Delay when booting. First flashing folder with ?, then happy Mac...

Hi,
I recently tried to install ubuntu on my old CRT iMac DV model, but everything went miserable wrong so I tried to reinstall OS9 from my Install disc and again that didn't work either. After some helpful assistance from this forum I figured out that it was either the install disc (scratched) or the PRAM battery.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, the Apple Tech Service Centre kindly burnt me a new copy of my install disc adn supplied me with a new battery. I ahve successfully installed OS 9.2.2 but when I boot the iMac I get a flashing folder at first with a "?" sign and then after 10-20 seconds it changes to a happy Mac icon adn starts to boot.
Has anyone got any idea what is happening and is it something I should be concerned about?
Cheers
Manuel
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5) also have iMac G3 OS 9.0.4

Hi, CMNG. Your Mac's behavior suggests that there is no startup disk designated in the Startup Disk control panel, so the Mac is taking extra time scanning all possible locations and busses for a potential startup volume before resorting to the only one that turns up. Open that control panel, select your hard drive, close the control panel, and the problem should be gone the next time you restart.

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Getting flashing folder with ? When booting up

The flashing folder with a question mark means that your computer can't recognize the hard drive. This could either mean that your hard drive is dead or it just isn't connected to the actual computer.
You can first try pressing the option key immediately after pressing the power button to go into startup manager. There you can choose your startup disk. If it still doesn't work (like it didn't for me) you can check to see if the problem is in the hard drive or the cable by inserting the installation dvd and re-install. Go into disk utlility and If it's unmounted, than the hdd most likely dead. If there's no hard drive icon at all, there's a good chance it's the cable.
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What does it mean when i have a flashing folder with a question mark in it when i try to boot up?

what does it mean when I have a flashing folder with a question mark in the middle of it when I try to boot the interface?

It means the system cannot find a bootable OS. Reinstall OS X.
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
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Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
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When i boot i get a flashing folder with a question mark. disk utility doesnt work or read my harddrives to boot with. i installed a new SSD and its not reading that either. i have a macbook pro 2011, any help?

So I came to this problem a while ago. M ycomputer basically froze so I was forced to shut down by holding the button down. When I started it up I got the flashing folder with a question mark. I started it up holding down the command and r keys which brought me to disk utility. Although my computer doesn't read that I have a hard drive to start it up. When I click on the disk utility app, I cannot verify or repair anything either. The buttons won't allow me to click on them. It also shows "Mac OSX Base System" which shows I have files and what not saved. I had been told that I need a new hard drive so I bought and manually installed a OWC SSD 240GB drive and when i booted the computer up it booted up yo the operating system fine with all my files and what not on there. After about twenty minutes, it froze again. I forced a shut down, restarted and the same thing happened. I am not able to choose my SSD to boot up, although thats probably because it doesn't have an operating system installed on it??
i have a Macbook Pro 13" 2011
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ryansaint11,
this isn’t Apple support; this is a user-to-user forum. We’re just fellow users of Apple products here.
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HT1310 when i starst my mac i get a flashing folder with a question mark. i tried rebooting and holding the option button then i get 2 boxes, one with a refresh arrow and one with a forward arrow neither of them seem to do anything. now what

when i starst my mac i get a flashing folder with a question mark. i tried rebooting and holding the option button then i get 2 boxes, one with a refresh arrow and one with a forward arrow neither of them seem to do anything. now what

Here is an article that describes what it is supposed to do:
Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume
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What Mac Pro ? by year, GHz, number of processors, screen size?
What Mac OS X ?

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Hi.
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Hi, I own a white MacBook that is fairly new. When I boot it there is a flashing folder with a question mark in it. I read here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440 what to do.
I inserted my Leopard disc, held C while booting and then opened Disc Utilitiy. But the only images to appear in the left column of Disc Utility is the "Mac OS X Install DVD". So I tried resetting the PRAM by holding down cmd-opt-R-P while booting.
Then I tried the same thing again but still there is only the install disc in the left column. If I go to Startup Disc there is only the install CD and "Network Startup".
Now, if I were to reinstall the system as it says in step 4 of the guide, what will happen to my data? I read that this error could be a sign of the hard drive crashing, and with no back up I really don't want that to happen.
So, is it safe to reinstall the system, or what do you suggest my next step to be?

Try booting in Safe Mode
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
I tried booting in Safe Mode by holding down shift while starting, but it just went to the flashing folder with the ?-mark in it. Then I tried to enter single-user mode by holding down cmd-S while starting (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492), in order to try the fsck-thingy, but still just the flashing ?.
When I start my computer it makes bad noises from the bottom right side. I fear that the HD is broken , it sounds as if it is working very hard, making scratchy and clicky noises.
I also tried using the computer as a FireWire target in order to retrieve some data (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661). When I bootet the "broken" computer and held down T the FireWire symbol appeared on the screen. But on the host computer I could not find the target computer.
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I had a few browsers open on my computer. I accessed my calendar and it froze. The mouse would still move, but I could not click on anything. Then the screen went grey with a flashing folder with a question mark. I turned the power off and turned it back only but only see the grey screen with the flashing folder. I tried resetting the PRAM but it still will not work. Can this be fixed? Please help!!

You may have a disk error - could be an unrepairable physical problem with the drive, or a repairable file structure problem.
Hold down cmd-R (both keys together) as you start up the Mac, and keep them held down until you see the Apple menu. When it boots to the recovery partition, click Disk Utility, and run Repair Disk on the Macintosh HD. Let us know if you see errors there and whether or not DU can fix them.
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Matt

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Hi
I dropped my macbook yesterday and it turned itself off. When I tried to turn it back on all I got was a white/gray screen with a flash folder with a ? in the middle of it? What does this mean and how do I get it to stop so I can log onto my laptop?

Deev
Normally the question mark on the gray screen means it can't find the operating system. Have you tried booting up from the installation DVD? Do that, and when you come to the screen where it wants to begin a system installation you'll notice in the menubar where it say's utilites. Click on that and choose disk utility. from there choose your disk and try to verify and repair the disk. If you can you may want to also try and new install of the system. I don't know how much critical data you have, but reinstalling is an option. did you purcahse you from an Apple store? If you did you may want them to look at it. Hope this helps.
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I am trying to start my Mac air and I get a flashing folder with a question mark. When I turn the power of it shuts down but wen starting it comes back

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Boot with the option key again.
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I have the mac book air and when I turn it on its a light blue screen with a flashing folder with question mark on it. Any one know how to get past it?

The MBA is trying to tell you that it is not able to find a bootable system
Either the file is corrupt or access to the storrage has failed
I would start by seeing if it will boot with Command + R depressed

TS1440 When I start up, there is only the flashing folder with a question mark on it. When I tried to reinstall snow leopard, there is no hard disk to be found.

After rebooting my computer, there is only the flashing folder with "?" on it. I tried several things like PRAM resetting and whatnot, but nothing worked. I then tried to reinstall Snow Leopard, but it appears there is no hard disc to be found to install it. I also wanted to repair the disk first but it wasn't present in disk utilities. Did I lose my hard drive, or is this still salvagable?

That is evidence that your hard drive has failed and needs to be replaced.

Delay when booting. First flashing folder with ?, then happy Mac...

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