Folder with question mark, cannot reinstall 10.4

Yesterday when I open my computer it was frozen. After rebooting it a folder with a question mark came up. After I tried to reinstall the original software (10.4)
the computer came up with a message saying that the software cannot be reinstalled. The computer also heats up and I can always hear the fan on high whenever it is on.

If it is a bootable backup then you could use it.  Won't be as fast since you will be going through firewire or usb (fw800 faster than usb2 and both slower than your internal drive).
When you boot, push the option key down immediately after the boot chime.  You will be presented with a list of bootable volumes.  Select the one you want using the left/right arrow keys and hit return.
Note, if the external is the only bootable volume that can be found then you may not have to use the switch boot (option key) method since the system will "look around" during boot for a drive it can use.
Once booted you could use Startup Disk system preferences to set the external as the default boot drive son you don't have to explicitly select it in the future.

Similar Messages

  • Gray folder with question mark - no HD option

    Hi there,
    having a problem with our imac - running 10.6.8, 3.06 intel core 2 duo, 4gb 1067 mhz ddr3.
    Basically the other day the flashing gray folder came up.
    We rebooted using a system disc, which made us completly reconfigure the machine - to the point of re-registering again.  Then tried to install our mac image but there is no HD available to select from.
    Have then tried on numerous occasions to reboot with and without the OS disc with the same response.
    Safe boot will not work
    Option boot will not work - comes up with a blank screen with no option of selecting a HD.
    Have tried to reset the PRAM/NVRAM - does same thing - gray folder with question mark
    Cannot enter Single User Mode
    Is our HD completly dead or is there any other steps I can do - I have tried to do everything every article I have found suggests, but still nothing.
    Any help would be appreciated.
    Thanks

    Thanks for the reply Mike,
    Got an error code: 4sns/1/40000000: TH00-9.000
    Dust buildup in the computer prevents proper cooling, so the fans have to work harder.
    Corrupted Power Manager chip settings. Go to the Apple support page and search for "Power Manager" "reset" and your specific model. You can get the model number from the System Profiler utility (Apple menu: About this Mac: More Info). If this is the problem, resetting the Power Manager should solve it. If it happens again after unplugging, you may need a new clock/PRAM battery;
    Bad temperature sensor (all fans run at high speed);
    Shorted fan driver transistor on the logic board or in power supply (one fan always runs at max speed).
    (copied form: http://www.fixya.com/support/t18246194-4sns_1_4000000_th00_9_000)
    As I havent changed the HD, I reset the System Manager Controller - nothing.  Looks like its one of the other causes.  I guess I'll have to send it away to be fixed/looked at by our department (and wait a long time for it to come back )
    Doesn't quite make sense to me why this would prevent a HD from being shown.
    Cheers
    Jaron

  • Switched on my imac 24inch intel based and all I get on screen is a folder with question mark flashing,I had backup on external hard drive but when I try to reinstall it can not find my mac hard drive

    Hi when I started my intel based imac this morning all I am getting is a folder with question mark in the middle flashing,I have external hard drive with backup,but when run disc utilities it does not show my mac hard drive.hope someone can help.(it's running mountain lion, well it was)

    Try starting up your Mac while holding down the Option key. That should prompt the Startup Manager window where you can select the startup disk then click Restart.
    The question mark folder indicates your Mac cannot find a system folder to boot from.
    A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

  • When I start my iMac 2008, appear something like folder with question mark inside

    When I start my iMac 2008, appear something like folder with question mark inside

    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.
    If you are running Lion or later:
    Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing 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
    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 then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall Mountain Lion or Mavericks
    OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
    OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
    OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
         Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
                     if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

  • MacBook Pro flashes file folder with question mark and startup manager will not run

    My son's MacBook Pro won't boot (gets the flashing file folder with question mark).  When I try to open startup manager (holding "option" key during boot does not do it).  Other posts suggest inserting the install disk, but I am pretty sure that for Lion, there was no disk, it was just off the website through the App Store.  Any further suggestions?

    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.

  • Not solved with Blinking Folder with Question Mark after Erasing Hard Drive

    Before asking, I found someone had asked exact the same question, but that was actually an unsolved thread.
    Re: Blinking Folder with Question Mark after Erasing Hard Drive to try to restore to Factory Settings
    Level 1(0 points)sdc3gJul 5, 2013 6:24 PM Re: Blinking Folder with Question Mark after Erasing Hard Drive to try to restore to Factory Settings
    Re: Blinking Folder with Question Mark after Erasing Hard Drive to try to restore to Factory Settings 
    in response to Niel
    Thanks for the reply, held command+R again and it is trying to pick up WiFi, but it's not picking up my network and won't accept the password even when I try to put it in manually. Any thoughts on that?
    Me too had tried the command+R and failed to manually connect to my network. Can anyone help?

    Well, it was solved. I shifted to other place and tried other WIFis. One of the WiFi had the 2002f problem and another was fine, so the reinstall worked smoothly eventually.
    On the apple support page it says that Supported network configurations and protocols includs both WPA/WPA2, not matter what they are, but it might not be true.

  • Folder with Question Mark, to Apple Icon, to Kernel Screen at Startup.

    At startup Folder with Question Mark, Followed all steps to resolve it to no avail, I try to re-install Snow Leopard and Apple Icon with Grey screen appears, then Kernel screen.
    I cannot get past the Kernel screen.  No options to click anything, like system preferences or anything. I have a Macbook, with Snow Leopard.  Any help would be much appreciated.
    I tried Pram Reset and everything.

    Hey, thanks for the quick reply Mende.
    I tried that, it goes to the apple icon, however after about 10 seconds of the apple it goes straight to the Kernel screen.  It doesn't give me the options of opening anything. Infact it doesn't even have a mouse curser.
    If I hold "option" it gives me the option of choosing only the "Leopard DVD" but that's it and then it goes to the Kernel Screen
    Again, thanks for the taking the time to help me out.

  • 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

  • HT1366 How to fix Flashing Folder with Question Mark on Mac

    How to fix Flashing Folder with Question Mark on Mac

    RichardEL is probably correct.  I’ll go through your questions.
    > there is no Mac OS partition, I assume it would be directly underneath the HD on the left?
    I have not seen this particular condition where the hardware disk icon appears but the system volume that is supposed to be below it does not.  The System Disk partition would be below the HD icon indented to the right.  It is usually called “Macintosh HD” unless you renamed it.
    > when I go into disk utility my HD appears on the left, but I can repair or verify it
    Odd.  It appears but you cannot manipulate it with Disk Utility.
    > The S.M.A.R.T status reads verified
    If it did not say Verified then it would indicate a problem.  Saying Verified does not rule out problems but I think it indicates it is still breathing.
    > Is the HD deceased?
    If you booted the Recovery Partition (Boot, Command-R), which it sounds like you did, then at least part of the disk is still breathing.  If it took a long time to boot then that may have been a Network Recovery boot which would indicate the disk is very sick or dead.
    >  [If I] restore from time machine [will] everything will be back as it was before?
    Yes.  That is the beauty of Time Machine.  All your data, applications, and system preferences will be as they were as of the last backup.
    > I was thinking of erasing the HD, would this be of any help or do I just need a new one?
    Given what you reported from the Disk Utility steps you took it is unclear to me if there will be a way to repair the current volume, if you can erase and install from scratch or if you need a new disk.  Before proceeding it may be useful to have an expert at an Apple store look at it for you.  They may be able to revive it without a clean install or new disk.
    As was the case above, it could be a good disk with a bad cable in which case a new disk is not going to help.  To test this you can purchase an inexpensive external enclosure, remove the internal disk, place it in the enclosure, plug it in and then use Boot-Option to attempt to boot from the now external disk.  Here are links to the screwdrivers and enclosure you would need.
    $5 Toolkit: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/
    $22 USB 3.0 enclosure: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ES2.5BU3W/
    If you attempt a clean install, use the Partition tab to repartition the disk, selecting one partition and with “Options…” electing a GUID partition.  Then use the Erase tab, select “Security Options…” and set it to write a single pass of zeros.  This will write to every sector to map out bad blocks.  (If you have an SSD do not write a pass of zeros.)
    If you do need to replace it I recommend an new inexpensive (~$100) and super-fast hybrid SSHD drive that has an 8 GB SSD cache that makes the data fly.  Google “Seagate 1 TB hybrid SSHD”.

  • Blinking folder with question mark

    Ok so I had this macbook air for couple of months now long story short I was outside US when my issue started. While using the computer either completely freezes or becomes almost inoperable and the only course of action is to force restart it by holding the power button. Once you start it back on you get a follder with a question mark. this happens once every few days. I first took it to apple store in France they said something is wrong but since it was purchased in US they cannot do anything about it. when I came back to US took it to apple store that is about 10+ restores after. The store people test it and determine everything works as it should. Couple of days later happened again took it in the same store as is with the folder with question mark.  They did a fresh install and told me should work fine. but it didn't I took it to another store they order a hard drive for it came in few days later and was quickly replace that evening computer was running very slow and eventually the same thing happen got the same wiped hard drive just the next day. I called apple few times now they keep on talking about test and what not and it is software related but i have tried it without any of my files and no timemachine restore with the same result. So what should I do I paid almost $2000 for the macbook air and another 200+ for apple care. Who should I talk to to get my issue result? This is the first time I have issue with a mac but so far I have waisted 40+ hours dealing with this macbook. My mac is mid 2013 13" i7 8GB 512gb and its under apple care until october 2016

    I have been in apple store 4 times already but I will not get a replacement. Today I got a call from Bob who is part of the executive corporate relations team. He told me, he is sure my issue is fixable and they can not replace my mint condition mac eventhough I have had that issue almost since day 1. He didn't even for a moment stopped and truly appologize that even after paying $2300+ out the door I have to go through all this BS I guess I am just another pain in the behind customer, who should man up and learn to deal with his files disappearing every other day and I should make the time to restore my macbook air every other day. Mr Bob also said they didn't have time to diagnose the computer and I demanded hard drive replacement. How does a customer demand technician to replace a specific part is beyond my comprehension. The only reason I asked apple to replace my macbook air is because I have a long trip coming up and at this point I have to walk in the store and buy a new notebook and leave this one at home. He also said there is no reason to complain to BBB because those complains are handled by their department and they will offer me nothing different.

  • Help:  Got the dreaded grey folder with question mark

    Hey folks,
    I was working in Chrome on my 13" mid-2010 MacBook Pro running OSX10.6.8, plugged in the mains charger and instantly had an unusual (not the beachball- the daisy from start-up and shut-down) freeze-up of the computer.  I couldn't force quit and so shut the computer down using the power button (something I have done perhaps four times in its life-time).
    On start up I got the dreaded flashing grey folder with question mark and know that this is serious.  Last week I had a half hour with the U, I and O keys not working and that despite being very, very nice to my machines and repairing permissions and not unduly installing rubbish.
    So I have inserted the start up disk for the MacBook Pro to see if I could use Disk Utility.  And got it started (unusually load "whirring" too but I attribute this to heat) and Disk Utility cannot find the disk to repair permissions.
    Now-  from what I understand it means the hard drive is gone, right?  Anything that can be done to save it (I cannot afford a new one)?
    If not-  how do I get the bits of data on there which I had yet to back up?  CAN I?
    Please and thank you.

    So I fitted a new 500GB solid state drive from Samsung (easy enough- only a few screws on the lid, four screws holding it down and four more for the "pins" to hold it in place) but now, when I start up (bearing in mind that the install disk is stuck inside)- I get the Apple logo, then the daisy clock and then, woe is me, the "no entry" sign and eventually the install disk kicks in only to reveal that there is no hard drive to install to.  Disk Utility and Start Up Disk both do not recognise it.
    Any ideas what I can do, given that it is not rocket science to install one of these, given there is just one cable to connect and the rest is just to keep it in place?

  • Hard drive crash? Folder with question mark

    Hi everyone! I had problems with my macbook pro (early 2013). Last week, it slowed down suddenly and the laptop heats up during sleep. Then the hard drive recently crashed, at least I thought it crashed after it showed the folder with question mark during startup and did not show my old hard disk drive. Now I bought a 1TB WD mainstream hard drive disk, unfortunately it does not detect it in the internet recovery (disk utility). Now my question is, Do I have to do something with the hard drive first for my laptop to detect it? Like formatting it? The box said that it is compatible with mac OSx Lion, but my internet recovery lets me install Mountain Lion only. Is that the problem? or is the problem internal like the cable that connects the hard drive to the logic board?

    That depends on the type of drive you have. If it is a standard external drive (in an enclosure) you can connect the drive with a USB cable.
    If it is a bare drive like this:
    You will have to put it an enclosure and get a usb cable. External drive enclosure are < $10. They come in two sizes, 2.5" and 3.5". Buy one that's correct for your drive. http://www.amazon.ca/MOGOI-Enclosure-External--Silver-Accessory/dp/B00HC107R6/re f=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1404755872&sr=8-5&keywords=disk+enclosure

  • I powered up my macbook and there is a file folder with question mark on the screen flashing.  What does that mean?

    Powered up Mac book and screen showing file folder with question mark flashing? 

    A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
    Hope that solves your issue.

  • Folder with Question Mark on Start-up/ DOS-like screen with errors now...

    Left my Mac Pro running last night, woke up to it being frozen (looked like it was
    in hibernation mode and wouldn't wake up).
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    Inserted install disc 1 and held down 'C' - Went to choose your lang menu,
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    Was there a storm or outage that could have brought it down? for now it sounds like a kernel panic screen is what you are seeing. If you don't have a UPS, I wouldn't be w/o. Never know when one of those high winds will knock out power.
    You could try to do an SMC Reset and see.
    I assume you usually sleep the system and it doen't have trouble with wake from sleep, and you haven't altered the system (new hardware etc) in any way that would change that.

  • Folder with question mark keeps showing on boot screen

    folder with question mark keeps showing on boot screen

    Click here and follow the instructions. If the computer was running Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier and you reach the third set of steps, insert a Mac OS X install disk.
    (120871)

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