My mac computer was frozen,then it had a question mark ? and does not start, still at the grey screen blinking with the mac logo,dont know if it is a lion,leopard or tiger

my mac computer was frozen, so my son turned off the computer and restarted again, then a questin mark showed on blank grey screen, then the mac logo comes up blinking and nothing happens. Don't know if it is still in the frozen stage. Please help me, don't know what to do?The version not too sure but i know it is more than 10.5 and 6. I turned off the computer many times and left it off for a while and turned it back on and it remains at the white screen with the mac logo blinking.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440
http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/8517/cant-boot-mac-only-shows-a-folder- with-a-question-mark
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3926554?start=0&tstart=0
How old is this Mac? It is also possible that the hard drive has failed. If nothing works, take it to the  Retail Store

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Flashing question mark and finder upon start up of power mac G4

Hi
I recently bought a powermac g4 which had a new un formatted hard drive in, upon turning the computer on it had the flashing finder and question mark.
i tried formatting the drive using my macbook which resulted in, upon turning the computer on a grey screen appeared with the apple logo then white texts behind, stating "panic (CPU O caller) and then alot of other text which ends at the bottom of the screen with panic:we are hanging here
I posted this problem in another question a few days ago and was told i needed disks to boot the computer, due to a intel mac not being able to boot a PPC mac so i bought a copy of snow leopard
so i erased the drive using disk utility, making it un formatted again
But when trying to use the disks i inserted them holding down the C key upon start up
but the computer just has the finder and question mark symbol again
Thank you for your time

If it's the G4 Mirrored Drive Doors (MDD) in your signature, you've done well to get one. If you can live with the noise, they're a real workhorse - they were a real beast 10 years ago. I still have mine, bought from new the day they came out.
So you're going to need either:
the original discs (2 install DVDs and 4 restore CDs, and iMovie2 and AHT, or
Mac OS X 10.3 retail
Mac OS X 10.4 retail
Mac OS X 10.5 retail
If you want OS9 on it you're going to need the original discs. You could head over to the Macintosh Garden forums (use google) and ask there, a lot of MDD owners over there, always looking out for more MDDs to buy and preserve and original discs for them too. There may be someone in your state / region there who may be able to assist with the original discs.
If you want OSX 10.3, 10.4 or 10.5 eBay or similar may be your best bet. A little tip I used for getting the original OS discs when I missed them - individually the discs can be expensive, particularly OSX 10.4 and 10.5 - I buy mine bundled with a Mac when it's sold locally, seems to keep the price down if it's bundled with an old Mac that would have $50 shipping. So I pick up the Mac, keep it and seel the OS if I don't want it, for more than I paid for both. Just perserverence on eBay/ etc.

HT4177 My mackbook pro suddenly freezed and when I swiched off and on again, a grey screen appeared with an apple logo then a loading circle underneath, and after a few hours, a blue screen appeared. What shall I do with this?

My mackbook pro suddenly freezed and when I swiched off and on again, a grey screen appeared with an apple logo then a loading circle underneath, and after a few hours, a blue screen appeared. What shall I do with this?

What operating system version, and do you have any backups of your data off the machine? TimeMachine? Option Key bootable clones? Storage? DVD's?
A reinstall of the operating system may be in order as a last resort, so if any of these steps on these links get you into the machine, make sure to backup your personal data (Music, Pictures, Documents, Movies) off the machine to a non-encrypted powered external drive regular storage drive (not TimeMachine as it might be corrupted too) and disconnect as soon as possible.
Good Luck and report back all what you tried.
Also report what change occured before this tragedy happened, was there a Software Update? A EFI firmware update? Etc.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS3148
more:
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8963.html
To boot off the 10.6 install disk, hold c or option key while the disk is in the machine.
To boot into 10.7 Recvoery mode, hold the command and r keys down while booting.
To use Safe mode, hold down the Shift Key while booting.
Other assistance
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
https://support.apple.com/kb/ht1782
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564

Had to reinstall lion because of my error, but now a lot of apps. are showing up on my dock as question marks and will not open.

Had to reinstall lion because of my error, but now a lot of apps. are showing up on my dock as question marks and will not open.

Ive gotten the question mark icon thing, and I just took them off the dock and redragged them onto the dock from the Applications folder again and they worked fine. Mine were a couple of game type programs nothing major yet. Just wanted to throw that out there though since I had that happen with a few dock icons.

Hello, the "sign" feature does not show when i open a pdf document with reader (MAC)

Hello, the "sign" feature does not show when i open a pdf document with reader (MAC)

Hi mentane,
Thank you for posting on the Adobe forums, what is the version of Adobe Reader you are working with.
Open Adobe Reader>Adobe Reader>about Adobe Reader.
Thanks,
Vikrantt Singh

Anyone else had issues with phone network being unavailable on iPhone 4 since updating to iOS 5.0.1? My iPhone 4 is continually searching for a network and does not find my provider. I swapped SIMs with another iPhone 4 on ios 4 to confirm device problem.

Has anyone else had issues with phone network being unavailable on iPhone 4 since updating to iOS 5.0.1? My iPhone 4 is continually searching for a network and does not find AT&T, my provider. I swapped SIM cards with another iPhone 4 running ios 4 and established this is a device problem, not a SIM card problem.

Does the device get any signal?
Sounds like the device may have had a hardware failure. If it is out of warranty, the only option is the Out of Warranty replacement.
AppleCare is only an option if it is still under the original warranty.

What do I do when only the grey screen appears on my Mac desktop?

When turning on computer it will only get to grey screen after the chime.

update your profile to reflect mac model and OS more clearly.
You might want to search out for the OS X and iMac Communities.
Mac OS X Forum
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os?view=discussions
The more backup sets you have the better. And some basic knowledge of system maintenance.
Mac OS X Help
http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/
Isolating Issues in Mac OS
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1388
https://www.apple.com/support/osx/
https://www.apple.com/support/quickassist/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/help/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/tour/
Get Help with your Product
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304725
Apple Mac App Store
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_app_store/using_mac_apple_store
How to Buy Mac OS X Mountain Lion/Lion
http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/
TimeMachine 101
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
http://www.apple.com/support/timemachine
Mac OS X Community
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os
Recovery Mode
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
ExpressLane
https://expresslane.apple.com/
Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT131
Startup Key combination: here is the old list:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
Startup Key combinations new list
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1533
Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1367
Clone your system:
How to Clone a Volume
Using Cloning as a Backup Strategy
See also Erasing a Drive, How and Why to Partition a Drive, RAID.
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
Using Cloning as a Backup Strategy
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone.html
Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393
What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X) - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
Isolating issues in Mac OS X
Creating a temporary user to isolate user-specific problems:
Isolating an issue by using another user account
Identifying resource hogs and other tips:
Using Activity Monitor to read System Memory and determine how much RAM is being used
Starting the computer in "safe mode":
Mac OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
To identify potential hardware problems:
Apple Hardware Test
General Mac maintenance:
Tips to keep your Mac in top form
How to install OS X on a new or faulty HD without Internet recovery
Corrupt and new disks might not have a working Recovery partition, but there are still ways to access one and reinstall OS X, if needed.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57594422-263/how-to-install-os-x-on-a-new-o r-faulty-hd-without-internet-recovery/

My iPad 2 just stopped playing videos. The original comes with the iPad video icon opens with a blank black screen and does not repond. I have shut all apps, shut the computer down, but no good. Where to from here?

My iPad just stopped playing videos. The original app that comes with the iPad opens with a blank black screen. I have shut all apps, and the shutdown the co ad, but no effect. Where to from here?

Try searching for the name of one of your videos on the iPad's spotlight search screen - swipe your first homescreen to the right, type in it's name, and if it finds it tap on it to see if it plays.
If that doesn't work then I normally suggest closing the Videos app via the taskbar and re-opening it, and then a reset by pressing and holding both the sleep and home buttons for about 10 to 15 seconds unilt the Apple logo should appear - but as it sounds like you've alreadt tried that, then see if the spotlight search works.

Mac Pro early 2008 no chime and does not start up

Hi All,
My MacPro early 2008 will start up beautifully today, but the next day .....nothing.
No power light comes on, no chime, memory riser board leds all come on.
It looks/sounds like only the hard drives power up and the fan from the video card spins.
But for the rest nothing.
It can take several days before it will start again.
When it runs and I switch it off it will not switch back on again.
Tried all tricks in the book for resetting, but still random result.
I have 4Gb of memory, changed it out for a different set...no difference.
I have the standard video card it came with and a new Radeon 5770....no difference.
Tried different HD....and no HD installed, no difference.
Machine is very clean inside because it is cleaned on a regular base.
I am starting to suspect the power supply.
But i am not an expert in this and help in South Africa unfortunately is not around the corner.
I had problems with this machine before when it still was under 3 years warranty.
It took me 4 months to get it back fixed with everything working again.
I had to send it back 3 times to get all issues sorted.
So....yes i am a bit worried to go this route again and now all costs are on me.
Is there anybody out there with similar issues that can help me sort out where to look for ?
And is it still worth to fix it or not ?
Like to hear from you.
Cheers, Kavango

go to a black screen after 15 minutes or a couple hours
That is probably an indication that you need to find a new graphics card.
RE: Mac Pro Replacement Graphics cards
1) Apple brand cards,
2) "sold in the Apple store" cards, and
3) "Mac Edition" cards ...
... show all the screens, including Boot up screens, Safe Mode, Installer, Recovery, debug screens, and Alt/Option boot screens. At this writing, these choices include:
1) Apple brand cards:
• Apple-firmware 5770, about US$250** works near full speed in every model Mac Pro, Drivers in 10.6.5
• Apple-firmware 5870, about US$450
2) "sold in the Apple store" cards
• NVIDIA Quadro 4000, about US$1200
• NVIDIA Quadro 5000, about US$2500
3) "Mac Edition" cards -- REQUIRE 10.8.3 or later:
• SAPPHIRE HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 MAC Edition, about US$480** Vendor recommends Mac Pro 4,1
• EVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition, about US$600
The cards above require no more than the provided two 6-pin aux power connectors provided in the Mac Pro through 2012 model. Aux cables may not be provided for third-party cards, but are readily available.
If you are Meet ALL of these:
• running 10.8.3 or later AND
• don't care about "no boot screens" etc AND
• can re-wire or otherwise "work out" the power cabling, THEN:
You can use many more cards, even most "PC-only cards"

Please help me with my mac. when i turned it on, a small question mark icon (?) appears at the center.

hi,
Please help me out with my MAC model m6497. when i turned it on, only a smallquestion mark appears at the center and does not proceed to its descktop at all

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.

Trying to install snow leopard on my Macbook Pro. After already having problems with Grey screen, blinking file with a question mark, etc. Computer now says that one of the hard drives is failing.The "hitachi" drive says it's failing in disc utility.

o.k. So, I've been tinkering with several "self help" fixes for several days now with no positive results. I'll explain my initial problems and then end with my most current situation. In hopes that someone out there will have a good suggestion or possibly remedy for the issues i'm facing
First, my problem started after my wife played a game on my macbook pro and the computer froze. She went into a panic and decided to shut down via power button. When computer restarted she got the blinking file/grey screen and that problem continued for a couple of days before I began using steps from various support topics from apple concerning the grey screen/blinking file folder.
Ultimately, yesterday I decided to erase my Macintosh HD file as one tip suggested. Following the brief online and on screen (via the process) tips that were there. Once that was completed I attempted to reinstall snow leopard (my most current version on hand) into the pc.
At first, I thought this would work. It looked promising. But, after several hours the installation screen returned with failure. I attempted to repeat. And, even repair drives during this try and re-try process.
Now, today, one of the drives.. "hitachi..." states that it's failing and is in red letters with no ability to repair via the disc utility screen. The Macintosh HD drive shows that it's o.k. But, this drive is listed under the HItachi drive so I think that's where a problem might lay.
So, I guess my question really revolves around.. What if anything can I do to get the hitachi drive back up? (short of taking it to a repair facility and replacing.)
And, how on earth can i get my OSX back up to I have a laptop again.
Operating on a macbook pro here. It's my lifeline. Otherwise, I am using a Windows desktop that i'm not that fond of. lol
I'm trying to bring this 2006 laptop back to life. Trying to avoid a rather expensive repair or the purchase of a new laptop. Also expensive...
Any help would be appreciated.

Well, running on a 2006 model. I did not have a startup disc. Initially, it booted up on original software in 2006. Since then, I've upgraded to 10.6 via a box set. And, since then I think I popped it up to lion.
All I have on a disc is snow leopard. And, I can't get farther than the setup screen due to hard drive. I'm taking to a apple authorized repair store right now. We'll see what they tell me . I'm just going to weigh the cost of repair vs. buying new.
Another bad, stupid thing is I had no means of backing up my stuff. So, I might have lost things like music, vids, etc. we'll see if they can recover. If the cost is too much for repair I might just forget it and start over with a new system. Just not sure at this point.

I-MAC has the grey screen on start up, then shuts down after trying to load (bar shows 30%).

Shutdown my I-mac and next morning the grey screen appears with a loading bar which gets to 30% and then i-MAC shutsdown. Went into Utilities and it shows my files etc. but the verify and the repair disk have not corrected the issue(s).
What else can I do before I take it to the apple support. I live in Brunei and past history suggests that the Apple Support will just erase everything on the drive and I will lose the lot. I just want the photos and my own CD loaded music.
Any suggestions would be welcome.

Look at this: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570

Computer does not start

Dear Team, Suddenly my PC shut down (it was running without AC, with quite high battery level though). It was running on "power saver mode" so even if the battery level was low, it should have gone to hibernate. When I connect the AC, the LED does not light at all. (with or without battery either) Went through the troubleshooting steps (hard reset, another AC) still does not charge and does not start up at all. No LED light either that worries me the most! I clean the dust out of the fan regurarly, using arctic mx4 thermal grease for CPU and video card, I really take care about my PC, so no idea what happened? The only odd thing what I noticed prior to this, that neither of my CTRL keys was working Please help! Any kind assist would be greatly apperciated! Cheers!

Kindly connect the system to direct power and check the issue is not there.
If it works fine then you should it could issue with power bar as it is not passing the complete power.
Best Regards,
Tanuj
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My computer does not start up right away after I close the top... Is my hard drive going bad? Help please!

I typically just close my computer when I'm done with it, instead of putting it to sleep or logging off. Recently, when I open it back up, it does not start right away. I have to press the power button half a dozen times before it starts. HELP!!

annie1977-
Greetings and welcome.
Try booting from the system install CD/DVD by putting the disk in the drive and starting up while holding down the c key.
After boot-up find the Disk Utility, either on the desktop or under the Apple menu. Select your startup drive and the repair permissions on that drive. See if that helps.
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

My imac turns on , the grey screen comes on and then within 5-10 secs. it shuts off. How can I fix this?

When I turn on my iMac, the grey screen comes on, the apple is there, the wheel turns and then it shust off. How can I fix this?

sabaideedog wrote:
Do you have an answer?
We are all volunteer end users like yourself, so please be patient. Please Google OS X Gray Screen on Startup and read the Apple Advice letter on it. Follow all the steps in the advice letter to the letter.

My mac computer was frozen,then it had a question mark ? and does not start, still at the grey screen blinking with the mac logo,dont know if it is a lion,leopard or tiger

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