Blinking folder @ startup

When I tried to startup my Pomermac G5 dual 2.7 (OSX 10.4), I got a blinking folder w/question mark. I have two internal hardrives, (1) maxtor 250 & (1) Maxtor 120. Needless to say it will not boot. I then used an external firewire drive to startup. I tried Disk Utilites, the Maxtor drives are shown but capacity listed on both says 0 Bytes and all options to verify,repair are greyed-out. Other than trying Disk Utilities I have:
-Reset PRAM
-Used Disk Warrior 3.0. The Maxtor drives are not shown in the Directory but not shown in "Hardware" and the "Test Device" option is greyed-out precluding a test.
What could have happened to both of these drives and does anybody have any suggestions to fix this problem.
Thanks, Pete

Try resetting your Open Firmware. If that doesn't work, try running your hardware tester once. You could have a HD controller issue on your logic board.
Do an Open Firmware reset: Hold the CommandOption+OF keys during startup. At the '>' prompt type:
>reset-nvram
Return
  >set-defaults
Return
  >reset-all
Return
-Bmer
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No startup, blinking folder, VERY hot

Been about 4months since I tried last, but figured I'd give it a shot here. My 2007 iMac won't startup. Only shows blinking folder with question mark, and back of comp gets VERY hot if stays on. Tried doing they keyboard thing with apple key etc.., no results. Don't wanna toss a new harddrive in it if that's not the problem. Any diag tips? Thanks!

It turns out that my SATA just wen't dead. I've been experiencing several power outages while my iMac still is running. I also noticed months ago that whenever I verify disk permission there are some stuff that is beyond repair and it shows red. I just ignore it thinking that it will go away and the inevitable happened. Good thing though I just have a few gigabytes of photos taken months back I had a full backup on all the docs that I have. I tried resurrecting my Western Digital 160GB SATA using Spinrite V6 but to no avail. BIOS from Windows can't even mount the drive. I've given it up. I still have a one last hope though to bring the dead drive to a data recovery company. And hope that they can replace the SATA board or the mechanical part with a new one on a clean room and recover what they can for a fee.
Is there any hint when a drive is about to fail? I did experience frequent hangings and endless spinning beachball from time to time also some weird sound that seems my hard drive is about to blast by spinning profusely for no apparent reason.
My 160GB SATA drive is about 5 years old. Is this the regular lifespan of SATA drives? Should I replace it every say 3-4 years? I've been using it almost everyday from Monday to Saturday. I'm considering buying a drobo so I can dump all my files without worries of being burn again by a terrible Hard Disk Crash!!!
I've re installed everything on my imac using the new 500GB SATA. Good thing that everything was fine except for the SATA Drive. I've bought an AVR and 500VA APC (Power Backup incase of Power Outage) so that I could prevent it from happening again. Also do you have any idea what brand of SATA is the quietest the most silent? Thanks for your help.
Message was edited by: besprenbrian

White screen with blinking folder at startup

When I start up my macbook the screen has a blinking folder with a question mark on it and is unresponsive.
Any suggestions?

My year old MacBook just suffered the same death. Except mine was the circle with the line through it at startup. Tried DiskWarrior, and it wouldn't start from that. Drive Genius started it, and it showed severe fragmentation on the disk, so I defragmented it. That didn't solve the problem. Started from the Leopard install disk, ran Disk Utility, but it hung after the first step, then the drive disappeared completely.
Installed a new hard drive yesterday, and so far so good, but a drive failing after one year of light usage is troubling, and I've read too many posts from people who have replaced the drive more than once. This is not normal, and I'd like to know what is going on with these MacBooks.

Blinking folder with question mark at startup

I found an old, unlabeled CD at work in our file backup book. I put it in, and tried to copy the zip files to my HD to see what it was. It wouldn't read the disk, and everything slowed to a crawl. After waiting for it to come back, it didn't, so I force quit and relaunched the finder. When the finder came back, I shut down the iMac and restarted. Now I'm only getting a blinking folder icon at start up. Tried to access the install CD, tried Option+startup, even tried Firewire Target startup, reset the PRAM a bunch of times. No joy. Any ideas on what's happening or how to fix?
Thanks! Andrew

Sorry.
I really wouldn't have expected that (though zip files are sometimes automatically decompressed by a Mac, let's hope they weren't firmware updates). Perhaps someone else will come up with an idea before the shop. Was there a big scratch on the optical disc? Optical drives reflect laser light, so that's shouldn't have damaged the drive.
Your problem has me mystified.
Was there a little folder with a flashing question mark (yes!) in the middle of the screen? You had apparently done everything correctly. What kind of Mac have you? The PowerMac G4 takes a little battery to keep NVRAM stored, but that would be an absurd coincidence.
If Firewire Disk Mode works at all, you can use a second Mac's 'Disk Utility' to see if something happened to your Mac's file system.
If your Install Disc is a DVD, try the 'c' trick on a bootable CD, if you have one. (It's hard to fit MacOSX on a CD, but some utilities will do it.) If you have a bootable GNU/Linux for your Mac, you can try that optical drive.
Your, or a friend, may have a bootable USB Flash drive (if you have an Intel Mac).
In any case, you can try booting with the 'Alt' key held down and see whether your NVRAM give you a menu of bootable drives.
In all cases, hold your hands .-) on your computer to see what disks spin, and in what order.
No need to reply, for you seem most competent. However, these are some ideas to think about.
A shop is far less trouble, unless someone here recognizes the problem. Help here from anyone else?

Blinking Folder with Question Mark Inside On Startup

Hi -- I turned on my computer this morning and the screen was white for some time before a blinking folder appeared with a question mark inside. I tried several suggestions (hold command, shift, optioncommand+RP at startup) and they didn't work. It does now make the "ding" sound when it starts up, but goes right to the blinking folder again. I tried inserting both OS disks (mine has 2), but it just hangs at the white screen for about a minute and then spits the disk out, and then goes back to the folder.
Google searches seem to confirm that either my hard drive is dead, or the computer somehow can't find the startup folder.
Any suggestions are welcome. I have scheduled an appointment with Apple tech support later tonight. FYI: I have a MacBook, if that helps.

Thanks for the link. I got to step 3. I don't understand the rest:
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.
To the left, I have a HD icon that says 5.1 GB MATSHITADVD-... and offset under it is a CD icon that says Mac OS X Install Disc 1. I see the First Aid, Erase, Partition and Restore tabs, and the First Aid tab is selected. The window says *To repair a disk or volume, select its icon in the list on the left and click Repair Disk (that button never lights up though). *To repair disk permission problems on a disk or volume that has Mac OS X installed, select its icon and click Repair Disk Permissions (also not lit up -- althouh I don't think I want that one). *Click the Verify buttons to test the disk or permissions without changing anything (I could click this button). *To repair your startup disk, start up from your Mac OS X Install disc (CD or DVD), then choose Utilities>Disk Utility.
Then there is a blank field with the button underneath.
How do I make the Repair button available? Thanks so much for helping me.

Imac G5 ALS shows grey screen with blinking folder icon on startup

Helping a friend - her imac G5 got the blinking folder icon with question mark and grey screen and then wouldn't start. She had OS 10.4.11. I booted from install disk successfully- Disk Util said No repairs Necessary. Disk Warrior hung (never had that happen before). Performed Safe Boot. Multiple reboots were all successful.
But a few days later, it happened again. Then I did a clean install of 10.5 and all software updates. Restored her user folder from a clone I'd made before starting. All seemed well.
Now, the grey screen with folder question mark still occurs fairly often. If she restarts, she does get booted. (so far anyway)
My question: what do I need to do to resolve the grey screen with blinking folder icon on startup?
Additionally, the computer is slower than before. Does Leopard run slower on these machines than Tiger? (I'd already advised her to get more ram)
Thanks for your help!

The blinking folder means just that, it can't find an OS to boot to. Tray zapping the PRAM and it wouldn't hurt to run Rember and if the RAM checks out, she might want to add some, 512 is really a minimum, and Leopard should really have at least 1GB.

Blinking folder with a question mark at startup.

Dear all.
I am a newby with Macs and I just found an iMac G3 266Mhz. (Why anybody would throw a Mac away is beyond me but anyhow)
When starting up I just get a blinking folder with the question mark.
I can start up with an CD of Mac OS 9.2 but when wanting to install the software I get an error message about my firmware not being up to date etc etc... when going through the things I have to do for an firmware upgrade I get an error message saying disk locked....By browsing through these pages I found that that was most likely due to starting up from the CD.
But now I'm not able to start up from any other folder then the CD.
If I select to start up from the hard disk I just get the folder icon with the question mark again.
Please please please can anyone help me....or I am doomed to using PC´s forever.
Irol

Hi Irol
You're in a sort of catch 22 situation. You have to run the firmware upgrade while running from the HD.
Anyway. Try this
Start up from the CD as you did before then copy the firmware update app onto your hard drive .
While running from the CD open the HD and look for the "System Folder"
What does it look like? Is it a plain folder or is it a folder with the picasso face?
It should have the picasso face.
If it's a plain folder do this.
Open it and locate a file called "System" - it will have the picasso face. Drag the file out of the system folder onto your desktop.
Now close the system folder.
Now with one swift action - drag the picasso file and drop it onto the closed system folder - do it quickly so that the folder doesn't open. Then wait a moment.
The picasso face should appear on the systgem folder. Now try starting the mac normally.
Does it work?
If so, run the firmware updater. There are two versions, one for a tray loader and one for the slot loader. It you get the wrong one it will tell you, It will also tell you if the firmware is up to date.
Anyway, if you can't start the mac other than from the CD it is most likely that there is some corruption on the disk. A good tool to use is Diskwarrior - it's a bit expensive but it's a staple of my toolkit - it's far more efficient than both Norton and Techtool.
Another alternative - but probably more difficult. is to run from an 8.6 or 9.0 CD if you can find one - ebay?
Just to say - the flashing question mark is the system's way of saying "I cannot find a valid start-up folder"
Hopefully one of the above will get you going.
The fact that you can start the mac up from the CD says that the mac itself is OK - I wonder if it was thrown away because the owner couldn't sort it out.

Can't startup blinking folder question mark

There are similar questions in these forums, but my situation is different. My MacMini froze and I had to press the power button on it to restart it. I get the folder with the blinking question mark. I do not have any disks in the drive. I have not installed any new operating systems for at least a year. No external drives connected. I shut off and started the Mac Mini yesterday with no problems.
I tried the Enter/Return key; no response. I restarted and tried the Command-Option-P-R to reset the P-Ram; got the same blinking folder question mark. I restarted and tried the Command-Option-O-F also. I just keep getting the same blinking folder question mark.
So, if anyone has any suggestions, I will sure appreciate it!

It turns out that my SATA just wen't dead. I've been experiencing several power outages while my iMac still is running. I also noticed months ago that whenever I verify disk permission there are some stuff that is beyond repair and it shows red. I just ignore it thinking that it will go away and the inevitable happened. Good thing though I just have a few gigabytes of photos taken months back I had a full backup on all the docs that I have. I tried resurrecting my Western Digital 160GB SATA using Spinrite V6 but to no avail. BIOS from Windows can't even mount the drive. I've given it up. I still have a one last hope though to bring the dead drive to a data recovery company. And hope that they can replace the SATA board or the mechanical part with a new one on a clean room and recover what they can for a fee.
Is there any hint when a drive is about to fail? I did experience frequent hangings and endless spinning beachball from time to time also some weird sound that seems my hard drive is about to blast by spinning profusely for no apparent reason.
My 160GB SATA drive is about 5 years old. Is this the regular lifespan of SATA drives? Should I replace it every say 3-4 years? I've been using it almost everyday from Monday to Saturday. I'm considering buying a drobo so I can dump all my files without worries of being burn again by a terrible Hard Disk Crash!!!
I've re installed everything on my imac using the new 500GB SATA. Good thing that everything was fine except for the SATA Drive. I've bought an AVR and 500VA APC (Power Backup incase of Power Outage) so that I could prevent it from happening again. Also do you have any idea what brand of SATA is the quietest the most silent? Thanks for your help.
Message was edited by: besprenbrian

HELP I'm getting a blinking folder with a question mark at start up? Have been trying to fix this for 3 hours and I dont want to lose all my files by resetting it completely!!

I currently have Mavericks but my original OS X disk that I have I'm pretty sure is Mac OS X 10.6.6. I'm not great with computers but am usually able to fix problems I have had with mine in the past. I have reinstalled and reset my computer to factory settings before, but I am locked out of my computer completely & can't get to my files to save them & I really dont want to lose them. I was in Safari earlier opening a file, the page started to not respond & froze up my whole desktop so I did a hard shutdown & restarted my computer. I haven't been able to get back into my account ever since. If my only choice is to lose my files & reinstall everything, I need detailed instructions because I actually attempted to do this at first, out of desperation to fix my computer & the installer was asking me to select what disk I wanted to reinstall lion to yet I dont have a disk for that nor do I know what it exactly is asking of me? Please help

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 or globe appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by one or more of these:
a. Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
b. Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
c. Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
d. The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Note that the information I have provided is what Apple recommends, If other users suggest different solutions than found here, then be sure what they recommend does not impact on your warranty, if any, or ability to get continuing Apple service.
Please don't start removing drives or changing cables unless you know what you are doing and have exhausted other non-invasive alternatives outlined here. If you perform any work yourself that is unapproved by Apple, then you will void any warranty you may have and lose all further Apple Support.
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. Simply boot from the Recovery HD to perform the above.
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.

The mother of all blinking folder/question mark posts.

So here's another question mark/blinking folder post, only I've narrowed things down quite a bit. Let's start from the top.
Powermac G4 quicksilver won't boot, and will only show the infamous blinking folder icon.
-unplugged keyboard and mouse
-unplugged SCSI interface
-unplugged CD drive
-tested memory, all ok
-changed slot RAM uses
-booted with X held down
-booted with C held down
-booted with SHIFT held down
-booted with Option held down (brought up screen with two buttons, but no bootable devices)
-Cleared PRAM
-Cleared NVRAM
-Replaced battery
All of the usual tasks and no results. Dead drive, right? Nope. It won't boot through the HD, or any normally bootable CDs, but when I access Open Firmware (Control+Z), I'm able to view all of the HD's contents (dir hd:\) and all of the contents from whatever CD I put in there (dir cd:\). As it can read from both, but will boot from neither, I'm now thinking it has something to do with the main board.
Has anyone else exhausted the blinking folder issue to the point I have, and still found results somehow? I'll be hooking it up to another mac via firewire tomorrow, but the unbootable CD makes me think that's not the solution. Any ideas on where to go from here? It's way out of warranty by the way.
Thanks in advance for your time everyone!

Hi-
Welcome to Discussions!
Next step, download a copy of the Apple Hardware test, and burn it to CD. I know, your QS isn't cooperating, so I hope you have access to another Mac.
http://www.info.apple.com/support/aht.html
Hopefully the machine will run the AHT fine, and you can run a hardware test. I'm hoping not, but could be the ATA controller on the MOBO.
BTW- you didn't mention booting into single user and running fsck. See what that results in. Startup holding command+s. After the prompt type +/sbin/fsck -fy+ (that is a space between fsck and -fy). Press Return, and see what happens:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

Blinking folder with question mark and a new hard drive: also installing Mountain Lion and 0 with a line through it appears please help?

Okay so my harddrive failed in my 13" Macbook I used to have a WD scorpio black 250 gb for a while. I upgraded to a WD scorpio black 500 gb 7500 rpm hard drive. Okay so I installed the harddrive and ran my friends startup disc to learn that grey face discs are specific to that computer. The start up disc ran fine (minus the error stating it could not install OSX because its specific to another computer) and I looked in disc utility after installing the new harddrive and it said verified. I lost my startup disc and did not have another one. Using a friends mac I created a bootable USB drive with mountain lion on it, I plug it in and it comes up and when I choose to start up on the harddrive a 0 with a line going throguh it appears. If I do not start up with the USB or my friends startup disc then a blinking folder with a question mark appears. So my question is what could the problem be if a startup disc runs on a new WD harddrive and says under disc utility that its verified but the 0 with a line through it appears after I try to boot it with a flash drive containing mountain lion? WHats the issue here im completely lost now

Sounds like some sort of power issue and now your drive is not working.
You'll have to take this to Apple for repair.
You should read this if you don't have recent backups of your data off the machine.
My computer is not working, is my personal data lost?

My Mac book pro turns on with a grey screen with a blinking folder question mark. Help!

My bag carrying my computer fell on the ground as I was entering a cab. I checked my computer immediately for damage and it seemed to work fine. After about an two hours, I went back to my computer and it had a black screen and was getting very hot. I held the power button down and it restarted only to have a grey screen with a blinking folder + a question mark. I've already looked on the forums, and I don't have the CDs with me as I am traveling, and I don't have much backed up.
I appreciate any advice provided.
Thank you!

Hey peawok,
The following document goes over troubleshooting steps for when you encounter a folder with a flashing question mark during startup:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Take care,
Delgadoh

At start up I get a white screen then eventually a blinking folder icon with a question mark in the middle

Help! As of today, my iMac will not boot up. When I turn it on I get a blank white screen then, after about a minute, a blinking folder icon with a question mark in the middle.

Find your original install disk, insert it and re-boot holding the "C" key during startup. It will take longer but should boot. Then you need to select Disk Utilityfrom the Menu Bar. Do a Repair Disk on your hard drive. When it finishes re-boot normally.

Blinking folder with question mark what does it mean?

Okay so my harddrive failed in my 13" Macbook I used to have a WD scorpio black 250 gb for a while. I upgraded to a WD scorpio black 500 gb 7500 rpm hard drive. Okay so I installed the harddrive and ran my friends startup disc to learn that grey face discs are specific to that computer. The start up disc ran fine (minus the error stating it could not install OSX because its specific to another computer) and I looked in disc utility after installing the new harddrive and it said verified. I lost my startup disc and did not have another one. Using a friends mac I created a bootable USB drive with mountain lion on it, I plug it in and it comes up and when I choose to start up on the harddrive a 0 with a line going throguh it appears. If I do not start up with the USB or my friends startup disc then a blinking folder with a question mark appears. So my question is what could the problem be if a startup disc runs on a new WD harddrive and says under disc utility that its verified but the 0 with a line through it appears after I try to boot it with a flash drive containing mountain lion? WHats the issue here im completely lost now
MacBook

Use the instructions in this Apple article to help troubleshoot your issue.
Best of luck.

My computer has a blinking folder with question mark on it at start... What is going on?

My computer has a blinking folder with question mark on it at start... What is going on?

The hatter wrote:
also that the default is no longer set asin when someone had windows as default and removed it w/o changing Startup Disk panel.
Oh yes, I forgot that people still do that

Blinking folder @ startup

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