I get the flashing folder on booting my MacBook, but only if it is not connected to a power source.
I have an early 2008 white MacBook, running Snow Leopard. A few months ago the hard disk died, and I replaced it. Now when I turn it on (or even wake it from sleep) I get the grey screen with the flashing folder/question mark. However, when it is connected to a power source, this doesn't happen. (this is not dependent on battery as when unplugged, it doesn't start even if the battery is full)
I was hoping for advice on what the problem might be, and how I can sort it to use without being plugged in.
Thanks
Once a Mac becomes 4 years old, the PRAM chip's capacitor or battery is likely to go. This is separate from the battery to affects it on the power lines. Hopefully yours is a battery, since the capacitor is on the logicboard for those that have a capacitor, and are harder to replace.
Similar Messages
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On a macbook I purchased secondhand hard drive got corrupted and I started to get the flashing folder with the question mark, I purchased a new hard drive and snow lion install DVD I installed the hard drive and tried disc but kept getting blinking folder
Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We're users here and do not speak for "Apple Inc."
Power on the computer and insert the DVD immediately.
Hold down the 'C' key to boot from the Snow Leopard DVD.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1533
After selecting the appropriate language, if necessary, select Utilities, and Disk Utility.
You'll likely need to partition and format the new drive before it's recognized.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA161/en_US/MacBook_13inch_HardDrive_DIY .pdf
(Yes, these instructions ARE 7 years old, but the procedure is the same for installing from DVD media.) -
I frequently get the messages "windows couldn't sign you out" (I am signed out) ,"not connected to in the internet" with prompts to sign in again (I don't) and "you're currently working offline", with a prompt to connect to my own locked wireless. None of these statements are true and I ignore the prompts (although my husband did re-sign on to our router once). I find that if I unplug the phone line and then plug it in again, it works. Strange. Is someone trying to get my password?
== This happened ==
A few times a week
== when we had internet installed by comcastTry Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
Read this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4008 -
After the last Firefox update to Firefox 19.0.2, I got the error message "Couldn't load XPCOM" when i attempted to open my Netflix Desktop App, I did not get that error message when starting Firefox only when trying to open Netflix. I thought it had something to do with Netflix so I removed it then reinstalled but the error message continued. I searched and asked questions to no avail. I did a command line search: "locate /xpcom" It came up with a list of files relating to xpcom, only one refering to Firefox itself and they all ended with xpcom.dll. When i did a search in the File folder I found this:
usr/lib/firefox/libxpcom.so .
One of the people trying to help told me this:
"The error is caused by the lack of the path "/usr/lib" in the environment variable LD_LIBRARY_PATH
Solution
Add the /usr/lib path to the environment variable in this way:
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
I was informed to do the following:
"Get to a command line prompt (CLP) and use gedit to add that line to your .bashrc file:
your.account> gedit .bashrc
when you're done, just save and exit. Log out and back in, and from then on whenever you log in, it will be in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH for you. You might also want to copy .bashrc to some sort of saved version; I use bashrc.sav."
No change.
I have done a reinstallation of Firefox and numerous reinstallation of Netflix all with no change.
Is there a chance that a complete removal of Firefox followed by a reinstallation correct the problem? i don't want to do that unless it is the only solution.
OddsbodkinHello Oddsbodkin,
It looks like the creator of Netflix Desktop has a site for the project here:
https://answers.launchpad.net/netflix-desktop/
I would try posting your question there and see if anyone else has encountered this error and has a solution.
Cheers, Patrick -
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. -
I have also held doen the "control" key and nothing happens. The reason I am replacing the hard drive is because the previous hard drive gave me the same flashing folder and wouldn't open up to disc utility when I put in the tiger install disc. I am more of a windows guy and don't know much about mac's.
I have done both. When I hold down the "C" key it pauses for a few seconds while the cd spins and then the flashing folder icon appears.
Could be you have the wrong cd/dvd. The mac will only boot a supported cd/dvd for your machine. The flashing question mark indicdates your machine could not find a valid os.
When I hold down the "option" key for the startup manager the cursor comes up and moves but the actually manager doesn't come up no matter how long I leave the laptop on.
Not sure. Could be your machine does not support the startup manager. You would think the machine would ignore the key.
Where did you get the dvd? What is the number on the DVD?
What machine do you have anyway?
This site provides more information, but lacks security.
"A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
or
This site provides more information, but lacks security too.
"A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
( hint by K Shaffer ) -
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 ? -
Many Problems: Flashing Folder at Boot and Can't get drives to boot dvds
another flashing folder post....i've looked thru many of them but can't seem to find a fix for my problem.
I just got a powerbook g4 15" 1.25ghz from a friend. it didn't have the factory discs but i had a copy of 10.4.6 from an old ebay purchase. i tried to load it (holding down c at start) i get a blank grey screen for a sec or 2 then it goes to the flashing folder (face finder/question mark). i thought maybe the disc was bad since its been scratched a few times so a friend made me a copy of some old 10.2 cds and they do the same thing.
So i thought maybe it was the superdrive so i hooked up my external dvd drive via firewire 400. i tried the cmd/opt/shift/del to boot from firewire and got nothing and then used the startup manager and never got it to bring up either disc from the superdrive or the external drive.
So i don't know what the problem could be..
Any help is GREATLY appreciated.just found this out...i need the actual powerbook install cds...haha oops...well suse is installing fine on it now
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Startup problem - iMac won't boot up, I keep getting the flashing ? mark
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone can help me. I have just restarted my iMac as it was running really really slow. Since doing this it won't now boot up. Eventually I get the flashing question mark and folder icon. I have tried restarting holding down Alt and it brings me to a menu but no hard drive showing to point it in the right directions. Resetting the PRAM doesn't seem to do anything either.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks, ArchieAHi, Archie. Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Disk Utility is found in the Utilities menu in OS X 10.4.
Here are links to a couple of articles on recovering from the flashing question mark:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042
http://www.bombich.com/mactips/openfirmware.html
If nothing there helps, you may want to ccsgraphic's suggestion to post in the iMac forum or the OS X Tiger forum. -
I want to do a data recovery of my 15" MBP that has the flashing folder w/ ? mark in it, to an iMac 21.4"; how can i go about that?
DJSMACC wrote:
How do I go about removing the internal drive and mount it to an external enclosure @Linc Davis??? Sorry that I'm not too hip with all the technology lingo & etc?
You'll have to watch the video and buy a few tools to extract the driive.
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/
Then use something like this to connect to the other Mac or PC with MacDrive installed.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U3NVSPATA/
You also can get the same adapter elsewhere online for as low as $12 I've seen.
Likely it's a USB 2,1 which your Mac's can only accept USB 2,1 anyway, no need to pay more for a USB 3 unless you want too.
No compensation for site or product mention
You likely should be having a professional or Apple tech attempt to bypass the firmware password if you forgot it, it's the best way to go about things.
Just because the Mac has a spinning wheel gray screen at boot doesn't mean it's ruined, you just need to bypass the firmware password and then from there fix the machine's cause for not booting, which is likely a software issue from a third party kernel extension file.
Step by Step to fix your Mac
You should know that opening the iMac could likely ruin it and will ruin any warranty or AppleCare, and if it's a Early 2011 model or later you can't replace the hard drive yourself as Apple has proprietary software installed on the drive that needs to "talk" to OS X to control the fans speeds.
Good Luck. -
When I start my Mac air I get a flashing folder with a question mark
I am trying to start my Mac air and I get a flashing folder with a question mark. When I turn the power of it shuts down but wen starting it comes back
Just being clear about your situation. When you hold down Option during boot it does not show a system volume or a recovery volume from which to boot. At that point if you select a network boot and you do not see a spinning globe that persists there a good while as it loads the recovery partition over the network. True?
A couple of more thinks to try:
Disconnect all of your external devices.
Reset PRAM
Boot with the option key again.
Standard things to try (which is sounds like you already have attempted) A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac -
How to get the enclosing folder of an Application?
Ok. re-visiting my Applescript to compare installed apps versus a list of predefined apps... here is my test code so far:
set appsPath to (path to applications folder)
tell application "Finder"
set appList to name of every application file of entire contents of folder appsPath
end tell
set theApps to {"iMovie.app", "Microsoft Excel", "Microsoft Excel.app", "Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional.app", "Adobe After Effects CS4.app", "ColorEyes Display Pro.app", "Corel Painter X.app", "DiskTracker 2.3.2", "EPSON Scan.app", "Flash 8.app", "Product Ingest.app", "Product Tag.app", "Art Ingest.app", "TextWrangler.app", "Toast Titanium.app", "Suitcase Fusion 2.app", "Suitcase Fusion 3.app", "Fetch.app"}
repeat with anApp in theApps
set vers to version of (application anApp)
-- get parent path of anApp!!!!
if (parentFolder is equal to "Applications" or parentFolder is equal to "Utilities") then
set parentFolder to ""
end if
display alert anApp & ": Version: " & vers & " " & parentFolder
end repeat
The only thing I'm stuck on is how to get the parent folder of anApp. Basically we use several versions of software here that are not easily identifiable by the version attribute. However their enclosing folder has all the versioning info I need (e.g.: MS Excel 04's vers would be 110113, but the enclosing folder is "Microsoft Office 2004", and some departments get Office 2008, Office 2011, etc., so I need a human-friendly way to get the right versions)
I don't know if the "if" statement to check whether the parent is Applications or Utilities is correct as I haven't gotten that far in testing. I'm only interested in getting the parent of apps that have parent folder that is a sub-folder of Applications or Utilities.
Basically what I am trying to do here is write a text file containing all departmental apps, homefolder sizes, relevant partition sizes, etc. and spit it out at the tech responsible for migrating a user to a new mac (display alert is just convenient for testing purposes). In the past we've had too many "missed" items in QC like wrong apps installed, or wrong versions, or data not copied over properly, etc. So this way they can run this on the old system beforehand and the new system after, line everything up and check off if it matches. This is just a snippet...
TIA!
AndrewHi,
Andrew Caldwell wrote:
Is there a way to invoke these without the script opening each one?
You must use the bundle identifier instead of the name
Here a example :
set theApps to {"com.microsoft.excel", "com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro", "com.barebones.textwrangler", "com.roxio.Toast", "com.fetchsoftworks.Fetch"}
repeat with anApp in theApps
tell application "Finder" to tell (application file id anApp)
set vers to version
set parentFolder to name of its container
end tell
if parentFolder is in {"Applications", "Utilities"} then set parentFolder to ""
display alert anApp & ": Version: " & vers & " " & parentFolder
end repeat -
I have the 10.7.4 and I cannot get the Flash Player ,, please help me.
I have the 10.7.4 and I cannot get the Flash Player ,, please help me.
If you downloaded it, it's likely in your Downloads folder as a Disk Image .dmg. Just open it and intall Flash player and restart your browser. Everything should work.
Clinton -
MacBook Pro gets a flashing folder with a question mark
I start up my computer and I get this flashing folder with a question mark. I looked up on here how to fix it but I get lost when I get to the disk utility part. All that shows up is something called disk0 and below it it says Mac OS X Base System. I click on it but the repair disk button is greyed out. What do I do? Please help!
The MBP cannot find the OSX. It may be a HDD or HDD connection problem.
Start your MBP with the OPTION key down. Select the recovery partition. From the 4 option menu select Disk Utility.
Select Disk Utility>First Aid and run Verify and Repair.
If successful, you should be back in business. If not, the HDD may be faulty.
Ciao. -
HT1803 i have the flashing folder when i start up my power book, i have no idea how to fix it
i have the flashing folder when i start up my power book, i have no idea how to fix it
Hi morales2k,
Here is a link for a relatively cheap OS that would be compatible with your Mac. Its a little old but will get you back on track. This is OS X 10.3
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-10-3-Panther-OLD-VERSION/dp/B0000E6NK9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=U TF8&qid=1384575314&sr=8-1&keywords=os+x+10.3
This is a newer version of OS X (10.4 Tiger). Its more expensive, but will get more updates than Panther...
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Mac-10-4-Tiger-VERSION/dp/B0002G71T0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=U TF8&qid=1384575391&sr=8-1&keywords=os+x+10.4
This is the highest OS that the PowerBook can run, and is more expensive. The biggest advantage of this OS (Leopard) is that it will get the most updates available for PowerPc Macs...
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Version-10-5-6-Leopard-VERSION/dp/B000FK88JK/ref=sr_ 1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384575583&sr=8-3&keywords=os+x+10.5
Any of these will get your Mac back to normal operation. Just insert the CD/DVD and follow the on screen instructions!
Good Luck!
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