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

Similar Messages

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)

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 mac wont get passed the grey screen with the apple logo and the timing circle, please help

My macbook wont get passed the grey screen, I rebooted it, any suggestions?

Work your way throught this knowledge base article:
Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.7), 2.4GHz IntelCore i5 320 HD 8GB RAM

Mac will not load. Shows a screen with a question mark.

My macbook only loads to the screen where a question mark is displayed.
I've tried all the trouble shooting tips such as restarting while holding the command/option keys etc, removing the battery, etc. At the step where I try to do first aid on my hard disk, that will not work. "No valid package" displays as the error. It will not restore or erase either. The installation disk will load but not progress further. The computer can not read the hard drive anymore.
This happened after I left programs running and the computer went to sleep, when I came back it froze and I restarted but to only get this. Help?

I notice the first two replies you've gotten tell you to do things that you say you've already done. There's just no accounting for that kind of behavior -- it's very odd.
To answer your question, if Disk Utility cannot even erase the hard drive, you most likely have a hardware problem. A MacBook hard drive out to be able to report its SMART status, I would think, so try selecting the drive (not the partition, but the drive itself) in Disk Utility. At the bottom of the window there will be some info text -- what does the one labelled "S.M.A.R.T. Status" say? If it says "About to Fail" in red letters, that means you've definitely got hardware issues, and the drive itself needs to be replaced. If this machine is still under warranty, it ought to be fixed by Apple at no cost to you.
If the SMART status says "Verified", that means it's not a hardware issue, in which case it's puzzling why Disk Utility can't even erase it. In that case, I would advise trying a third-party disk utility, like TechTool Pro (http://www.micromat.com/). Perhaps then you could repair it to the point that Disk Utility could erase it. (And, if the damage is this bad, I'd definitely recommend erasing it and reinstalling everything from scratch.)

What to do with a grey screen with flashing question mark on start up

What does a flashing question mark on a blank screen mean web starting up?

Follow the procedures in this support article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Ciao.

So every time i start up my comp i get a white screen with a question mark on a file. It also makes the clicking sound that it makes when its thinking. what do i do?

i have tried rebooting with the command+option+p+r keys and that doesn't work
i have tried holding down the shift key and that doesn't work
i have tried inserting the cd that it came with but nothing happened
i have only had it for about a year
am i screwed?

If it is a Mid 2012 model it did not come with a CD or DVD. So I don't know what disc you are using but it certainly did not come with the system. Now if it is older the a 2011 model then those came with optical discs.
Try holding down the Coomand+r key yo boot to the Recovery HD partition. If that doesn't work hold down the Command+Option+r keys until you see a spinning globe in the center of the screen. From that you can use Disk Utility to check the internal hard drive.
But I suspect your drive might be failing or it is totally corrupted. If the system is less then a year old you are still inside the one year warranty period and if you are I suggest you take it to an Apple store to checked out and fixed under that warranty.
Also if the system is still within the one year warranty I suggest you buy the Applecare Extended warranty. You may need it.

I can't restart my mac , I get a file with a question mark? Help

Need help, what to do when I cannot restart my mac. I get a file with a question mark?

That indicates that your Mac is unable to find a system to boot from
This is usually caused be either a corrupt system file, corrupt ot dead disk drive
Allan

What does it mean when I see the file with the question mark on my screen?

What does it mean when I see a file with a question mark on the screen?

Means no bootable system can be found or required system files are missing or damaged. Reinstall OS X.
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.

What is the problem when I turn on my macbook and all I get is a picture of a file folder with a question mark in it?

First my Macbook is almost 5 yrs old and is probably on it's last leg. The other day it froze and was making some pretty loud clicking noises. I turned it off by holding down the power button and tried starting it up again. At that point the screen was just blue and the noise came back on. Then a file folder appeared in the middle of the screen with a question mark in it. Does this mean the hard drive crashed or something? We blew a hard drive once before (though it didn't happen like this) but I just wanted to check before I go to the store. If it's something that is bad then I may just be sending this one to the grave and replace it with an iPad. Any insight into this problem would be appreciated. Thanks.

That folder with the question mark icon means that the MacBook can't find the boot directory. That can either mean it can't find the hard drive or the Operating System data on the hard drive is somehow corrupted.
Put your install DVD into the optical drive (CD/DVD drive) and reboot. As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the "c" key on your keyboard (or the Option key until the Install Disk shows up). That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
When it does start up, you'll see a panel asking you to choose your language. Choose your language and press the Return key on your keyboard once. It will then present you with an Installation window. Completely ignore this window and click on Utilities in the top menu and scroll down to Disk Utility and click it. When it comes up is your Hard Drive in the list on the left?
If it is then click on the Mac OS partition of your hard drive in the left hand list. Then select the First Aid Tab and run Repair Disk. The Repair Disk button won't be available until you've clicked on the Mac OS partition on your hard drive. If that repairs any problems run it again until the green OK appears and then run Repair Permissions.
If your hard drive isn’t recognized in Disk Utility then your hard drive is probably dead.

Fix a Mac with flashing question mark folder?

My Mac is showing a flashing folder with a question mark in it when I start it up.
I've looked it up and most people say to reinstall it with the installation disk. Problem is, the Mac is a hand me down so I don't have the disk...
Is there any other way to fix it?

Press Option.
If you see the internal drive, click on it and then select it in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
If not, you'll need a different Mac OS X system to resolve it.
(114641)

Hi i am having a big trouble. MY mac wont start past the gray screen. I tried starting on safe boot, single user user mode , recovery mode. Everything it gets stuck on the gray screen i even tried reinstalling it , same thing what should i do?

MY mac wont start past the gray screen. I tried starting on safe boot, single user user mode , recovery mode. Everything it gets stuck on the gray screen i even tried reinstalling it , same thing what should i do? it lets me reinstall sometimes Sometimes.... it is weird.

orshikhfromsc,
boot from the Mac OS X Install DVD that originally came in the box with your MacBook Pro (by holding down the C key as it starts up). When the desktop appears, select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu and erase your internal disk. After it’s been erased, reformat it. After it’s been reformatted, exit Disk Utility and reïnstall the version of Mac OS X from that DVD onto your internal disk. After that version of Mac OS X has been reïnstalled, boot from your internal disk and run Software Update to get it up-to-date within that version; that should allow you to redownload and reïnstall Mavericks, if desired. If Mavericks is reïnstalled, run Software Update again to get it up to date.
If you no longer have the two grey installation DVDs, you can purchase a replacement set from either Apple or iFixit.

So my droid razor hd wont go pass the red droid start screen,just spins and spins

So my droid razor HD wont go pass the droid start up screen,it just spins, it does let me power it down by holding the volume down and power keys,but that's it

From your posting it's sounds as if you have a "Boot Looping" Droid problem. They can be the end of a phone's life but there is also some things you can try to save your phone . Give this a try and you may also need to have the OS re-flash.
First of all remove the battery from your phone or tablet, and wait for almost 2 to 3 minutes. What if your device does not have removable battery? Well, then you can power off it for almost 4 to 5 minutes.
Now you need to boot into Stock Recovery Mode by Pressing and Holding the Volume Up+Home+Power buttons at the same time for a few seconds until you see the Android System Recovery menu on your screen.
You’ll be using the Volume Up/Down to switch between different options and Power button to select your desire option.
Now select the Wipe data/Factory Reset option and confirm it.
Additionally, take also the following actions:
– Wipe cache partition
– Go to Advance and Wipe dalvick cache
Now Go back to the main Recovery menu and Select the option Reboot System Now to Reboot your phone.

Mac Pro wont book, getting folder with flashing question mark icon

I opened up Disk Utility but it only shows one of my two hard drives. I'm guessing it's toast. But before I go buy a new one, is there any value in going into an apple store and see what they can do?

I have the same problem with my brand new Mac Pro. from the start, upon bootup, i see a flashing folder with a question mark. I've already sent this Mac back for service. I believe the problem may have something to do with the airport card i had installed. something about the OS trying to find the wireless network...i'm not savy at this, by any means and hope we both resolve this issue. Do you an airport card installed?
I guess I'll be calling tech support again.
j

I have a problem with iphoto (have a mac book pro): the icon in the dock appears with a question mark, and the application is gone!!! Can someone tell what's going on? Yesterday I had the same problem with itunes

I have a problem with iphoto (have a mac book pro): the icon in the dock appears with a question mark, and the application is gone!!! Can someone tell what's going on? Yesterday I had the same problem with itunes: I downloaded the last version (it's free), but I cannot do the same with iphoto, and more important: I need to know what is happening!!! Please help me!

Applications should not disappear all by themselves.
If they are then that coud indicate serious problems with your hard drive.
Backup everything up as quickly as possible.
Using Disk Utility verify your system disk.
Allan

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

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for