HT4718 What do I do if I get a folder with a question mark?

I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro and just installed a brand new SSD hard drive after my original HD crashed. According to this document and others that I found online, I thought I could boot up while pressing Command+R and follow instructions to install Mountain Lion, which I had purchased before and was on my old HD. However, almost a dozen times I have tried following those instructions (including trying to hold down just the option key) but all I get is a flashing folder with a question mark icon.
Does anyone know why? Am I actually supposed to boot from the disk that came with my computer? If so, won't it install the old OS, or am I not understanding something? Or am I supposed to boot from Time Machine?
I'm pretty sure from what I've read that I can't boot from my old HD because it died, but is there something I'm missing?
Thanks for any help you can give.

If your computer originally shipped with 10.6.8 or earlier and you swapped the drive out, you need to use its original disks; there won't be a recovery partition on the new one.
If your computer originally shipped with 10.7 or newer, pressing those keys will load the recovery partition from Apple's website.
(80677)

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Why do I get a folder with a question mark on bootup

why do I get a folder with a question mark on bootup
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can't seem to get past that flashing folder with a ? in it

A flashing question mark at boot means no start up drive can be found. Solutions vary based on what OS is installed.
Try the command and r keys held down at restart to see if it enters "recovery" mode. Use the Disk Utility to find out more about the drive.

I replaced the battery on my RAID card, when I booted my mac pro up, I get the folder with the question mark. I used a boot USB drive to boot and when I looked in the RAID utility, my RAID 5 volumes were no longer showing, advise.

I replaced the battery on my RAID card, when I booted my mac pro up, I get the folder with the question mark. I used a boot USB drive to boot and when I looked in the RAID utility, my RAID 5 volumes were no longer showing, advise.
Ernest

Not sure if I'm following you. I have 4 hard drives installed on my Mac Pro. I had a RAID 5 configured and functional for about 5 months. My battery died on the RAID card. I replaced the battery, seated the RAID card back in the slot I removed it from. When I booted to the USB drive to look in the RAID utility, I could see the battery is charged but my volumes are not showing.
The drives don't show in disk Utility. I built the RAID with the RAID Utility and they did show there. I have a early 2008 Mac Pro, Mavricks OS running Mac Server

HT4718 what if my mac wont go pass the screen with the question mark

Everytime I turn on my mac the screen has a long delay then a picture of a folder with a question mark in it. I cant get past it. What should I do?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
It appears when your computer couldn't find any bootable volume. Normally, this is a sign of a damaged hard drive.
As you are using OS X Mountain Lion, follow these steps to check that your hard drive is OK:
1. Hold Command, Option (Alt) and R keys while your computer is starting to start into OS X Recovery.
2. On the "OS X Utilities" window, open Disk Utility, select "Macintosh HD" in the sidebar and repair the drive.
3. If it was repaired, go to  > Restart, and you should be able to start OS X properly. If it wasn't repaired, you have to erase the hard drive, but it's possible that your hard drive is damaged, so you may have to replace it

IMac crashed & on reboot I get the folder with a question mark

This happened last night when I went downstairs to put my computer to sleep, it was frozen. On reboot, I would get the chime, but not the apple logo—just the gray screen. Finally, after a minute or two, the folder with a question mark appeared. I tried resetting my PRAM and that didn't seem to work. I tried rebooting from the install disk to repair permissions, but my volume wouldn't even mount. It wasn't there.
Since this was 10:30 at night, I just went to sleep and when I woke up this morning, I turned it on just to see what would happen and lo & behold, it turns on, apple logo appears and ultimately takes me to my login screen. Needless to say, I was thrilled.
However, when I went to login on either my account or my husband's account, neither of our passwords will work now.
I have tried everything—typing the letters one by one. Nothing. How on earth am I supposed to login now? I'm afraid of restarting for fear of that infamous folder with the question mark appearing.
Any suggestions on how I could possibly login? Not only that, why are our passwords no longer working? Our names and avatars show up (they're custom avatars), so something is showing up on my HD, but why don't our passwords work? Weird.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, my specs are below and the only thing that I have done differently is I upgraded to v10.5.6 a few days ago. Otherwise, this never happens. No, I have not installed new RAM or anything like that.
Thanks!!!
Suzanne

Thank you so much for your replies, but I wanted to give you a heads up.
After speaking with tech support yesterday morning, and trying to verify disk via install disk, it was recommended that I bring my computer into Apple to have my HD replaced. I took it to the Genius Bar yesterday and yup, I need my HD replaced. Pain in the butt, but oh well, it could have been worse.
I pretty much back up all of my work (I'm a graphic designer) on a regular basis, but hadn't backed up my recent iTunes purchases, which I was told yesterday I could easily transfer from my iPod back to my "new" iMac—since they're purchased from iTunes. What a relief.
I guess the only thing that's a pain is pretty much all of my bookmarked websites (and there were a lot) and my photos, which I believe for the most part, were backed up.
Regardless, a lesson learned—never take advantage of the fact that your computer is what you think brand new (less than a year and a half old), and thinking it won't die, because you never know. This guy that was sitting next to me at the GB had a brand new MacBook Pro and it died after one week. Ouch!
I am going out right now and purchasing an external HD and having Time Machine back up on a regular basis. What a pain, but a harsh lesson learned.
Thank goodness for Apple Care.

Late 2008 macbook 13" prompts mac OS can not be installed on this computer after booting from disc as l get the folder with the question mark screen. New HDD or ?

From the little research l have done, l have been convinced l may be having a dead hard drive though after having tried all the other troubleshooting tips found here, when trying to boot l get the grey screen and folder with the question mark suggesting it can not find the files neccessary to boot hence l tried booting with the disc and the message l get is that mac OS X can not be installed on this computer, though after doing the hardware check etc they all say okay. I've even tried erasing the drive and trying to instal the OS afresh with no luck. Any ideas or l must just get a new hard drive?

Pretty sure BGreg hit the nail on the head. If your hard drive was failing, you would still be able to at least attempt an install, provided your ard drive was mounting. You usually get that message when the disk is incompatible with the computer. If it is the proper disk, you might try erasing the disk (provided your info is backed up) using Disk Utility (under Utilities in the menubar) and choose the Mac OSX Extended (Journaled) format.

Just installed new hard drive in mac book pro 15", when trying to boot OSX from original disk I still get a folder with a question mark in it. How can I reinstall the OS?

Can't seem to get my mac book to boot from the CD after installing new hard drive.
I keep holding down "c" while restarting the machine with the disk in but it just keeps ejecting the disk and giving me a folder with a question mark.

If your on 10.5 with a Intel Mac, I think Apple has jinxed the firmware so you can't boot from the 10.5 disk anymore.
So far several people, myself included, can't boot from a 10.5 OS X disk on a Intel Mac.
Your going to have to buy a 10.6.3 Snow Leopard retail disk, it's wayyy better than 10.5 anyway, faster and most stable even better than Lion. Have to buy iLife though as it doesn't come on the 10.6.3 retail disks, only free with grey disks.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

Boot problem: sometimes I get a folder with a question mark at start up

I am having a problem lately which I think might be hardware related. I get a question mark in a folder icon on start-up This happens randomly. In most occasions it occurs when I do a cold boot (so the system has been off for a while). As soon as I switch it off and switch it on again, my Mac Pro starts fine. The hard-drive is "verified" in the disk utility and I tried to fix/repair permissions. I also cleared the PRAM, did a firmware reset (option key on startup) and repair disk using the installation DVD. All these thing do not seem to work. I also had this issue sometimes in Tiger.
I do not have a library/receipts folder as someone indicated. I am running 10.5.1
I haven't had any other issues with Leopard so far.
I am wondering if this issue might be hardware related. The S.M.A.R.T. status of my boot up disk is "verified" and I have no other issues in Leopard (no crashes/freezes). So if it is my hard-disk, why does this only occur at startup and not randomly when using other programs?
Any suggestions? I have 3 year Applecare so if there are no solutions... I might use that.

This may occur for several reasons. One may simply be that you need to set the startup volume in the Startup Disk preference - open Startup Disk, select your startup volume, click on the Restart button.
However, more often this is indicative of a problem with one or more required system files for startup. If the problem is simply cache related then you may fix the problem by using a utility such as TinkerTool System or Leopard Cache Cleaner to clear out the system caches then do a restart. However, if you truly have a bad system file then only re-installing OS X is going to fix the problem. You may be able to do this by Archive and Install which doesn't require erasing the drive provided your drive is OK and you have adequate disk space.
How to Perform an Archive and Install
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, 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger, 4.6.1 for Leopard) 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 folder with a question mark mean?

When starting up my computer I get a folder with a question mark inside. How can I fix this problem?

There are four general causes of this issue:
1. The computer's PRAM no longer contains a valid startup disk setting when there aren't any problems with the disk itself. This can be checked for by pressing the Option key and seeing if the drive appears.
2. The internal drive's directory structure has become damaged. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to perform the repair.
3. Critical system files have been deleted. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to reinstall them.
4. The internal drive has died or become unplugged. This is the most likely case if the computer took a sharp impact or there are unusual sounds coming from the hard drive's location.
(67155)

HT1310 when i starst my mac i get a flashing folder with a question mark. i tried rebooting and holding the option button then i get 2 boxes, one with a refresh arrow and one with a forward arrow neither of them seem to do anything. now what

when i starst my mac i get a flashing folder with a question mark. i tried rebooting and holding the option button then i get 2 boxes, one with a refresh arrow and one with a forward arrow neither of them seem to do anything. now what

Here is an article that describes what it is supposed to do:
Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume
If no Volumes are shown, it is telling you there are no potentailly bootable Volumes attached. That means your boot drive has died or the bootable image on it is unrecognizable.
What Mac Pro ? by year, GHz, number of processors, screen size?
What Mac OS X ?

My computer froze so I restarted it and now all I can get is a flashing folder with a question mark, what is happening?

I have a MacBook pro and I need help getting it restarted. It flashes a folder with a question mark in it what is wrong with it, any suggestions

You either need to run a disk repair program on the hard disk, or reinstall the OS on that drive. Both of there require a recovery partition or a Mac OS X install disk.
(69883)

When I boot up my I get a grey screen with a flashing folder with a question mark

I was trying to set up a bootable Linux flash drive for another computer using UNetbootin and I accidentally selected an empty partition on my hard drive instead of the USB I was trying to use. It went through the install process, and I didn't realize it was on my computer rather than the USB. The computer worked fine, so I thought nothing of it.
Today, I go to mess with my computer and it is frozen at the login screen. I restart it, and now I just get a blinking folder with a question mark. I try to go into recovery, but it isn't there. Internet Recovery works fine, but when I go to use Disk Utility or to reinstall the OS it cannot find the internal Hard Disk.
What am I supposed to do here? I don't want to lose all my data.

greenbil1
You can contact AppleCare to buy a replacement set of the oringinal Install discs for a nominal cost. You will need the serial number and a credit card to place the order.

When i boot i get a flashing folder with a question mark. disk utility doesnt work or read my harddrives to boot with. i installed a new SSD and its not reading that either. i have a macbook pro 2011, any help?

So I came to this problem a while ago. M ycomputer basically froze so I was forced to shut down by holding the button down. When I started it up I got the flashing folder with a question mark. I started it up holding down the command and r keys which brought me to disk utility. Although my computer doesn't read that I have a hard drive to start it up. When I click on the disk utility app, I cannot verify or repair anything either. The buttons won't allow me to click on them. It also shows "Mac OSX Base System" which shows I have files and what not saved. I had been told that I need a new hard drive so I bought and manually installed a OWC SSD 240GB drive and when i booted the computer up it booted up yo the operating system fine with all my files and what not on there. After about twenty minutes, it froze again. I forced a shut down, restarted and the same thing happened. I am not able to choose my SSD to boot up, although thats probably because it doesn't have an operating system installed on it??
i have a Macbook Pro 13" 2011
any help would be great, I'm overall confused.

ryansaint11,
this isn’t Apple support; this is a user-to-user forum. We’re just fellow users of Apple products here.
If you want to boot from your SSD, then you should put the SSD where your HDD currently is, and put the HDD into the optical bay. (That setup will also get you the best performance.) At the moment, you’re still booting from your HDD. Note that you will need to format your SSD in Disk Utility [with the “Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)” format] so that you can install OS X onto it.
Since you have an Early 2011 model, it might or might not have originally come with grey installation DVDs. You will be able to find out whether it did or not by trying to use OS X Internet Recovery to install OS X onto your SSD. If it does not work, or if the installed OS turns out to be Snow Leopard, then it will have originally come with the DVDs, and you should purchase a replacement pair of DVDs from Apple or iFixit; those discs will have your MacBook Pro’s Apple Hardware Test and its iLife apps. If the installed OS turns out to be Lion, then it will not originally have come with the grey installation DVDs, and your Apple Hardware Test will be installed along with Lion, and your iLife apps will be downloadable from the Mac App Store.

What does the icon of a folder with a question mark inside mean?

After an overnight power outage I tried to turn on my iMac this morning, but all I got was clicking sounds and a gray full screen with the icon of a folder with a question mark inside it, blinking. (There's no tool bar that appears anywhere). What does that mean?
I've tried unplugging the system and waiting a while before attempting another boot. Same screen.
I recently (a month ago) upgraded to Snow Leopard from my original OS X software. Never had this sort of a problem before.The iMac was purchased around 2005 or 2006. Intel Dual Core processor.
Thanks for any help on this.

Thanks, Paul, for the prompt reply.Obviously, your answer isn't what I wanted to hear, but feared. When I get home tonight I'll try finding the install disk and booting from that. Fortunately, I still have a MacBook Pro that is running fine. Incidentally, I have a Western Digital external Hard Drive that has very little, if anything on it. But since I can't open anything on the iMac, I guess I'll have to see if the install disk works before I try to figure out IF I can use that WD-External drive temporarily rather than replace the HD on the iMac. Any clues on what a replacement drive and labor runs for that sort of iMac repair?
j

I had to restart my iMac and when it came back on the screen shows a file folder with a question mark. What should I do?

I had to restart my iMac and when it came back on the screen shows a file folder with a question mark. What should I do?

Did you move any system files? It's looking for the system folder. You can startup from the system CD by inserting the CD and restarting the computer and at the same time hold down the C key. The computer will boot from the CD. At that point run the disk utility and check your hard-drive. It the problem persists then do a fresh clean install of the system folder and that should help you get back on track.
Good Luck.

HT4718 What do I do if I get a folder with a question mark?

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