My apple computer has a white screen with a file and a question mark

I have a white screen with a ? in a file. I have tried holding the option,command, P R buttons while turning it on. No help Does anyone have anymore ideas?

The flashing question mark says, " I cannot find the Startup Disk you said to use."
Hold down the Option key while starting up. This should cause your Mac to draw an Icon for each bootable device.
If none are drawn, you Startup Disk has been damaged.
If Recovery_HD is shown, choose that, launch Disk Utility, select your Macintosh_HD, and ( Repair Disk ).

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My MacBook has a grey screen with a folder and a question mark in the middle what does this mean?

My MacBook has a grey screen with a folder and a question mark in the middle what does this mean?

It means a valid system cannot be found. You need to reinstall OS X.
If you have Snow Leopard:
Reinstall OS X 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.
If you have Lion or later:
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing 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
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 then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Mountain Lion or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

White screen with a folder and a question mark in the Folder

Hi,
My daughter's Desktop Mac Pro won't reboot. On reboot, it shows a white screen with a folder and a question mark within, It just stays there and nothing happens. Is this a problem with a dead hard drive, dead processor, faulty USB connection, problem with airport.? We need advise and help, please!
effie imperio

Hi, Anonymoustache, thanks for responding.
Yes, I think it is "a flashing question mark". If it is flashing, you think it is a hardware problem like a dead hard drive? I had a flashing question mark with my Power book G4 and Apple replaced a dead hard drive.
Thanks Hatter, I will convey your response to my daughter and see if it will help.
effie imperio

I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

Can you still boot to the Recovery partition using Command and R whilst booting? Or did you wipe the Recovery partition as well?
If your Recovery partition is still intact, you can simply boot to it and reinstall the OS via the Internet. If you wiped the Recovery partition, you can hold down Command, option and R keys whilst booting and boot into true Internet Recovery mode. You'll be able to reformat the hard drive, erasing all partitions (format it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a dingle GUID partition) and then reinstall the OS that shipped with your machine.
Note that you should use a physical Ethernet connection when restoring over the Internet - it's three times slower if you use wifi.
Try your Recovery partition first and if that doesn't work, use Internet Recovery.
Clinton

My MacBook will only turn on to a grey screen with a file and a question mark flashing on the screen

When I turn my MacBook on a grey screen with a file and question mark in the center of the screen flashing. What can I try to
get out of this screen?

That folder with the question mark icon means that the MacBook can't find the boot directory. That can either mean it can't find the hard drive or the Operating System data on the hard drive is somehow corrupted.
Put your install DVD into the optical drive (CD/DVD drive) and reboot. Be sure to either use the disc that came with your Mac, or, if you installed a later Mac OS X version from disc, use the newer disc. As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the "c" key on your keyboard (or the Option Key until the Install Disk shows up) until the apple shows up. That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
Or if you are running 10.7 Lion, boot from the recovery partition (Command +R on boot) and use Disk Utility to repair your OS 10.7 partition.
When it does start up, you'll see a panel asking you to choose your language. Choose your language and press the Return key on your keyboard once. It will then present you with an Installation window. Completely ignore this window and click on Utilities in the top menu and scroll down to Disk Utility and click it. When it comes up is your Hard Drive in the list on the left?
If it is, then click on the Mac OS partition of your hard drive in the left hand list. Then select the First Aid Tab and run Repair Disk. The Repair Disk button won't be available until you've clicked on the Mac OS partition on your hard drive. If that repairs any problems run it again until the green OK appears and then run Repair Permissions. After repairing use Startup Disk from the same menu to choose your hard drive for restarting from your hard drive.
If your hard drive isn’t recognized in Disk Utility then your hard drive is probably dead.

White screen with a folder and a question mark on the folder and its blink?

I was on my computer and it was basically frozen so I turned it offf manually. Then I tried to turn it back on and it it made the noise like it was turning on, but then there was a white screen. Then I turned it off again and it did the same thing exept that now it has a little blinking folder with a question mark in it. Then I turned it off again and it did the same thing as it didi the 1st time......HELP ME !!!
(oh now it just turned itself off)

You can try starting up while holding the 'Option' key down. This will hopefully present you with your drive to select from. If not, insert your Install DVD and restart with the 'C' key down. This is called booting to the DVD. When the topmenu appears, launch Disk Utility and then verify/repair both permissions and the drive itself.
If the drive does not appear in Disk Utility ...you may have one of the faulty Seagate drives. If you are still within you standard 1 year warranty (or have Applecare) then that drive will be replaced.
Do you have things backed up?

My computer has a white screen at start up and sits for hours. How can I fix my computer?

My computer has a white screen at start up and sits for hours. How can I fix my computer?

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
     a. Start up from the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
d. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 10. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then restart as usual.
Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

White screen with flashing folder containing a question mark

I attempted to boot my MacBook and it is now only showing a white screen with a folder containing a question mark. I have only had the MacBook for less than 3 months. Help!!!!

There are four general causes of this issue:
1. The computer's PRAM no longer contains a valid startup disk setting when there aren't any problems with the disk itself. This can be checked for by pressing the Option key and seeing if the drive appears.
2. The internal drive's directory structure has become damaged. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to perform the repair.
3. Critical system files have been deleted. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to reinstall them.
4. The internal drive has died or become unplugged. This is the most likely case if the computer took a sharp impact or there are unusual sounds coming from its location.
(102241)

Apple Macbook 13.3" Laptop-Black 2008 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo will not boot up and instead I get a grey screen with a folder and a question mark over it.

My Apple Macbook 13.3" Laptop-Black 2008 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo will not boot up and instead I get a grey screen with a folder and a question mark over it. I've tried Option key, and Control S keys and it still will not boop up. Can anyone help?

If you are running Snow Leopard:
Reinstall OS X 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.
If you are running Lion or later:
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing 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
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 then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Mountain Lion or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it isthree times faster than wireless.

Macbook Air - White/Grey Screen with a folder and a question mark

Out of the blue , my macbook air stopped starting up and strted to show me a white/grey screen with nothing but a folder and a question mark . After searching on the internet for solutions and trying to reset my PRAM setting , it still wouldn't boot up . I opened up disk utility and going through internet recovery , I ran the first aid verification on my MAC OS X Base System and it said that it found no problems . I can't restore or erase by the way and i really wouldn't erase my files as I have very important files on my mac . Moving on , I tried to reinstall OS X , but apperently it needs a disk to install OS x on and since none appear , I tried using an USB . After creating a partition and erasing everything on my USB , not happy about that , it wasn't big enough for the OS . So now I am basically stuck in the mac white screen Limbo .
Any sort of help would be fantastic and please do keep in mind that this is a macbook air and I do not have a place to put DVDs into . All I have read on different forum pages didn't help so i decided that it would be a good idea to create my very own thread . I am not very sure about the Mountain Lion version ,but I am not very sure that it matters .

Out of the blue , my macbook air stopped starting up and strted to show me a white/grey screen with nothing but a folder and a question mark . After searching on the internet for solutions and trying to reset my PRAM setting , it still wouldn't boot up . I opened up disk utility and going through internet recovery , I ran the first aid verification on my MAC OS X Base System and it said that it found no problems . I can't restore or erase by the way and i really wouldn't erase my files as I have very important files on my mac . Moving on , I tried to reinstall OS X , but apperently it needs a disk to install OS x on and since none appear , I tried using an USB . After creating a partition and erasing everything on my USB , not happy about that , it wasn't big enough for the OS . So now I am basically stuck in the mac white screen Limbo .
Any sort of help would be fantastic and please do keep in mind that this is a macbook air and I do not have a place to put DVDs into . All I have read on different forum pages didn't help so i decided that it would be a good idea to create my very own thread . I am not very sure about the Mountain Lion version ,but I am not very sure that it matters .

Can't log in white screen with flashing file and Question mark

I've been have trouble with getting on line and screen freezing up. Now I have a solid white screen with a icon of a file and question mark on it flashing. Iv tried unplugging and resetting with no luck.

Have a look at > A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Dennis

White screen with a folder and a '?' ...

Hi
I bought my iMac in 2008 and it has work fine and remained just as fast as it was when i bought it unitill last night. I went to watch a film and it failed to load up quicktime and then froze. I turned it off then back on and was given a white screen with a folder and a question mark inside it. At this point i turned it back off again and left it. I found out that this screen is refered to as 'The Screen Of Death' and usually indicates that the Hard Drive is dead.
Once i had left the iMac for about 10/15 minuets i switched it back on. It loaded my Mac but very slow. Everything is still there but continues to be slow and will crash completely if i open any programme.
In other cases that i have read the posters say that they cannont get the mac to boot at all once they have seen the white screen. I was wondering if what has happened to me is something different or may just be the fact that its a run up to the inevitable.
Any information on the matter would be great.
Thank You

Hi Brettus and welcome to the Apple Discussions.
This would be a good time for a backup if you can do so.
You could try to boot from the install disk that came with your iMac, startup holding the C key until after the tone. Then choose the language, go to utilities, first aid, disk utility and run repair disk. See if that finds damage to the file systems.
If it comes back ok, reboot normally on the hard drive and then run dis utility from the hard drive and repair permissions.
If you are unable to startup or have more problems, you probably have a failed or failing hard drive.

My MacBookPro has a white screen with a grey file folder in the center of the screen with a white question mark blinking in it. What does this mean? And how can I get my computer back up and running normal?

My MacBookPro has a white screen with a grey file folder in the center of the screen with a white question mark blinking in it. What does this mean? And how can I get my computer back up and running normal?

Start up in Safe Mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14204?viewlocale=en_US
Repair Disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reset PRAM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14222

Ipod touch has a white screen with lines on it and wont power off and wont connect to my computer

My ipod has a white screen with line on it and wont turn off and wont connect to my computer . It wont reset or reboot with holding the on off button and home button either any help would be appreciated

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3281
Basic troubleshooting steps
17" 2.2GHz i7 Quad-Core MacBook Pro  8G RAM  750G HD + OCZ Vertex 3 SSD Boot HD 
Got problems with your Apple iDevice-like iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? Try Troubleshooting 101
 In Memory of Steve Jobs 

My Ipod was in my back pocket and when I took it out it has a white screen with 3 grey lines going threw it, and not even 5mins before, it was working fine... what could i be? it also isnt hooking up to itunes... please help

My Ipod was in my back pocket and when I took it out it has a white screen with 3 grey lines going threw it, and not even 5mins before, it was working fine... what could i be? it also isnt hooking up to itunes... please help

Try:
- iOS: Not responding or does not turn on
- Also try DFU mode after try recovery mode
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
- If not successful and you can't fully turn the iOS device fully off, let the battery fully drain. After charging for an least an hour try the above again.
- If still not successful that usually indicates a hardware problem and an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store is in order.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

My apple computer has a white screen with a file and a question mark

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