Mac won't startup - question mark symbol

Any suggestions much appreciated.
I've got a macbook pro & last night I was using firefox on it when the machine just completely froze. So I turned it off and restarted. Instead of booting up it eventually displayed a folder-like symbol with a question mark on it. Using an alternate computer I looked up the apple support site where it told me to boot from the install CD and run the disk utility to repair the problem.
So I fished out the CD and had a go. Unfortunately when I run disc utility it gives me error messages:
Invalid note structure
Volume check failed
Error: the underlying task reported failure on exit
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
So is there a way I can fix this?
thanks
Richard

In this case I would try reformatting the drive:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disk. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.

Similar Messages

MacBook won't startup - question mark in folder - is Hard Drive the problem

My 10 month old MacBook 2.0 gHz running 10.4.9 will not start-up. After 9 days of running with just putting it to sleep (once a log-out, log-in); I came down after breakfast to see the screen-saver -- but nothing else. OK I usually do a restart every 1-4 days, so now's the time.
That's when I hear a slight click-tack, click-tack and after 20-30 seconds see the folder with the Question Mark.
I've tried starting with control-command keys held down; tried resetting the PRAM and even resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)-- but nothing works--
I have lost only about 48 hours of information, as I have a backup from late 9 April 2007 (with 17 years of information...)-- and I am using SuperDuper! to transfer that to my G3-733 -- to one of the 2 hard drives I have on that Mac.
BUT WHAT about the data I've lost-- 2 days is not the end of the world, but the apple service store near me says it will take 10-15 days to get my MacBook serviced...
I PLAN TO PURCHASE DISKWARRIOR 4 in a few hours and try that. BUT since Disk Utility cannot see the hard drive (likely it has 'crashed', right? There is essentially nothing to see, right?-- I don't know how my $100 towards DiskWarrior is going to help or??
ANY SUGGESTIONS APPRECIATED.
Thanks and regards,
Steve Schulte on 12 April 2007

Well thank you again and I've clicked on SOLVED here-- You really have made my day (after I thought it had been ruined!) Writing to you from Belgium, it's nearly 6pm and the MacBook goes to the shop tomorrow.
Fortunately with SuperDuper! I have essentially lost nothing other than 2 days of out-going eMails and some other reports-- and now incremental backups will be a DAILY event!
One last idea: Is there any way to possibly activate the hard drive? I mean it stopped working while just sitting there-- it's not like I dropped it or anything-- just sitting on the coolpad! If I could just get it to spin I could (maybe) copy the data-- the computer works fine otherwise-- I've booted from an external HD with 99% of the files saved (as previously mentioned)-- just too bad...
OK "Live and Learn, or at least you live..."
Again-- super help-- thanks!
Steve
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Mac Mini folder with question mark at startup the shuts off

I have a 2006 mac mini that is booting up with the folder and question mark symbol and then it automatically shuts off after a few moments. It won't allow me to boot from startup disk. When I hold down the C key the disk utility does not load and then I see the folder and question mark. When I startup holding down the Option key, I do not see the disk as a drive--either way it shuts off pretty quick. I have tried about everything and am out of ideas. I know I need to probably reinstall the OS but I do not have another Mac to run target disk mode....Any ideas?

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If Disk Utility cannot see your drive it doesn't look good.
You could try DiskWarrior. It is expensive but can often fix directory structures where DU cannot.
Replacing the drive is also a strong likelihood. If you don't have a fairly recent backup, then it might be worth buying DiskWarrior
additonal notes;
Gray screen appears during startup

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I'm using a macbook pro, running snow leopard. Yesterday I got around to emptying my trash for the first time in quite awhile and was surprised by how much there seemed to be in there. Immediately after a question mark symbol appeared on all my hard disk folders. If I click on these question marks I get a message saying ' the item can't be found'.

mpagan47 wrote: a question mark symbol appeared on all my hard disk folders.
Not sure where these hard disk folders are located that you are referring to? Finder, Finder tool bar, Finder side bar, Desktop, Dock?
More then likely they are an alias that not longer point to the orginals, thus the question mark.
I would reboot. Delete icons if an alias and just recreate by dragging from the source. Try right click (control) click to remove.

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I have noticed an awkward question mark symbol (?) on all of my Finder windows.
I don't understand what it means or how to remove it.
A snapshot of the problem is shown below :
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Any ideas on how to remove the mark ?
If the (? symbol) is clicked a dialog box appears saying "The item can't be found".

Yes. I overlooked this matter.
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Thanks for the helpful tip.

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The odds are good that the file is still there. You can manually find the tune (this is a pain, & I'd love to know a better way of doing this).
In iTunes, under the iTunes menu, select preferences. Make sure tab in top left is "General". Look right under that for iTunes music folder location. That tells you where your music is.
When you get the file missing message say you'd like to locate it. Then navigate to that folder. iTunes generally organizes these things by artist, then album, then song, but sometimes the album will be in the compilations folder, and sometimes the artist will not be the album artist if there is more than one recognizable name on the song.
Check locations until you find the song & select it.
Sometimes it is easier to first browse the iTunes' folder directly from the finder finding where the tracks are, & then go directly there from iTunes.

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Hey Guys!
I currently own a Macbook Air First Genereation (2008) running on Lion 10.7.5 (upgraded from Snow Leopard)
Recently, when I was just using the Macbook Air, the Hard disk started spinning and was creating a lot of noise well I just ignored it and gave it a hard reboot
So the next day wehn I booted my mac it was showing a folder with question mark on startup. I tried going to recovery (holding option on startup) but neither Macintosh HD or Recovery HD was being shown. I tried a internet recovery but it was not even entering Internet Recovery. I tried Single User mode, that didn't work.
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Ok, so my Mac has been running slightly slow these past couple days, nothing I thought I should worry about, until today when I tried to restart it, it would not start up. It would come up with the gray screen and apple logo then just shut off. Then I tried the recovery mode to fix the disks. It told me to repair the HDD, which I tried; however, it couldn't be repaired. So I reformatted it, tried to reinstall Mavericks, but when that wasn't successful I tried to install Mountain Lion, but once again failed. It can't even find the startup disk.
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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:
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.
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:
How to Boot From 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.
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.

Startup Question Mark

I'm troubleshooting someone's G4 Cube (500 MHz, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB HD) which has a startup issue. I assume the flashing question mark/folder at startup means that the CPU can't find the Startup Disk, but I can't resolve the problem. I ran the Apple Hardware Test (everything's okay), but it still won't boot. I tried the Software Restore and Software Install disks, but they won't work. I've tried restarting by holding down the "C" key (nothing) and the option key (I get the CD and arrow icons, but nothing works). I've also zapped the PRAM and let the Cube chime 4 times, still nothing. Anyone with anymore suggestions?
(I don't know what version of Mac OS is installed, I assume somewhere between 10.1 to 10.3)

Startup the computer from another boot volume, i.e. an external Firewire device. Remove any other unnecessary devices from the Computer.
It could be the drive has totally failed.
Shutdown the computer and then boot it up again, but note if you hear any HD activity at all. Make sure the room is as quiet as possible and ask the customer to listen out as they know what noises their machine makes better than anyone, so they will notice anything out of the ordinary.
If your not getting an HD icon in Startup Manager then it could be the system, directories or something is corrupt. Or the drive has failed.
Has he had this problem before? Did anything change or was installed prior to the problem occurring?

I MAC SHUTS DOWN THEN QUESTION MARK APPEARS

NEW TO APPLE MY IMAC SHUTS DOWN THEN A QUESTION MARK APPEARS THEN IT RESTARTS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES ANY IDEAS IT DOES SEND A REPORT TO APPLE THANKS

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:
a. Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
b. Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
c. Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
d. 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.

Flashing file and question mark symbol

My Mac is alternating between displaying a flashing file with a question mark and the prohibitory symbol. I tried holding down the option key after restarting but nothing is working. I updated my OSX Lion last night, but I don't know what update it was. I need this computer working in the next 3 hours. Please help!

Are you able to boot into Single User Mode?
Mac OS X: How to start up in single-user or verbose mode
If so, perform a disk check via the command line:
Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
At the command-line prompt type:
/sbin/fsck -fy
Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:
** The volume (name_of_volume) appears to be OKIf fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type reboot at the prompt and then press Return.

MacBook Pro won't boot (question mark folder) after blue screen on windows bootcamp

Hi,
So, I was on windows, using bootcamp, and I was creating partitions on a pen drive with it, and then it asks me that it needs to restart to apply changes.
But then, while restarting, a blue screen occurred (**** windows).... And I forced the shutdown pressing the power key.
Then, I simply turned the MacBook on, trying to boot on my snow leopard and I got a flashing folder with a question mark on it.
Now I can't access any partitions on it, if I press option key on startup I get a blank window!
I tried to reset PRAM, repair the MacOs partition using the snow leopard DVD (it shows up fine, along with windows partition and EFI partition), and I still don't get my startup disk showing up...
How can I fix this? I can't loose my files and I need to work with it :/

I just fixed it!
For future reference, what I did was:
- Booting from OSX DVD, go to disk utility
- Erase windows partition (yap, I lost it...)
- Do a "repair disk" on every partition of my hard drive
- Restart
And it just worked ;)
Thankfully I had no important files on my windows partition, now I will just reinstall it.

My Mackbook won't boot - Question Mark Folder

Hi Everyone,
I've got a problem and I don't know how to fix it for the life of me. Last week my friend was trying to delete a program using the terminal. He looked it up online and found detailed instructions on how to delete it but it ended up deleting everything on the HD. That's as much as I know for the back story.
Now, when I got it from him I powered the machine on and it acted as though there was a leopard installer cd in the drive (and the cd wasn't in the drive) and would load up just past the language select and fail. It would say it can't be installed on this computer. So I used command+T and tried to repair the disk but it would fail and say that I couldn't. So I erased the disk and installed 10.4 clean install. Powered off the machine, reboot and now I get the question mark folder.
It seems like the drive is fine but the kernel wont see the drive. I believe the drive is fine because I can select it and boot from it with the other mac I have (g4 1ghz) while the macbook is in target disk mode.
I've tried zapping the pram a few times, taking out the battery and holding the powerbutton for three secs, holding command+s or v (single user and verbose modes dont start up at all), holding shift, holding x, while starting up and nothing works.
Can anyone help me!? I'm a freelance designer and I can't function without this thing.
Thanks in advance!!

It means critical system files have been corrupted or damaged. You need to reinstall OS X:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X 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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) 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, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) 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. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Mac won't startup - question mark symbol

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