I have a blank white screen with a flashing file folder
What do I do if I have a blank white screen with a flashing file folder?
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 hard drive data is somehow corrupted.
Put your install DVD into the 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 disk in the optical drive.
Once it has finished booting and you are at the Install screen launch Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Is your Hard Drive in the list on the left?
If it is then select the First Aid Tab run Repair Disk and 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.
Similar Messages
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My iMac is completely unresponsive. Whenever I restart it, it's just a white screen with a flashing file folder with a question mark in the middle. What does this mean?
this means the mac cannot find the startup disc. which more times than not means you need a hdd replacement.
try starting holding the option key, then using utilities try to repair the disc. -
Hi Everyone, I have tried all the solutions mentioned by apple and still have a white screen with a blinking file folder with a question mark in the center, anyone have any ideas or experienced this?
Nooo or you would use OS X Recovery Mode: Disk Utilty and then Startup Disk.
Mac OS X & Mountain Lion Community
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/os_x_mountain_lion?view=discussio ns
Recovery Mode
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
ExpressLane
https://expresslane.apple.com/
Mac OS X Help
http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/
Isolating Issues in Mac OS
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1388
https://www.apple.com/support/osx/
https://www.apple.com/support/quickassist/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/help/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/tour/
Get Help with your Product
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304725 -
My MacBookPro has a white screen with a grey file folder in the center of the screen with a white question mark blinking in it. What does this mean? And how can I get my computer back up and running normal?
Start up in Safe Mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14204?viewlocale=en_US
Repair Disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reset PRAM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14222 -
After what seems to be a normal upgrade to the new Mountain Lion OS X on my early 2008, 24" iMac. My iMac counted down to restart but did not turn all the way off. At the end of the count down the screen went white with a small file folder flashing on and off in the center of the screen. Also there is a ?, question mark in the miaale of the file folder. The screen responds to no keyboard or mouse commands. Request help.
My computer was doing the same as yours hinikuru but now there is a change. I turned my iMac off by the button on the back and left it off for about an hour. When I just turned it on the center Apple logo was back and soon the loading logo for the new Mountain Lion program came up. On the bottom of the logo there is a horizontal sliding bar that says the program will take 34 minutes to load. Time will tell. I have two iMacs and if this goes we'll I will install the new Mountain Lion tomorrow. Hinikuru, I was about to follow the information in one of the side bar blocks titled "More like this" on the right side of this screen when my iMac seemed to fix itself! Good luck. I think not all is lost.
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White screen with a flashing gray folder and question mark.
I usually have my laptop asleep. Yesterday, when I tried to wake it up, the little box where I usually type in my password didn't show up. I ignored it and shut it down, only to find that it wouldn't even start up later. All it did was show a flashing folder with a question mark. I've read other questions and answers that say the worst case scenario is a hard drive disk failure. What should I do? Is there anything that I can do about it on my own? Is the memory lost? If so, is it restorable? I have a Time Machine backup from around a month ago. Would that help?
That simply means that no bootable system could be found. At worst, the hard drive has died and will need to be replaced. However, it's also possible that the drive simply has become badly corrupt, and will be able to be repaired. Try repairing the hard drive with Disk Utility. If that doesn't work, you can try repairing it with something like DiskWarrior, or you can just erase the hard drive and reinstall everything from scratch. If you get it repaired and it still won't boot, try reinstalling the system.
You can certainly restore your system from the Time Machine backup, if that proves to be necessary, but you will lose anything less than a month old. -
Please help, other forum from 2011 didn't help. Can't get info because I can't log in.
See this Apple note, which applies to OS X 10.7 Lion as well. This Apple note applies to OS X 10.6 and earlier but provides a little more information. When they talk about booting from CD, that's a boot with command and r keys held down in OS X 10.7 Lion.
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My MacBook just has a white screen and a flashing file with a question mark. Please help:(
I don't really understand what's happening, but I tried to update the software. Then all these codes appeared on the screen so I help down alt, command and R and it then reset and now it's just a white screen with a flashing file and questionmark. Please help.
That is a sign that the MBA cannot locate the OSX. The storage drive may be damaged.
LaurenDavie123 wrote:
I help down alt, command and R and it then reset a
What exactly did your reset?
Ciao. -
15" MacbWhite screen with a blinking file folder icon with a question mark on it.
15" Macbook. When i power on all I get is white screen with a blinking file folder icon with a question mark on it.N
You may have a bad hard drive. The flashing folder with the ? indicates that the system cannot find your hard drive. Use the installation disc that came with your machine. Insert it into the disc drive and restart the machine holding down the "C" key . When the restart shows the Apple screen you can release the C keyWhen the installation screen appears, click on the utilities button. Does the left side of the disc utilities screen show your HD? If not, then your HD is bad or it could be a loose connection. ifixit.com has a good tutorial on how to replace the HF in the Macbook. Follow the instructions to remove your HD. Reinstall your HD and boot up your machine to see if it recognizes your HD. If it does't, you probably will need to replace your HD>
Is your machine still under warranty? If so, take it to your nearest Apple Store for repairs as the repairs will be covered under your warranty. If you bought AppleCare when you bought your computer your warranty is for three years. If you didn't buy the Apple Care, then your warranty is only good for one year from the date of purchase. -
I have tried to install Creative Cloud but I just get a blank white screen with a black Creative Cloud bar at the top. There are no options to choose 'Apps' etc. Can anyone help?
What happened yesterday may have been caused by the SOPA protest action that was joined by a lot of sites yesterday and such an action won't happen that often.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bypass_your_cache -
My Firefox is not working (All I get is a blank white screen with the firefox logo. If I have to reinstall Firefox 3.66, how can I transfer my old profile to the new installation?
== This happened ==
Every time Firefox openedDavid. Thank you very much. The problem was not with the canvas but rather the Viewer. But the solution was the same. Somehow, the Viewer window was re-set to Alpha. I changed it back to RGB.... and the picture is back. These issues are often very simple.... but they can drive you bats if you don't know the answer. Very grateful. Tim
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I Mac freeze: When powered on all I get is a blank white screen with the apple logo. No "beach ball" nothing more. Tried all the usual restarts. Help?
Tried all the usual restarts. Help?
Care to share?
Please detail ALL you have done so far in the way of troubleshooting? Need this info to avoid the been there done that scenarios.
===========
Your profile is a complete blank!!!!
When posting in Apple Communties/Forums/Message Boards.......It would help us to know which Mac model you have, which OS & version you're using, how much RAM, etc. You can have this info displayed on the bottom of every post by completing your system profile and filling in the information asked for.
CLICKY CLICK-----> Help us to help you on these forums
***This will help in providing you with the proper and/or correct solutions.*** -
When I export slideshows the result is a file with only the first picture then a blank white screen with music. Apple bug or am I missing the obvious?
Usually when the phone shows just the white Apple logo, it indicates an issue with the system software that prevents the phone from finishing it's boot sequence. When this happens, you will need to restore the phone, which removes all data and replaces the system software with a fresh set.
Since the phone is not seen in iTunes when it's in this state, you will have to put it into DFU mode for iTunes to see it.
To put the phone in DFU mode:
- make sure the phone is connected to a computer with the current version of iTunes on it.
- hold the sleep/wake button and the home button simultaneously for 8 seconds.
- let go of the sleep/wake button and continue pressing the home button. The iTunes screen will show a short progress bar then show a dialog box stating that an iPod was detected that is in recovery mode.
-click OK
-click the Restore button in the middle of the iTunes page
After the restore the phone should be back up and running and you can sync your data back. -
Each time i press the power button i just have a blank white screen, and intermittent sounds/tone. No apple logo, or spinning circle.
I used to install the rEFIt to boot with win7. When I deleted win7, I didn't uninstall rEFIt. Nothing wrong with it. One day after I watched movie in full screen,I pressed esc to quit. Then I found the touchpad didn't work. I can't turn off air. I just pressed power button for a little while. It rebooted, then my nightmare just began...
I have tried everything, PRAM, command+R, literally everything. No change.
But when I plug a CD-ROM with USB, I can only here one BONG, just once, then white screen, Like waiting for something...
I took it to a service center in China, they told me the CPU had broken. SInce it's one month out of warranty, they wanted to charge me for like $250....
I really don't think that's CPU's problem. I checked the history, it seems like somebody else also had the problem before.
Can anyone give me some hints??? Thanks!!!!!! Or I have to take it back to America to check....Impossible, there are zero, as in none, zip, nadda viruses for OS X. If you have viruses on it they are for MS Windows and will not affect OS X. I suspect the hard disk has crashed, if you have backup then it's not a big deal to have it changed, just take it into your local Apple Store or AASP for service. If you have not been backing it up you may be in for a painful lesson on why backup is critical.
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8820 BLANK WHITE SCREEN WITH NO HOURGLASS
Hi, i haven't used my 8820 for a while. When i turn it on today, it shows a blank white screen with no hourglass. I can still receive calls but still nothing in the Menu or the home screen shows. Please help me ASAP!
Hi LocPham and welcome to the BlackBerry Support Community Forums!
I would suggest performing a backup of your BlackBerry smartphone then reloading the software as shown in the article below:
KB11320 - How to perform a clean reload of the BlackBerry Device Software using BlackBerry Desktop M...
Thanks
-CptS
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