Eternal ball, flashing question mark, kernel panic, etc... all! HELP!

Think this is a good, one... Here is the story:
Some apps will crash, that always happens, right? So I did not pay much attention to it until it was way too often. Learned about disk utility, repaired permissions on a regular basis and moved on. But then... One day disk utility told me there was something that could NOT be repaired. I ran and bought an External HD (usb.. not a good choice, but I found out that too late for an exchange). Backing up from there on was kind of a weekly thing.
But nothing to worry about, I could still use my iBook pretty well and with no problems. Then... one fine day I could not SAVE ANYTHING! Everything was working "normal", but when I wanted to save my work. It told me that I could not do it! Not even making a new bookmark from Firefox!
So I did verify and repair from disk utility, and I ran the hardware test giving me the following:
*ERROR CODE: 2STF/8/3:ATA -100 ata -6 -Master*
I have no idea what that means, but I used it to look for help online and everything pointed out that my HD needed to be replaced. I believe at this point is when I met the flashing folder icon with the question mark. Suddenly it would not detect the HD! But then... after turning it off and on for a few times it would see it and start-up normally. In one of those lucky start-ups I backed up all I thought was important in the external HD and made a clean install of OS X. Oh... and it is fun to try to install OS X when.. there is no HD in the list to pick for your destination! After a lot of patience, it would show up, but then is when I met the kernel panic mesg! After a few more tries (yes, I am a very patient person... sometimes), I finally could make a clean install of OS X. I even partitioned the HD to make sure there was nothing there.
Ok... seemed like it liked it.. but after a little while, strange things happened again, and after the restart, the blinking folder with the question mark again...
So... no choice, have to replace my HD right? I get a brand new Seagate, 120 Gb, 5400 rpm. Followed instructions from ifixit.com and after 3 hours (and a lot of fun!) I replaced the hard drive on my beloved iBook. This was really fun!
Installed the software on the new HD.. everything looks fine... for a few minutes. I tried to use right away what I use everyday to see if it works: web browser, iTunes, Activity Monitor, played a dvd perhaps, etc... And..? Nop... started crashing again... Got the blinking question mark after restart, etc. But now.. the hardware tests reports me no problems.
Ok... it was not the HD, but I already bought one, and installed it myself!... lets move on and see where is my problem.
Could it be the ram?
This model has only one slot of removable ram, and a built-in DIMM that I cannnot replace +(or can I?)+, so I remove the one I can, and restart it without it. First it looks fine again, everything is working, but after a while it starts crashing again. So.. it's not the ram... or at least it's not +this one+.
So... I think its time for a Professional to take a look at it, right?. So I took it to a Mac Store (not Apple store) and explained EVERYTHING to the guy that received my beloved iBook, he takes notes and tells me that it has to stay for a few days. After 1 week I receive a call from the store (another employee) telling me the sad news that my HARD DRIVE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED! And that they were very sorry but they cannot recover any of my data... what data?? All that was there was the OS!!!
So... a deep breath and I explain to him everything over the phone. Ok.. he says he will talk with the tech-guy and I'll hear from them in a few more days. I did...
I was very glad to hear it was a cable that connects the HD to the Logic Board (that's what I understood.. I think). That this was only 20 dollars, but somehow, with the labor I ended up paying around 100 dlrs! I found out later that apple changes this cable everytime they upgrade a HD.
Ok.. 200 dlrs spent already ($100 on my Seagate HD + $100 for the cable..), but if get my iBook to work again I'll be happy.
So I go home and start to work on installing and making everything work again: firefox, iTunes, fugu, tried cyberduck, taco, ... everything looked fine. But after a while... it happened again. Sometimes I don't even get the blinking folder, just a grey screen. I turn it off, and then comes the blinking '?' or it starts-up... and if it does, after a while it would crash.
(I started this post on my iBook, and I was like 2/3rd's through when I got the ball... and no response at all... tried force-quit... and nothing, had to power off..AND start this post all over again on my girlfriend's!!! )
So here I am... Of course I want to take it back to the guys at the MacStore and
complain about their poor job... But does anyone here has a good idea of what could it be?
My thoughts are something like this: Seems like if you do not use a lot of memory (I only have 512 Mb total, so a lot of it comes from the virtual, right?) it works fine, but somehow if it reaches a point where it needs more than a certain amount it would crash. I dont know if this even makes sense, but that's my feeling. The guys at the MacStore told me that they tested around 100 times restarting the computer and it looked fine, so yeah... if all they did was use a software to restart once and again, and again... without really using the memory, they would not see the problem, right? The problem comes later.. when you use the iBook.
Could it be then that the problem comes from the ram that is built-in? If so.. can this be replaced? Is it worth it? Can I do it myself?
Too many questions...
Any thoughts would be more than welcome and...
Thanks for reading all the post!
E

yeah....
the problem is that I do not have a firewire external HD, and it will not boot from my usb external...
Anyway... I am back from the MacStore and the guys told me that the next step would be to replace/work on the logic board, and that that was too expensive a job to do an an old iBook like mine, they did not recommend it to anyone (they told me they charge between 600-800 dlrs for this kind of job).
So... seems like my iBook is in a very bad shape.
I saw DT&T online and it seems like they do the job for half the price of the MacStore (before shipping costs), but... still, is it worth it?
I was thinking in the possibility to find someone who sells a used iBook in pieces because of a crashed screen or something, to get another logic board and try to replace it myself, but... is this something an amateur can do by himself?
Haven't checked ifixit.com for that yet.
Any ideas??
Thanks..
Edgar

Similar Messages

Flashing question mark on startup, plzz plzz help

Hello,
I know there are many post on this topic, but not getting exactly for this machine.
was normal yesterday, today when i turend on, i see flashing question mark with grey folder.
i really need help with this, how can i sort this out? what will be the problem?
i tried holding command key on the restart, it ends with below image...... what is this??
please let me know, i have very important files, i'm worried. your any reply would be appreciated. thanks

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 bcome corrupted.
You may want to seek professional help here. You need to decide how important you data is to you. Be sure to specify that you want your data back.
In addition to the fix your mac places, there are professional firms the will attempt to recover data from a failed harddrive. Recovery does not come cheap.
diy...
I suspect disk corruptions.
verify & repair your startup drive
To verify & repair you file system on the startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from you installation DVD.
This article will tell you how to get to disk utility. Once in a disk utility, you can go and attempt to recover the disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
To repair your startup drive, you will need to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Mac OS X 10.4: About the utilities available on the Mac OS X 10.4 Install DVD
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2055
How to run disk utility from your startup DVD.
Insert your startup DVD into your reader. Power down your machine. Hold down to the c key. Power on your machine. This will bootup your startup DVD.
This will bring you to a panel asking you for your language. Pick your language.
You you come to the Install Mac OS panel. Do not install.
Click on Utilities menu item. This will give you a pulldown list of utilities.
Click on the disk utility.
You are now in disk utility. Pick your disk. Click on repair it should be on the lower right of the panel.
Once the repair completes successfully, you should update your permissions.

Flashing question mark on start up? Help required!

Hi there people this is the first real problem i have had with my macbook so is also my first post on the forum.
The problem when i start-up my macbook all I am getting is the file symbol with a question mark inside that, which flashes on and off. I have turned the machine off a couple of times but the problem is still there. i belive it may be a harddrive problem as there is a slight clicking on start-up.
Does anybody know whats happening or should i visit the local apple store, as i don't really want to buy a new macbook right now, as nice as they are:)

The question mark... try booting from your install disk while holding down the C key... go here for more help: A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Carolyn

Flashing Question mark on start up?

So when I try to start up my PPC G5, I hear the start up tone, and then it goes straight to a grey screen with a flashing question mark. I followed all the steps on Apple's website to resolve this, I held option and started up, and all that came up were two buttons, one looked like a circle with an arrow at the end of it and the other was a straight arrow, also I couldn't move the mouse past a certain point on the screen, so the mouse was responding, it just couldn't move past maybe an inch on the left side of the screen. I tried restarting with the mouse and keyboard unplugged too, no dice. Then finally I decided to just re-install the leopard operating system. I put the disc in, go through all the steps, and when it asks me where i want to install Mac OS X, there's nothing to select. Where an icon for the hard drive should be it is just blank. I tried clicking the blank space to refresh it and nothing happened. Also, I read online that usually waiting fixes it, I left it on overnight and still nothing has popped up. Also, I've already tried resetting the PRAM, and nothing happened. If anybody can help me fix this it would be greatly appreciated. Either how to install Leopard again or how to start it up without the flashing question mark. Thanks!

"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at the top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)

Booting Error: Flashing Question Mark

I was working with iWeb today and then it beachballed like crazy... So I force quit but then that beachballed too. So I just forced a shut down. Let it rest. Turned it back on and then it came up in gray screen. Then with the OS 9 smiley logo and the folder with a flashing question mark. I followed all those steps, did the disk utility, it said it found an error with the Tree Nodes so it repaired them fine. Then I tried to restart, still nothing. I tried the Startup Manager, all it found was the CD, no hard drive... I tried PRAM. I tried it all. I am very annoyed and now frustrated that all my work on iWeb and all my files are going to have to go bye bye if I have to do an Erase and Complete REinstall. Does anyone think that my computer can be "Target Mode" mounted on my other comp. and I can drag the important files over? Help!
PS. even tried, lifting the keyboard latches and pressed the reset button.
Nada...

To save myself time, I'm going to try to answer both your recent posts in this single post:
1. You wrote: "There are two hard drives on the left column of the Disk Utility... "If we're talking about your PowerBook herre, then I think you are confusing hard drives with volumes on hard drives. Let's clarify that first:
In case you do not understand the difference between hard drives and volumes on hard drives, here's an example illustrating the difference (note that a similar example is shown as a screen shot in my previously cited "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ):
In the column on the left in Disk Utility, you might see something like this:<pre>38.2 GB IBM-DTLA-307045
Macintosh HD</pre>The first line ("38.2 GB..." whatever) is the disk, the actual hard drive itself, aka the device.
The second, indented line (Macintosh HD) would be your Mac OS X startup disk, aka your boot volume.
Volumes — partitions on a disk — appear indented below the disk on which they reside in Disk Utility.
In Disk Utility, you can select either a volume or a hard drive for verification or repair of either the disk or permissions. However, Repair Permissions can only be used on volumes on which Mac OS X is installed. If you select a drive (vs. a volume) and use Repair Disk on such, it will attempt to repair all volumes (partitions) on that drive.
If your LaCie FireWire drive is not connected and what you are seeing is akin to<pre>xx.xx GB FUJITSU...
No Name item you described</pre>Where the "No Name" item is indented and directly below the Fujitsu line, I suspect that No Name line should read "Macintosh HD" and, as a result of either directory corruption or disk damage, not even the name of the volume can be read.
2. Now, as to the specific errors you are citing: the "Invalid B Tree error" will require "stronger medicine" than Disk Utility. See the "Disk Utility cannot repair the disk" section of my — again — previously cited "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ.
3. You wrote: "Will the Archive and Install erase my iWeb files, my iCal files, my TextEdit documents? I need those the most. "If you read my previously-cited "General advice on performing an Archive and Install" FAQ, then you would know that — assuming you follow the steps in the FAQ — that none of your personal data would be lost by performing an Archive and Install. I post links to my FAQs presuming you will read them thoroughly.
However, if the Fujitsu hard drive is the only drive in the affected Mac — and if this problem is with your PowerBook you should only have one drive installed inside the computer — then you cannot perform an Archive and Instal at this time as the directory on the drive is corrupted. The "Invalid B Tree" errors must to be fixed before you attempt to perform an Archive and Install on that drive. Furthermore, it is possible that the directory corruption could have damaged some of your personal files, but you won't know that until you repair the directory, if possible.
4. Later you wrote: "I went to the Apple store at the local mall. The "genius" took a look at my Powerbook and told me that my Logic board has malfunctioned and that it would cost me $400 to fix it."That's entirely possible given the errors you described and the fact that the drive could not be seen even in Target Disk mode. You may have a combination of problems, i.e. bad logic board which also lead to the corrupted drive directory. If the logic board problem is intermittent, one pass of the Apple Hardware Test might not catch it. Running the hardware test in Loop Mode overnight, again as stated in my previously-cited "Apple Hardware Test" FAQ is a good way to check for intermittent problems.
I don't regard the price you were quoted as unreasonable for a new logic board, and certainly cheaper than a new Mac. You may be able to shop around for a lower price, but then there's the time vs. money tradeoff in doing so.
I can neither confirm nor deny as to if the advice given at the "Genius Bar" was correct: they were able to examine your computer, whereas I can only provide advise based on what you report.
5. Then you wrote: "is there a way for me to take out my hard drive and put it in a G5 or another computer or ext. HD that way I can transfer all my data? Any suggestions?"Yes. You will probably find instructions for removing the hard drive on the Apple Do-It-Yourself Parts & Service page. You will need to know the specific model of your PB G4 15-Inch Titanium. The AppleCare Knowledge Base document "PowerBook G4 Computers: How to Identify Different Models" can help you identify the specific model of PowerBook G4 you have. Knowing the processor type in your PowerBook would also help.
You'd also need a FireWire enclosure for the type of drive in your PowerBook, again assuming that's the computer in question here (you mentioned a G5). AFAIK, most laptops have 2.5" hard drives vs. the 3.5" drives normally found in desktops: those are the dimensions of the platters within the drive, not the drive itself. Based on what I read here, which I believe would apply to your Mac, you'd probably need a FireWire enclosure for a 2.5" drive such as shown here. You should confirm that before purchasing an enclosure: I don't have a PowerBook.
I've bought both FireWire drives and enclosures from OWC and have always been pleased with their products. Assuming a 2.5-inch enclosure is correct, I'd recommend one of their "On The Go" products.
However, you're still going to be faced with the issue of attempting to repair the directory on the drive, as discussed in point 2 above. If the directory cannot be repaired, then you are going to have to resort to data recovery options, as discussed in my "Data Recovery" FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Intermittent failure to boot, flashing question mark or white screen

So, I've had two MacBooks with similar problems (I am a Mac consultant). The first one would intermittently boot to a white screen, often enough to be annoying. This current one is occasionally booting to a flashing question mark. My first thought is, of course, the hard drive, but in both cases the hard drive tests fine using SMART Utility, which is usually great at giving advance warning when a drive starts experiencing hardware errors.
On the first MacBook, the one with the white-screen boots, I tried reinstalling the system with no effect; replacing the drive eventually made the problem go away. The current MacBook, with the question-mark boots, has already had its drive replaced once, when the stock drive failed.
I will reseat the drive, which is all Apple could suggest. I just wonder if anybody else had experienced something like this and can offer any information about what might be going on.

Thanks for the reply. Aside from finding that holding the mouse button down at boot might cause a flashing question mark, I already knew all that. I will ask the owner if she is leaning on the trackpad button when she starts up her computer in the morning.
I've already reset the power manager and the PRAM; we'll see if that makes any difference. The puzzling thing here is that the problem is intermittent.
I also need to ask her if, when the computer does boot to the question mark, there has been a chime first. Somehow I think there has to be, for the system to have gotten as far as looking for a boot drive. I couldn't find anything useful in the logs; not surprising, since if it can't find a drive to boot to, it won't have anything to write a log to.
Again, the mystery is why the failure to boot is intermittent. If it happened every time, I'd know what to do!
Thanks
cavenewt

IMac with flashing Question-Mark Folder

I've read all of the help on the flashing Question-Mark Folder. Nothing has helped. In fact, Disk Utility only finds 'Disk 0' with the base OS X operating system. All of the disk utility buttons are grayed out and at the top on the left of is 'Media' (not disk drive - not formatted?). When I try to recover from the internet and re-install OSX Maverick, it can't find a disk to install on. Does anyone know what happened and can this be fixed?

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 one or more of these:
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.
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.

Oh S_it, my intel iMac 2008 wont boot, flashing question mark is all I get.

Bought a friends' intel duo iMac 2008 which was working just find until a couple of day's ago and now when I try to boot it up all I get is a flashing question mark. I unplugged all components, including the electric cord and that worked the first time but now nothing. I don't have the startup or recovery disks. Must I have these...what's a girl to do? HELP!!!
Imac 2008 Mac OS X (10.5.4) previously owned, 2G

You don't need those discs, unless you need to test for Hardware, or reinstall the original operating system.
But you should get them anyway. Any software they installed on your machine, you should have the discs for as they are not their's to give away copies because of licensing restrictions.
The first step to try is zapping the PRAM:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Then attempting a data recovery if there is no backup*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html#RECOVER
If there is a backup, initially try to repair the directory*:
http://www.macmaps.com/directoryfaq.html
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Flashing question mark at boot

so it seems my hard drive won't mount... flashing question mark instead of booting.
I've read the discussions, which seem to lead to either a bad HD or logic board...
I've run both disk warrior and tech tool -- both show that the hard drive is okay -- disk warrior re-built the directory, which showed all the data where it was supposed to be... nevertheless, after running both, still the dreaded Q mark
(incidentally, or perhaps not so, all the tech tool tests were passed except the "surface scan"...?)
But the symptoms for a logic board issue that are outlined in these discussions (i.e., bad video or other display issues) were not problems prior to the failure. The only issue that presaged the crash was a recurring error box (over about two days) which i'd never seen before (and the content of which was somewhat cryptic and the text of which, I regret, I can't really recall)... the box was the full width of the screen, and in alarming all caps offered three buttons, side by side, which were in essence a quit option, a re-try, and a third ... sorry, I know that sounds lame, but it's the best I remember on that matter.
wrt that error box, the other salient (or perhaps not) point was that the box remained through a force quit of all apps, and even a relaunch of the finder...
thanks for any insight... for me, a $600 repair bill is simply not in the cards.

The "flashing question mark" at startup is not all that uncommon a topic;
and it usually has some cures depending on exactly what caused it.
Apple Support documents about it are in the online archive and there also
may be some reference to this in a Mac's Help viewer.
"A Flashing Question Mark appears when..."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042
"...The possible causes and solutions for this symptom appear in the order
that you should try them. If any step resolves the issue, you don't need to
continue to the next one..."
Since you mentioned another screen with dialog box on it, that
may have been related to a "kernel panic" and that is covered
here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106227
With some more general -and lengthy- information about ways of
"kernel panic" resolution does continues over at a different site, here:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
Sometimes, if you don't see a different dialog box (like you said
you saw, prompting restart, etc) you could go into the System
Preference panel in the OS and be sure your Startup Disk is
selected in the so named panel. Occasionally that can cause
a minor error in which the computer later can't see the boot
volume on the hard drive. - Routine system maintenance helps
to keep on top of system health (and familiarity) ahead of time.

Macbook Air won't startup, flashing question mark

Hello everyone, here's the problem:
Recently (Sep) I've bought a new macbook air (2012, 128gb SSD). After a few months of using it the following problem happened: while surfing on the web, my macbook hang up (I couldn't press anything or do anything, the system wouldn't respond), so I shut it down forcefully (by holding the power button), after this my computer wouldn't boot at all: a flashing questioning mark appeared on the grey screen. I know what it means (I'm an Intel engineer and know quite a bit on the subject), so I thought the SSD was dead. Brought it to the shop a bought it at (M-video, Russia, Nizhni Novgorod). After 21 day (sic!) they gave it back to me working fine and said that when they opened it - it worked OK, they tested it for 5 days with reboots and it was OK. After 1 month of using it after I got it back (today) it happened again: the OSx hang -> force shutdown -> question mark on startup.
Could you please tell what can it be? It's obvious that it's no a hardware problem (in this case it wouldn't happen from time to time but be a permanent defect after the first time it occurred). I tried all the recipes found on the internet (command + alt + P + R; R to get recovery mode - disk utility sees only 1 partition on disk0 of 1.8 GB (I guess it's partition with the base system) and won't let me do anything - all options are grayed out; SHIFT won't let me into safe mode - no idea why; etc.). I also don't have a CD or anything with the mac OS, however even Internet recovery won't help - no targets to install it when it comes to it.
Have tried almost anything and asked almost anyone among my IT-connected friends, but in vain. Thank you in advance for your help! Will appreciate any piece of advice.

Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard 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.
Erase the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
      left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
        the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
      the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.
If this fails then see: OS X (Lion/Mountain Lion)- About OS X Recovery.

Black Screen, Grey Screen, then flashing question mark, now frozen....

hi everyone,
i know i have probably the most common problem - and i've tried to read all about the logic board problems which i'm fairly certain i have.
I realize i will most likely have to buy a new macbook - but before i do - i need to retrieve files that are on my ibook g3 (bought in early 2003).
This is what has happened in the past 2 days:
1. I can hear the power start up (and chimes) but screen is completely black.
2. Tried resetting PRAM and PMU, now blank grey screen sometimes appears.
3. Now, grey screen with flashing question mark in the middle alternating with mac face. So i assumed this meant it couldn't locate my hard drive. So i found my ibook install disc and inserted it and restarted while holding down "C" key.
4. Grey screen - with Apple (thought this was success) - then it turned to a large grey circle with a line through it (a slash). And then suddenly frozen.
Since then it has just been a lot of lines through the screen alternating with completely grey screen, etc. along with any of the above-mentioned outcomes. I tried pushing on the lower-left-hand corner of the computer and yes, it affects the display - more or less lines, etc.
How can i get my old files off of it? Do i buy a new macbook and connect them via fire wire cable and try that way? or will that not work if the above is happening? Or is it possible for someone (myself or perhaps IT professionals) to remove the hard drive from my old ibook and place it somewhere where i can copy over the files?
Any help is appreciated - i know this is a popular topic - i've just had so many weird outcomes in the past 2 days i'm not exactly sure which solution (if any) would work for me right now.
Thanks so much!

Hi Ronda -
I do have access to another mac (mini) with firewire at my work. Or I might go out and buy a new macbook this weekend as well (preferable since I don't really want my personal files on my work computer, etc.) But yes, i need to get my old files off of this one.
I have never added additional memory or anything to it really since I got it. So it should be the original specs:
iBook (14.1 LCD 900 MHz 32 VRAM)
256MB memory
Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Hard drive: 40GB
Not a lot of space was remaining if i recall. I did get the 'disk full' notice a few weeks ago, but i did end up deleting a lot of stuff. Needless to say, i'm sure it was quite full, but not at maximum when this happened.
Update: Last night i tried to start it up again, and it would ONLY go to a black screen this time (ie. no display at all). What do you think i should do?

Flashing Question Mark Folder on Start-up

I recently starting having administration issues with my Mac Mini.
I went to update to OS 10.5.7 and when the administrator box came up asking for my password, my name was missing. After putting in the correct information, was unable to update, but received the message what my clue to password was.
Anyway, I performed a safe startup, changed the password and tried again. Same issue as before. So I started up from the Start Up Disk, and ran Disk Utilities and verified the disk and repaired any permission issues. When I started up my Mac Mini from the hard drive, I still did not have my administrator password working.
At this point, the start-up ping is gone.
I reset the Pram and had the same issue. So, I saved all important files to an external hard drive and tried to do a clean install. I was unable to do the clean install.
I removed the hard drive from my Mac Mini and installed it into a friends Mac Mini. I had complete control of my computer with no administrator password issues, the ping was there, and I could reload all saved items and still not have any issue no matter how I started up the computer. I then performed a complete erase and reinstall and still had no problems.
I reinstalled the hard drive into my Mac Mini, and I now have the Flashing Question Mark Folder with gray screen on start-up and no ping. Can't fire wire to start up, can't clone, can't start-up from disk, safe mode, etc..
Any ideas would be helpful. Most likely I will be going to the Apple Store and seeing what they can do.

generally, the flashing folder mark means it can not find the startup drive.
if you hear those kind of noises your hard drive is most likely dead. while this is almost certainly true you can try booting from the install DVD and see if the drive is visible in disk utility. if you can't insert the DVD try this. reboot and hold option at the chime. this should boot you into startup drive manager. there you should be able to insert the DVd and choose it as the startup drive. boot from the DVd and once past the language screen start disk utility from the Utilities menu at the top. see if it detects the internal drive. if it does, try repairing it. if it doesn't the drive is dead.

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

Persistent Flashing Question Mark Folder Icon, after Repair & Rebuild-THX!

Hello All,
Thank you in advance for any insights.
For the past week, one/two days after a force re-boot, my Quicksilver Mac (OSX 10.4.11 and OS 9 Classic) starts up with the dreaded flashing question mark folder.
The start up disk has always been on "Mac OS X, 10.4.11 on main stuff" ("main stuff" is the name of the hard drive.)
The first time, I ran DiskWarrior and rebuilt the hard drive, which is kind of new as it was replaced in April 2009. Then I ran OnyX and got a clean bill of health. The Mac was shut down at the end of the day as is my habit via turning off the power strip.
If it helps, here's part of the DiskWarrior report:
• 13 files had a directory entry with an incorrect text encoding value that was repaired.
• 340 files had a damaged extended attribute that was repaired.
• 3 folders had a directory entry with an incorrect custom icon flag that was repaired.
• Incorrect values in the Volume Information were repaired.
Disk Information:
Files: 370,719
Folders: 85,161
Free Space: 92.55 GB
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Block Size: 4 K
Disk Sectors: 268,171,472
Media: WDC WD5000AAKB-00H8A0
The next day, the flashing question mark folder reappeared. This time I used the original system installer CD (labeled Power Mac G4 OS X Install). Disk Utility made its repairs. And this time, the computer was put to sleep instead.
In the morning, it woke up, the wireless optical mouse worked for a few seconds, the hard drive is humming along then all of a sudden the arrow (mouse) froze and none of the keys on the keyboard functioned.
After some research, I deleted the energy saver preference (powermanager.list?) and ran Disk Utility again. And again, I shut down b/c I wasn't going to use the Mac for a day or two.
This afternoon, the pesky icon reappeared at start up. At first Disk Utility didn't see the hard drive then I restarted and the hard drive was selectable though not mounted. It was repaired and verified yet once again. Btw, when I did hard drive test, the message says something to the effect that it appears to be working properly.
My question is, might anyone know what's wrong? I've been backing up after every use and I have a laptop. But I love working on the desktop and if this issue can be fixed, that would be perfect.
As an aside, I've read that I should do a clean install. Would doing a clean install mean I need to re-install OS 9 as well as all other all other software programs-Adobe Creative Suite, Quickbooks, Verizon DSL, printer drivers etc.?
One final question, can I continue to boot up from the CD, repair then restart or will I damage the computer? Once it restart, everything seems to work normally and well.
Many, many thanks for reading and any help would be greatly appreciated!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sam

Disk damage can also affect the startup sequence, but I think what you have already done should have repaired any disk damage, or given you more information.
Once you have ruled out Disk damage, you get the flashing question mark when your Mac cannot find:
• the preferred operating System
• of the preferred version
• on the preferred startup drive.
All these items are stored in the parameter RAM, backed up by a 3.6 volt, non-recharging 1/2-AA size battery that lasts three years or so, unless you turn off all power at night.
If you cannot remember when you last changed that battery, now is a good time. Be sure to reset the PMU/PRAM after installing the new battery.
Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

What can I do about a flashing Question Mark?

Yesterday I started up my iMac and the keyboard was not working, so I could not log in. I restarted the computer several times with and without the keyboard and mouse attached, but the mouse was working but not the keyboard. When I finally got in, I ran the Disk Utility and checked the disk Etc. When I restarted the computer I got a flashing Question Mark inside a folder icon.
Since then I have restarted the computer many times and I keep getting the Flashing Question Mark icon.
I tried to start up using the OS X startup disk, but the CD player is not internal, and is plugged into the USB port. The keyboard will not allow me to reset the PRAM, as I can't tell if it is even connected. I have tried several times to restart with and without the keyboard, mouse and external CD/DVD player plugged in.

A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
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 one or more of these:
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.
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.

Eternal ball, flashing question mark, kernel panic, etc... all! HELP!

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