Apple tv shows flashing white question mark on screen. What is this?

Apple tv screen has white flashing question mark, what do I do?

Just come across this thread as my 160Gb AppleTV had the same problem this evening. The LED on the front was flashing orange and white repeatedly as well. I just turned off at the mains and switched back on and am now watching a film, everything ok.

Similar Messages

Pls my macbook air is not booting up,when i switch it on the apple logo blinks with a question mark in it.what do i do?, pls my macbook air is not booting up,when i switch it on the apple logo blinks with a question mark in it.what do i do?

pls my macbook air is not booting up,when i switch it on the apple logo blinks with a question mark in it.what do i do?, pls my macbook air is not booting up,when i switch it on the apple logo blinks with a question mark in it.what do i do?

See here > http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

TS2094 After resetting the pram, the screen only shows a folder with a question mark inside. What does this mean?

I followed the initial steps in this post and reset pram. After restarting, the screen just shows a folder with a question mark. What does this mean?

Thanks Niel, I tried using Option and nothing happened so I next tried inserting the Leopard disc and rebooting while holding C. Nothing happened until the disc was ejected and then the folder with question mark reappeared. I inserted the disc again and at this point and it booted OSX. I tried to acess disc utility to repair but my harddrive wasn't listed, only the CD drive and the OS disc. Does this mean I'm lost everything?

When I turn on my computer, I get a grey screen with a blinking file with a question mark inside. What does this mean?

Powering Up!!!!

Tell us more about your machine.
What year, model and what OS it had running before it failed.

Video error - seeing white question mark when post to my webpage.

Hey everyone, I was wondering if you can help me out.
I recently updated my software and now I'm using iWeb 2.0.4. I created a video using Final Cut Pro and rendered out a .m4v version which I've done several times in the past without a problem. The video of course plays fine in iWeb, I click Publish To Folder (since its not going to a .mac account), then upload the site via FTP. Once on the site, I get a white question mark.
So what I'm wondering is this...could it be the update thats causing the problem OR could it possibly be the server I'm using? This server I've never used before so I don't know how it handles video. Maybe it can't play QT or something...I don't know? I've done this exact same thing several times before and don't know why I'm having problems now. Its only a 3 min. video. I posted ones a lot bigger without a problem but those we put on another server.
If someone could offer me a suggestion I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Have you tried using the Publish All to MobileMe menu option? Also you can publish to a folder on the desktop and check to see if the movie file is getting included with the other files.
When you're viewing your site with Safari use the Window->Activity menu option. There you can view all the files that are loaded when your page loads and see the size and if it's there at all.
OT

Firefox is not displaying alt codes correctly, substituting a black diamond with a white question mark in their place.

Alt codes (such as ® for "registered" and  for "trademark") are being displayed as a small black diamond with a white question mark inside of it. This has also started happening to more simple characters such as exclamation marks, dashes and apostrophes.
Any ideas?

Thanks for your reply cor-el.
My posting actually included the alt code syntax, and is now rendered as the corresponding special character. I guess this isn't a surprise!
And no, it was rendered just fine. This morning when I went into the browser to see the problem, it was not mis-displaying as it had been...it had somehow changed and was behaving very nicely. That's all fine, but I'm a little bit wary of this FF browser functionality now...steady as she goes.
Also, I did check the (View > Character Encoding) you recommended, and after experimenting a bit discovered that using "Unicode (UTF-8)" made the wierd black diamond/white question mark character come back in all of the same places it was occuring...up until this morning. I've set my browser default to "Western (ISO-8859-1)" now, and everything is displaying as it should.
Thanks for your reply and suggestions. I hope others will learn from these experiences.

Has anyone else has seen this problem with their iPod touch 5th Generation with iOS 7.0.4. My screen started making flashing white lines across the screen, then went dim, then pixeled with purples

The ipod will show flashing white lines across the screen, going down, it then does somthing where the screen will dim down but its not like when the backlight goes on and its about to lock. It dims the background of your ipod and the icons and letters kind of all look defined. Then the ipod gets all pixelized and it has big boxes on pixels and its all differnt colors like purples and greens, red, etc. then it turns right off and restarts itself less than 5 seconds later. These things happen really fast but when it does it's really weird. It first happened 3 times in a row, Its still continuing to happen but i can manually turn off my ipod by holding the lock button down and not even 30 seconds later it's like its possessed and it turns on by itself. I talked to somone on appel and they told me to back it up and restore it. I restored it and as soon as the process ended and tuirned on like a brand new ipod and like clockwork the glitch happened instantly. It did it a couple of times throughout the night and i kept having to watch it so i can keep turning it off manually because it continues to turn on by itself. I talked to 3 different people on Apple Support and they couldnt even find an answer for me. It's so weird.

Try:
- iOS: Not responding or does not turn on
- Also try DFU mode after try recovery mode
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
- If not successful and you can't fully turn the iOS device fully off, let the battery fully drain. After charging for an least an hour try the above again.
- Try another cable
- Try on another computer
- If still not successful that usually indicates a hardware problem and an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store is in order.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar
Also,
If you restored to factory settings/new iPod via iTunes (Not via Settings>General>Reset>Erase all Content and Setting) and still have the problem that indicates a hardware problem.
Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store..
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

White Question Mark instead of White Apple comes up when booting up. Why?

White Question Mark instead of White Apple comes up when booting up.
Hi guys,
It happens regularly on booting up and then booting up stops, and I have to turn the iMac off and turn it back on again, sometimes several times, before getting a regular boot up.
What is that about, and how to avoid it?
Thanks,
Raphael

Thanks.
I just found an Apple article dedicated to that called "Gray screen on startup."
Symptoms
Instead of seeing the Finder or the login window after startup, your computer may stop responding and the display may only show a persistent gray screen (you may also see an Apple logo, spinning gear, spinning globe, prohibitory sign, or a folder with a flashing question mark on it). Note: The below steps may not apply if a blue screen appears during start up.
Products Affected
Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.6, Mac OS X 10.5
Resolution
Note: Some steps below may reset preference settings or registration settings.
Disconnect, test peripheral devices and network cables
Note: "Peripheral devices" refers to external devices other than what came with your Mac, such as hard drives, printers, or hubs that you connect via a USB or FireWire cable.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Disconnect all peripheral devices such as external hard drives or printers (leave only the display, a keyboard, and mouse connected).
Disconnect any Ethernet cables.
Start up your Mac.
If you can start up this way, one or more of your peripheral devices (or installed software related to the device) is probably causing the gray screen issue. Connect one device, then restart your Mac to test for the issue. Repeat the process until you locate the device at issue. Make sure the device is powered if it needs to be to operate correctly. Check with the manufacturer of the device for support or possible software driver or firmware updates that may be available for the device. Try a different cable with the device if possible (such as a different USB or FireWire cable).
Note: If you have multiple peripheral devices and the issue only occurs when they are all connected, but not when each device is the only peripheral connected, see the Additional Information section below.
If you are using a desktop Mac with a third-party keyboard and/or mouse device, and the issue still occurs, try starting up with an Apple keyboard and mouse connected instead. Try starting with no keyboard and mouse connected, then connect them after start up. Also, try a different USB port on your Mac.
If the gray screen issue persists with no devices connected, go to the next section (with the peripherals still disconnected).
Perform a Safe Boot
Simply performing the Safe Boot may resolve this issue.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Start your Mac, then immediately hold the Shift key. This performs a Safe Boot. Advanced tip: If you want to see the status of a Safe Boot as it progresses, you can hold Shift-Command-V during start up (instead of just Shift).
Note: A Safe Boot takes longer than a typical start up because it includes a disk check and other operations.
If your Mac starts up as expected, immediately try restarting.
If the Safe Boot does not work, or the restart after a successful Safe Boot does not work, go to the next section.
Reset the NVRAM / PRAM
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Reset the NVRAM / PRAM.
If the gray screen issue persists, go to the next section.
Start from your Mac OS X Install disc; use Disk Utility
Insert your Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5 installation disc (if you have discs with both versions, use whichever is closest to the Mac OS X version installed on your Mac; do not use a startup disc which came with a different Mac or which contains an earlier version of Mac OS X).
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Start up your Mac while holding the C key to start from the disc.
Once started from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Utility menu.
Note: If the gray screen issue persists and you can't start from the disc, go to the "Disconnect peripheral devices" section.
In Disk Utility, perform a disk repair of your Mac OS X volume; if no issues are found, perform a permissions repair as well. If issues are found during the disk repair, try repairing again.
After the Disk Utility operations are complete, restart without holding any keys.
If the gray screen issue persists, go to the next section.
Check your cables and power source
Make sure your power cables are secure (especially if you use a desktop Mac). Try a different cable or outlet if possible. If you use a surge protecter, try connecting directly to an outlet as a test.
If you have power-related issues (such as your desktop Mac shutting down or restarting, or room lights dimming when an appliance comes on, consider contacting a certified electrician to check your outlets and electrical wiring).
If the gray screen issue persists, go to the next section.
Remove third-party RAM and internal hardware
Note: Skip this section if only Apple-brand RAM is installed in your Mac.
Remove any non-Apple RAM or other third-party hardware upgrades (such as expansion cards or third-party optical drives or hard drives, if present) to help isolate the issue. This is necessary to get as close as possible to the original factory hardware configuration of your Mac.
If you are not sure which RAM modules or other hardware is Apple or third-party, or if you are not comfortable performing these steps, or if you have a Mac mini, consider contacting an Apple Authorized Service Provider for assistance. Otherwise, perform these steps before going to the next section.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Open your Mac to access the memory slots. Refer to the User Guide that came with your Mac, or search Apple Support Manuals for a PDF copy of your Mac's User Guide.
Remove any third-party RAM that has been installed.
Reinstall the Apple RAM that came with the computer if available. Note that Mac OS X 10.5 requires 512 MB or more of RAM; Mac OS X 10.4 requires 256 MB or more of RAM.
If your Mac starts up with only Apple RAM installed, contact the vendor of your third-party RAM.
If the gray screen issue persists, go to the next section.
Perform an Archive and Install installation of Mac OS X
If the above steps do not resolve the issue, and you can successfully start from your Mac OS X Install disc as noted above:
Insert your Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5 installation disc (if you have discs with both versions, use whichever is closest to the Mac OS X version installed on your Mac; do not use a startup disc which came with a different Mac or which contains an earlier version of Mac OS X).
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Start up your Mac while holding the C key to start from the disc.
Perform an Archive and Install installation (preserving users and network settings).
After installation, if the gray screen issue persists, go to the next section.
Perform an Erase and Install installation of Mac OS X as a last resort
Important: You should only perform this step after trying all of the above steps. This process will erase all files from your Mac OS X volume. If possible, back up important files first, or use Time Machine. You may be able to connect your Mac to another Mac with a FireWire cable and FireWire target disk mode, in order to try to manually back up files. Alternatively, you may wish to make an appointment with a Mac Genius at an Apple store, or contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider for assistance.
To erase your Mac OS X volume and reinstall Mac OS X:
Insert your Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5 installation disc.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Startup your Mac while holding the C key to start from the disc.
Perform an Erase and Install installation of Mac OS X.
After installing, starting from your Mac OS X volume, and verifying the issue is resolved, you should use Software Update to update to the latest available version of Mac OS X.
Additional Information
If the issue persists after you follow the above steps, you may wish to make an appointment with a Mac Genius at an Apple store, contact AppleCare via phone, or contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider for assistance.
If the issue only occurs when multiple peripheral devices are connected
If a gray screen appears during start up only when several peripheral devices (that is, USB and/or FireWire devices) are connected, and you don't want to have only one device connected at a time, the issue may be caused by a combination of the peripheral devices.
To illustrate this hypothetically, you may have three USB devices, which we'll call "A", "B", and "C". The issue may be that peripherals A and C have a conflict of some sort, and a gray screen only appears if they both are connected, but not if each one is connected separately. In the above "Disconnect, test peripheral devices and network cables" section you may have inferred that you have an issue only with device C because it was added after A. To avoid an inaccurate analysis, connect device C to your computer with no other devices. If your Mac has the startup issue with only device C connected, then you know it is the source of the issue. However if your Mac starts up, you have a conflict of devices to work out. To do this add the other devices one at a time with device C connected until your startup issue occurs (restart after adding one device). Repeat this process until you have just the minimum set of devices to produce your startup issue.
What can you do?
You should make sure each device has the latest firmware installed if applicable--check with the manufacturer for more information. You should also check for the latest driver versions, and if necessary install them while started in Safe Mode per above.
If any of the devices requires a separate power source, be sure that power is connected to the device (for example, even if a device appears to be powered when connected via USB without the power cable, connect its power cable).
Try different USB or FireWire cables with each device, as applicable.
If you have a device similar to one of the conflicting devices, try replacing it with another one.
Contact each device manufacturer or the materials that came with the device. for more support information or, if needed, service options.

My old iMac (screen sits on a white dome) opens with a tiny folder that flashes a question mark, instead of a login to user's desktop

My old iMac (screen sits on a white dome) opens with a tiny folder that flashes a question mark, instead of a login to user's desktop, when booting up after a forced shutdown. How do I get my operating system working again? Thanks --Jim

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 be come corrupted.
Try these things.
-- try to boot up from the installation disc.
The startup manager will list all of your bootable partitions then give you a choice of which to boot. Hold down the option key then power on. Continue holding down the option key until you see the startup manager. This brings up the startup manager. Click on your hd or disc. Click on right arrow key.
-- Sometimes if volumes don't appear in Startup Manager (what you get when you hold down the Option key at startup), you need to reset the Mac's PRAM, NVRAM, and Open Firmware. Shut down the Mac, then power it up, and before the screen lights up, quickly hold down the Command, Option, P, and R keys, until the Mac has chimed twice more after the powerup chime.
Then, before the screen lights up, hold down Command-Option-O-F until the Open Firmware screen appears. Then enter these lines, pressing Return after each one:
reset-nvram
set-defaults
reset-all
"The reset-all command should restart your Mac. If so, you have successfully reset the Open Firmware settings."
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1812?viewlocale=en_US
Should the fail...
Try taking the battery out for 10 minutes. Put battery back in. Cross fingers. Power the machine back on.
How to eject a cd from the internal cd drive:
eject cd
List of devices:
devalias
List of variables:
printenv
More than you ever wanted to know about open firmware
http://www.firmworks.com/QuickRef.html

White screen with a flashing folder & question mark

My IMac froze today and when I turned it off and then back on, it just sticks on a white screen with a flashing folder & question mark... Help?

Reinstall Snow Leopard 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/.
Reinstalling Lion Without the Installer
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. Alterhatively, 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: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

HT1560 console blinking amber and white alternatively. displaying the Apple TV console with a question mark on top of it. What is the problem and pls how can it be solved ?

console blinking amber and white alternatively. displaying the Apple TV console with a question mark on top of it. What is the problem and pls how can it be solved ?

That's hard to say.
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as MAC Data Recovery, Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads. Recovery software usually provide trial versions that enable you to determine if the software would help before actually paying for it. Beyond this or if the drive has completely failed, then you would need to send the drive to a recovery service which is very expensive.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

Every time I try to get on youtube or netflix on safari all I'm getting is a white background and a lot of links and boxes with question marks in them, what is going on?

Every time I try to get on youtube or netflix on safari all I'm getting is a white background and a lot of links and boxes with question marks in them, what is going on?

Make sure your system software is up to date.
Click the Apple  menu (top left in your screen) then click: Software Update ...
And try troubleshooting Flash. Uninstall then reinstall.
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/865/cpsid_86551.html#ostype=m,prob1=fnctn,prob2=game,

Folder w/flashing gray question mark

Hello,
I have tried every and all the suggestions given here for when all that shows is a folder with a flashing gray question mark. I was told that the reason for the flashing question mark is the hard drive is no longer working. I have a lot of things on my computer and would like to make a back up of them, before I have it repaired. Is there anything else I can try to be able to reboot it and get all my files out of there? I'd appreciate any help or suggestions. Thank you very much!

Aqua
Re: Folder w/flashing gray question mark
Feb 1, 2013 1:52 AM (in response to Arranques)
Pram Reset shouldn't do that.
How to use FireWire target disk mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Disk_Mode
Can you or I be more specific?
I know how to set up to get to the T mode. What I'd like to know is, once I'm there, what is it that I'm supposed to do? And can I be more specific about what? I just looked at the disc I inserted to be able to startup, and it is Tiger. So the OS is Tiger and did have the computer partition. I had Tiger on one side and Leopard on the other. I know, it keeps getting more complicated as I go along. Thank you for the links.

Installed Leopard, boots sporadically - Flashing Folder / Question Mark

I have installed Leopard onto my PowerMac G4. It was working for a few months, now it won't boot up most of the time. I am getting the flashing folder/question mark when I turn the computer on.
This problem doesn't occur all of the time. I was messing around with the two internal hard drives, switching them around inside the machine, and whatever I did must have worked because the computer booted up just fine. All of my files were in tact and everything looked normal. This lasted for about a day. Now my computer is back to the flashing folder on startup.
What could be causing this problem, and how can I fix it? Thanks!

Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it.
It is the strangest thing. Sometimes it will recognize the hard drive and boot up normally. Other times it hangs on the Apple logo with the spinning wheel. And other times it doesn't recognize the drives at all and gives me the flashing folder. Same thing when I try holding down the option key and use the device manager. Sometimes it will see the drives, and other times it doesn't show anything.
I have replaced the hard drives, the hard drive cables and the PRAM battery. I am running out of ideas! Anything else that you can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

Flashing folder question mark on boot

I started my computer today, and I hear this high-pitched noise and then clicking sounds. Then I see the flashing folder question mark. Could this be hard drive failure? Or is it the DNSChanger virus? I've tried to access the Recovery, but Command-R and the Option key don't work. When I use Option, all I see is a white screen with a pointer.

Compukid wrote:
When I tried Option, it showed a white screen and the cursor.
That's the firmware driven, no drive means either OS X is fried and can't boot, or the drive is dead, or it may be that something is wrong with the Mac or a cable, which if the drive is still good, will work later or in a SATA to USB adpater on another Mac or PC with MacDrive installed. You won't know that unless it's pulled out of the machine.
When I tried to move the mouse (a wireless one, if that helps), it did not move.
Can't use a wireless mouse, as the drivers load with OS X and OS X isn't booting, use the wired one or the trackpad.

Apple tv shows flashing white question mark on screen. What is this?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for