Question mark folder on my mac book pro start up screen?

Anybody have any idea of what to do when the computer turns on and you see a question mark folder on the start up screen?
I left my laptop on in my studio when I went to eat lunch, it was a really hot day today,
Ideas? Solution?

Likely it's just the firmware forgot what the boot volume is supposed to be.
Hold the option key down while booting, this is Startup Manager and you'll get a selection of bootable options.
If your OS X boot volume is there, it will show. If you stuck the 10.6 disk in there, it will show eventually.
If you see OS X boot volume, select the arrow and once inside, then set the Startup Disk in System Preferences, this will tell the firmware what your boot volume it again. Eject the 10.6 disk. Done.
If only the 10.6 boot disk shows, then there are no bootable options on the internal drive, it could be a software problem or it hardware problem.
Run through this list of fixes
Step by Step to fix your Mac
If the drive works, and you can't boot from it, you can recover data
Create a data recovery, undelete boot drive

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Flashing question mark on mac book pro,with grey screen when turned on?

flashing question mark on mac book pro,with grey screen when turned on?

Press the power button down to force a emergency hardware shutdown and hold the option/alt key down and reboot
If you see your OS X boot partition, then click it and the arrow, head to System Preferences > Startup Disk and reset it. Done.
Folder with question mark issue
If that doesn't it, then do a #2 PRAM reset and try the above again.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
If no OS X boot volume appears in Startup Manager, then OS X is corrupted.
Try more of the Steps above (like 1-8) then if that doesn't work.
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
Once you got your data off, erase and reinstall OS X onto the MacintoshHD partition and then restore from TimeMachine or bootable clone if you have it. or build new and return users files from the data recovery drive.
Most commonly used backup methods
If the drive doesn't appear in Disk Utility it might be dead or there are further complications let us know for further assistance.
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's
My computer is not working, is my personal data lost?
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents#/?p er_page=50

I start my mac book pro and the screen goes white with an apple in the middle

I start my mac book pro and the screen goes white with an apple in the middle. Starts like charging but then it turns
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Reinstall Snow Leopard 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.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the 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 the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
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 click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Mac book pro, mountain lion screen flickers. Any solution?

Hi
Suddenly the screen of my mac book pro started flickering. I have no idea what's going on. Tried couple of tricks (re-setting the EPRAM...), but nothing works. Any help?
thanks

You should also ask this in the MacBook Pro forum. This is the forum for the 13” white and black plastic MacBooks that were discontinued in 2010. You should also post this question there to increase your chances of getting an answer.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro

I cannot connect my iPhone 5 32GB IOS 6.02 to iTunes 11.01 on a Mac Book Pro. The screen freezes and doesn't recognize the iPhone at all. Thank you for your help.

I cannot connect my iPhone 5 32GB IOS 6.02 to iTunes 11.01 on a Mac Book Pro. The screen freezes and doesn't recognize the iPhone at all. Thank you for your help.

Read here.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1591

I dropped my mac book pro and the screen now has black and coloured lines in the corner. what is it and how can i fix it?

I dropped my mac book pro and the screen has now got a black rectangle and pink and green lines down it. What is it and how do i fix it?

Sounds like the display got damaged. Connect an external display and see if that's OK. If that's OK then the display is probably damaged. You can try reseating the LVDS connector but if that doesn't help the connections on the display body are very difficult to get to. Apple would just replace the entire display and that's what I would do as well.

On Mac Book Pro start button does not turn it on.

On Mac Book Pro start button does not turn it on.
After some attempts of pressing it finally it turns on.
(Meantime keayboard can be highlighted,but screen is black and I hear noise of shutting down it when I press it).
What can be the cause of this problem? Actually MacBook is new,only 9 months.
Please give me some suggestion what should I do.

It will be complicated to take it to the Apple store as in Georgia (Caucasus)there is not official Apple stores and in addition Mac Book was purchased in UK. I have red some staff here about start button pressing hard for turning it on, I have feeling that now it needs to be pressed hard to turn on. If it would be from the beginning I might think that it's normal,may be,for Mac Book,but initially it needed to be slightly pressed.
Thank you for suggestion.

Mac Book Pro Start Up Question

My 13 inch mac book pro that I purchased in 2010 has been working perfectly. However, today, my computer was having difficulties and I powered it down. Now, I can turn the computer on, but will be at the gray screen and eventually shut off. Is there anything I can do to make it work or do I need to go into the Apple Store to get this repaired? Thank you.

Just follow the instructions on the link that Bimmer provided. If you have a model with a non-removablle battery:
Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.
That's just the first step to take. If it doesn't work, call back...
Clinton

Mac book pro has grey screen with apple in the middle

my mac book pro has a grey screen, apple in the middle and a spinning wheel. i have tried the command r. nothing is working

Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by one or more of these:
a. Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
b. Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
c. Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
d. The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Note that the information I have provided is what Apple recommends, If other users suggest different solutions than found here, then be sure what they recommend does not impact on your warranty, if any, or ability to get continuing Apple service.
Please don't start removing drives or changing cables unless you know what you are doing and have exhausted other non-invasive alternatives outlined here. If you perform any work yourself that is unapproved by Apple, then you will void any warranty you may have and lose all further Apple Support.
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.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD. Simply boot from the Recovery HD to perform the above.
Reinstall Snow Leopard 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.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The 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 the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
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 click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

My Mac book pro displays black screen says no bootable device insert boot disk. I have no boot disk to insert. What should i do.no bootable device"

My Mac book pro immediately displays black screen when I start up and says no bootable device insert boot disk. My question I don't have boot disk nor recovery disk to restore the system. Urgently needs your support and help. Thanks in advance. Michael l. Lluch

Hello
any chance you have try a bootcamp / win install into your Mac ??
if so
try this to boot into mac os
restart your mac , just after start up sound hold on "ALT" key to sart on drive manager
if that work select mac os volume using arrows key and validate by enter
HTH
Pierre

Mac book pro start up noise no screen purchased late 2013

hey soo ,y yr old Mac book pro 15 retina late 2013 model I saw a post from support saying they r having issues with the sleep mode n not waking up.. Soo I remember this happening n then I wiped the Mac with a cloth went over the keys n it shut off n did not come back on... Now I reset the pram bla bla went through all the trouble shooting stuff it makes start up noise now then nothing...

You may try to restart your computer in Safe mode by taking these steps:
- Click on the Apple sign() at the upper left corner of the Desktop, select 'Shut down' from a drop-down menu;
- Wait until your computer turns off, then press the Power button(⌽);
- Immediately after you hear the startup tone, press and hold the Shift(⇧) key. It should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone;
- Release the Shift(⇧) key when you see a grey Apple sign() and the progress bar below;
This will force the system to perform several maintenance routines and load essential system software.
Once you've seen the Desktop, start a Disk Utility scan to detect and repair file system errors:
- Open Disk Utility application:
1. Click on Finder at the bottom of your Desktop;
2. Select Applications folder from Finder's left sidebar and then open Utilities folder (or press Command(⌘)-Shift(⇧)-U), double-click on Disk Utility icon;
- Choose your main hard drive from the left sidebar ('Macintosh HD', usually);
- Click on 'Verify Disc' at the bottom right corner, your Mac will perform a diagnostic test. Click on 'Repair Disk' if prompted to fix problems, or follow instructions given on the Disk Utility window;
- Once the routine finished, click on ""Verify Disc Permissions"", after it's done, click on 'Repair Disc Permissions';
- Wait until the process's finished and shut down your Mac, turn it back on in 30 seconds;

Brand New Mac Book Pro with defective screen

Hi Guys,
Does anyone here, purchased a brand new Mac Book Pro 13-inch: 2.9GHz with a defective screen?
I bought mine, Last June 14. I just noticed the defect last June 29 and returned it to where I purchase it at june 30.
There are somewhat 'black smudges' on the left part of the screen. I'm a graphic designer, so i know that this is a big issue for me.
Also, the fact that I'm just using it for 5 times I think, since I bought it, and there's already an issue.
At first, i was battling with the customer service (from where i bought it), They wouldn't want to give me replacement, because I already exceeded their 7 day return policy. But I'm not giving in, so then they just told me, they would send it to apple service.
It took a week for a progress, then I just got a call from Apple, that they didn't saw it either (the defect). Then I told the guy what I saw.
It's only visible with black background and with the lights turned off.
So he called again and told me that he also saw it, and told me that they would replace the Monitor.
I'm new with this, is it normally ok, that they will just replace the monitor? I mean, would it still work properly, now that they've
opened it and replaced only the defective part?
Hope you guys can give me your thoughts.
Thank You.

Not sure what part of the world you are in but Apple has a 14 day return policy. But even with the 14 days you exceeded that time limit. So the only option is to replace the defective part and not the whole system. This is standard operating practices for any manufacturer once you have exceeded the return period.

When I turn my mac book pro on the screen goes blue

Hi when I have had my mac book pro for well almost a year now and for some odd reason twice now when I turn on the computer the screen goes blue and will not go to the desk top....please advice

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8963.html

Mac book pro has black screen

My mac book pro with retina display has a black screen. It turns on and off but the screen remains black. The hardware test detected an error: 4SNS/1/40000001:IDOR-0.000

SNS is a sensor error the letter I later on says it is a current sensor.
Your Mac needs to visit the genius bar. Your appointment for an evaluation is Free.

Mac Book pro start up page then turns off

My Mac book pro goes to the start page and shows the apple logo it will stay on it for about 30 seconds with a loading bar at the bottom and then it turns off. I try to restart it but it just does the same thing over again. Is there anything I can do to get it going again?

If you followed the article then that means you've completed an Erase and Install of your computer (one of the final steps). If the symptom persists after an erase (without restoring from a backup), then the issue is harware in nature and you'll want to get it in for diagnosis:
"If the issue persists after you follow the above steps, you may wish to make an appointment with a Mac Genius at an Apple store, contact AppleCare via phone, or contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider for assistance."

Question mark folder on my mac book pro start up screen?

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