Question Mark, No Hard Drive Mounted?!

Yesterday, I cameback to my apartment, and my iMac G5 was asleep but the fan sounded very loud; like it was going to explode.
I turned it off, and turned it back on, and I keep getting the same folder with a question mark error.
I've tried booting from the cd, and trying to repair the drive. But it doesnt even show the hard drive as being there to repair.
I tried resetting the PRAM, and I've done the hardware test (everything passed).
I'm stumped. Please help!

The very same thing has just happened to my iMac tonight. Tried all of the steps that Brandon has to no avail. Would be interested in any suggestions.
I reckon the HD is kaput. Unfortunately I will have probably lost all of my music, photos and docs. Anyone got any experience of data retrieval services as most PhD thesis is/was on that HD.
Never had a problem with Windows/Linux machines for all the years I have been using them and became a switcher in July. At the moment, not at all impressed with Apple Computer Inc.

Similar Messages

IMac DV SE 400 chimes, gives flashing question mark. Hard drive bad?

My G3 iMac DV SE 400 will not start up. This is what happens:
1. Startup chime
2. Hard drive starts to spin
3. Hard drive "clicks" once
4. Flashing question mark on screen
I tried resetting the PRAM and disconnecting everything like it says in the manual. I have booted up from CD and used Disk Utility (OS X) and Disk First Aid (OS 9) to find out if the computer "sees" the hard drive. No luck with either one - the drive does not mount. I have also tried System Profiler and the computer does not recognize the presence of any hard drive there either.
Is the hard drive really "dead?" Can it be resurrected - at least to the point where I can retrieve my files, pictures, etc.? I'm confident that the drive is receiving power because it actually starts to spin up (see #2 above). Am I overlooking something easy here? Could it be as simple as replacing the battery? I haven't tried that because the hard drive does "attempt" to start up.
Failing all else, is it possible to retrieve the data using my other Mac even though the hard drive will not boot?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Well if it spins up you might be able to salvage your data with Data Rescue II (free demo) or Disk Warrior. You could also try Target mode but if disk utility didn't see it then that's probably not going to be any better.
If those two don't see it then your only option is data retrieval via a pro company but that will be very expensive.
Richard

Flashing Question mark: New hard drive not working Macbook Pro late 2008

After following several peoples advice on this forum I decided to upgrade my Macbook Pro late 2008 with a Seagate (1TB) Solid State Hybrid Drive 2.5 inch.
Heres the device.
http://www.morecomputers.com/spec.aspx?pn=ST1000LM014
After creating a mountable boot on a External hard drive with Mavericks install I removed the current hard drive and replaced with the new seagate drive. However it didn't seem to recognize the external hard drive (it is quite old but works perfectly) and went to a flashing grey question mark screen and wouldnt do anything else. Ive tried holding down command-r and option-r but I get nothing. Its just the same flashing question mark. I have done this several times and the same result.
I put the old drive back in and it works fine.
I am trying to work out is the problem with the mountable external hard drive OR is it the hard drive is not compatible with my computer?
Appreciate your help
Gary

Sorry I think you may be confused.
I am trying to install the new Seagate hard drive to my mac (not as an external hard drive).
I replace the macbook pro hard drive with the seagate drive:
http://www.morecomputers.com/spec.aspx?pn=ST1000LM014
I then started up the machine with a usb external hard drive with a boot copy of mavericks on it. However, it just displayed a flashing question mark and wouldnt start booting the osx.
I am trying to work out is the problem with the mountable external hard drive OR is it the hard drive is not compatible with my computer? Im guessing it must be hard drive. Would it be better to use a USB pen drive as the external hard drive is quite old?
Does anyone know what the problem could be as the hard drive is brand new.
Appreciate your help
Thanks, Gary

Folder with Question Mark, Clicking hard drive and unformatted status on the hard drive in DU

Hi.
We have a mac Mini 2012. Only 6 months old and has been used as a media server for the entire 6 months.
All of a sudden the mac will not work as usual.
When it starts up there is a clicking sound, almost like a clock, then a white screen with a flashing Folder and Question mark.
I have used every startup key combination possible. I've even tried to boot in target mode with my Macbook Pro to see if I can access the files on the drive but had no luck.
I can only boot from the internet download OSX. I tried to install Mountain Lion again but there was no destination to install it to. When I go into disk utilities the drive is shown as a TOSHIBA (Blah Blah blah). Macintosh HD is not shown.
The drive has no verify or repair options and is classed as unformatted.
I decided to try and erase it and reformat it but it gave me this error "unable to write to the last block of the device"
I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this but I'm gonna ask anyway.
"Are the files recoverable?"
and what the F do I do?

No, no backups, this was the backup for my laptop which was failing as well. I moved all my media and files across to the mini, deleted them on my laptop and had the mini work as a media server as well as a back up location for the files that were still on my laptop (mainly photography work)
I guess I'll have to take it back in store for the hard drive to be replaced as it's still under waranty.
Does apple give you the failed hard drive back? we have lots of bank statements/bills/passwords and all manner of personal data stored on it. I don't want it falling into the wrong hands.

MacBook won't start, shows folder with question mark. Hard drive fried?

Last night, my MacBook was loading the contents of a message board in Firefox. Someone had apparently uploaded 20 mb photos, or something, because my Mac practically froze trying to render the webpage. I left my Mac running for perhaps 45 minutes. When I came back, I noticed the fans were whirring very loudly, and that the bottom of the MacBook (I'm guessing where the hard drive is located) was very hot. When Force Quit didn't work, I decided to manually shut down the computer by pushing the power button. When I turned it back on the computer made high pitch screching sounds (perhaps from the hard drive) and the computer wouldn't start up, only showing a folder with a question mark?
Is my MacBook fried? I have five years' worth of very important pictures, not to mention all of my other files, stored there and nowhere else. Do you think I can get the files back?

If you see a flashing question mark when you start your Mac, it's probably because it can't find the system software it needs to start up. Usually, all you have to do to get your Mac back up and running is remind it where its software is.
See if this helps: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
Also, please backup your data regardless so if you can't retrieve it from the internal hard drive, you don't lose years of info

Folder with Question Mark Icon--hard drive kaput?

Hello,
I know there's extensive info on this occurring at startup but I wanted to ask anyone a couple of specifics.
1). My imac is old. It's from 2007 and while I've enjoyed it etc., I understand that it's time has "probably come".
2). No and this is my bad; I've not backed it up. Luckily, there honestly isn't a ton of irreplaceable stuff on it so in worst case scenario it's not a disaster. It's more of a nuisance.
3). I used OSX Leopard.
So here's the meat and potatoes.   Whether its coincidental or causal, I can't say but after I upgraded my iPhone to iOS7, I started to get a couple of "can't connect to iTunes" errors and then suddenly my imac shut down and when I tried to restart, I'd get the grey screen with the ? folder.
I'm not a techie but I tried the gamut of troubleshooting fixes.   In short,
1) I tried rebooting after unplugging peripherals.
2). I tried rebooting while holding the Option key.
3). I tried inserting the OSX install disc and restarting while holding down C. The computer merely ejected the disc.
4). I tried resetting PRAM
On all attempts, the folder icon reappeared. I cannot get any kind of disk utilities tools to open. I cannot get past the folder icon.
I went to the Genius Bar this AM. The techie ran a diagnostic and concluded that my hard drive was dead and that he cold not help me anymore because the machine was too old. He couldn't/wouldn't give me any details presumably because apple has no interest in servicing/dealing with an old machine. All he would say to me is try an authorized reseller.
My experiences with Genius Bar are routinely unpleasant so I can't tell if this guy was truthful.
My questions:
1). Is there another fix I can attempt to get the imac to reboot? If I can get one reboot, I'll go immediately back up everything.
2). Does this sound like a hard drive death?
3). Are my data lost forever?
Thanks!

I tried rebooting while holding the Option key.
If the startup disk is not available from the Startup Manager window, that's an indication that the disk has failed
Genius Bar was most likely correct.

Hello, can someone help me: my eMac G4 700 MHz. I can not boot it. If he starts appears on the screen, only a small "folder with a question mark." The Mac was not used 1 year. Question 1: Problem = hard drive? Question 2: Problem = PRAM battery? the What

Hello, can someone help me: my eMac G4 700 MHz. I can not boot it. If he starts appears on the screen, only a small "folder with a question mark." The Mac was not used 1 year.
Question 1: Problem = hard drive?
Question 2: Problem = PRAM battery?
the
What can I do to boot?

Restart with the Option key held down.
If the internal drive shows up, it's the PRAM battery.
If it doesn't, insert a compatible Mac OS 9 or X install disk, click the button with the circular arrow, and either repair the internal drive or install a new OS on it. If it doesn't show up in Disk First Aid(9) or the Disk Utility(X), it's either not plugged in or needs to be replaced.
(97530)

External Hard Drive Mounting Issues

Hi everybody!
Problem:
My G Technologies external hard drive mounts inconsistently since the Pro Tools session I was working on today crashed. When it does manage to mount my Trash Bin on the dock fills up with trash automatically and this trash cannot be emptied.
In addition I have been unable to even open up my external hard drive on the desktop once it has mounted--I get the infinite pinwheel of death! If it does open, I'll eventually get to a folder that upon opening also brings up the pinwheel of death. Each time this happens I am forced to manually shut down my computer. Any suggestions? You help would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you in advance.
I'm using a MacBook Pro with OSX 10.4.11 and it has a Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The ports I'm using with the external hard drive is Firewire 800.

Try booting in safe mode and emptying the trash. Try doing a Finder - Secure Empty Trash deletion....
I believe your problems are related to large files that were marked for deletion not being deleted...

After installing Mountain Lion doesn't external hard drives mount or stay mounted. Anybody else with this major problem?

After installing Mountain Lion doesn't external hard drives mount or stay mounted.
I have tried resetting my Mac's PRAM but the problem still remains.
Even USB memory sticks are unmounted efter a few seconds.
Anybody else with this major problem?

I have the same problem, although mine has not been solved by ESET update, finder settings, PRAM & SMC resets or anything else.
Don't get it, my external hard drive still works on both my housemates computers - one macbook pro (with snow leopard) and one dell, just not on mine with mountain lion.
Any ideas for me guys?

TS1550 Do external hard drives mounted on my Mac get backed up by time machine on a time capsule wireless Apple external back up disk? How can I see what folders have been actually stored in the wireless back up disk?

Do external hard drives mounted on my Mac get backed up by time machine on a time capsule wireless apple external hard disk? How can I see what folders have been actually backed up in the external wireless disk? any help would be appreciated

They can provided you remove them from the Exclude list. Normally, Time Machine does not automatically backup external drives.

Satellite P75-A7200 hard drive mount connector

I am missing the hard drive mount that secures the additional hard drive on the Satellite P75-A7200.
Does anybody know where I could find this piece?

About a month ago I replaced failed 20GB hard drive in a Toshiba Satellite Pro A10 with a 40GB Samsung 2.5" Hard Drive that I bought from PC World for 45 (ordered via their website using the collect@store option). Since then the laptop has performed without problems.The only minor annoyance is that the recovery CD's formatted the new hard drive with 2 20MB partitions rather than a single one of 40MB. The main thing to check if you are not replacing drives on a like for like basis is that the power consumption of the replacement drive is no greater than that of the original otherwise you could encounter overheating problems.
The smaller (20GB and 30GB) drives originally fitted to the A10 no longer appear to be readily available. A 40GB Toshiba 2.5" hard drive is available from MISCO for around 49+delivery.
Hope this helps.
Regards John Storey

Questions on replacing hard drive in Compaq CQ58 for the experts

I have a Compaq CQ58-bf9WM, product number: C2M29UA#ABA with Window 8 version 6.2.9200 build 9200. Windows 8 is not meeting my needs and I wish to replace it. My plan is to replace the existing hard disk with a new solid state disk. I need to prepare the new disk for using the UEFI start up process and configure the UEFI BIOS to boot from the new disk. I also plan to place the hard disk with Windows 8 into a USB hard disk adapter. This will allow me to use Windows 8 when I need it by using the UEFI Boot Device menu in the UEFI Start Up Tool(or screen).
The replacement solid state disk in order to use the UEFI start up process needs to be set with GUID Partition Table (GPT). What Windows 8 tools (e.g. old fdisk Care available to do this and where one can one find instructions for the process? If the tools are missing on this installation of Windows 8 then how can I get the necessary tools?
According to the HP document, HP Business Notebook Computer EFI Guidelines, the replacement solid state disk there needs to be VFAT32 EFI System Partition (ESP) labeled HP_TOOLS and marked as boot present to support UEFI start up process. Presently, the existing hard drive VFAT32 ESP does not have any label? Do I need the HP_TOOLS label on the new solid state drive?
On the VFAT32 ESP, there needs to be a directory structure of /BOOT/EFI/ with the EFI programs(boot loader, boot manager, shell, etc.). How can one register the new EFI programs (within/BOOT/EFI) to allow them to be started by UEFI Boot from File menu of the UEFI Start Up Tool?
The VFAT32 ESP on the existing hard drive has a directory HP in /EFI. The HP directory contains directories BIOS, BIOSUPDATE, and SystemDiags. I am assuming I will need copy this directory structure and their contents to the new solid state drive VFAT32 partition. Is this correct?
There are also two directories, boot and EFI in the HP directory on the VFAT32. The boot and EFI directories appear to contain Microsoft boot software for Windows 8. I should not need these since Windows 8 will not be on the solid state disk. Is this correct?
Before I make any changes that affect the BIOS, I would like to make a backup copy of the BIOS and its information. How can I do this? I would also like the backup copy to be stored in the ESP BIOSUPDATE directory.
I would like to have the UEFI Shell available on both drives(existing and new). UEFI Shell is part of the overall UEFI specification, so it should be able to be supported by the UEFI BIOS. It needs to have a signature or key file to register it. Does HP have a version of the UEFI shell with a signature file available? If yes, then how does one get a copy of files and installation instructions? If no, then how does one install the Intel provided shellx86.efi program (especially the existing drive)?
Thank you in advance for any help on any these questions.

The prices there look pretty decent. As for transferring the cloned image, what software did you use to clone? Most imaging software has a way to restore the image to a new hdd.
I use Macrium. It creates an Image of the hdd to CD/DVD or external USB hdd. It also lets you create a bootable cd to boot from & restore the image to a new hdd.
Macrium Reflect HERE
Create an Image Restore an Image
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**Click Accept as Solution on a Reply that solves your issue to help others**

Folder with question mark ! hard disk !

I NEED HELP !!! I Replaced my mac hard disk due to a malfunction in the first one but i already formatted it and when i start up, it gives this folder with a question mark ! When i start internet recovery i get this error 6002F !! I NEED HELP ... what is wrong and how do i solve this issue .
ps. the Store did not carry the mac OSX CD's so they told me to internet recover the OS.

The icon means that the Mac can't find suitable startup volume. In other words, it can't find the OS in the drive. Your only hope is connecting the Mac to the Internet and starting it up with Command-R pressed. Hopefully you will be able to do an Internet-based Recovery boot.
If that cannot be made to work, you will have to take it to an Apple Store or a Service Provider so they can install the OS.

RS140 - Hard Drive Mounts / SAS Mini power cables

We have purchased a few trimmed down RS140’s and we are now looking to add more hard drives. We currently have 2 problem, we are unable to find the SAS 4x power adapters mentioned in the manual. The 2nd is we are unable to find the proper mounting bracket to fit 2.5 inch SAS hdd’s. I have not been able to get an answer from google of all places or from the company we purchased the servers from. Can someone please tell me how to order these parts as I do not seem to see them available on Lenovo’s site either.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Good day and welcome to the community.
I'll disclaim right up front that I have no experience with these devices, but I hope the info below helps you zero in on what you need.
First, here's the hardware manual for the RS140: http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/thinkservers/rs140_hmm_ug_en.pdf
Next, here's the service parts list for the same: http://download.lenovo.com/parts/ThinkCentre/rs140_service_parts.pdf
A quick look makes me think it will have useful P/Ns for you in the Cables and Mechanicals sections.
Finally, I took a wild stab with these two FRUs:
00FC375 - Mini-SAS to 4X2.5" SAS Combo Cable
00FC519 - 2.5HDD BRK
at the maintenance parts site: http://www-304.ibm.com/shop/americas/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/default/PromotionDisplay?promoName=pa...
and both come back as "In Stock".
Hope this helps a bit.
Regards.
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USB Hard Drives Mount via AEBS but are Empty/Blank

I just came home with a new AIrport Extreme Base Station, bought so I could access my USB hard drives anywhere in the house. Before setting out this morning I read on the AEBS product page that you could connect multiple drives or printers using a USB hub, so was quite pleased.
I got it home, plugged in the hub, connected the ethernet, and connected to the AEBS from my MacBook Pro. I configured it to share my EPSON printer and the two USB hard drives I use. They all show in the Airport Utility. Configured security, updated, and mounted my drives. And they do mount, both of them show under "shared" in Finder.
The only problem is: They are both BLANK. There are no folders or files showing on them whatsoever. I panicked and plugged them straight into my MBP, hoping the AEBS hadn't formatted them or something, but the files were there and okay. I plugged them back into the hub... And nothing.
I see lots of threads having to do with people who cannot mount their drives, but that's not my problem. They MOUNT fine, they just don't have any files on them. Can anyone help? If not, the AEBS goes back to the store.

UPDATE: I managed to gain access to my files by switching (within the AEBS settings) from user-based sharing to a simple drive password. Once I did that I was able to browse and use my USB hard drives over the airport.
However, I would like to use the account-based system, so I'm modifying my question and adding another.
1) Why can't I see my files on USB drives connected to the AEBS when I'm using user-based security?
2) When I change users on my MacBook Pro, the other users cannot access the drives connected to the AEBS. I've got one password set now, using drive security (and I also tried it using the AEBS password for security), but it only works on my account. On other accounts, the user is informed that the password is invalid, even though I know I'm typing it correctly.
Basically I either need to get the AEBS to share my drives, with files, using user-based security or convince it to allow other users in when I have drive or base station password security for the drives.
Any help... Much appreciated!

Question Mark, No Hard Drive Mounted?!

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