My screen is white with a file flashing and won't go any further

I was using my computer and then it froze so I restarted it and now all I get is a white screen with a file flashing with a question mark.
Help please

Hi there,
I would recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
-Griff W.

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I can't get my computer to boot up. The screen is white with a file folder and then at ? in the middle

The screen is white with a file folder and then at ? in the middle

Before declaring that the disk is dead (which is a common cause for what you are seeing), try the steps outlined in this article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
This article also has some troubleshooting steps you can try:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1417
If you don't have your original system disks, you can boot into single user mode folloing these instructions:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1492
and then following the directions for running the fsck command in the second article I list above.
I would try these things before giving up and assuming that the disk is dead. The flashing question mark indicates that a valid boot disk cannot be found. One cause for this is that the disk has experienced hardware failure. However another cause could be that the system and boot files on that disk are somehow damaged (perhaps from a power surge or an improper shutdown of the computer) and in some cases the above repair steps can restore them to working condition.

When I went to turn the desktop on, the start up sound came on. Then the screen was white with an icon flashing. The icon is a file folder with a question mark on it. I cannot get it to fully turn on. HELP

When I went to turn the desktop on, the start up sound came on. Then the screen was white with an icon flashing. The icon is a file folder with a question mark on it. I cannot get it to fully turn on. HELP

Run a disk repair tool on the hard disk or install a new OS.
(59898)

I have a mid-2011 iMac running Mavericks. When I click restart the computer goes to a white screen with a spinning circle and does not go any further until I hold down the power button to turn it off. What do I do?

I have a mid-2011 iMac running Mavericks. When I click restart the computer goes to a white screen with a spinning circle and does not go any further until I hold down the power button to turn it off. What do I do?

Ok, sounds like the safe mode boot worked... You probably don't want to always be in safe mode though (some reduced functionality) so does it do a normal boot now? If not, you should then reboot into safe mode and run Disk Utility. Then select Macintosh HD on the left hand side, and click the Verify Disk button. If needed, it will ask you to Repair Disk. If there are errors found, Repair Disk again until there are none. Then try another normal boot and reply with result, wether good or bad.

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Hi , and a warm welcome to the forums!
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
If perchance you can't find your install Disc, at least try it from the Safe Boot part onward.
If 10.7.0 or later...
Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.
And sorry to report that OSX is more Widows like than ever, but….
If that doesn't help Reinstall the OS.

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Are you willing to buy a newer iPod? How about the 4g @ 16gb for $199* usd or the 5g @ 32gb for $299*.
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What should I do? Is there a way to combine all my accounts into one account with one Apple ID? I should say that I also have trying to use iCloud and it has different IDs and passwords. Also when I try to log in with one account name, I can't enter anything I write,and when I type on the keyboard, nothing appears on the screen, although I can receive emails, I can't send them.
In another account, what I type does appear on the screen, but I think it's an earlier account and doesn't translate aver to the other account. ALTHOUGH i set up iCloud accounts, they don't appear any more.
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Thanks to anyone who has workable suggestions.

If you really believe that your system has been compromised, here's what you do:
Disconnect your Mac from your cable modem;
Back up any documents on your system that are important to you;
Boot your Mac from the system installation disks that came with it (insert the disk, restart your Mac, and hold down the "c" key until you get the "spinning gear" icon);
Choose a language and click the arrow button to continue;
From the Utilities menu, choose Disk Utility;
In Disk Utility, select your computer's hard drive;
Click the "Erase" tab;
Click the "Security Options" button and select to have it overwrite all the data on the hard drive;
Click the "Erase" button and allow it to process;
Once the "erase process has completed (it will take a while), reinstall Mac OS X.
Or, if this is too much for you to accomplish on your own, take your system to an Apple Store and have them help you perform these steps. If your system was indeed compromised, this will remove any such hack. You can then set up a new user account for the computer, reinstall your applications (reinstall only from original disks or downloads from the company making the software) and documents, and reconnect to the Internet.
Note that when you reconnect to the cable modem, you may still get an IP address starting with 198. This is normal with some cable modems and probably not a cause for concern. It will not be an indication that your system is still compromised; that will not be possible if you perform all the above steps.
Regards.

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Try the following steps, check whether things are working after each step where appropriate, before trying the next.
Restart the Apple TV (Settings > General > Restart).
Restart the Apple TV by removing ALL the cables for 30 seconds.
Restart your router. (Also try removing it’s power cord for at least 30 seconds)
Reset the Apple TV (Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings)
Restore the Apple TV (Settings > General > Reset > Restore)

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What does a white screen with a file folder and question mark indicate?

what does a white screen with a file folder and question mark indicate upon start up?

That the computer can't find a useable boot volume.
Boot from your grey installer DVD disc 1 (hold down the C key on startup or hold down Alt/option on start and choose the installer disc).
OK the language page (if present). From the installer screen, go to the menu bar and choose Disk Utility; depending on the OS version it may be in the Utilities menu or Tools menu.
In DU, select your internal drive in the sidebar (the top item with the makers name and serial no.). Run Repair Disk (not Disk permissions). If problems are reported as repaired, run it again until you get a message in green "the volume seems to be OK".
If it says it can't repair the disc, you may need heavier guns such as DiskWarrior or TechTool to attempt a rescue.
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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.
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Take a look here to see if any of the suggestions help:
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My screen is white with a file flashing and won't go any further

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