IMac Intel 20" - Flahing grey question mark folder

I would appreciate any help with this one.
I have an iMac Intel 20" (EMC 2133) which froze on me about a week ago. I couldn't get any response and so decided to restart it via the power button. It powered up to the grey screen with the flashing question mark folder. I tried restarting it a few more times throughout the day and a couple of times managed to get it to boot up and log in. On those occasions I quickly copied my important documents onto a portable HDD before the iMac foze again. I also attempted to run disc utilites but it just froze up.
From the grey screen, I initially tried the following:
1. Inserting the install disc
- the iMac simply ejects any disc that is entered
2. Running the iMac in target mode on another mac
- Does not appear to exist
3. Running a portable disc drive in target mode with the install disc
- When starting the iMac holding alt, only the cursor appears
4. Resetting PRAM and SMC
The HDD was making clicks and squeals so I presumed this would be the problem and took it out to test it. I attempted to run this in target mode in my brother's caddy and it didn't appear. It also didn't appear in Disc Utilities. I then bought a new Seagate Barracuda 1Tb 7200.12 Hard Drive to replace it:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1tb-sgate-st31000528as-sata
This has now been installed and I am experiencing the exact same problem.
Does anyone know what could be causing this?
Could it be something to do with the logic board or the RAM?
It seems strange that the 1st HDD would pack up (make dying noises and fail to mount via the caddy) along with something else at the same time. It also seems unlikely that the new HDD could be faulty.

OK, I ran my iMac in target mode from my brother's computer (the one thing I'd not retried since installing the new HDD) and it found the new hard drive I installed OSX from there and its now fine.
However, when I went to insert my software installation discs they were 'auto-ejected'! So it does in fact look like the HDD and the Optical Drive both decide to die together (how thoughtful of them). So that was the problem after all.
Luckily I have a portable DVD drive so I'm at least up and running for now.
We got there in the end. Thanks for everyone's input I'll now look into fixing the optical drive!

Similar Messages

IMac won't boot - flashing question mark folder

Hi, I was having performance issues with my iMac, so after searching for a resolution, I followed some suggestions to reset the PRAM and SMC....after resetting the PRAM it will not boot up at all! The startup sound chimes, then a blank grey screen briefly before a flashing question mark folder appears. Nothing happens..... I have the install cd, but there is a CD in the drive and I can't get it out. Help!!
Thanks in advance....
Andrea

HI Andrea,
To get the disk to eject, start the iMac while holding down the mouse button.
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Try booting while holding down the Option key.
Carolyn

IMac will not boot - flashing question mark folder

Hi Everyone,
This evening I did the update for Xcode on my iMac (purchased in 2012, new one with no DVD drive). I attempted to restart the iMac and the folder with the question mark inside it started flashing and would not stop.
I have launced Internet Recovery with Disk Utility and verified the disk, and the result was "The disk appears to be OK", (this filled me with hope...). I selected the Startup Disk and I got the same result. I removed all the external peripherals and that did not solve the problem. I don't have a Time Machine backup of this Mac as it failed every time I tried to run it to my NAS drive. I have all of my iPhone app work on this iMac and don't really want to wipe my HDD. I have tried everything I can see that the forums and Google suggest... does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks in advance
Ed
P.S. Disk Utility showed all available space as over 400 gigabytes... so I am pretty certain that it is not a disk space error.

If you have a USB full installer, then you can boot from it by holding the alt key at startup and selecting the usb. Once it loads, you'll be presented with a menu allowing you to select (reinstall the OS). This will then allow you to select (Macintosh HD). It will reinstall the OS without prompting you to run setup assistent or anything like that. You'll just reboot into the login screen.
You're on OS 10.8.5. You'll need a full copy of 10.8.5 (it's almost 5GB) restored to a 8GB usb.
You can do internet recovery. It's like having a full installer but the files are downloaded from the internet. When you used internet recovery to check your disk, there should have been an option to reinstall the OS as well. It is doing the same thing via the internet that I described using a USB.

TS2570 i have an intel imac and im getting a grey sceen. I get the flashing question mark folder. iv changed the H.D 2x and tired to install a new os into it but no luck. The mac isnt going into safe mode or anything. help?

Intel imac 2009. Grey screen with question mark folder. Changed harddrives 3 times now. Tired 5 keyboards on all Usb ports and a hub and keyboard wont boot to startup or safemode of anything but hub gets power. disc drive wont eject or accept a disc cuz keyboard commands not being sent to computer. Help?

Keyboards must be connected directly to the USB port, not through a hub.
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
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 the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.

I have installed new hard drive to iMac intel 2007 model and all I get on the screen is a grey question mark, tried system disk and now that's stuck in drive and just spinning around, any help please

Sorry put all question on subject line. As I said fitted new hard drive, but all I get is a folder with a flashing grey question mark. Tried system disk but that is now just spinning around in DVD drive and I can't get it out. Any help with these problems would help

Sounds like the new drive is not being recognized. Could be it's a SATA3 drive with a 6Gb/s transfer rate and needs to be jumpered down to 3. But if the 2007 is 1.5, it may not work at all, even if jumpered down. Other possibility is a not properly secured cable or a cable that's come loose from the logic board.
What is the model of the 2007 Mac? What's the new drive? Did you do the installation or was it done by a shop?
You can find your model here. Look next to Standard Hard Drive:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/index-imac.html
Message was edited by: WZZZ

Flashing question mark folder, 3 times this week on my imac : (

My intel based 3.06 GHz imac this week is showing a flashing question mark folder. A friend says is that the hard drive is toast but well twice it was solved quickly. First time on monday I did commandoption+pr to reset NVRAM and it worked. Second time yesterday i pressed option during startup and i selected my mac os x volume. But well today nothing works : (
This flashing question mark is constantly showing up. any ideas how to force my imac to select the hard drive mac os x as the startup disk?
this doesnt work:
1. pressing option to select startup disk as i did yesterday.
2. when trying to boot from mac os x install disc pressing c during startup the imac ejects the dvd.
3. trying to start up in safe boot mode (pressing shift), verbose mode or single user mode all fails, just the flashing annoying question mark folder again.
I was reading that i could use ubuntu live-cd to transfer my data from ubuntu to an external hard drive. I downloaded, burned and then it does shows the ubuntu cd to install ubuntu (the mac os x install disc is ejected but the ubuntu cd works), but i really dont want to install ubuntu X_X I just want my imac back without installing any linux stuff.
I can do target mode with my other macs but the imac hd doesn't show up in the other macs, any way to force the HD to show via target mode in the other macs?
Any ideas? I guess my disk is failing and thats why i have been receiving these question mark folders 3 times this week.
Message was edited by: AppleSensei

if someone has the same issue, i just want to notice i solved it using ubuntu -linux- and transferring the files to an external hard drive from ubuntu, reinstalling mac os x again. When i did target mode with another mac the hard drive didnt appear in finder, but with ubuntu all worked great, i saw my files and then problem solved, i saved my data ; )
I did found annoying using ubuntu to solve this issue with my mac, but well i learnt something new, linux can also be useful when you don't want your data to be deleted as customer support told me they were going to do if i sent my mac.
Message was edited by: AppleSensei

IMac with flashing Question-Mark Folder

I've read all of the help on the flashing Question-Mark Folder. Nothing has helped. In fact, Disk Utility only finds 'Disk 0' with the base OS X operating system. All of the disk utility buttons are grayed out and at the top on the left of is 'Media' (not disk drive - not formatted?). When I try to recover from the internet and re-install OSX Maverick, it can't find a disk to install on. Does anyone know what happened and can this be fixed?

Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by one or more of these:
Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Note that the information I have provided is what Apple recommends, If other users suggest different solutions than found here, then be sure what they recommend does not impact on your warranty, if any, or ability to get continuing Apple service.
Please don't start removing drives or changing cables unless you know what you are doing and have exhausted other non-invasive alternatives outlined here. If you perform any work yourself that is unapproved by Apple, then you will void any warranty you may have and lose all further Apple Support.
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.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD. Simply boot from the Recovery HD to perform the above.
Reinstall Snow Leopard 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.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. 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 main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Booting problem - first question mark folder and now grey screen

Hi all,
I'm having problems with my Macbook booting.
Yesterday it worked fine until I tried to open an old Excel file, then all became extremely slow, but anyway I was able to shut it down properly, or at least this was what I thought.
The next time I tried to turn it on, a flashing question mark forder appeared instead of the apple. Then I tried various solutions I've found in forums, like turning on while holding down shift button like in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455 (nothing happens), the option botton (the cursor appears, but bootcamp does not start), and command+V for verbose mode (nothing).
Anyway now if I turn it on nothing appears, neither the question mark folder, just the grey screen.
I know that everything suggests that my HD is dead, but I don't really see the reason why it should have done so...
Thank you for your help.
Giulia

Hello,
"*a flashing question mark forder appeared instead of the apple."*
A flashing question mark can mean several things. One, the hard disk disk is failing. Two, it means that when you boot your MacBook, it can't find a System Folder to boot from.
Try booting while holding down the Option key. That should prompt the Startup Manager window so you can select your startup disc.
If that doesn't work... grab your install disk and check the hard drive for errors.
Insert the installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger and later) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
Select your start up disk and click Restart
The fact that you can't boot in Safe Mode (shift key) is not a good sign...
*"but I don't really see the reason why it should have done so..."*
How long have you had your MacBook? Do you have AppleCare?
Carolyn

Grey screen, question mark folder flashing.

I have G4 powerbook with a grey screen and question mark folder flashing. I also have the Leopard dvd stuck in the slot. I tried the eject, and holding down mouse unsuccessfuly ejecting dvd. Any suggestions.

The flashing question mark means the system can't find anything to boot from. See this on the gray screen.

Recently securely erased imac, boots up to question mark folder.

So i securely wiped my partitions lastnight, and when it was done it created a new partition called "untitled" so i thought that was ok and i could change it later. guess not. because i stupidly shut off my computer and turned it back on, it went to the question mark folder flashing. so i turned it off again and tried CMD SHIFT R. didnt work. i dont know what to do and i dont have a recovery DVD for Mavericks

First of all, hold the Option (Alt) key while your computer is starting, and if you see Recovery HD, choose it. Then, reinstall OS X Mavericks.
If it doesn't work, hold Command, Option (Alt) and R keys while your Mac is starting up and reinstall OS X. If you installed Lion or Mountain Lion in the past, the oldest OS X version will be installed instead of Mavericks, so you may have to upgrade Mac OS X

Question mark folder at startup, safe boot not working

Last night my iMac froze up, Force Quit didn't work, and I used the Power button to shut it off. When trying to restart, it was getting stuck at the grey Apple.
I tried unplugging the peripherals and restarting; zapping the PRAM and restarting; safe boot and restarting. Safe boot did it.
I then ended up going through those steps a few more times as my iMac starting freezing up again. One of those times I changed all my applications in the dock that were set to launch at login to not do so, wondering if that was somehow causing a problem. I also took a folder of recent items I'd created, mostly a LOT of PDFs of newspaper articles, burned it to a DVD and deleted the folder to free up more memory if that was part of the problem (I'm running out). I then restarted from the Apple menu and it shut down through safe boot and then restarted without safe boot and did so just fine. I ran Disk Utility and very few if any permissions needed repairing. And it was operating OK for a bit and then froze up again.
Now I'm getting the question mark folder at startup and safe boot isn't working. What should I be trying next? Lion Recovery with Command-R? I'm relatively new to Lion, but it had been working OK for me for a while now.
What other things should I try? Would Target Disk mode possibly work from the MacBook I'm using now, which doesn't have Lion installed?

The question mark folder usually means that the
firmware could either not find a valid operating
system to boot, or, it could not find a hard disk
with an operating system on it.
Have you tried booting to Lion Recovery? If
you can, then go into Disk Utility and do a
Repair Disk on your OSX volume. If the
OSX volume is not showing up, you may need
to do a reformat and re-install.
Since it is a 24" iMac (from your description) it was
a pre-Lion Mac. If you still have the original install
disks, try booting with it and use Disk Utility from it
to see if the hard drive is working.
Try this first before making a road trip.

HT201250 Flashing question mark folder

When I turn on my mac book a grey screen appears with a flashing question mark folder.
If I hold down the option key when I turn it on I get place my wifi password in and click on an arrow for Internet recovery.
Once the Internet recovery completes which took about 3 minutes I am then given the option to select my language the taken to the Mac OS X Utilities. There are 4 options:
1. Restore from time machine back up
2.reinstall Mac OS X
3.get help online
4.disk utility
Mac book pro information
Intel core i5
Mac OS X 10.7.5
Hoping someone can help and lead me in the right direction to fixing this!!!
Thank you

First of all, do you have backup of all your data? If not you may want to stop any troubleshooting until you have got that covered for fear of making the situation worse.
Assuming you do have backup, from your first post, where you started in Recovery mode, did you run Disk Utility (option 4) to see if it could discover/fix any problems? If not, open Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD on the left and click on 'repair disk'. If anything gets changed/fixed/altered, click on repair disk again until you get a 'clean pass' and then restart as normal from the Apple menu.

White screen, question mark folder flashing

Okay, yes I know there are tons of forms on this, but I haven't been able to get much from them.
My boyfriend has an iMac, one of the original ones. It hasn't been used for a while, so we aren't sure which OS X it is running.
The mac boots up, but comes up to the wonderful white screen with the flashing question mark folder.
We don't have the install disk, and cannot purchase one.
I've removed, cleaned and reinstalled the RAM. I've tried unplugging, holding power for 5 - 10 seconds & restarting, also restarting using CMD/OPT/P/R. All of which haven't gotten me anywhere.
I've read up a bit, being the possibilty the hard drive and screen aren't connected, I've considered taking it apart, but I'd like to save that bit of work for last resort.
I'm currently reading the option of downloading the OS X version it needs and using a USB or external hard drive. Now don't get me wrong, I'm pretty good with computers, but Mac's are out of my realm, so I need some help with this.
I had a standard "LaCie" external hard drive, and my windows 8 PC.
I'm not sure if the Mac runs PPC or Intel (is there any way to tell, not being able to use the computer?)
What OS X version would I download, doesn't have to be the newest, but the newest version that would be compatiable with both Intel and PPC?
What commands would I use to access and begin the install from the external hard drive?
If anyone can assist with those questions, would be very greatful.
Or if you have any other ideas that might work, I'm open for trying just about anything.
** We do not have an apple store, or authorized seller within a minimum 6 hour drive, so that's out of the question.
** I'm only looking for options of things that I can try. If I run out of options we will be sending it away. I want to try what I can before we get into the costly expenses.

It is hard to make any suggestions without knowing what model the iMac is..?
Look on the bottom of the stand for the EMC and/or serial #.........
see > Where can I locate the EMC Number on my Mac @ EveryMac.com
I'm not sure if this helps, but all Early 2006 thru 2009 Intel iMac models can use the $20 retail Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD for the purpose of upgrading, testing, repairing, and installing OS X if your original install disc's are missing.
No, your windows formatted LaCie external Hard Drivel will not help you in any way at this point.
Another thing that you might try is the > Apple Hardware Test, because the test resides on the internal hard drive of the early models.

Question Mark folder icon on startup

Hello - When I startup I'm getting the Question Mark folder icon. I can't get past this to do anything else at all.
A little background, Three days I got the Spinning Beachball couldn't do anything and Cmd-Opt-Esc did nothing; I had to use the power button to turn off. Restarted and all was fine. But then it happened again. And each time the "PC Connection" light on my cable modem was not lit. Last night I left the machine to sleep on its own but it would not wake up this morning. I held the power button and nothing happened; held it again and it started up but just displayed the Question Mark. (TimeWarnerCable recently upgraded their speed this week but that wouldn't cause this would it?)
Please help!
You should see below that I'm still on Tiger; my iMac is about four and a half years old.

Okay, so got home and checked the mouse and keyboard, un and re plugged them in; unplugged the GarageBand controller I had connected and my printer, which has been troublesome lately. Started up and... fine, no problem. Now I just have to hope it doesn't happen again.
I will be updating shortly to Lion (after first updating to SnowLeopard). But if their is a hard disk problem that wouldn't help, would it?
Here's the quite lengthy error report that appeared after I started up and logged in. Perhaps someone can decipher it?
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001A49CB): Unresolved kernel trap (CPU 0, Type 14=page fault), registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x00000000, CR3: 0x00fa1000, CR4: 0x000006e0
EAX: 0x00000000, EBX: 0x039b1500, ECX: 0x00000000, EDX: 0x00000000
CR2: 0x00000000, EBP: 0x25133ef8, ESI: 0x039b1500, EDI: 0x00000000
EFL: 0x00010246, EIP: 0x00848ca6, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x00000010
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x25133ce8 : 0x128d0d (0x3cc65c 0x25133d0c 0x131f95 0x0)
0x25133d28 : 0x1a49cb (0x3d2a94 0x0 0xe 0x3d22b8)
0x25133e38 : 0x19b3a4 (0x25133e50 0x39c6ef0 0x25133e98 0x13597b)
0x25133ef8 : 0x9064e1 (0x39b1500 0x297 0x25133f28 0x907564)
0x25133f28 : 0x909e92 (0x39c0b00 0x39c0ba4 0xaa 0x0)
0x25133f58 : 0x90a268 (0x39c0b00 0x0 0x25133f78 0x19e23a)
0x25133f78 : 0x13d989 (0x39c0b00 0x0 0x19e23a 0x385df5c)
0x25133fc8 : 0x19b21c (0x0 0x0 0x19e0b5 0x385f3b4) Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0x0
      Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
         com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage(1.0.7)@0x905000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily(1.5.1)@0x51b000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily(1.0.3)@0x845000
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.11.1: Wed Oct 10 18:23:28 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.25.20~1/RELEASE_I386
Model: iMac7,1, BootROM IM71.007A.B03, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz, 2 GB
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro, ATI,RadeonHD2600, PCIe, 256 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 1 GB, DDR2 SDRAM, 667 MHz
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM1, 1 GB, DDR2 SDRAM, 667 MHz
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x88), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (4.170.46.9)
Bluetooth: Version 1.9.5f4, 2 service, 0 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Built-in Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
Serial ATA Device: WDC WD3200AAJS-40RYA0, 298.09 GB
Parallel ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-85J
USB Device: Built-in iSight, Apple Inc., Up to 480 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Keyboard Hub, Apple, Inc., Up to 480 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Apple Optical USB Mouse, Primax Electronics, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA
USB Device: Apple Keyboard, Apple, Inc, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA
USB Device: IR Receiver, Apple Computer, Inc., Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, Apple, Inc., Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA

I get a question mark folder upon start up

My Mac has been freezing up lately, now at start up I just get a grey screen with a question mark folder. Anyone have any suggestion?

Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by one or more of these:
Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Note that the information I have provided is what Apple recommends, If other users suggest different solutions than found here, then be sure what they recommend does not impact on your warranty, if any, or ability to get continuing Apple service.
Please don't start removing drives or changing cables unless you know what you are doing and have exhausted other non-invasive alternatives outlined here. If you perform any work yourself that is unapproved by Apple, then you will void any warranty you may have and lose all further Apple Support.
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.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD. Simply boot from the Recovery HD to perform the above.
Reinstall Snow Leopard 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.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. 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 main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

IMac Intel 20" - Flahing grey question mark folder

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