Flashing Question Mark Folder Everything I Am Trying is Not Working!

A few days ago my iMac gave me the "pinwheel of death" so I cold shutdown and rebooted. I heard the chime and then I got this flashing folder with a question mark on it. I quickly jumped on my Macbook pro and researched what it meant. I tried booting while holding the option key and would get a blank white screen with a mouse pointer and nothing else. I tried resetting my PRAM and still nothing! Then I saw someone say to restart my iMac while holding down R to start into disk utility. It worked! I went through the repair disk process and it said there was nothing to repair. I then repaired disk permissions, and bingo it had to repair a few different things that needed to be repaired. Once the repair process finished I rebooted to my main drive and everything worked fine. That night I shutdown my computer and the next morning I got the flashing folder again. This time however, after shutting down and rebooting everything worked fine. Now today my iMac froze and I cold shutdown and rebooted. I got the flashing folder and question mark again. This time nothing is responding. I tried rebooting while holding the option key, tried booting into disk utility and still nothing. The only thing that the iMac will recognize is when I reboot while holding the 'option' key and put in the Mac OS X Lion install disc It lets me click that disc and it starts the install cycle... I really don't want to do this as it would wipe everything on the drive and I do not have a lot of documents backed up. What do I do? Am I screwed? Help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks much!

I think the HD has crashed. Run Apple Hardware Test in Extended Mode at least 3x back to back. If it reports errors, next step is your local Apple Store or AASP. Also carefully read and apply Apple's advice in Flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac. If you had been backing up it would have been a simple matter of replacing the HD, restoring from the backup and you're back up and running. Considering you said you don't back up you're about to learn a very painful lesson on why backing up isn't something you should do it's something you MUST do.
Good luck and sorry for the bad news.

Similar Messages

Flashing Question Mark Folder of Death

Hey Guys,
Needing help with my MacBook Air.
When I turn it on I get the flashing question mark folder. I've tried restoring the disks and restarting but it does nothing. I also tried to restore Mac OS X but about 2 minutes into the installation it tells me to restarts computer and when I do I'm back at square one.
I have a PC and I'm wondering of there's a way to download a startup disk into a USB and do it that way.
I'm out of ideas here, any help is mucho appreciated!

Help us help you - the more complete information we have the more assistance we can provide.
Yes - if you tried to install an old OS over an new one that can present problems.
You attempted a Restore boot? Did you restore from backup? Have you reformatted (wiped) the old HD before attempting to reinstall the OS (you will lose non-backed up data). If you haven't verified/repaired your SSD from Disk Tools your problem might be a scrambled or failed/failing SSD.

Hard disk in mums macbook failed, bought a new one, formatted it first. Have tried starting it with every possible key and I either get flashing question mark folder or a cursor.

Hard disk in mums macbook failed, bought a new one, used sata adapter cable to format it for mac first. Connected it and have tried starting it with every possible key combination and I either get flashing question mark folder or a cursor. A disk is stuck in it so I can't boot from OSX, and yes I have tried every option of starting to try and eject disk but none work. HELP ME!

Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive
Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:
1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the
      left mouse button until the disc ejects.
2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.
3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.
4. Press COMMAND-E.
5. If none of the above work try this: Open the Terminal application in
      your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following:
        /usr/bin/drutil eject
If this fails then try this:
Boot the computer into Single-user Mode. At the prompt enter the same command as used above. To restart the computer enter "reboot" at the prompt without quotes.
If you have a 2010 MBP or later, then you can use Internet Recovery. Start by rebooting the computer. At the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION-R keys until a Globe appears in the upper part of the screen. This process can take upwards of 15 minutes to get connected to the Apple network servers. You should eventually see the utility screen of the Recovery HD. You may now go about the process to install Mountain Lion:
Install Lion/Mountain Lion on a New HDD/SDD
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 Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
Partition and Format the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your external hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

HT1310 I have a macbook pro about 4 years old. I can't get it to open past the flashing question mark folder. However, I just tried to hold down the option key and the question mark disappeared. Still, nothing...the light is on the screen but nothing e

I have a 4 year old macbook pro and when I turn it on, the screen and fan come on but there is a flashing question mark folder that appears. Nothing beyond that point....help?

There is no installed OS or you have a dead hard drive. Start by booting from the original installer disc that came with the computer or an installer disc that has a later version than the original such as a Snow Leopard DVD. Then you can do this:
Reinstall OS X 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.

Intermittent Flashing Question Mark Folder

I've got a iBook g4 that seems to be having an intermittent problem booting. A few months back on boot it came up with a flashing question mark folder. After trying a few things it finally booted OK. For months all was good; until yesterday. The same thing happened again. I tried to boot from an install CD to run disk utility, but the drive didn't show up. After a few attempts I was able to successfully boot in target disk mode. After that it booted OK again. I noted in the log a number of I/O errors which makes me think the hard drive is starting to fail. Anyone have any other thoughts or suggestions?

It looks like things are getting worse. I ran diagnostics and everything passed. Is there a reasonable way to make sure the hard disk is the problem? It now will boot only rarely; sometimes hanging on a gray apple screen, sometimes showing disk I/O error messages in the upper left corner of the display, sometimes showing the question mark folder, and occasionally booting. Replacing the hard drive is reasonable, but I'd like to have a measure of confidence that will fix the problem.

Flashing question mark folder- Mac Help instructions arent working

My computer froze yesterday and when I re-started it, it had the flashing question mark folder.
I tried all of these steps http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
and these steps http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
I can't get anything to pop up upon start up other than the folder (ie when I hold down the C key with the Instal DVD in it thinks for a minute, spits out the DVD and the folder comes back).
If anyone has any ideas I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm even fine with erasing my hard drive if need be, I just want to get the computer back up and running.

You can go no further unless you're able to boot from your installation DVD. If your machine came with Snow Leopard installed, that would be the gray disc that was in the box. If you upgraded to Snow Leopard, then it would be the retail disc you used to upgrade. No other disc will work.
With the machine powered on, insert the disc. Hold down the power button until it shuts off. Press the power button again to turn it back on, then immediately hold down the C key. Keep holding until you see the Apple logo on the display.
If this procedure doesn't work for you, and you've done everything you say you've done, then you have either a hardware fault or a damaged disc.

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.

Macbook pro flashing question mark folder, won't recognize hard drive

My 2010 macbook pro froze and after restarting I was greeted with a flashing question mark folder. I then restarted again and held down "option" key and went into Mac OS X utilities then into disk utilities. In disk utilities, my only drive options are "superdrive" "disk0" and a subfolder of "disk0" labeled "Mac OS x Base system". My hard drive is no where to be seen. I also tried to install a new hard drive but the same thing happened, the computer could not recognize that there was a hard drive present. What can I do to fix this??

Hi bigdubee,
The exact same thing happened to my 2010 MacBook Pro today. Restarting with the "option" key held down, I get only 2 of the 3 options you listed in disk utilities ("disk0" and a subfolder of "disk0" labeled "Mac OS x Base system".
Did you take your Macbook Pro to the Apple store? And were they able to fix it?

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

Flashing question mark folder at start, broken CD drive, warranty Q's.

Hello! Thanks for reading.
Okay, so here's the background: I was just chilling around the house yesterday with my macbook, and it freezes, with no response from the touchpad or keyboard. I figure no problem, and just turn it off and on again. And then thats when I got the flashing question mark folder.
So I hopped on my family's PC to do some research, hoping to be able to fix it myself. Turns out the best way to fix it is to pop in the disk that came with the computer during start up... which I can't do because my disk drive is broken. I also tried other things, like pressing various keys (ctrl + option + p + r, or something like that)... and that didn't work.
The disk drive broke when I was at school, and as it was finals week, I had no time to get my computer to a genius bar. Then I moved quite a distance (see below), a process which has taken up most of my summer and made me quite busy to the point it has taken my macbook pretty much dying on me to get it to a genius bar. Gah.
So I guess I have a lot of questions now.
My computer is JUST a year old, by give or take a week or two.
I bought my computer from an authorized U.S. reseller in Japan while I was living there (I live in the US now, which I definitely wasn't expecting a year ago)... and no contact from apple came to buy apple care. Is it possible that because of the circumstance under which I bought my computer, that apple may still cover any repair or replacement fees under the warranty?
Also, I made an appointment at the local genius bar. Will that be free?
Also, does anybody have any other suggestions about how to get my computer up and running away from the **** that is the question mark folder?
Much thanks! I appreciate your time.

You made 2 big mistakes. 1) Apple may or may not contact you about AppleCare (sometimes I've gotten a postcard or email and other times I've not) but it is up to you to buy it before the 1 year mark. 2) whether it was convenient to get the computer repaired at the time or not, you should have contacted Apple to get the issue in the computer. If you didn't, Apple has no reason to believe it happened after the warranty ended.
You are going to foot the bill for the repairs

Flashing question mark folder on macbook pro startup. PLEASE HELP

I have a MacBook Pro which I think is a 2011 version. When I startup the computer it comes up with the flashing question mark folder. I can't start it up via disc as I do not have the disc that came with the mac :( .

Di you try restarting and booting whilst holding down the command and R keys? Or even the command, option and R keys (assuming that you've a 2011 model)?
Some 2011 models came with discs as they shipped with Snow Leopard. Those that shipped with Lion had no discs. If your machine originally shipped with Snow Leopard, you can call Apple, with the serial number of your MBP handy, and order a set of model-specific discs (cost is, I believe, around $25 with taxes and shipping).
Please 'call back' and let us know if you've tried booting either to your Recovery partition or to Internet Recovery.
Clinton

GSoD, flashing question mark folder

Okay, after reading here a bit the suggestions aren't fixing my particular issue. We have a black MacBook running 10.3.
On boot, the GSoD comes up, and then the flashing question mark folder.
Tried putting in the Install CD and pressing at various times S, C, Apple, Shift, and Option. The Option gives a cursor but nothing else.
Pulled the DIMMS, cleaned off a white dust, and then installed them one at a time. No luck.
Wife had reported slowness during the evenings but she attributed that to me being on my computer.
Thoughts?
Leam

Hi Leam,
Are you sure it's running OS X 10.3? Reason I ask, is because the MacBook was released with 10.4.6 (May 2006). So if it's running Panther then the unit was downgraded. Matter of fact, I don't even think you can put 10.3 on an Intel Mac. Not to mention, OS X 10.3 doesn't offer Rosetta support so you wouldn't be able to install Intel applications on the machine.
Regarding the flashing question mark/folder icon, that's indicative of a missing, bootable OS. Which can translate into some of the following scenarios:
1.) The OS is corrupted and needs to be repaired or reinstalled
2.) The OS cannot be located because the HD is failing or has failed
3.) The HD's connection to the logic board has been lost or damaged and thus a proper boot sequence cannot be performed.
I'm unsure where you read about the "S" key on startup, the "C" key makes sense to try and boot off the disc drive. I take it that didn't actually occur, though?
I've seen scenarios where a HD can lock up the system bus and cause boot issues, like you're experiencing. Basically it prevents the optical drive from being accessed, despite valid startup keyboard commands. If you can't boot normally or off the installation disc, the next scenario would be the following:
1.) Remove the HD from the unit, mount it into an external enclosure and attempt to boot from a CD and repair the external HD.
2.) Bring the unit into a service provider / retail store for further diagnostics.

G4 17' won't boot, flashing question mark folder with complications

I'm editing a final cut pro project, due to air on friday at noon and during conversion in compressor to dvd format, final cut quits then the computer freezes up. On a hard restart I get the flashing question mark folder.... i know what that means
I was able to boot up after a couple of tries from the os 10.4 (tiger) cd and the hard drive shows up but disk utility can't make the repair. This is the error i get:
booted with the tiger os cd and got to the disk utility. the hard drive does show up with some generic-y looking name. I try to repair the disk and get this error (in red):
Invalid node structure
Volume check failed.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
then it says:
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
g4 powerbook 17" Mac OS X (10.4.9)
so then i get the bright idea that i will change the startup disk to network drive and try to start from another drive on the network. it tries to find it then goes back to the flashing question mark. I've restarted holding the c key down with the tiger cd back in there and it is spinning but it never reads it.
any ideas? I REALLY need to salvage this film if possible.
thanks!!!!!
donna
Has anyone seen this before? What is my next step--short of erasing the drive. i really need to get this project off.
thanks in advance for any and all help!!!!!
g4 powerbook 17" Mac OS X (10.4.9)

i'd try disk warrior except that i cant get it to boot from ANY cd right now EXCEPT apple hardware test. and i have NO idea what to do with that.
I've tried booting in option mode and all i get is the little restart button and the forward arrow button but NO drive options
it won't pick up my other laptop in target mode
i've even put in Norton Utilites 8.x and it won't boot up from that either.
i've zapped the pram--nothing
know of any other boot tricks or shortcuts?
donna

Flashing question mark folder, 3 times this week on my imac : (

My intel based 3.06 GHz imac this week is showing a flashing question mark folder. A friend says is that the hard drive is toast but well twice it was solved quickly. First time on monday I did commandoption+pr to reset NVRAM and it worked. Second time yesterday i pressed option during startup and i selected my mac os x volume. But well today nothing works : (
This flashing question mark is constantly showing up. any ideas how to force my imac to select the hard drive mac os x as the startup disk?
this doesnt work:
1. pressing option to select startup disk as i did yesterday.
2. when trying to boot from mac os x install disc pressing c during startup the imac ejects the dvd.
3. trying to start up in safe boot mode (pressing shift), verbose mode or single user mode all fails, just the flashing annoying question mark folder again.
I was reading that i could use ubuntu live-cd to transfer my data from ubuntu to an external hard drive. I downloaded, burned and then it does shows the ubuntu cd to install ubuntu (the mac os x install disc is ejected but the ubuntu cd works), but i really dont want to install ubuntu X_X I just want my imac back without installing any linux stuff.
I can do target mode with my other macs but the imac hd doesn't show up in the other macs, any way to force the HD to show via target mode in the other macs?
Any ideas? I guess my disk is failing and thats why i have been receiving these question mark folders 3 times this week.
Message was edited by: AppleSensei

if someone has the same issue, i just want to notice i solved it using ubuntu -linux- and transferring the files to an external hard drive from ubuntu, reinstalling mac os x again. When i did target mode with another mac the hard drive didnt appear in finder, but with ubuntu all worked great, i saw my files and then problem solved, i saved my data ; )
I did found annoying using ubuntu to solve this issue with my mac, but well i learnt something new, linux can also be useful when you don't want your data to be deleted as customer support told me they were going to do if i sent my mac.
Message was edited by: AppleSensei

Flashing question mark folder after update!!!

Yesterday i did an update on my macbook. After the update the system normally starts again, but mine didn't i waited for 20 min and came to the conclusion that i have to hold down the power button. after that i started again and i got a flashing question mark folder. So i took my SSD out ( vertex limited edition) and put my old HDD with snow leopard in to see if i connect the SSD externally if it would show up but it doesn't i took another HDD case but this also didn't work. So i also tried putting my ssd in the macbook of my sister but this also didn't work. I am clueless, i don't know what to do. I still have warranty but i have new data since my last back up and i really would like it back.

I've not seen any other posts about it causing problems, worked fine here. You've tried resetting the PRAM the only other thing you could try is:
Boot holding down Apple/S and don't let go until you see scrolling text.
When that stops and you see a root#: prompt enter
fsck -fy
Let it run through all the checks and repairs.
If it fails first time, at any time, or finds and fixes a fault - run the command again and keep doing so (some fixes can take several passes) until it says "Appears to be OK" then enter
reboot

Flashing Question Mark Folder Everything I Am Trying is Not Working!

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