IMac won't boot and has flashing folder with question mark on gray screen

I just bought a new iMac. I have been trying all week (with no success) to transfer files and apps from my previous iMac. The last time I tried to transfer, I used target mode on the old computer. It looked as if it was finally working, so I left with 2+ hours remaining on the transfer. When I returned, the computer was frozen and nothing would work. So I held the power button to turn it off. When I tried to turn it back on, there was only a gray screen with a flashing folder with a question mark. I feel like I have tried everything listed in other discussions. The only thing I am not able to try is to reinstall Lion because the new computer did NOT come with an OSX disc of any type. Any suggestions?

Go to > OS X Lion: About Lion Recovery

Similar Messages

  • Blinking Folder with Question Mark on Gray Screen

    So I purchased my MacBook Pro this past August. It was completely find until today. I opened my laptop and the mouse wasn't showing up so I let it wait for a while, but since it wasn't working, I powered down my laptop, but when I turned it back on, there was a gray screen with a question mark in a blinking folder. I've tried the holding "Ctrl" and "R" but it makes me select a network and when I do, the globe stops spinning and it says apple.com/support. I've tried holding "Ctrl" "option" "p" and "r" but that just made my screen white, not gray. Is there any way I can save the work I have on my computer?

    There's something wrong with your hard drive, I would think. Try booting into your Recovery partition by holding down the command (not the control) and R keys whilst booting. Once there, first select Disk Utility and repair permissions. Then try verifying your hard drive and if you get red text saying that problems were found and that your disk needs to be repaired, try repairing the disk.
    Call back after you've attempted this,
    Clinton

  • Flashing folder with question mark comes up at startup?

    it was working fine 3 days ago i try start it up and a Flashing folder with question mark.
    It has mountain lion i try to boot to recovery Part but when i hold the Option key nonthing show up.
    If some can tell me what else i can.

    restart holding command R  if it can not find a Recovery partition it will do a Internet Recovery.
    Run diskUtility "repair disk" from the recovery.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

  • My iMac won't boot up fully. It stays stuck in the gray screen with the pinwheel spinning, then after about 5 minutes just shuts itself off.

    My iMac won't boot up fully. It stays stuck in the gray screen with the pinwheel spinning, then after about 5 minutes just shuts itself off.

    Try SMC Reset (unplug it from the back of the computer for 10 seconds then plug it back. in)
    Try PRAM Reset Cmd + OPtion + P + R on start up.
    Try safe boot - hold down shift on start up.
    Try booting to install dvd (C on start up) or recovery hd (CMD + R) and using disk utility to run a verify and repair. If you still can't boot after that reinstall the operating system. If you can't find the disc or it wont boot to the disc.
    Try single mode which is cmd+S on start up. It will open with a terminal looking window in the terminal. type in /sbin/fsck -TL. If it returns *system has been modified* continue to type that command in until it comes back with macintosh hd seems to be ok. If after 5 tries it still gives you system has been modified. You may have to replace the hard drive.

  • I installed the window 7 os in to my mac book pro. after that the partition is not supported and then the folder with question mark flashing on my screen. plaese helf me what to do next to resume the mac os x?

    i installed the window 7 ultimate OS in to my mac book pro. after that the partition is not supported and then the folder with question mark flashing on my screen. plaese helf me what to do next to resume mac mac os x?

    Assuming that you tried to install Win 7 in bootcamp.
    Power on the machine and press and hold the "option" key when you hear the bong sound.
    Select the Macintosh HD icon and press "return" or just click on the icon.
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  • Installed new hard drive in imac and i get folder with question mark, put in OS install disk and it does nothing? All I have is wireless key board and mouse, is this a factor?

    Installed new hard drive in imac and i get folder with question mark, put in OS install disk and it does nothing? All I have is wireless key board and mouse, is this an issue?

    Other than put disc in you don't give much info about what you've done. With the install disc inserted restart your Mac while holding the C key, that should start it up from the install disc. Should also work fine with a wireless Apple keyboard.

  • HT1366 How to fix Flashing Folder with Question Mark on Mac

    How to fix Flashing Folder with Question Mark on Mac

    RichardEL is probably correct.  I’ll go through your questions.
    > there is no Mac OS partition, I assume it would be directly underneath the HD on the left?
    I have not seen this particular condition where the hardware disk icon appears but the system volume that is supposed to be below it does not.  The System Disk partition would be below the HD icon indented to the right.  It is usually called “Macintosh HD” unless you renamed it.
    > when I go into disk utility my HD appears on the left, but I can repair or verify it
    Odd.  It appears but you cannot manipulate it with Disk Utility.
    > The S.M.A.R.T status reads verified
    If it did not say Verified then it would indicate a problem.  Saying Verified does not rule out problems but I think it indicates it is still breathing.
    > Is the HD deceased?
    If you booted the Recovery Partition (Boot, Command-R), which it sounds like you did, then at least part of the disk is still breathing.  If it took a long time to boot then that may have been a Network Recovery boot which would indicate the disk is very sick or dead.
    >  [If I] restore from time machine [will] everything will be back as it was before?
    Yes.  That is the beauty of Time Machine.  All your data, applications, and system preferences will be as they were as of the last backup.
    > I was thinking of erasing the HD, would this be of any help or do I just need a new one?
    Given what you reported from the Disk Utility steps you took it is unclear to me if there will be a way to repair the current volume, if you can erase and install from scratch or if you need a new disk.  Before proceeding it may be useful to have an expert at an Apple store look at it for you.  They may be able to revive it without a clean install or new disk.
    As was the case above, it could be a good disk with a bad cable in which case a new disk is not going to help.  To test this you can purchase an inexpensive external enclosure, remove the internal disk, place it in the enclosure, plug it in and then use Boot-Option to attempt to boot from the now external disk.  Here are links to the screwdrivers and enclosure you would need.
    $5 Toolkit: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/
    $22 USB 3.0 enclosure: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ES2.5BU3W/
    If you attempt a clean install, use the Partition tab to repartition the disk, selecting one partition and with “Options…” electing a GUID partition.  Then use the Erase tab, select “Security Options…” and set it to write a single pass of zeros.  This will write to every sector to map out bad blocks.  (If you have an SSD do not write a pass of zeros.)
    If you do need to replace it I recommend an new inexpensive (~$100) and super-fast hybrid SSHD drive that has an 8 GB SSD cache that makes the data fly.  Google “Seagate 1 TB hybrid SSHD”.

  • Flashing Folder with Question Mark after Trackpad 1.0 Update

    My machine won't boot after installing this update. I get the flashing folder with question mark and can't even boot from the Install DVD either... I just get a frozen spinney wheel at the Apple Logo screen. I've tried resetting the PRAM and everything else that a Googling of the problem suggests. This update bricked my Macbook!!!!
    Anybody else having this problem? Anybody have any suggestions or am I stuck with going to see a "genius"?

    I've not seen any other posts about it causing problems, worked fine here. You've tried resetting the PRAM the only other thing you could try is:
    Boot holding down Apple/S and don't let go until you see scrolling text.
    When that stops and you see a root#: prompt enter
    fsck -fy
    Let it run through all the checks and repairs.
    If it fails first time, at any time, or finds and fixes a fault - run the command again and keep doing so (some fixes can take several passes) until it says "Appears to be OK" then enter
    reboot

  • Flashing folder with question mark on start up + many other issues

    About 6 months ago I first encountered the flashing folder with question mark on startup. I fixed the issue myself by unplugging the mouse and keyboard and rebooting. I also did the cmd S fsck -fy before that and all was well.
    The other day I had the flashing folder again...I got it going a couple of times but it happened again. Right now I seem to be in deep trouble. Please read the following:
    1. I booted up from the leopard dvd and no hard drive was there to run a disk utility on
    2. Booted up again from the dvd and hard drive was there. Ran the disk utility and everything was fine...for about 5 minutes. Then the computer froze and I had to hard power down. Rebooted to the flashing folder.
    3. Did command s and fsck but at the end I get the message failed to issue comm reset after 3 attempts.....failing....
    4. I powered down, vacuumed out the vents, sprayed compressed air to make sure it wasn't over heating from dust buildup as I read somewhere.
    5. Booted up...worked for about 5 minutes again.
    6. Now I can't get to the hard drive from the install dvd at all...I tried 100 times. Cmd s won't work at all!! So it looks like I am out of options. Does anyone have ny radical solutions that i can try to fix this. There are some very important things on my hard drive that I would be very upset about loosing.
    Please reply

    Sorry to bear bad news, but most likely the drive is already dead or dying. I hope you backed up everything when the first symptoms appeared.
    There are data recovery services, but might be very expensive.
    EDIT: Some (a few) people have had success putting the drive (sealed very well in a plastic baggy) in the freezer overnight and then quickly putting it in an external enclosure and getting the data off it that way.
    Message was edited by: WZZZ

  • Flashing folder with question mark on screen

    flashing folder with question mark on screen

    This is the first time I have joined the support forum for MacBook - I tried the after Power Off - then while you turn it back on again your hold the "Command + R" - This has worked for some people - this was obtained on YouTube - see www.youtube.com/watch?v=flv2ebQMMtE.  This however, did not work for me.  I remember having a problem with my PC a few years ago - when I experienced something like this on it.  I fixed it by taking out the battery.  I was going to check the cable between the hard drive and the motherboard to make sure it was secure.  I removed the Battery on my MacBook - blew it off, and put it back in again and surprisingly it booted up normally.  Thanked the Lord for the quick fix.  Back to Normal. 

  • Flashing folder with question mark (MacMini)

    Hi there,
    I diagnose my Mac Mini (1.83Ghz, Intel Mac) and know that the HDD is failing, so I decide to change the HDD before the HDD totally fail.
    But after I change the new HDD, and trying to install the OS back to the new HDD, I get a flashing folder icon with question mark in it, when I boot it up and press on the C key to boot from CD.  So I decide to take the new HDD back out, put in an external enclosure to make sure that the new HDD is not a bad one, and I can read fine with it inside the enclosure, put it back in the Mac Mini, still the same old flashing icon.
    What happen?  Could someone help me please?
    Thanks!

    Hi Everyone,
    Just for future reference for anyone who encounter this same problem, the reason that I go the flashing folder with question mark is first of all, the MacMini doesn't recognize the new hard drive.  No doubt about that since the hard drive has no OS and not formatted yet.  Second of all, it's because I don't have the correct Installer CD put in.  I didn't know if there's any difference in the Installer CD between PowerPC MacMini and Intel MacMini, but obviously there is, since the Intel MacMini doesn't recognize the PowerPC Installer CD.
    After putting the correct Installer CD in, everything works just the way it should.
    Thanks for all your help, everyone!
    - NyCCD

  • Flashing folder with question mark at Startup

    Here is what I know so far.
    - The computer was powered off by pushing the power button without shutting down.
    - The computer was then restarted and it was coming into the white screen with the Apple logo in the middle, but i noticed that it was skewed slightly (like someone took a 4:3 ratio screen and stretched it to a 16:9) and then it would show a circle slash icon and then the flashing folder with a question mark on it.
    - It would not come up in single user mode (Command + S) and it said that there was an error loading kernel 'mach_kernel'
    - It would not come up in safe mode (Shift)(The flashing folder came up again)
    - I reset the PRAM (Command + Option + p + r) and it seemed to fix the problem with the stretched screen but did not help the boot situation (still got flashing folder)
    - I did the start up where you can select the hard drive to boot with, it owed the HD and i selected it, but then i got the flashing folder with question mark.
    - It would not come up in Verbose Mode (Command V) Error loading Kernel again.
    - I bought a FireWire cable and hooked it to another MacBook Pro, and booted the faulty Mac into Target Disk Mode, the FireWire logo came up on the screen and bounced around like all forums said that it would, but the drive would not show up on my host. I checked the System Profiler on the host and it did acknowledge the Target Disk Mode was there, but the drive of the target would not show up on the host. I restarted the host, nothing. I checked all of the connections, nothing. I replugged all of the connections, nothing. I even reversed the FireWire cable, nothing.
    - I have DiskWarrior 4 if i can get the drive to show up in TDM, but nothing so far.
    Does anyone have any suggestions?

    Thanks for your help guys. I managed to get the computer started by holding down C at the Start Up with the Install Disc 1 in the computer. The disc was really kindof unnecessary, as the newest version of Mac OS X (10.4.10) became available via the hard drive.
    I then found out that the battery was not installed, so I reset the management system by removing the A/C power, the battery and pushing the power button for 5 seconds, and then reconnecting everything. It did not help, the battery is bad i guess, so I am going to call AppleCare and get a new battery.
    Thanks for your help.

  • Flashing folder with question mark only on sartup.

    Flashing folder with question mark only on sartup. Won't recognise ANY startup key commands (tried different keyboards) and won't recognise OSX startup disk. Any ideas??

    The first thing I'd do is look at the silver side of the SL installation disc and check for finger prints or scratches and gently clean the disc with a lint free cloth. Also, instead of formatting the hard drive it would be worth deleting the partition(s) and repartitioning.

  • Flashing folder with question mark, apple logo, and do not enter symbol

    someone please help.
    i just took my imac to the apple centre and they erased everyhting and reset everything, and now it has just asked me to restart it so i did and now im stuck on flashing apple logo, flashing folder with quesiton mark inside, and a "do not enter" sort of symbol.
    please please please help, i cant go back to apple as i spent so much money already!

    Lion and Mtn Lion don't come on disks (the USB flash, AFAIK, is no longer available). You could boot into the recovery mode and reinstall. Details in Recovery and About Lion Recovery. Also, see the Internet Recovery.

  • I powered up my macbook and there is a file folder with question mark on the screen flashing.  What does that mean?

    Powered up Mac book and screen showing file folder with question mark flashing? 

    A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
    Hope that solves your issue.

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