Help diagnos. flashing question mark on monitor, cannot boot from CD drive

Any ideas? This is an older G3 tower which was "souped Up" wtih USB and Firewire cards, memory
Mac froze in midst of work last week. Now only get flashing question mark supermimposed on image of a floppy drive.
Tried to re install system (OS9) but cannot get ANY CD to boot from CD drive. I reboot, hold down "C" Key with CD in tray ( and i can hear the CD drive working). But the tray opens and ejects/rejects the CD).
I now suspect the problem is NOT the OS but rather a hardware issue.
Am I correct in this assumption? what else could this be?
I am trying to help an older gentleman who has no backups and has some important documents on the HD.If I can boot up, might be able to retrieve those itesm. (and get a newer Mac!)

Not the answer,Dale (thanks anyway)
I read that article.
I cannot boot from any bootable CD.
Inserted the OS install disk as well as third party bootable CD.
with CD in the CD drive tray, I restarted and held down the C key.
Mac restarted but the CD tray popped open. Would not boot from the CD.
That is why I posted query
not only do we have the flashing question mark but bootable CDs are not booting this Mac. So I can do no diagnostics, no repair, not salvage of files.
I am trying to understand where the problem lies. am guessing Hard Drive failure but why should CD also not work?

Similar Messages

I had to erase and reinstall mavericks to hd, now i cannot boot up , i get a folder with flashing Q mark and i cannot boot from dvd drive...Ideas please

hi
its a long and sorry story, i have a imac running mavericks
a few days ago i noticed that the dvd drive was ejecting every disc i put in, so i decide to check hd with onyx and reset permissions etc
onyx said the smart status couldnt be checked and i should check hd using disk utility.
i did this and it came up that hd had errors , so i ran the repair facility....it came up with disk can not be repaired, reformat and reinstall mavericks
this i did.
i reinstalled mavericks into mac hd, which took about 3 hrs, i then rebooted and a folder with flashing Qmark appeared, i cant get past this at all.
i have tried to use internet recovery but it comes up with 6002f error, and the dvd drive still does not accept boot disk, so i am at a lose as to how to proceed
anybody got any ideas?
thanks
L

If your hard drive has SMART errors then it is failing and should be replaced. Disk Utility cannot fix SMART reported errors.

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

Help with FLASHING QUESTION mark when starting the mac

Hi All,
My mac just froze,i had to do force shut down,when i restarted it i had the flashing question mark.Did all the instruction that are given in the site:restarting with the installation CD and then using the *disc utility*-BUT i could not find the hard drive that i need to do the "repair disc " on.So i did what the document said and i reset the PRAM-still my hard drive does not show up in the disc utility.I also tried to reset the SMC but again -same result.
please please try and help me,is my HD doomed? is there anything else i should try?

I have the exact same problem.
Today, when I turned my macbook on, it was so slow, that I decided to restart it. When I turned it on again, I got the folder with a questionmark in it on the display. Tried to put the installer CD in, but it couldn't find the HDD. Ran the Disk Utility, which said: "Invalid node structure" and "Invalid record count".
I think the HDD is "destroyed", because it makes strange sounds. But how? And why?
The Macbook isn't even a year old.
Any help?

HELP PLEASE-- flashing question mark on startup, none of remedies working

I'm using my Powerbook one night, everything is working fine. I wake up, go to use it and I get the spinning color wheel; tried to close an application by force quit and I get no response, so I restart using the power button, and the flashing question mark / mac OS icon pops up.
I immediately did some research on what to do; I put the OS cd in, tried restarting holding the C key and later the X key; nothing. Tried resetting PRAM, didn’t solve the problem. Tried holding command-S to check disk/repair, didn’t work. I then held the option key to choose the location to boot off: and neither the HD nor cd showed up: just the circular arrow to re-scan, and the straight arrow to enter the selection.
I have 2 install discs: I'm not sure if they are the same or not; I may have put the wrong one in. So I tried to eject it and now it wont eject.
Firstly, how to eject the cd? I tried holding the eject button, F12, command + . , as well as the trackpad. I don’t see a place to put a pin or paperclip in like some cd drives have to force it open.
Secondly, what else can I try to get my computer working? I'm no expert, but it sounds like this might be a hardware problem aside from the HD, being that the computer is not recognizing neither HD nor cd. However, the cd I have is a copy of the OS disc I made, and it may or may not be the right install disc, or properly made copy.
How difficult is it to open up Powerbooks and replace the HD? I'd like to have it up and running as soon as possible, but most importantly I hope that my data is still safe. And no, unfortunately I hadn't backed up my data. Please advise.

Maybe the copy of that disk is not bootable. Do you have the original or can you get it?
Here's a faq to remove disks.
DALE

Help! Flashing question mark on G3 Imac

I just picked up a Lime G3 Imac 333Mhz. 128 mb Ram, 10G hard drive. It has System 9.2 loaded. We got it this week from a private party (not a school machine) and it worked great for one day. However, next day, we tried to start it and got the flashing question mark. I tried starting it off the Imac install disk and the restore disk but it didn't switch over to the CD when I held down "C". I tried starting with extensions off too, and even tried zapping pram. All to no avail.
I'm stumped here. Any ideas what else to try?
Tim

Solved!! I finally tore into the case to look at replacing the battery. On the way in, I discovered that the hard drive cable thumb screws weren't snug down. I screwed them in all the way, tried it again (cynically, but just on the off chance that something had changed.) and Voila! Back to original working order. My kids are so pleased.
Thanks for the suggestions anyway.
Tim

HELP! Flashing question mark on startup

Hi. I have a MacBook Pro 17" 2.33GHz. I was using this the other day, as per normal, and all of a sudden it crashed. I had to restart the laptop by pressing the power button down and when it restarted I got a flashing question mark. What can I do to get back into my laptop? I have a lot of data on my hard drive and need to get on with some important work.

Your hard drive has not failed. You probably have directory damage. Diskwarrior or Techtool Pro will locate your hard drive and repair the damage. You should not use your computer until the damage has been repaired.

Help..Flashing question mark, won't boot,clicking sound. Whats happened?

I was using my macbook (Intel Core Duo) to watch some Quicktime trailers and whilst waiting for the movie to load (which was taking a long time as I have a slow internet connection), the fans started whirring away, then the spinning beachball started. A clicking sound started from somewhere inside, I tried to force quit but couldn't get the force quit screen so ended up having to shutdown using the power button. When I tried to startup again all I got was a clicking sound and a flashing question mark. I used the cd to do a hardware test and tried disc utility but the hard disc is no longer there..! I tried resetting PRAM but still nothing.
Does this mean my hard drive has failed? What is the clicking sound? I have most of my stuff backed up and my itunes library, photos, and movies are on a external drive. If I have to have a new hard drive will I be able to access these again?

Thank you. I have now read many other reports of hard drive failure in Macbooks and as mine has exhibited exactly the same sypmtoms as everyone else I can see that it means it is dead. Luckily I had backed up but I am very angry that this has happened to a 16 month old, well cared for computer..and an Apple one, not some cheap PC!

Cannot boot from USB drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi
I have 3-4 120Gb 2.5inch drives which I clone my MacBook Pro to on rotation.
I have always been able to boot from these drives UNTIL NOW!
Suddenly I can no longer boot from them, the boot process starts and gets well through and then the drives all seem to just 'hang'.
The only significant change is that a local Apple support company upgraded my stock 120gb drive to a 160Gb drive.
Any ideas what the issue coiuld be?
Cheers.
Robin

Hi robster,
If the USB drive contains a valid OS you should be able to verify and repair the permissions on that drive, give that a try.
Also i suggest running DiskWarrior 4 on it.
The replaced internal drive should have no effect on this unless some settings got changed when the new OS got installed on it that now prevents the mac from being able to read your USB drive.
Does the USB drive need a driver ? if so is the latest version of that driver properly installed ?
If the USB drive checks out and all is OK maybe a re-install of the OS on your internal drive would help.
For now try disk utility and diskwarrior if you can that could narrow things down

Cannot boot from ext drive after 10.5.2 update

I followed the procedure in tech article 306502 for creating and updating a bootable drive. I am in a PPC Mini environment. External drive is LaCie 160 GB rugged firewire portable with auxiliary power, I created the drive with 10.5.1 and it booted nicely to my two Minis (running 10.3.9 and 10.5.1). I then updated the external system with 10.5.2 from the Apple site and now it does not boot. Sits and spins with a white screen, grey apple, and whirligig. Whirled for 1/2 hour and tried deveral times.
I see this is not uncommon, but there have been no cures posted. One post suggested Disk Warrior. What would I do to with DW to move this problem forward. This is quite annoying, as I rely on being able to move around and boot from this drive when needed.
Thanks for any help.
Fred

after 10.5.2 two days ago, mine booted up regularly. however after the additional leopard graphics update last night, it no longer boots up at all. i have to usethis ****** vista to report the problem. my macbook is right beside me, with nothing but a plain blue screen. occasionaly the mouse cursor appears for about 30 seconds, then dissapears and the screen remains blue. what can i do? if i cant log in apple cant update my mac!!! help!!!

Help fix flashing question mark on startup

I replaced my familys Macbook Pros HDD but didn't back anything up cause everybody had way too much junk saved onto it. Now when i turn on my mac, this question mark on a folder keeps flashing. Can i fix this by just purchasing another operating system disk? or is there more things i have to do. I just want a newer operating system running, and everythings set back to factory settings.

@volleyball...
You'll have to either
Get out your old boot DVD (Snow Lep) or OSX thumb drive (Lion) and boot from that, then select "Reinstall OS X"
Have someone saavy build you a bootable drive for the same purpose. Most any 16GB drive should suffice for Lion or Mt. Lion. Depending on what is on the drive when you boot it, you should be able to use this to either reinstall (as above) or download Lion/MtLion from the App Store.
Bring in your Mac to an Apple store for them to reconfigure for you
Good luck

I have a 2005 g5 2.5 2g ram will not boot up ,blue screen with folder with finder icon question mark. have tried to boot from dvd disc by holding down ckey but all i get is apple logo and fans start running really fast.have tried hard drive in identcal g5

tried hard drive in another g5 but with the same result.can anybody suggest what might be wrong

had the same result on other g5 blue screen finder folder with question mark. i put the hard drive in the bottom bay of my g5 after and ran disk repair said disk ok .reparaired permissions tried hard drive in top bay again but with same result.
do i just disconnect the two connections on hard drive and then try your second suggestion?

Satellite 1130-z28: Cannot boot from portable drive

my Teac dw 224e drive from Toshiba Satelite 1130-z28 doesn't work. The problem in I've tried to replace it with 3 different types of cd rom drive and none was working.
The led lits, but I can't boot from them and windows doesn'n even recognize them. Is it possible my portable works only with the same kind of CD unit?

Hi
I assume the drive doesnt work because of wrong drive settings.
Its important that the drive supports right (master/slave/CSEL) settings
If the drive is not compatible the BIOS and OS will not recognize the drive properly.
Please note: The notebook drives dont have jumpers like on the desktop PC drives.
You cannot change the settings. You have to use the compatible drive device.

Cannot boot from hard drive error message

I bought Mountain Lion from the app store. I downloaded it and launched it. It began to install but when it asked what disk I wanted to install it on and I clicked my hard drive it failed with the message that I could not boot from this hard drive. So, I figured that the installer needed to be on an independent disk. So, I burned it to a DVD and ran the install program again. I got the same message. So, I plugged in an external drive, went to system preferences and set it as the startup drive. Rebooted onto the external drive. Ran the installer from the DVD and it failed at the same point. I tried selecting the external drive but it said that it was the time machine drive (which I guess was equivalent to "NO"). Anyone know how to fix this? Thank you.

Well, LOL, I did that prior to buying the software. It does meet the specifications. I found the solution on the support site. When I googled before I hadn't googled the error message verbatim. Doing so led me to this page: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3926 where I was instructed to create a tiny partition (128MB) and then run the installer again. No explanation was given as to why, but this did work and I am typing this via the new OS. Thanks for trying to help me baltwo! Best regards.

Qosmio F30-140 - Cannot boot from DVD Drive

Dears,
I faced problem in DVD drive, I can't boot from it... actually, it didn't see and CD or DVD when I insert it...
So how can boot from it to reinstall windows?????? Or how can I use external USB DVD to boot from it???
I have F30-140, with updated BIOS...
please neeeeeeed help..

Hi
Sounds like CD/DVD drive has developed a hardware problem.
Usually you should be able to boor from ODD by pressing C button immediately after the notebook was powered up.
You can also press F12 at the beginning. This would enable the boot menu on the screen.
There you can choose ODD as boot source
If this will not function, then the ODD could be defect.
PS: I doubt the BIOS supports booting from USB CD/DVD drive...

Help diagnos. flashing question mark on monitor, cannot boot from CD drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for