Getting white screen with file folder and question mark on it...help

My MacBook Pro starts up and only shows a white screen with a file folder with question mark on it. I have not had problems prior to this. Help!,

That means that no valid system could be found to boot from. What might have caused that is hard to say, but try referring to this document:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
Note that if you are using Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion), you don't start up from your install disk. Hold down command-R at startup instead.

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White screen with file icon and Question mark after a kernel panic???

I'm using my girlfriends 20" iMac and her computer keeps having kernel panics. And then at times when we restart the computer, we get a white screen with a file icon and a question mark inside. Any ideas on what to do???? Her graduation project is on that computer and she is stressed like you wouldn't believe. Safe to say, I'm taking the brunt of it. Please help!!!

It sounds like you might be having a hard drive problem. The folder icon with question mark means the computer can't find a startup drive/system folder. I suggest that you back up all important data, especially her project. Before bringing it in for service, run the Apple Hardware Test - put in your original system restore DVD and restart the computer, holdng down the "D" key. Run the extended diagnositics (it will take over an hour (depending on how much RAM you have) and will tell you if there is anything wrong with your hardware. If it dinds a problem then you can take it to the nearest Apple authorized service provider to check it out.

My 2011 iMac wont boot up and stuck on white screen with flashing folder and question mark ???

Im running Lion OS and I made update after it asks me to restart the iMac when i pressed restart it never boots again :S please help and how i can get my data back

Try starting the it by holding down the shift key (safe mode) if it starts then check your hard drive with disk utility. Also repair your disk permissions. If you are unable to start the computer try Lion recovery mode.

Blue screen with flashing folder and question mark on startup

Hello.
I need help with my Macbook Pro. I get a blue screen with a flashing folder and a question mark at start up. To date I have tried the following:
Apple Hardware (Extensive) Test (Results: "No Trouble Found")
Safe Boot
Reset NVRAM
Reinstall OS X via the internet (I received no discs when I purchased it). I select the StartUp Disk to reinstall. When reinstalling via the internet I get to a point of reinstalling Mountain Lion but it asks me to choose a drive - yet there are no drive options to choose from. Then a window comes up asking me to "Select the system you want to use to start up your computer" but no options appear. When I choose "Restart" a note pops up saying "You can't change the startup disk to the selected disk. Startup Disk could not gather enough information on the selected disk."
The only option is "Restart" from the Apple menu. When I choose that it goes back to the original "Blue screen with flashing folder and question mark on startup."
I have no Time Machine
I can't access the disc utility.
Are there any ideas as to what might be the problem?

Your hard drive has likely failed and needs replaced. That would explain why the system does not display it when you attempt to reinstall the OS via Internet Recovery.

HT1941 grey screen with a folder and question mark

On start up i get a grey screen with a folder and question mark- how do i get out of this?

10.8 Mountain Lion
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11046
Use Startup Manager to select Startup disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310
Repair Disk
Steps 2 through 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reset PRAM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405

Mac won't boot up..get gray screen with a folder and ? mark what do i do?

my mac pro won't boot up..get gray screen with a folder and ? mark on the folder..help

Hi,
Rather than write up what I did, here is a link to an Apple support document with the instructions to follow.
I hope this is helpful. Good luck.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440

HT1379 I have lost everything on my mac, a gray screen with a folder and question mark is blinking. i hav another mac that is running slowly, how can I boot and reinstall os x Lion, i do not have the start up disc with me.

I have lost everything on my mac, a gray screen with a folder and question mark is blinking. i hav another mac that is running slowly, how can I boot and reinstall os x Lion, i do not have the start up disc with me.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
Lion uses Recovery to reinstall OS X. Press Command and R keys when your Mac starts, open Disk Utility, erase the drive and reinstall Lion. The other Mac has probably got its hard disk damaged, so take the Mac to an Apple Store

Grey screen with file folder blinking question mark in middle of folder

My Macbook suddenly turned off leaving me with a grey screen. In the middle of the screen there is a file folder blinking with a question mark in the middle of the folder. It will not turn back on even if I attempt to restart it. What does this mean and can I fix it myself or must it be sent to apple.

This may help: A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac.
If none of the solutions work then you will need to do an Archive and Install:
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.) 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 quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) 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.

What does a white screen with a file folder and question mark indicate?

what does a white screen with a file folder and question mark indicate upon start up?

That the computer can't find a useable boot volume.
Boot from your grey installer DVD disc 1 (hold down the C key on startup or hold down Alt/option on start and choose the installer disc).
OK the language page (if present). From the installer screen, go to the menu bar and choose Disk Utility; depending on the OS version it may be in the Utilities menu or Tools menu.
In DU, select your internal drive in the sidebar (the top item with the makers name and serial no.). Run Repair Disk (not Disk permissions). If problems are reported as repaired, run it again until you get a message in green "the volume seems to be OK".
If it says it can't repair the disc, you may need heavier guns such as DiskWarrior or TechTool to attempt a rescue.
Hope you have backups; retrieving data from adead drive can be expensive and tricky.

I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

Can you still boot to the Recovery partition using Command and R whilst booting? Or did you wipe the Recovery partition as well?
If your Recovery partition is still intact, you can simply boot to it and reinstall the OS via the Internet. If you wiped the Recovery partition, you can hold down Command, option and R keys whilst booting and boot into true Internet Recovery mode. You'll be able to reformat the hard drive, erasing all partitions (format it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a dingle GUID partition) and then reinstall the OS that shipped with your machine.
Note that you should use a physical Ethernet connection when restoring over the Internet - it's three times slower if you use wifi.
Try your Recovery partition first and if that doesn't work, use Internet Recovery.
Clinton

My Macbook A1181 won't startup. After turn on I get white screen with a folder sign with question mark in the center.

My Macbook won't startup. After turn on, I get a white background screen with a folder icon (question mark inside) in the center. this icon even blinks
The battery is charging.

It sounds like your hard drive is bad. If you can see it in Disk Utility you may still be able to get your files off of it. If you have one of the MacBooks with the removable battery it's very easy to put in a new hard drive.
Here's instructions on replacing your hard drive http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
To buy a hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-5-SATA-HDD-HARD-DRIVE-EXTERNAL-ENCLOSURE-CASE-BOX-/120 636286623?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item1c167ba69f
Put your old hard drive in an external case and after you've formatted your new hard drive and installed your operating system on it plug in your old hard drive and see if it is recognized by the new system. If so then transfer whatever files you want to the new hard drive

I need to reinstall my operating system for 10.5 after seeing a file folder and question mark flashing on my start up screen. Can anyone help me with this?

I need to reinstall my operating system for 10.5 after seeing a file folder and question mark flashing on my start up screen. Can anyone help me with this?

Hello,
That means it can find the Hard Drive, or can't find the things needed for booting.
See if DU even sees it.
"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 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, (not Repair Permissions). 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.)

White screen with a folder and a question mark in the Folder

Hi,
My daughter's Desktop Mac Pro won't reboot. On reboot, it shows a white screen with a folder and a question mark within, It just stays there and nothing happens. Is this a problem with a dead hard drive, dead processor, faulty USB connection, problem with airport.? We need advise and help, please!
effie imperio

Hi, Anonymoustache, thanks for responding.
Yes, I think it is "a flashing question mark". If it is flashing, you think it is a hardware problem like a dead hard drive? I had a flashing question mark with my Power book G4 and Apple replaced a dead hard drive.
Thanks Hatter, I will convey your response to my daughter and see if it will help.
effie imperio

White screen with a folder and a '?' ...

Hi
I bought my iMac in 2008 and it has work fine and remained just as fast as it was when i bought it unitill last night. I went to watch a film and it failed to load up quicktime and then froze. I turned it off then back on and was given a white screen with a folder and a question mark inside it. At this point i turned it back off again and left it. I found out that this screen is refered to as 'The Screen Of Death' and usually indicates that the Hard Drive is dead.
Once i had left the iMac for about 10/15 minuets i switched it back on. It loaded my Mac but very slow. Everything is still there but continues to be slow and will crash completely if i open any programme.
In other cases that i have read the posters say that they cannont get the mac to boot at all once they have seen the white screen. I was wondering if what has happened to me is something different or may just be the fact that its a run up to the inevitable.
Any information on the matter would be great.
Thank You

Hi Brettus and welcome to the Apple Discussions.
This would be a good time for a backup if you can do so.
You could try to boot from the install disk that came with your iMac, startup holding the C key until after the tone. Then choose the language, go to utilities, first aid, disk utility and run repair disk. See if that finds damage to the file systems.
If it comes back ok, reboot normally on the hard drive and then run dis utility from the hard drive and repair permissions.
If you are unable to startup or have more problems, you probably have a failed or failing hard drive.

I locked my MacBook - it switched itself off - restart it - white screen with a folder and a questionmark appearing on the screen, I can type in the password or do anything at all

I locked my MacBook with the find my iPhone app, then it switched itself off and now, when i restart it there is a white screen with a folder and a questionmark appearing on the screen, I can type in the password or do anything all. I really didn't wipe it, and in the app it says: MacBook locked toay at 15:49.
I am really desperate. Plz help me.
Thanks.

Did you setup a lock code? I have done this operation via iCloud just few minutes ago and it's booted with 4 numbers lock code just fine. When you lock your Mac, it's restarts automaticly and then loads with lock screen and you are only able to enter password of 4 numbers to unlock it.

Getting white screen with file folder and question mark on it...help

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