook pros internal hard drive CABLE that had failed. Does anyone know of any other possible problems that is causing this for my MacBook Pro or know of any solutions? Or is replacing my internal hd cable the only solution? Please help!
It was the internal HD cable. I replaced it and now my MacBook Pro works
-
I have replaced my ibook hard drive but when I start up I get a folder with a flashing question mark. I have tried installing the OSX disk using the "C" key but can't get any further than the flashing "?." What do I do? What is the problem?
Which iBook do you have?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1772?viewlocale=en_US
Which version of the OS is installed, and which version are you trying to install?
You could try starting up with Startup Manager and see if it will allow you to select the OS X install disc as the startup disk. If so, maybe you can proceed from there. I would recommend repairing the hard drive first since you are evidently having a bit of a problem with it. -
IMac DV SE 400 chimes, gives flashing question mark. Hard drive bad?
My G3 iMac DV SE 400 will not start up. This is what happens:
1. Startup chime
2. Hard drive starts to spin
3. Hard drive "clicks" once
4. Flashing question mark on screen
I tried resetting the PRAM and disconnecting everything like it says in the manual. I have booted up from CD and used Disk Utility (OS X) and Disk First Aid (OS 9) to find out if the computer "sees" the hard drive. No luck with either one - the drive does not mount. I have also tried System Profiler and the computer does not recognize the presence of any hard drive there either.
Is the hard drive really "dead?" Can it be resurrected - at least to the point where I can retrieve my files, pictures, etc.? I'm confident that the drive is receiving power because it actually starts to spin up (see #2 above). Am I overlooking something easy here? Could it be as simple as replacing the battery? I haven't tried that because the hard drive does "attempt" to start up.
Failing all else, is it possible to retrieve the data using my other Mac even though the hard drive will not boot?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.Well if it spins up you might be able to salvage your data with Data Rescue II (free demo) or Disk Warrior. You could also try Target mode but if disk utility didn't see it then that's probably not going to be any better.
If those two don't see it then your only option is data retrieval via a pro company but that will be very expensive.
Richard -
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? -
Flashing Question mark: New hard drive not working Macbook Pro late 2008
After following several peoples advice on this forum I decided to upgrade my Macbook Pro late 2008 with a Seagate (1TB) Solid State Hybrid Drive 2.5 inch.
Heres the device.
http://www.morecomputers.com/spec.aspx?pn=ST1000LM014
After creating a mountable boot on a External hard drive with Mavericks install I removed the current hard drive and replaced with the new seagate drive. However it didn't seem to recognize the external hard drive (it is quite old but works perfectly) and went to a flashing grey question mark screen and wouldnt do anything else. Ive tried holding down command-r and option-r but I get nothing. Its just the same flashing question mark. I have done this several times and the same result.
I put the old drive back in and it works fine.
I am trying to work out is the problem with the mountable external hard drive OR is it the hard drive is not compatible with my computer?
Appreciate your help
GarySorry I think you may be confused.
I am trying to install the new Seagate hard drive to my mac (not as an external hard drive).
I replace the macbook pro hard drive with the seagate drive:
http://www.morecomputers.com/spec.aspx?pn=ST1000LM014
I then started up the machine with a usb external hard drive with a boot copy of mavericks on it. However, it just displayed a flashing question mark and wouldnt start booting the osx.
I am trying to work out is the problem with the mountable external hard drive OR is it the hard drive is not compatible with my computer? Im guessing it must be hard drive. Would it be better to use a USB pen drive as the external hard drive is quite old?
Does anyone know what the problem could be as the hard drive is brand new.
Appreciate your help
Thanks, Gary -
i recently found my ibook and decided to see if it would still turn on. it did but i got this flashing question mark, i did some research into this and found out that the hard drive is the cause. so i opened it up replaced the hard drive and closed it up, booted from the disc and crossed my fingers but it did not pick up the hard drive. i thought it might not have been installed properly, so i opened it up to check the connections to make shure they were secure and closed it back up but now it wont even boot from the disc. so dose anyone know whats wrong with it because i really don't just want throw it away if its a simple fix. please if anyone know i would greatly appreciate it.
<Re-Titled By Host>There often were more than one build of Apple computer per model number designation...
In the instance of iBook (white dualUSB) there appear to be two with number A-1007.
And both of these were 14-inch display models.
•iBook G3/800 14-Inch (32 VRAM - Tr) 800 MHz PowerPC 750fx (G3)
•iBook G3/900 14-Inch (Early 2003 - Op) 900 MHz PowerPC 750fx (G3)
•Apple iBook Specs (All iBook Technical Specs) for entire series - everymac:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/index-ibook.html
There are a few fairly good repair guides online, some on http://iFixit.com site.
Here's the link to the early iBook G3 series, includes color + white dualUSB.
If your iBook is a 14-inch G3 white dualUSB model that one is there, too:
•iBook G3 Repair guides - iFixit:
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iBook_G3
Either of these may be able to run a system no later than OS X Tiger 10.4.11.
So a system install disc set could be used to troubleshoot, install, restore &
prepare a replacement hard drive for a new system.
Not certain what the issues are behind your situation, there may be more than
meets the eye. Some models of iBook were more prone to hardware problems
and as they age, fewer opportunities to affordably repair them exist.
Good luck in resolving the iBook G3 issues...!
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