Macbook pro wont start flashing question mark.

I sold a macbook pro i owned since new and it arrived with the buyer yesterday now im getting death threats!
I freshly installed 10.5 leopard on my mbp and used it for 4 hours without issue.
I did have a problem after installing ms office and deleted it and all preference files in same folder and worked ok after that. rebooted 3 times no problem.
The buyer is freaking out saying its trashed and wont boot just has a flashing question mark, why would this be happening???
Please help he's threatening me!

Just replace the hard drive.
If he lost data, look at data recovery services*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
And in the future always recommend people backup important data frequently.
If he still gives you death threats, call the police.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

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Bootcamp start flashing question mark

Hello!
When I want to start my MBP 15-inch, Mid 2010 with bootcamp partition /start machine ALT, chose bootcamp partition/ I see only a folder with flashing question mark. It happened after when I change system 10.9. It was a clean installation /with usb, erase the Mac OS X/
I make ALT + CMD +P + R when start the machine, but nothing change.
I check DU smatr the hdd is verified.
I try to reinstall the windows7, but after installation when restart the machine, same folder with flashing question mark.
My OS X is working fine, if I put DVD, or USB I can start. Only the bootcamp not working.
I go to bootcamp and it shows me: "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition." I can chose only "OK" , and after "Go Back"
On my machine I have 3 partition: -1 OS X -2 data -3 Bootcamp
Before I install the new system it was ok!
My old system was 10.6.3, a month ago I upgrede at 10.6.8. On the bootcamp partition it was windows 8.0.
The partitions was same like now, I not changed.
How can I install again the windows?

Just replace the hard drive.
If he lost data, look at data recovery services*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
And in the future always recommend people backup important data frequently.
If he still gives you death threats, call the police.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Oh S_it, my intel iMac 2008 wont boot, flashing question mark is all I get.

Bought a friends' intel duo iMac 2008 which was working just find until a couple of day's ago and now when I try to boot it up all I get is a flashing question mark. I unplugged all components, including the electric cord and that worked the first time but now nothing. I don't have the startup or recovery disks. Must I have these...what's a girl to do? HELP!!!
Imac 2008 Mac OS X (10.5.4) previously owned, 2G

You don't need those discs, unless you need to test for Hardware, or reinstall the original operating system.
But you should get them anyway. Any software they installed on your machine, you should have the discs for as they are not their's to give away copies because of licensing restrictions.
The first step to try is zapping the PRAM:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Then attempting a data recovery if there is no backup*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html#RECOVER
If there is a backup, initially try to repair the directory*:
http://www.macmaps.com/directoryfaq.html
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

MacBook Pro Mid - 2010 has question mark folder and block sign at start up could I get apple care and apple will fix it

I need information ASAP on what I should do with my MacBook Pro , am I able to just give apple the money for the apple care cost and they'll fix problem

It's too late, at this point, to get AppleCare, unless you purchased the machine on or after February of 2011 - and then you'd only have a few months, at best, of extended warranty.
The best thing that you can do is to either diagnose the symptoms and fix the machine yourself or take it into an Apple Store or AASP and have them diagnose and fix the problem(s).
If your profile is correct and you're running 10.5.8 then you should get disc one that came with your machine and boot from it and run Disk Utility's Verify and Repair commands on your hard drive. If it fails, you'll know that the problem is most likely with the hard drive.
Good luck,
Clinton

Macbook Pro, Wont start everytime, just clicks and flashes the light????

Hi there,My Macbook Pro does not always turn on first time, it takes awhile to click on, it just clicks every time I try to turn it on, It turns on when its warm though, it also turns off when I close the lid, but the light says it is on, after leaving the lid closed for more then 5 minutes, and I open the lid it is turned off? I do not understand what is cuasing the problem? Can anyone help me?

Did you try resetting the SMC and PRAM?

MacBook Pro crashed, and then question mark folder appeared

So I have a MacBook Pro, the other day I left my computer on sleep mode as I always do. I open my computer to find a screen that is slightly grey, like the picture link: http://farm1.staticflickr.com/55/126466201_486bff5598.jpg
I've had this happen to me before, and so I restarted it without worries.
First I held down the Power button for 3-5 seconds and then it powered off.
I'm not one to have patients as I am a teenager, so I quickly booted the computer on.
I had the signature Mac chime, and then it went to a grey screen, I went to get something to drink, as I remembered Mac's take quite the time to boot back up.
I came back to the same grey screen with a flashing folder with a question mark on it. I was now in panic mode. I lucky had my trustee iPhone by my side and quickly described my problem, found many articles on solutions, but nothing truly worked. I tried the "Hold C and turn on power at the same time", "Safe boot by holding Shift", "Try PRAM", and blah blah blah.
At first I was missing my Install disc, as many of the articles stated, my problem may be resolved by using the disc. I am a teenager, this disc could be ANYWHERE, so thinking on my feet, I went to my mothers laptop case and found her Install disc (which was 10.6.7, my computer was running 10.6.3). I didn't realize the difference until much later.
After a few hours of trying to fiddle around with my moms disc, I decided to go on a hard core hunt for my disc.
Hours later, my room in a huge mess, I found my disc, under my bed (of course).
It took me an hour to figure out how to get my moms stuck disc out of my MacBook.
I found that solution through another article.
So I put in my Install disc and I went to go backup my MacBook with my external hard drive, and I went through the steps required and I thought forsure it was fixed and done, until this: http://tinypic.com/r/hupto4/5
I'm stuck.
I've been sitting trying to fix this for at least 12 hours now, and I have had minimal success.
--Questions
1.) Could I have damaged something, by putting my moms install disc in?
2.) Where did my hard drive go? Could I have possibly deleted it?
3.) Is this the end for my MacBook Pro?
Specs:
MacBook Pro
Bought: Last year (but on the back it says 2010)
Snow Leoperd
OS X 10.6.3
External drive: My Passport (Link: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=440 )
Please provide a step-by-step fixture if possible.
Thanks!

Failed hard drive possible. Bring it to an Apple store or AASP.

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.

Macbook pro wont start with 3 beeps

hi
Few months back I purchased a refurbished macbook pro (late 2012 model) with i7 processor and 8 GB ram. Now after 2 months I experienced problem with mac - it wont start with 3 beeps. I looked at different articles in net and found about no memory bank problem. I opened the back and changed slots and it seemed to fix the issue. However the issue was recurring few times and ram was changed. Again the issue seemed to have resurfaced. I tried with memtest in single user mode and RAM passes the tests.
What else could be the issue around the macbook pro. Do you suggest taking it to local Apple store to get it checked?
Thanks

Test each module installed alone while switching slots (power down before switching and remove battery.) Do both modules work alone in each slot? If they do, then it would appear the memory is good as are the slots. So, something else is at play and only an Apple Store has the equipment to go further - make a Genius Appointment and take it in for service.

Macbook pro wont start, click when charging thats it

Hello,
I have a Apple Macbook Pro 15" model number: A1286 purchased in january 2011.
It wont start and has a very faint clicking noise when it is trying to charge. When the charger is on it the light is bright green but the charge button to show you the life left in the battery will not work as wont the screen or anything else.
Could someone asist me and let me know whats wrong with it please.
Regards,
Jimmy

It is very difficult to offer troubleshooting suggestions when the "os version" you are using is unknown as each os has their own troubleshooting solutions.
Please describe in detail all you have attempted to do in order to resolve the issue.

MacBook Pro wont start, and is to hot

My Macbook Pro won't start and the bottom of it pretty hot. The light comes on like its in sleep mode, but wont power up.

nosaj49854 wrote:
Thank you very much, it just started back up, i thought thats what the problem might of been.
You're welcome. Glad it's working for you again.

MacBook pro shows folder with question Mark

MacBook pro (pre-unibody) is just showing a White screen with folder and question Mark in it. Is it a hard drive failure? What should I do?

Hi Bobby,
It does sound like the HD. Try booting from the install disc, then see if your HD even shows up in Disk Utility. If it does, check S.M.A.R.T. status and try running Repair Disk.
First check the S.M.A.R.T. status on your HD: Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility>in the panel at left, select the first item in the list/your HD mechanism>look at the bottom of the main window next to S.M.A.R.T. status and see if it says “Verified” or something more ominous like “Failing.”
If S.M.A.R.T. status is "Verified," run Repair Disk: Boot from install disc (insert disc>restart>immediately hold down c key and keep holding it until you see “Preparing Installation”)>at first screen select the language and click Continue> click on the Utilities Menu in the menu bar>open Disk Utility>select your HD in the panel on the left side>click Repair Disk at bottom of main window. Run this at least twice, and keep running it until it says “appears ok” twice in a row. If that doesn’t happen, you may need a stronger utility such as DiskWarrior or if the directory is damaged beyond repair, you may need to reinstall the OS, or you may have a damaged HD (repair utilities can only repair the directory structure, not the HD itself). When this is finished, quit Disk Utility, quit the installer, and restart. Once booted normally, go to Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility and run Repair Permissions.
Message was edited by: tjk

MacBook Pro wont start after 10.8.3 update

So I tired installing the 10.8.3 update from the app store and every time I did it I got the response that it wasn't downloaded properly, first on bad Internet at my house, then at school I used the really fast Internet and it was the same problem. Then I came here found that a bunch of people had the same problem, so I downloaded the combo update from apple.com from a recommendation by someone here
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It turned off, and started the loading screen with the apple and the gear below it spinning, then it froze, a half hour later it didn't change, i shut it off by holding down the power button and tried to start it again now it will go until the screen with the apple and spinning gear comes and then it will just shut itself off after about 2 minutes, tried safe mode, the bar at the bottom will load about 40% then it shuts off,
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It sounds like your internal drive is failing, or has failed. What backups do you have?

Macbook pro wont start up and clicking sound

Hi everyone
My girlfriend spilled a coke on my computer couple days ago and my MBP shut down immediately. After all i took it to the apple store in Turkey and they said the problem is from the battery and they took it off and I started to use it on charge until i get a new battery. All day i used my macbook pro on charge without battery on it. Anyway I turned my computer off and next day press the power button to start it up and it didnt start up at all. Mag safe works OK. Charger light is green light and everytime i press the power button I hear a clicking sound and my built in cam light is lighting up. I couldnt figure it out what is wrong.. If you guys had any problem like this before or know the problem about it please share it with me.. I will be appreciated.. Thanks

Problems related to liquid damage can manifest in different ways.
It is hard to recover from liquid damage.
Best.

Macbook Pro Wont Start Up After Update

Hey All,
I was in the middle of installing the most recent update for OSX when my computer froze completely. I shut it off by holding down the power button. Now, when I start it up, right after the apple, it goes to a screen with some script in the upper left hand corner, and a box in the middle with a picture of the power button telling me I need to restart. I've restarted it several times and it just keeps going back to that screen.
I have booted it up from the install DVD and run disk repairs and verifications, as well as checking the system profiler and utility, and nothing seems worng. I've tried starting it up by choosing to start up from the folder and it still didnt work.
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Thanks!
Macbook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I meant to say that the system would have been made unstable after the semi-complete update (if it was in the middle of replacing a crucial system file).
An archive and install would replace all system files, so wouldn't hurt anything. You might have to reinstall any system-intrusive applications (Palm Hotsync springs to mind, if you have that) but it will certainly fix system corruption, if that is your issue.
After the reinstall, if you encounter a complete freeze again, then I would definitely be suspicious of hardware. Possibly the original RAM, but it could be somewhere else in the system, such as the logic board. In those cases, you would have to go back to Apple for repair. (Your Macbook Pro, that is, not you.)
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Installed new memory and Macbook Pro wont start.

I bought a total of 8GB from PNY for my mid 2009 MacBook Pro (2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo). I installed it and my macbook wont turn on. When I press the power button it just beeps. The LCD doesnt turn on. I reinstalled it a few times to make sure that it is sitting correctly with no luck. I reinstalled my old memory (2x2gb) and it works fine.
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Am I using the worng type of memory? I'm pretty sure my MacBook Pro can take 8GB...right?
THANKS!

One beep indicates no RAM installed. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547.
What happens when you reinstall the old original memory? Does the computer boot then?
You might want to read the information at macsales.com (OWC). Certain models had to be updated to take additional memory.
Specifically the NOTE: on this page: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3

Macbook pro wont start flashing question mark.

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