My macbook crashed and I see a folder with a question mark blinking-
I was getting a file from my friend on AIM and my mac froze. So I tried to restart it but all I see is a white screen with a question mark in the folder blinking, instead of an apple sign. Does this mean that my harddrive crashed and I need a new harddrive?
I tried to insert the Utility DVD and restart the computer and press D or C, but nothing happens. What should I do???
You will have to reinstall OS X. If the hard drive is OK and has sufficient free space you can do:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
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.
In case you don't know how to startup from an installer disc:
Booting From An OS X Installer Disc
1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.
Similar Messages
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At startup see a folder with a question mark
At startup I see a folder with a question mark and the system will not boot. Loaded install disk but it can not find the hard drive?
Mac Said:
Additional steps
If your Mac still starts to a flashing question mark, follow the steps below. If any step resolves the issue, you don't need to continue to the next one.
Select your Mac OS X startup disk with Startup Manager by restarting and holding the Option key. After your Mac starts up, restart again to verify that the flashing question mark does not appear.
If the issue persists, insert your Mac OS X installation disc. 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.
MacBook Air note: On a MacBook Air, there are two options for starting up from Mac OS X media: Either connect a MacBook Air SuperDrive to the MacBook Air via the USB port and restart the computer, holding down the C key during startup, or use Remote Install Mac OS X to startup from a system software DVD that's located on a partner computer. Once started up from Mac OS X media, skip to step 3.
Restart the computer, then hold the C key during startup.
From the Utilities menu, choose Disk Utility. Don't click Continue.
Select your Mac OS X disk (named "Macintosh HD" by default) in the left side of the Disk Utility window.
Click the First Aid tab.
Click Repair Disk to verify and repair any issues with your Mac OS X startup disk.
After repairing the disk, try to start up normally.
Important: If Disk Utility finds issues it cannot repair, you may need to back up as much of your data as possible (or use Time Machine to back up to a different disk), then erase the disk and reinstall Mac OS X. You should back up important files and data before erasing a drive. Erasing deletes everything on the hard disk (including things on your desktop). Also, you can install Mac OS X onto an external disk, start from the external disk, and use Migration Assistant to transfer items from your usual internal Mac OS X startup disk to the external disk, then erase the internal disk and reinstall Mac OS X.
If the issue persists, and Disk Utility didn't find any irreparable issues, quit Disk Utility, quit the Installer, select your disk when prompted, and restart.
If the issue continues, reset PRAM. Note: After resetting PRAM, if the computer starts up normally, reselect the startup disk in the Startup Disk preferences.
If none of these steps resolve the issue, start up from the Mac OS X Installation disc and reinstall Mac OS X.
if none of this works but you have to format the entire disk, which is not very fun forsomeone, and if you have important data on your disk that you need, how do you do?
yes I have a solution, but I do not recommend it unless you know what you're doing,
ask a technician who is this he will help you safely, otherwise send a pm to me.
first a little info about me, I'm IT technician then a couple of years and have never beena fan of the mac, and will probably not be there, because I think that off "giant optimized"systems have no security, personally, I want the mac to be release an update so it forcing / or remind the user to backup with time machine, so no I will not get me one of your machines, enough about that, I had a client who had this problem, (ps / something allhave to remember is that all customers are idiots and do not know what a computer realy are, that is why it remains "the rule 101"!
His desk was this apoblemet, and I am recommending not to open up his mac becausethis would guarantee his disappearance, he had also no backups at something so long story short, he was fu ***,,
However, he had all his business accounts on the computer and much much more, so hemade the choice to give me permission to open up the machine, I went through all theguides that were on the Internet and Disk Utility was not helpful at all, nor disk Wari disc to start up, even when I plug in the drive as an external drive on another mac wanted itabsolutely does not come up.
However, so when I connected the disk in a PC with Windows 7, install a program thatmade it possible to see the disk in my computer but could not go into it because then it said that there was something wrong, but then I thought for a bit spruce, windows can see all unknown hard disk format "RAW" guidelines for adding, then it's just to make a RAW backup (google it) and Woll! now i have a copy of all his data, would also like to point out that this may take time, so be patient.
[would also like to point out that if you choose to open the your mac, there is great risk that your warranty disappear, do so at your own risk!],
so if you really have to have a backup of data you need the following;
a PC whit windows
a Controller that convert SATA to USB
a program that makes creating a driver for HFS + disks
a back-up software for RAW drives
and last but certainly not least, patience.
/J -
My screen has gone blank on startup and occasionally a grey folder with a question mark appears. I have tried rebooting either by pressing the start up with power or pram.. Neither attempts have worked ! My iMac is 2008. Please help :)
Hey Carolinearnold!
I have an article for you that seems to address this issue and can provide some troubleshooting steps for you:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!
-Braden -
Hi, I have an iMac which I just booted up and have a white screen with a blue folder with a question mark blinking on and off. Any help would be appreciated. Tommy
That means your iMac could not find a system to use for startup. That may mean the internal hard drive has become faulty, or the hard drive mechanism is fine, but the startup volume ("Macintosh HD" unless you renamed it) may have some type of data corruption that makes it unbootable.
First, you should try resetting PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
and if that does not help, use this procedure to reset SMC (power management). If your iMac is from 2008, this is the procedure for Intel (not PowerPC) Macs.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
(This forum category is for "iMac (PPC)," so if this iMac is older (with a PowerPC processor), please post back.)
Disconnect all peripheral devices. When you connect it back to power, if you have been using a power strip of some type, try connecting it directly to a wall outlet, by itself (at least initially). Start up with nothing but the power cord connected, then add only standard mouse and keyboard. If it works, run it that way for a while.
If PRAM and SMC reset have no effect, you should insert your Mac OS X installation disc (for the currently installed system) in the optical drive, and restart with the C key held down. This should get you to the Installer screen, where you can run Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
In Disk Utility, does the internal hard drive appear in the sidebar? If so, select Macintosh HD in the sidebar and go to the First Aid tab. Use Repair Disk. If an error is found, note if Disk Utility was able to fix it or not.
You can then quit Disk Utility and attempt to restart normally. -
I'm not sure how this screen is appearing, but I tried powering up my computer this morning and it immediately presents a grey screen, then displays a blinking folder with a question mark in the middle of it.
I am looking for troubleshooting advice and procedures to bypass this screen and allow my computer to complete it's start-up.
Thanks-
Gary D. Aston, Jr.
[email protected]The folder with a question marks is usually an idication that the Mac can't find the system file to boot from.
Since you never told us which system your Mac was running there is nothing more to say.
Allan -
File Folder with a Question Mark Blinking-HELP!!!!
Its been like a day and half since i last used my macbook, and all of a sudden it won't work.
It still turns on but it goes to a white screen and stays that way for about 20 minutes. Then a file folder with a question mark in the middle shows up and blinks. It doesnt go away at all. The only way for me to make it go away is to either turn it off or to push the eject button, and now it just turns off all together.
When all this started happening it took a long time for it to even go to the home page, but it didn't go to the desktop screen. It would take a long time on the screen when it first turns on then a a lonnnnngggg time after that it would go to a light blue screen and then a longgggg time after that a pointer would show up, and thats all it would do.
Do I need to get the software that first came with it and put it in and see if it fixes the problem or what?
WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!? please help.You have corrupted system files. The following is a solution:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
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. -
What does it mean when I start my computer and there is a file folder with a question mark?
What does it mean if I start my computer and there is a file folder with a question mark blinking?
That Disk 1/ Mac OS is the install DVD not the hard drive. Your hard drive is not recognized which would mean it's probably dead.
For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are instructions on replacing the hard drive in a MacBook with a removable battery. http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the Aluminum Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_13_unibody_hd/
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the White Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_09_unibody_hd/
If you don’t have the tools to open up the MacBook OWC has a set for $5
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/ -
Have a still folder with a question mark and OS on external HDD isn't loading onto the Mac Pro
Good Morning....... I'm having an issue with this Mac Pro I've recently purchased that came with an 500GB HDD and I added an 2TB HDD also, but it never had an OS on it and when you power on the Mac Pro, you'll get a still folder with a question mark on it. I am very determined to get this situation corrected!!! I had got a copy of Snow Leopard on a blank DVD from a friend of mine but nothing had changed or occurred when I put it in the optical drive & I even saved Maverick installation on an external HDD; it read the drive when I held down the option key during the startup chime, I choose the external because that’s the only volume it shown on the screen; nothing else!!! No sign of the copied disk, the two HDDs that's in the Mac Pro, just the external HDD with the OS on it; I choose the external with Maverick on it but it still doesn't read and then a still folder with the question mark appears..... Can someone please help & save me PLEASE?????????
Buy a retail copy of Snow Leopard, then we can "chat" and get you with a system installed.
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Can't seem to get my mac book to boot from the CD after installing new hard drive.
I keep holding down "c" while restarting the machine with the disk in but it just keeps ejecting the disk and giving me a folder with a question mark.If your on 10.5 with a Intel Mac, I think Apple has jinxed the firmware so you can't boot from the 10.5 disk anymore.
So far several people, myself included, can't boot from a 10.5 OS X disk on a Intel Mac.
Your going to have to buy a 10.6.3 Snow Leopard retail disk, it's wayyy better than 10.5 anyway, faster and most stable even better than Lion. Have to buy iLife though as it doesn't come on the 10.6.3 retail disks, only free with grey disks.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201 -
First my Macbook is almost 5 yrs old and is probably on it's last leg. The other day it froze and was making some pretty loud clicking noises. I turned it off by holding down the power button and tried starting it up again. At that point the screen was just blue and the noise came back on. Then a file folder appeared in the middle of the screen with a question mark in it. Does this mean the hard drive crashed or something? We blew a hard drive once before (though it didn't happen like this) but I just wanted to check before I go to the store. If it's something that is bad then I may just be sending this one to the grave and replace it with an iPad. Any insight into this problem would be appreciated. Thanks.
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. 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). That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
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.
If your hard drive isn’t recognized in Disk Utility then your hard drive is probably dead. -
I have a folder with a question mark and I hear the drive running I think my drive crashed
I have an imac intel duel core I run OSX 6.8 lately the gear has been hanging up a lot I keep haveing to shut down and force quit and reboot. yesterday a folder with a question mark showed up. today nothing shows up but I can hear the hard drive. I booted up the os dvd for SL and it wont see the hard drive. only the dvd player and idisk (which I can't use anymore ) I have disconnected my external storages. I am now on my mac airbook chatting to you.
Do you have any suggestions as to what to do?Probably a crashed HD. Please carefully read Apple's Flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac article for trouble shooting steps. As long as you have been backing up the system it's minor inconvenience of replacing the Internal HD and restoring from your backup. If you haven't been backing up then you are about to learn why backing up it's optional it's critical.
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I have a first gen MacBook pro with intel chip. All of a sudden when I try to start up instead of the apple logo I see a file folder with a question mark. Phone support wasn't much help since it is a older machine. It's either a software issue or the hard drive went. Any ideas on how to fix if it's a software issue would be appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Thanks I tried that and when I click repair it tells me
Invalid volume header
Checking hfs plus volume.
Invalid b-free node size
Volume check failed
Error: the underlying task reported faliure on exit.
1 hfs volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error. -
My macbook pro displays a folder with a question mark and won't open. What does this mean and how can I fix it?
it means your HD and the software can't find each other, the following article tells how to troubleshoot this issue:
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440
hopefully you have backup of your data since sometimes this means the HD is crashing.
if the article doesn't resolve the issue i would take the mac to apple store or service provider and have it looked at, the following link tells how to find one close to you:
https://locate.apple.com
good luck!! -
My Macbook Air 2011 got a white screen and a folder with a question mark. I tried to press option+r and try to install the OS X Lion but it didn't show the disk Macintosh Hd
You are using Snow Leopard so you have no OPTION+R shortcut. You need to boot the computer from your Snow Leopard DVD or USB flash drive.
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. -
So I came to this problem a while ago. M ycomputer basically froze so I was forced to shut down by holding the button down. When I started it up I got the flashing folder with a question mark. I started it up holding down the command and r keys which brought me to disk utility. Although my computer doesn't read that I have a hard drive to start it up. When I click on the disk utility app, I cannot verify or repair anything either. The buttons won't allow me to click on them. It also shows "Mac OSX Base System" which shows I have files and what not saved. I had been told that I need a new hard drive so I bought and manually installed a OWC SSD 240GB drive and when i booted the computer up it booted up yo the operating system fine with all my files and what not on there. After about twenty minutes, it froze again. I forced a shut down, restarted and the same thing happened. I am not able to choose my SSD to boot up, although thats probably because it doesn't have an operating system installed on it??
i have a Macbook Pro 13" 2011
any help would be great, I'm overall confused.ryansaint11,
this isn’t Apple support; this is a user-to-user forum. We’re just fellow users of Apple products here.
If you want to boot from your SSD, then you should put the SSD where your HDD currently is, and put the HDD into the optical bay. (That setup will also get you the best performance.) At the moment, you’re still booting from your HDD. Note that you will need to format your SSD in Disk Utility [with the “Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)” format] so that you can install OS X onto it.
Since you have an Early 2011 model, it might or might not have originally come with grey installation DVDs. You will be able to find out whether it did or not by trying to use OS X Internet Recovery to install OS X onto your SSD. If it does not work, or if the installed OS turns out to be Snow Leopard, then it will have originally come with the DVDs, and you should purchase a replacement pair of DVDs from Apple or iFixit; those discs will have your MacBook Pro’s Apple Hardware Test and its iLife apps. If the installed OS turns out to be Lion, then it will not originally have come with the grey installation DVDs, and your Apple Hardware Test will be installed along with Lion, and your iLife apps will be downloadable from the Mac App Store.
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