FINDER/QUESTION MARK ON BOOT

ran hardware test ....all systems passed....10.3.9 installed ...can only boot using 9.2.1 install disk...g4 will not boot into 10.3.9

When you boot using your OS 9 install disc, does the icon of your internal hard drive show up on the desktop? If yes, when you double ckick the icon does the finder for the hard drive open?
 Cheers, Tom

Similar Messages

Flashing Finder Icon/ Question Mark on Boot

Today I left my 1.33ghz G4 Mac Mini turned on whilst I went to the shop.
When I came back i found it eith a flashing finder icon/ question mark.
I restarted it and it booted up a grey screen, then after a while the flashing finder icon/question mark.
I have tried putting in the OSX install disc and holding down the C key to start up using the CD and nothing happen, all I get is the same grey screen and flashing icon.
I have also tried pressing the X key, and holding it down and restarting to get up the startup disk menu, but again nothing.
Pressing 'option' key during start up only gets me a blue background with refresh button on the left and right arrow on the right - with no Boot Up CD or HDD Icon.
I have also tried resetting the PRAM, it resets, but after it hasn't solved my problem, as i am back to square one with the boot screen and icon.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
big.bad.ben

I would agree with DP that using a wired keyboard will give better results when holding down the C key. The timing of holding down the C key is tricky, and you might have to experiment with it.
The question mark means that the Mini can't find a bootable disk. Usually this is because the internal hard drive has enough directory damage that it is not bootable. Usually this can be fixed by reformatting the internal drive or replacing it.
But if you truly can't boot from the install CD, that suggests a more serious problem with the logic board or RAM memory.
When you power-up the mini, do you get a series of beeps or light flashes? The pattern of such beeps/flashes is a diagnostic aid to determine what might be wrong. Report back with what pattern you observe.
Be sure to give the install CD some more tries, varying the timing of holding down the C key. Usually you want to do it right after the startup chime.

New Hard Drive: Mac Face/Question Mark on boot

I installed a new hard drive in my fathers iBook G4 1.33 GHz and installed Leopard. I instantly had problems after the installation was complete and the computer restarted. I got the Mac Face/Question Mark for a second and then it booted to the installation CD.
I used disk utilities to verify and repair the disk and permissions which both finished successfully. I tried to reboot with the same result: Mac Face/Question Mark for a second and then it booted to the installation CD. I decided to erase and reinstall Leopard. Installation complete - Restart - Mac Face/Question Mark. I decided to turn if off for the night.
I powered up in the morning with short-lived success, as I got the Leopard Welcome video. I set up the system and did some software updates, which eventually required a restart. Boom. Mac Face/Question Mark. I decided to hold the option key on my next restart to see if I could select the hard drive installation over the install CD. I was able to do so, and it booted fine to the hard drive. I continued my software updating, installed some more software like iLife '08, Firefox, Open Office, Stuffit Expander, etc. After all my installation and updating, the system operates great, except when I have to start up. I still have the Mac Face/Question Mark.
I have a theory that the hard drive jumper is set incorrectly, but I don't want to waste 45 mins. cracking the thing open to find out. Can anyone confirm? I'm open to all other theories, of course.

No jumper means Cable Select (CS). This would mean that the cable from the motherboard to the drive has a blue connector at the motherboard and a black connector on the end where the drive plugs in. The gray connector in the middle is the Slave position. Master/Slave relationship is determined by where on the cable the device is plugged in.
The CS cables and the setting was not used very often until around 2004 or 2005. Until that time all of the connectors on the cable were the same color and the Master/Slave setting was determined by the jumper on the drive.
It's very possible that you are trying to use a drive that's been setup for the newer systems as Cable Select, when actually you should force the drive to be a Master by installing a jumper on the proper pins.
Are there two deviced on the cable besides the motherboard, and are all of the connectors the same color? Or is the connector that plugs into the motherboard black? Then you are probably not looking at a CS buss.

Blinking grey folder icon with question mark on boot

Hi. Just got my system from the Apple Service center where they have reinstalled a new hard disk for me.
When I come home, and start the machine, it shows me a blinking grey folder icon with a question mark in it.
Only thing I can do in this screen is switch off the power. But when I reboot, it shows me the same icon again.
With google, I discovered that if while rebooting I press the OPTION key, then it boots me into the firmware password mode. How can I automate this? I do not want to have to always boot the laptop with Option key pressed.
Thanks for any pointers.

That question mark means that your machine can't find a drive with a system installed to boot from. Sounds as if the techs didn't install a system when they replaced the drive... do you still have the installation disc(s) that your MBP might have come with?
Clinton

MacBook shows folder icon with Question mark on boot up still boots fine

Just this morning when I booted up my MacBook, I noticed the infamous folder icon with a question mark flashed up on the screen once, then the normal apple icon appeared and the computer booted normally. I ran Disk Utility, Disk Warrior, Hardware Check, etc. and found no errors.
First, I'd like to know if this is anything catastrophically wrong with my computer. Regardless if there is or isn't, secondly, I'd like to figure out how to stop this from happening.
Thanks.

Apparently, the computer cannot find the HD to boot up AT FIRST. After that, it could suddenly find it. The worst thing that can happen is that you need to backup and reformat your HD.

Dreaded Gray screen with Folder and Question Mark (EFI Boot poofs away)

Hey--
I've had trouble with my Imac that I purchasd in 2005 for a year and a half or so. I had a gray screen about a year and a half ago, went on vacation for a week, came back and it booted just fine. Another time it went down, I did a safe boot and it came back. I've tried Command-Option P+R before with some success. I had a boot camp partitioned windows xp drive on there also (I don't know if this matters, but wanted to mention that). I've also tried putting the installation disk in there with no luck (thinking it would find the software on it)
I put it away because I moved and dragged it out of storage to see if a miracle might have occured since the last time I tried 5 months ago. Well, same thing--gray screen with a flashing folder with question mark. I read in the discussions to hold the option key down to select a book device. I tried this and got an EFI Boot icon with a mouse pointer, but when I go to select it it "poofs" away (literally, the icon POOFS away) before I can select it with the mouse pointer icon.
Has anyone seen anything like this or have any suggestions? I guess I'm at my wits end and am ready to haul it down to the Apple store to get the prognosis (I'm sure it will not be good--probably shot hard drive or something). I'm hoping this can be salvaged without much cost.
Thanks so much for any advice or input you might have.
Chris

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.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) 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. Now restart normally.
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. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.
If yours is an Intel model, then I recommend getting Snow Leopard to upgrade OS X, but I would recommend first erasing the drive before installing Snow Leopard.
Upgrade Paths to Snow Leopard, Lion, and/or Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
Upgrading to Snow Leopard
You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.
     Snow Leopard General Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
       2. 1GB of memory
       3. 5GB of available disk space
       4. DVD drive for installation
       5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
           fees may apply.
       6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
           terms apply.
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
     OS X Mountain Lion - System Requirements
       Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
     For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.

Grey screen with question mark on boot up.

My son's 2011-12 Macbook Pro displays a grey screen with a question mark and will not boot. I pulled that first drive, put that first drive in a USB cage and connected the USB cage through a USB port and could boot a different machine with the first drive. I put a brand new second drive with a formatted and journaled OSX drive in place of the original first drive in my son's macbook pro machine tand got the same grey screen and question mark. Do I need a new electronics board? If so that is a $500 repair and not worth it on a 3 year old machine. Thoughts?

It could be anything at this point - most likely, it seems, is that you've a faulty SATA cable. If you go to www.ifixit.com you can find the Apple part number for the cable (or buy the cable at ifixit, even) and search eBay for the part number (much less expensive on eBay and I've yet to hear of one from eBay having failed).
I'm betting that's the problem.
Clinton

Question mark on boot up

On boot up, I get a blank screen with an icon that looks like a file folder with a question mark on it which flashes.

That folder with the question mark icon means that the MacBook can't find the boot directory. That can either mean it can't find the hard drive or the hard drive data is somehow corrupted.
Put your install DVD into the optical drive and reboot. As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the "c" key on your keyboard (or the Option key until the Install Disk shows up). That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
Once it has finished booting and you Choose Your Language and you are at the Install screen launch Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Is your Hard Drive in the list on the left?
If it is then select the First Aid Tab run Repair Disk and if that repairs any problems run it again until the green OK appears and then run Repair Permissions.
If your hard drive isn’t recognized in Disk Utility then your hard drive is probably dead.

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.

Flashing Question Mark on Boot-Up

Any help would be greatly appreciated with a problem I am having.
I have a Mid 2009 2009 MacBook Pro that is showing a flashing question mark against a grey background when I try and start it up.
If i remove the HDD and place it in a USB caddy the system boots and runs just fine but the same drive does not appear in the list of bootable drives (in fact no drives appear)
I have tried with several known good HDDs from other Macs.
I have tried resetting the NVRAM with Command-Option-P-R but each time the same grey screen and flashing question mark remains - no options appear.
I have tried to resting PRAM via Terminal - refuses to recognise command.
I have removed hardware password using System disk.
I have pulled my hair out.
None of the above have worked.
Does anyone have any clues as to anything else I can try?
Many thanks.

Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by:
Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD:
Boot From The Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Reinstall Snow Leopard Without Erasing The drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Folder with Question Mark when booting?

Twice during the past 4 times booting my MacPro, I have received a folder icon with a question mark in it. I turned off the mac and restarted it and it rebooted. Why is it doing this?
Thanks.

Go to System Preferences -> Startup Disk, and check that your startup disk is set correctly. If it is, and you continue to see the flashing question mark folder when booting, try resetting the PRAM.
It's also possible that your hard drive is failing. Make sure you have an up-to-date backup at all times. Does the S.M.A.R.T. status check out okay with Disk Utility?

Folder with question mark + wont boot from disk

Hi
I am trying to reinstall a powermac g5 from the disk, using a old hard drive that works.. (formatted in NTFS) (hoping that when selected to boot from disk, mac will then erase and reformat it)this image is presented when i hold down the option key and the disk ejects this other image is presented when i hold down C (folder with question mark blinking) and the disk ejects... also presented if i boot normally.... Could some help be offered please??????
Powermac G5
Thank you in advance

Yes, you must Format it HFS+ first...
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 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.*
How to format your disks...
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html
(To Install OSX on an IntelMac the Drive it needs the GUID Partitioning scheme mentioned at the bottom.)
Thanks to Pondini, Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks...
http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/DU.html

Folder with Question Mark on Boot

I can't get my mac to boot. Instead I get the gray screen and a folder with question mark icon. I'm guessing the HD is dead? Any chance for recovery? If not how much does a new one cost? The one year warranty just expired!
Please help!
Thanks,
Brian

So, what is it? The thing froze today and wont reboot - just a gray screen with NOTHING. Then after about 10 min. the flashing question mark folder appears.
So, I popped in the install DVD that came with the computer, get the little gray Apple logo and it boots from the DVD.
Launch Disc Utility. The HD appears on the left. Click on it - all of the "Verify" and "Repair" buttons remain grayed out. So what the hxll do I do?
I cant boot into single-user mode or any other mode for that matter.
This is a Macbook pro, dual-core Intel, less than a year old.

Finder question mark icon

A few weeks ago I noticed a question mark icon embedded in the top of my finder window, on my laptop.
It is still there and is also now showing on my imac as well.
Could this be a virus, has anyone seen this b4?

glosshog,
An additional thought, for what it's worth...
You may have seen a pointer to an application or item which at one time was added, perhaps inadvertently, to your Finder toolbar. At some later point the item was deleted and thereafter the pointer had nothing to point to because the original could not be found.
The condition is easily reproducible. Choose an item on your hard drive -- a text file, image, small 3rd-party utility, AppleScript, e.g. -- and duplicate it. Open a Finder window and drag the duplicate item to the Finder toolbar (it might take a bit of coaxing for the item to find a position where it will stick; look for the green "+" sign). Once added, find the duplicate item you just created and send it to the Trash. And then empty the Trash. Open a new Finder window and you should see a question mark identical to the one seen in your screen shot. To remove the question mark -- or any toolbar item for that matter -- click and hold on the item with the command key pressed down, and drag the item from the toolbar until you see it go "poof."
Regards, Andrew99

A Funny Question Mark on Booting

My wife's laptop got soaked when left under a faulty aircon unit. Although it was closed it was in a puddle of water and would not start after we dried it off. However, we were in the heat of Malaysia so I put it out in the sun for a couple of hours. Incredibly it booted up fine after that and is running perfectly. Quite incredible! However, when it boots up now it first shows a question mark in a folder for an instant after the sound and before the Apple sign. It then proceeds to boot up and function perfectly. Any advice as to what this is telling us? It is something we can fix ourselves? I have run the disk permissions and also ran Disk Warrior over it - all report everything is fine.

Bruce Billington wrote:
My wife's laptop got soaked when left under a faulty aircon unit. Although it was closed it was in a puddle of water and would not start after we dried it off. However, we were in the heat of Malaysia so I put it out in the sun for a couple of hours. Incredibly it booted up fine after that and is running perfectly. Quite incredible! However, when it boots up now it first shows a question mark in a folder for an instant after the sound and before the Apple sign. It then proceeds to boot up and function perfectly. Any advice as to what this is telling us? It is something we can fix ourselves? I have run the disk permissions and also ran Disk Warrior over it - all report everything is fine.
After booting, in System Preferences, under Startup Disk, reselect the OS - should be first on the left. Somehow it got lost.
An amazing story, BTW and a tribute to Apple's engineering.

FINDER/QUESTION MARK ON BOOT

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