Never before seen screen at start-up?

I don't quite know how to pose this question. When starting my Mac, I got a white screen with a flashing image of a Folder with a question mark in it ,in the center of the screen, where the Apple logo usually is. I held down the power button and restarted and it started fine then. This has happened twice now. Once when starting up from sleeping and once when starting up from completely off. Any suggestions or answers as to what this means?

There's probably an issue with the startup disk in your system settings (or worse case scenario you may need to reinstall everything on your hard drive).
You can read more here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440
You could also try running the system hardware test from the DVD that came with your computer.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

Similar Messages

A never before seen Conntrans Issue.

Dear Mobile Heroes,
I have been working with SAP CRM Mobile Sales since I was a boy, and I am now an incredibly old man, but never before have I seen this conntrans issue....
(I am on version MSA 7.0 SP04 on a PC with OS XP SP3)
All connections from MSA <-> Comm Station <-> CRM seem to be fine.
I have ASiteId'd fine.
Running qmtcnfg (on mobile) works fine.
Running qmtcnfg (on Comm St) works fine.
Running Client Console 'Test adapter connection' - test connection (on MSA) works fine.
Conntrans App launches, but when I press 'Synchronise', after 10 seconds I get both 'send' and 'receive' in red, and then a pop-up dialogue saying
"GUI MFC Application has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
WTF!
Has anyone seen this before? How do I fix this?
Regards,
Richard

Yes, I had exactly the same issue. What you have to do is check the connection string on the commstation and enter that string in QMTConfig (replace / overwrite <default>).
I lost 1,5 days in my project to resolve this issue. In our case we had 2 commstations on one physical machine and the IP address alone could not point to the right commstation.
Hope that helps.
There is definitively no note which you have to apply.
Regards
Whity

Never-before seen icon on monitor

PowerMac G4 running OS 10 starts making recurring and methodical chirping-whirring noises obviously coming from within the box. After usual startup noises and a lengthy wait (the noise stops somewhere in here) to boot, I get a screen image of the Apple logo. After a bit more waiting (seems like minutes), I get the universal Do Not Enter symbol of the O with a slash through it. I've never seen that before in any Mac dating back to the mid 1980s. The Mac won't boot beyond that. Any thoughts?

[Mac OS X: "Broken folder" icon, prohibitory sign, or kernel panic when computer starts|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1892?viewlocale=en_US]

Never before seen problem?

Hey all, new to this great forum, but here is my problem.
I have a 3G 10GB ipod. When i try and turn it on the Apple logo flashes on about 5 seconds (I can hear the HD spinning) and it will make a clicking noise and the screen will flash, and the process begins all over again.
Well, i tried reseting it by holding down play/select- didn't do a thing. I reloaded all software to try to resset it through my computer but the ipod is drained of power for the computer to even recognize it through the usb.
So, i tried plugging it into the wall adapter and letting it charge. The apple logo still shows up and freezes while it is "charging" (I dont know if its even charging b/c the screen gives no indication it is). After about an hour in the wall adapter, I will unplug it and bring it to my computer to try and restore it, but by the time I bring it over from the wall to the computer-the ipod flashes a low battery sign and powers off.
The computer is reading the ipod because a message will pop-up when it is first connected. So my problem now is that my battery basically won't charge?
If you made it this far in my story, I appreciate it. Any help would be TREMENDOUS!

When it's plugged in it IS charging--you just can't see that it is.
If your iPod is generating a LOT of heat, it's possible the hard drive is toast :-/
Try running diagnostics on your iPod. Here's instructions for getting to Diagnostic Mode: http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/ipodsupport/diagnosticmode/index.shtml.
Run the HDD SCAN. It takes 15-30 minutes to complete. Let me know if it reads PASS or FAIL.

Hyper-V Error - Never Before Seen - Google Doesn't even know

Here's the Error
'VMName' failed to start worker process: no such interface supported (0x80004002)
I have no idea why this has occurred.. I'm away from home and this is on my home server... All VMs won't start... also any new VMs I create won't start... There's been no changes... I think there was a power outage though... I considered a windows update...
but none have been installed at all....
I won't install any updates just in case as that may only compound the problems..
The only things in the event logs are the messages with the above error.. it doesn't explain further and there doesn't appear to be any extra messages which give more detail.
The OS is Server 2012 R2 just running Hyper-V
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Ryan,
"I think there was a power outage though..."
Based on my experience , it might cause some files corruption , my suggestion is running command "sfc /scannow".
Here is a link referring to using sfc :
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833
Hope this helps
Best Regards
Elton Ji
We
are trying to better understand customer views on social support experience, so your participation in this
interview project would be greatly appreciated if you have time.
Thanks for helping make community forums a great place.

Lately I have been getting a rectangular screen titled Login Setting, with my Username and Password and asking me to Login. This screen shows up on opening the computer and has never been seen before the last month or so.

Lately I have been getting a rectangular screen titled Login Setting, with my Username and Password and asking me to Login. This screen shows up on opening the computer and has never been seen before the last month or so. It has one box titled Login Credentials with a username and password field and a second box titled Login Status at the bottom where it says "Profile not found" in red. I've never seen this before and ignoring it does not effect any operations. Is this legitimate or some kind of identity fishing?

Hello,
Have you done the recent Security updates?
Is this from Sleep or on bootup?
Timing is about right for the FlashBack attack.
Disable Java in your Browser settings, not JavaScript.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5241?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en-GB&answer=142064
http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/How%20to%20turn%20off%20Java%20applets
Flashback - Detect and remove the uprising Mac OS X Trojan...
http://www.mac-and-i.net/2012/04/flashback-detect-and-remove-uprising.html
In order to avoid detection, the installer will first look for the presence of some antivirus tools and other utilities that might be present on a power user's system, which according to F-Secure include the following:
/Library/Little Snitch
/Developer/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/MacOS/Xcode
/Applications/VirusBarrier X6.app
/Applications/iAntiVirus/iAntiVirus.app
/Applications/avast!.app
/Applications/ClamXav.app
/Applications/HTTPScoop.app
/Applications/Packet Peeper.app
If these tools are found, then the malware deletes itself in an attempt to prevent detection by those who have the means and capability to do so. Many malware programs use this behavior, as was seen in others such as the Tsunami malware bot.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57410096-263/how-to-remove-the-flashback-ma lware-from-os-x/
http://x704.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5844&p=70660#p70660
The most current flashback removal instructions are F-Secure's Trojan-Downloader:OSX/Flashback.K.
https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193454/Flashfake_Removal_Tool_and_online_c hecking_site
More bad news...
https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193467/SabPub_Mac_OS_X_Backdoor_Java_Explo its_Targeted_Attacks_and_Possible_APT_link

Help! Mac won't start. I hear the ding and see the apple logo but the bar below it never goes further than an inch before the screen goes dark. I have tried unplugging.

Help! Mac won't start. I hear the ding and see the apple logo but the bar below it never goes further than an inch before the screen goes dark. I have tried unplugging.

Hello Templemeads,
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
For more information, take a look at:
Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1367
Have a nice day,
Mario

When downloading application updates, which are over a GB, my MacBook Air keeps logging me out and I have to start the download over. I have the power settings set to never turn off, and the display set to never go to screen saver.

When downloading application updates, which are over a GB, my MacBook Air keeps logging me out and I have to start the download over. I have the power settings set to never turn off, and the display set to never go to screen saver. Any suggestions?

I have the exact same problem/situation since a few days
I have not intalled a program lately.
Any progress Voratima??
Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)

I had never syc my ipad before what if i start to syc now what will happen to my ipad ?

i had never syc my ipad before what if i start to syc now what will happen to my ipad ?

If you have never synced with iTunes before and you have content on the iPad, you need to transfer the content into iTunes before you can sync, or iTunes will erase your iPad and replace it with what ever is currently in your iTunes library. If iTunes on your computer has no content in it, you will totally erase your iPad of all of the content that you downloaded.
Read this for some background information.
Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive

Imac have black screen. Start Computer sound come on, no picture. The last time I used the computer I put it to sleep, it never came back. i tried everything that was suggested including puting in the start up disk. The disk would not eject. Some one

Imac have black screen. Start Computer sound come on, no picture. The last time I used the computer I put it to sleep, it never came back. i tried everything that was suggested including puting in the start up disk. The disk would not eject. Some one suggested how to remove it and that did work. Computer going to Apple hospital Tues. July 3, thank you for all the suggestions.
Phyllis33

There is nothing wrong with the OS update.
Delete ALL your email accounts.
Restart Playbook
Put the accounts back and ensure they are all set with PUSH ON. Manual (push off) will burn battery.
Similarly delete your wifi connections and add back when required.
Turn off wifi is not connected to wifi.
Any "hunting for connection" in email or wifi will burn up battery.

Grey Screen at start-up - Troubleshoot harddrive and/or logic board?

Hi everyone. Sorry for the lengthy post, but hopefully you can help me - I've spent a lot of time on the boards already, but hoped you could clarify some things.
The problem is my Powerbook will not get past the grey screen at start-up. It will not boot off the 10.5 install disk and I can't eject the install disk to run the hardware test disk. Removing 3rd party ram, resetting PRAM, NVRAM, attempting to boot in 'safe' mode haven't helped. The harddrive is softly clicking/searching.
So some questions:
1) Is it possible that an interrupted time machine backup will bork the drive to the point where it wont boot? (See back-story below). I wouldn't have thought so, but prove me wrong.
2) Should I be able to boot from the install disk if the harddrive is stuffed?
3) If it is hardware, it's either the logic board or the drive. Is there any way to determine what it is (eg: is it possible to do a remote hardware test?)
Edit: Just tried mounting the drive in target disk mode using an iBook, but it wouldn't mount. Powerbook displays a black screen.
Oh, and I should point out that this is well out of warranty and any fixes would have to be cheap : ). Basically I need to determine if it's the drive or the logic board, preferably without having to buy and install a new drive when it may not be the problem.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers
- Ben
Here's the back story if it's any help; recently upgraded to 10.5, created a base install disk image of all installed and registered apps (in the event that my drive failed). Copied data etc from the previous system over. It ran fine for a few days. This morning I ran time machine for the first time, left the computer for a while, came back and the screen was black (as if it was just displaying black, as opposed to off). Thinking it was just a display issue (which I've seen before), I put the system to sleep (power button, then 's'), woke it up again; still black. So I forced a shut down (wouldn't allow me to do a normal shut down, because dialogue boxes must have been preventing it) and on boot I got the grey screen.
-------

Hi Ben W. I don't have a good answer for you, but based on your information and what you've done, I think I would try starting the machine after disconnecting the harddrive. That requires taking the top off first, for which instructions are on ifixit.com.
I can conjecture that a blown HD is preventing normal operation, perhaps sucking the power down, disrupting the optical drive, etc. This is purely conjecture, but costs you nothing but your time. If this turns out to be the case, I figure the optical drive should start responding again (hold C key during reboot, etc).

BLACK SCREEN on start up with 3 beeps, FREEZES when power unplugged, IF IT BOOTS splash screen freezes, OVERHEATING REQUIRED TO BOOT - 0x7B, Event 41 kernel-power

Issue: One day I unplug the power, the screen freezes and I get frozen music sound. I shut down, start up, I get 3 beeps (1 short 2 long), which indicates a Video failure according to the Thinkpad Laptop beep code list.
How I solve the issue day-to-day: I turn the heat up - I disconnect the battery and hard drive and plug in the power then turn it on. I will wait until the underneath is searing hot with a blanket blocking the fan's flow of air, I mean way hot because any
cooler and it won't start. Plug stuff back in, Hard drive first, Battery second, turn off with power button hold, unplug power, replug power.
I turn it on, no beeps, it goes past the first Lenovo screen, then gives me a prompt because it "didn't shut down properly" and continue regular startup. What happens next is the Windows logo appears,
and just as the animated windows logo starts to move (you see 2 small colored dots on the screen), it freezes. I see this every time, I know naturally that it means that the laptop is still too hot to go past that point, so I shut it down and try again. After
about 5 - 10 tries it will go past the splash screen and into the login area, then it's all fine.
Sometimes when I unplug the power from the back by accident it will freeze. By accident I mean that the connector wiggles it's self out easily. This unplug freezing thing started happening about 1 week before the 3 beep black screen problem started rolling,
so I'm putting 2 together.
Errors:
I got a Blue Screen of Death the first time I started it up with the overheating ritual, but I never got it since. It was 0X7B.
I got another Blue Screen of Death about a week ago, but came as it was on already and I had been using it, and said something about disabling Cache or Shadowing in BIOS. I never got it since.
Event Viewer events found:
1. Kernel-Power, Summary page.
There are critical events for a few things like Kernel-Power, Event ID 41, Task Category (63). There are 19 of them, each day 1 or 2 of them but mostly 1, so this maybe corresponds to my daily ritual.
"The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."
2. Kernel-Processor-Power - Event ID 37, task category (7)
"The speed of processor 1 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report."
3. LMS - HCMI - Event ID 2, Task Category: none
"LMS Service cannot connect to HECI driver".
I came across a very sluggish performing control panel for Nvidia before and after this problem, and I tried installing a newer version, which I had to jump through a few hoops to do, like uninstalling first, not just updating. At first it said that the
driver wasnt for the system, which was wrong. I made it work somehow, but it was still sluggish. I rolled it back to an earlier driver, and now it works fine. No sluggish performance / slight freeze window thing going on.
MSCONFIG.exe, Boot Advanced Options: I have tried twice to change this 1 setting, check box "Number of processors" and change to 2 processors, because I do have 2 processors. I have been able to change
this in the past, but it does not save the setting now, and I believe this option was selected before I started having problems, and settings did not disappear then.
What could this be. The small round BIOS battery? The video card like everyone presumes? (I.E. the entire motherboard replacement), Software? The wiggly power input area? (Not enough power getting in?), Firmware of some sort? The BIOS software being wrong?
SYSTEM INFO:
Thinkpad T61p 6457-A24, Intel core 2 duo (T7700) 2.4GHz, Intel 120GB SSD 6Gb/s, NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (256 MB),
Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium (6.1, Build 7601), BIOS Ver 1.00PARTTBLx
Display: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit 60 Hz), Integrated RAMDAC, Main driver: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx,nvwgf2,
Version 8.17.12.9688, Date 5/31/2012, DDI version 10, Driver model WDDM 1.1
Please excuse the small text at the beginning, there isn't an option to un-do that error.

You are very wrong about that mystified. What do YOU think made my computer work without beeping at all hu? (I bet you're gonna tell me). I figured it out.
RE-INSTALL WINDOWS 7 OS.
SOLVED.
DOESN'T BEEP ANY MORE.
THAT IS A PART OF microsoft ISN'T IT.
::: EGO KILLER 9000 :::

Screen saver starting even when disabled

Just today, my screen saver started to kick in after about 10 minutes of inactivity. The problem is, I've disabled the screen saver by setting it to "never." I've also set all of the energy saver prefs to "never."
Before today, the screen saver never started. What could be causing this? A corrupt prefs file?

The only thing I can think of is to make sure you don't have hot corners set in the screensaver preferences pane. If the screen saver just turns on randomly no matter where the mouse is, then that is really strange.

Software Updated to 10.4.6, no just a black RESTART screen at Start up

Big trouble with the upgrade to 10.4.6. Went through software update and it appeared to be goig fine until the error that the pkg had to be reinstalled because of an error. Then clicked off that and computer hung. Waited 20 minutes with no results (and could not do anything) so tried to relaunch the Finder to get unstuck. Then nothing worked, Held power button to restart, and siince then, cannot get past the black screen at start up.
Have restarted ok from the tiger disc and did a first aid disk repair with one fix to the hard drive, but then no change in the results. Looked at start up disks from the drop downs and saw that the HD says 10.4.6.
What options do I have? I have an ext HDD, but cannot boot off it. I could erase and reload everything, but I really want to get some files off the eMac's HD.
I have no other Mac w/firewire.
Thanks

Hi thetomkat4,
if you can follow Gullivers advice redarding booting in save mode and after repairing the permissions on your startup disk,
I'ld recommend you to install Tiger on your ext HDD, too. Or an a partition on your startup disk, in case you've made partitions.
My system is running in this manner, with the external always one system version "behind", so I can be sure that it will work. And if my normal startup disk will not work I can start my iMac from the external disk, pressing "option" on startup.
For updating your system always walk through a recommended and long tested method, which you can read here: http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060403142321217
under the headline: Update process recommendation
Updating this way I never had troubles during update since Mac OS X 10.2.5 (where I began to work with OS X).
If you don't own the "killer-app" for system-troubles, DiskWarrior from Alsoft, think about to buy it. It's worth the price and if you do a search here on "discussions" you will only hear positive comments about this masterpiece of software. Running it before and after an update (it's on a bootable cd-rom) will eleminate all possible bugs in your system. I highly recommend it.
I hope that helps
Andreas

Gray screen at start up? For 10 minutes

Why gray screen at start up for 20 minutes?

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.”
b. 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.
c. 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. The easiest way to deal with the problem is to start up from an external drive, or else to use either of the techniques in Steps 1b and 1c 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
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 10
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 11
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 12
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.

Never before seen screen at start-up?

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