Flashing Question Mark & Sad Apple Logo

I had my Mac for quite some time and everything seem to be going well until yesterday, when I pressed the power key all it showed was a white screen and the apple logo, I had called Tech and they said i was out of warrenty, but informed me that it would best to load the Mac OS X cd when I loaded and reached the select a destination part I saw my hard drive with an explanation point. she stated this was bad and that i would need to compeltely whipe the hard drive which didnt bother me. I went to Disk Utilities and chose my hards drive clicked options and choose to zero all data, also clicked download OS 9 drives. After waiting for about an hr it was completed, and i gave it a volume and went on with the installation i choose the volume and all seemed well. yet, after the computer rebooted and all i saw was a Flashing Question Mark & Sad Apple Logo. not quite sure what this means but checked other threads and followed some of the advised given to repair this, yet for me it doesn't work, as of now i tried erasing all data again but now it seems i can't set a volume. Not 100% percent sure which OS cd i have i will double check and reply later, I have a powerbook G4. any help would be great.
Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Hi Richard,
I was hoping you'd respond Thanks to the link to S.M.A.R.T reporter, but things have deteriorated since my last post and now it won't boot up at all.
I hit the power button, hear the start-up chime, then nothing but eerie silence and a gray screen.
The lack of noise usually created by a HD spinning up should be obvious that this is indeed a hard drive issue, but I want to make sure I can sound intelligent when throw myself at the guy who replaced the drive.
I tried booting from a 10.3 install cd (holding down 'c' at startup) to run Disc Utility but it won't even do that. I can hear the cd-rom spinning, reading the disc, but after a while it just gives up. In fact, I think if I listen hard enough, I can hear the faintest sound of mocking laughter....
Is this painfully, obviously, a hard drive gone bad?
It's not the end of the world, just very aggravating.

Similar Messages

Flashing Question Mark Folder/Apple Logo/Circle w/ line through it

I was restarting my Macbook and got the flashing sequence of a Folder w/ Question Mark in it, the Apple Logo, and the Circle w/ diagonal line though it.
I have disconnected all my peripherals
I have tried starting up holding shift = does the same thing
I have tried starting holding Alt = it shows my Mac HD and an arrow under it to allow you to select it. I select it and it does the same thing.
I have my wife's Macbook here also with Snow Leopard on it. We have just moved, and I do not have my household goods yet, which is where my original startup disks are located.
Is there a way I can put the startup files I need onto an external from my wife's and try to start up from there?
Any help would be appreciated. All my important files I have backed up, so data loss isn't a huge concern, but there is plenty of software and personal settings on everything I would like to retain.

a quick google search for "create bootable OS X CD"
yielded these:
http://lowendmac.com/misc/05/0126.html
https://sourceforge.net/projects/portableosx/
No experience with the products, so cannot say how well they work...

I have some old pagemaker files that I need to open so I have bought a G3 on ebay. It turns on OK but all that comes uo on the screen is an envelope with alternating question mark and apple logo. Any ideas?

I have some old pagemaker files that I need to open so I have bought a G3 on ebay. It turns on OK but all that comes uo on the screen is an envelope with alternating question mark and apple logo. Any ideas?

I suggest you get 9.2. You need to install the same or later version of the OS. One some computer the shipped version has extra drivers. The drivers will not be in the official release in this case 9.1. They would be in 9.2.
Mac OS 9.1 (Mac OS ROM 7.5.1) and Mac OS X 10.0.4 (4P13)
*blinking question mark*
The blinking question mark means that your mac firmware could not find a valid operating system
on one of your disk volumes.
Somethings to do to resolve the blinking question mark.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042
Try holding down the option key then power on. This brings up the startup manager. Click on your hd. Click on right arrow key.
You need to figure out the level of your firmware before installing 10.2 or greater. ( The PC name for firmware is BIOS. ) Installing 10.2 with a down level firmware will most likely make your iMac unusable and difficult to fix.
What is firmware?
The firmware software receives control when you poweron your machine. It does some hardware testing and some hardware configuration then passes control to your version of Mac OS. It reside on a PROM ( program read only memory ) chip on the logic board.
Figuring out what level of firmware you have?
Open Firmware, boot into Open Firmware.
Power on your iMac while holding down command+option+o+f
The first output line contains the firmware level. Mine reads:
Apple PowerMac4,1 4.1.9f1 BootRom built on 09/14/01 at 13.18.04
Copyright 1994-2001 Apple Computer Inc.
On my machine, I have 4.1.9f1.
What firmware do you need?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117
For a slot loading iMac, this article indicates that you need to be running 9.1 or later version of Mac OS Classic.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75130
"The iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 will only run on iMac computers with lot-loading CD or DVD drives running Mac OS 9.1 or later from a local drive. If you are using Mac OS X you must boot from a local Mac OS 9.1 or later writeable partition (not a CD, or network disk) prior to following the update instructions."
You can download the Mac OS 9 updates from the Apple site.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1387?viewlocale=en_US

TS1440 Flashing question mark, cancel, apple, and folder symbol.

My computer has been acting weird for the longest time, I used to have a done of room on it and one day it disappeared. So I started deleting stuff off of it, big apps and what not so I could have more space, I would gain little bit of space but then a second later it goes back to "Zero KG" so I'm thinking I should restart my computer.. So I turn it off, then turn it on, and flashing symbols come up. After multiple times of turning it on and off, I put in my startup disk, but I can't get past the choosing the start up disk because it says I have zero KG on the disk.. So I take the disc out and it goes back to the flashing question mark/apple/folder symbol..

Hello,
Try holding the Option key at startup to see if you can boot off the Install Disc to repair the drive, or the c key.
"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.)
We need to clear some really big files off of it, like Movies, or I suspect some huge logs from something going wrong. 0 KB on the drive can ruin many files on there.

Macbook Startup? ***! I get Question Mark before Apple logo then log in.

Recently whenever I turn on my macbook, it takes more time to load up, first it load a Question Mark then the Apple Logo and lastly log in? What is the Question Mark thing in the start up?

See this:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042

Flashing Question Mark & Apple Icon in Folder at Startup - HELPPPPPP

Out of nowhere my computere stopped working! I turn it on and it goes to a blank screen with a folder and a flashing question mark and apple icon. I have no idea what's happening - it's not making any strange sounds but that's all it will do. PLEASE HELP!!!

It can't find a valid system to start from. The drive or it's directory may be damaged.
Put the system install disc in the drive and hold down the "c" key while starting. Release it when you see the logo and spinning gear. Once it's started, select Disk Utility from the menu (in the Installer menu in Panther), highlight the drive on the left and click Repair Disk. If it reports errors and repairs, repeat until no errors are reported.
John

Apple TV shows a flashing question mark after trying to update

Hello everyone!
I own a first generation Apple TV which I updated succesfully up to v2.1 so far. By then this procedure came along with more or less the same problems I'll describe below - but up to now the updates always worked some day.
Now I wanted to update my ATV to v2.2 and used the usual update feature in the settings. ATV downloads the update, asks for updating and then restarts with an ATV-logo with a flashing question mark.
What I've done next:
1. Pulling out the power plug leads to a restart with the old v2.1
2. Holding down MENU + Minus on the remote restarts the ATV with Apple TV Recovery Mode
2.1 Restart leads to a restart with the old v2.1
2.2 Diagnostic analysis says ATV is free from defects
2.3 Restore resets the ATV to v1.0
3. Now I've got v.1.0
4. Step 1 leads to a restart with v1.0
5. Step 2 to leads to the same results (restart leads to a restart with v1.0)
So what am I to do? I'm out of warranty and don't want to pay for a malfunctioning update feature
"Our records indicate that your product is not covered for service.
Your product is not eligible for complimentary phone support."
Thank you!
Message was edited by: robertternes

robertternes wrote:
Hello everyone!
I own a first generation Apple TV which I updated succesfully up to v2.1 so far. By then this procedure came along with more or less the same problems I'll describe below - but up to now the updates always worked some day.
Now I wanted to update my ATV to v2.2 and used the usual update feature in the settings. ATV downloads the update, asks for updating and then restarts with an ATV-logo with a flashing question mark.
What I've done next:
1. Pulling out the power plug leads to a restart with the old v2.1
2. Holding down MENU + Minus on the remote restarts the ATV with Apple TV Recovery Mode
2.1 Restart leads to a restart with the old v2.1
2.2 Diagnostic analysis says ATV is free from defects
2.3 Restore resets the ATV to v1.0
3. Now I've got v.1.0
4. Step 1 leads to a restart with v1.0
5. Step 2 to leads to the same results (restart leads to a restart with v1.0)
So what am I to do? I'm out of warranty and don't want to pay for a malfunctioning update feature
"Our records indicate that your product is not covered for service.
Your product is not eligible for complimentary phone support."
Thank you!
Message was edited by: robertternes
I had this problem: Disconenct your internet modem and router, plug them back in,make sure the WEP password (if you have one) is right when you reenter it in on your Apple TV, and than try. If that doesn't work, I would d the last resotrt - Take the Apple TV to the nearest Apple Store/Best Buy or Comp. USA (if they're still alive where you live).
Good Luck.

How to fix the " flashing question mark after the finder icon when starting up" withou an apple keyboard?

Hi
I am wondering How to fix the " flashing question mark after the finder icon when starting up" without an apple keyboard. I have 2 of those .7Ghz emacs so just wanna fix them
Thx

Hi,
>I am using a wireless standard keyboard so maybe the emac doesn't regognise it
Installation of driver software may be required. Do not expect any wireless device to automatically work with a Mac unless guaranteed to do so. In a case like this, use a wired USB keyboard (a PC keyboard should be OK) and a wired mouse to begin with.
>I have installed Ubuntu 13.00 on the HDD from another computer.
Is it a version for PowerPC?
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPCFAQ
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPCDownloads
>a list of eMac hotkey's that can be used before OS boot from a standard Windows keyboard?
Could the following article be of interest?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970299
If/when starting from a bootable CD, press and hold the C key.
Jan

File with flashing question mark on startup?

So my MacBook Air just recently started this, with the white screen and grey box with a flashing question mark in it upon starting it up. Safe Boot did nothing, the question mark file continued to appear.
Holding down the Alt button seems to be the only thing that has yeilded any other response. When I hold the Alt button down on startup, it asks me to connect to a wireless internet (which I have). After connecting, it goes into Internet Recovery, where it shows a rotating globe and loads up, usually taking a couple of minutes.
Then I get the white page with the apple logo, and a loading circle.
After that, I get the grey page with Mac OS X Utilities.
From here, I have no idea what to do. My computer was only recently returned to me after a login error, where all my files has been removed and deleted, so it was at Factory settings. Since then, I haven't had enough things on my compter to use Time Machine Backup or anything like that. so I have no backup sources for it to restore from.
I have been able to get onto the internet, but only in a small box on top of the grey background.
I tried to reinstall Mac OS X Lion from here, but when I agree to the terms and conditions, it gives me no disk to install it too, so therefore I cannot continue ahead with the installation.
As for Disk Utility, when I click on the left hand side Mac OS X Base System, there is nothing under First Aid that is highlighted for me to click (show details is also checked)
Nothing under Erase is highlighted for me to click on either.
In the Restore selection, The source (Mac OS X Base System) has Image highlighted beside it. I can click onto that, but from there I have no clue what to do.
This about the sum of all the options my computer is giving me at the moment.
I have no speakers or cords that hook up to my computer (seeing how its a MacBook Air)
As far as I am aware, I have no disks or CDs or external drives that have any programme to help me restore it. I also am not entirely certain what my current systems were, with how up to date everything was, before this happened, but I assume they were all the latest seeing how it was only just fixed a month ago.
If there are any suggestions, your help would be great.
If my files can be saved, that is awesome. But if they have to be cleared, I am not at all phazed by doing that either.

If Disk Utility left panel shows only "Mac OS X Base System", it would seem that it is not detecting your main drive at all.
I would take the system into an Apple Store for diagnosis.

Why won't my MacBook Pro start up? White screen and flashing question mark.

Hi,
I've had my MacBook Pro for almost 2 years now and I installed OS X 10.8 about 4 months ago.
Today I turned the MacBook Pro on and a white screen with a flashing question mark appeared. I tried then getting the startup manager up: turning on the laptop and immediately holding in alt (option). But nothing appeared for about 25 seconds until a rotating Earth labelled 'Internet recovery' appeared that gave me options to join wireless connections. However, my internet wasn't in the options and when I tried typing in the information required to join my internet the laptop would just load and never find it.
I then tried putting in my Mac OS X install DVD (10.6.7) and help in C until the apple logo appeared on the screen and the little rotating loading circle appeared. That then disappeared and a cicle with a cross through it appeared (similar to a no entry sign). Then after about 30 seconds a blue screen followed by a grey screen appeared until eventually the disc ran properly. I then went into Disk Utility but there was no option called Macintosh HD, only the discs content. It wouldn't let me first aid, erase or repair anything.
I'm totally stumped and have 4 exams at university within the next 2 weeks. I'd really appreciate it if anyone could help me out here?
Thanks,
Best wishes,
Connor

The support article linked below is somewhat outdated. Where it refers to starting up from an installation disc, you should instead start up in Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the chime. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
If you don't have a current backup of all the data on the startup volume, and you want to preserve that data, then you must try to back up before you do anything else. Ask for instructions if you need them.
Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to reinstall OS X from Recovery, if necessary. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

Flashing question mark on startup, no Macintosh HD on disk utility

I had to do a hard shutdown on my 2011 MacBook Pro, and when I went to restart it I got the gray screen with the flashing question mark folder deal. I restarted it and went through Internet recovery, but under disk utility there is no option for Macintosh HD, only disk0 and Mac OS X Base System.
Any fix to this?

Possibly:
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. 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 the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. After you finish Setup Assistant will complete the installation after which
         you will be running a fresh install of OS X. You can now begin the update process
         by opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your
         installation current.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

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.

Flashing question mark folder when start iMac after Time Capsule performed a new back up

I switched my iMac on after a few days away and I was asked to start a new back up for Time Capsule to enhance the performance of the device (or something along those lines). Clicked the back up now and carried on, having read the process could take a few hours (not surprising because of the amount of data on my computer).
Left it running overnight and when I came back this morning the computer was off. Switched it on, saw the apple logo and the progress bar but it didn't move past 25% before I had a message in several languages to turn the computer off (and some script in the top left corner. From memory I think I saw <panic> in that script but not 100% sure).
When I switched it back on I had the dreadful flashing question mark so performed steps described in support.apple.com/kb/ts1440 several times and performed a safe Boot. No results.
I haven't reinstalled Mac OS X (step 11 in ts1440) as I don't want to erase the hard drive.
I have plugged the Time Capsule in a MacBook and it seems empty bar 2 very small files so I'm now very worried. I have some questions:
1- I'm not a technical person so is this now a case of bringing the iMac and Time Capsule to an Apple shop or call Apple support when they reopen tomorrow Monday?
2 - Is my data wiped out in the iMac and Time Capsule? If yes is it recoverable - obviously not by me but by an expert?
3 - what created the problem? My Lightroom 3 catalog was corrupted 3-4 times over the last few weeks and was surprised that Time Capsule wanted to perform a new back up but everything otherwise was working fine.
I'm very much looking forward to your help and suggestions.

You have a couple of options and I also have a suggestion for the future. First is you can try Data Rescue software. You can find it at:
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
The other is sending the HD out to a professional data recovery service.
My suggestion though is using a redundant backup system. Many on this forum do just that because a backup (as you have found out) can fail too. What I use is TM and on a separate EHD I created a bootable clone using SuperDuper. You can use SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner for this. I'd recommend reading the following MacWorld articles for backup strategies. I think you'll see a recurring them in them and that is redundancy is wise.
Backup Plan
Backup Plan II
Backup Plan III
Also it wasn't a virus, you are correct there are none for OS X.
Good luck on the recovery.

Help. iMac flashing question mark, and now power loss at startup.

Hey. I've had some really weird issues with my iMac. It's a 2.8 core 2 extreme aluminium 2007 iMac. It was bought for me at the end of august 2007.
What happened was, I was watching a movie and it started freezing. Everything was so slow. So I turned it off by the mains since it wouldn't shut down. When I tried booting it back up it had the flashing question mark. So I read up on it and tried doing what the apple support website recommended, which was to put the install disc back in and use the disk utility to repair the disk. Except this wouldn't work and it said the hard disk could not be unmounted. So I read up again and apple recommended resetting the PRAM, which I did and then it wouldn't recognise the hard drive AT ALL. But after a few tries of booting up it found it again, I got on disk utility and still said the same thing when I tried to repair. So I repaired the permissions instead and restarted and the computer booted as normal. But then was still very slow and freezing. So I opened disk utility one more time and tried repairing permission, restarted the computer and now when it gets to the apple logo and the loading icon it looses power and goes blank. I've already tried resetting the SMU. it didn't work. Has anybody got ANY clue to what I can do? Is my waranty up? I don't have AppleCare. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

If you have an Intel iMac, it has an SMC not an SMU, so if you used the procedure that says "SMU" on it, you used the one for an iMac G5, which is not an Intel iMac.
Since you did many different things in a somewhat random order, you may want to do the following, even if you did some of it already.
Reset PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
If that does not help, reset SMC
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1543
which is basically disconnecting ALL cables and power, then reconnecting using a precise procedure. If you have been connecting the power cord to a crowded or old power strip (surge suppressor), try connecting it directly to the wall outlet, at least initially. First, power it up with nothing connected, except for power cord. If that works, add just your keyboard/mouse and use it that way for a while to evaluate how the iMac is working. If all is well, connect your other peripheral (USB/FireWire) devices one by one. If the problem does recur at some point, identify the device added last; it may be faulty or causing some kind of interference.
If the problem remain, even when trying to start up the iMac with nothing but power cord connected, connect just your keyboard/mouse. Insert your Mac OS X installation disc (for the currently installed system) and restart with the C key held down. Sounds like you did this already. You should note if the iMac is running normally when booted off the installation disc. If so, the problem may be your internal drive; it may be faulty. Run Disk Utility from Installer's menu bar, and try to do a +Repair Disk+ again. See if it works any better this time.
You can also try using the Apple Hardware Test, including on your original disc(s)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

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 & Sad Apple Logo

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