Question marks popping up?

Recipients of messages from my Mail complain of unwanted question marks littering my mailings. The problem may be connected to the space bar although I am not sure?
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Check this link.
http://homepage.mac.com/thgewecke/woutlook.html
Using RTF for message composition with the Mail.app is not a problem for most email clients except for Windows Outlook and if you check, the recipients reporting this problem are likely Windows Outlook users.
The best and easiest way to resolve it is by using Plain Text for message composition until Apple and/or Microslop work on getting this resolved.

Similar Messages

Folder with question mark popping up when I turn on my Mac

A little water spilled on my Mac acouple days ago. I let it dry for about 36 hours and it turned on again but a folder with a question mark comes up and flashes. A friend of mine told me that I need to install the iOS software that it came with. Unfortunately I cannot find it and have made an appointment with my local Genius Bar. I just wanna know will my computer work the same as it did before (meaning not slowed down) and will I be able to save any memory that I had on it before the accident?

I responded to you here > Some water spilled on my Mac: Apple Support Communities
BTW, iOS is for iPads, iPhones, and the iPod touch, not Mac OS X.
Keep the Genius Bar appointment. Hopefully they can reinstall OS X for you.
If you have not been backing up your important data prior to the water damage, when they reinstall OS X you may not be able to access those files.
Very important to backup documents, bookmarks, calendars, photos, etc, to an external source on a timely basis so that it can be recovered.

Question mark Folder issue.

Hey i've been looking around about the question mark Folder issue i have tried every step from PRAM to Disk Utility(repairing/verifying) to Recovering over Internet the whole 9 yards. (BTW It didn't let me Internet Recover because i have a later version of OS X i gave up on that). After a while i gave up went to sleep later turned it on and it booted up normally. After a bit of use i noticed that my Mac HD OS X isn't selected on the Startup Disk to boot from. I select my Mac HD OS X, clicked restart, then folder with question mark pops up again. I let it rest like i did last time and it let me boot up normally.
I have no idea how to fix this. What i noticed was the spinning color wheel before all this happened was popping up more often. My laptop actually froze with the wheel and i did a hard shut down and that is when the folder with ? popped up. Now it pops up once or twice every hour or depending on how much CPU i use. I can't quite figure this out.
I don't want to think my drive has failed or is failing cause it is barely a year oldl treat it very well.
Any help would be appreciated!
Here are my specs.
Macbook Pro 13-inch Mid 2012
Processor: 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7
Mem: 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 512 MB
OS X 10.8.5

Hello Ben.
Try deselecting and reselecting the startup volume and then restart.

What does a blinking file with a question mark mean?

Hey guys! i have a mid 2008 macbook pro and it recently turned off and whenever i try to turn it back on, a blinking file with a question mark pops up? any thoughts or ideas? Maybe the hardrive is broken or something?

Solution may be found if you search in the "More Like This" section over in the right column.

Question marks replaced app icons on dock

I downloaded Skype and VLC on my MBP retina, and when I went to Finder and ejected the disks, two gray question marks popped up on my dock, where Skype and VLC should've been.
I didn't have this problem on my old MacBook; how do i solve this problem?

I had the same problem and have left it ever since I upgraded this less than 1 year old machine.
It has quietly frustrated me, but I have been so busy I hadn't time to worry about such a small inconvenience, I thought it may take days to solve.
You just solved it for me in moments!
Thank you mende1 from me too.

TS1365 What does it mean when my Macbook pro displays a question mark at startup, and won't boot?

My MacBook Pro won't start up. It displays a Question Mark for a while, and you can hear the HDD spinning, as well as some clicks, but nothing happens. It started after I accepted and began a recommended upgrade download and install. I started the upgrade install, rebooted, and walked away. An hour later, it displayed the progress bar as about 50% complete for the install. 24 hrs later, it was still at the same status. Several hours later, still no progress, so I hit the on/off button, shutting down the computer. After that, it would not restart...it gives the start-up chime, I hear the HDD spinning, and also hear some ominous "click click" sounds. Then a question mark pops onto the screen, and that's all. Any suggestions?

It means that it cannot find certain startup files. In your case it's probably because you interrupted the installation or the installation failed and files were corrupted or lost. Do the following:
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.

Question mark over imovie icon

Has anyone tried to open iMovie only to have a question mark pop up over their icon? I cannot open my iMovie...getting nervous.

Niel wrote:
Install it from your iLife or computer's original disk, using Pacifist if needed, and then run the latest applicable iMovie updater.
(53051)
Hello, I have a question mark on the dock where once were icons which were not opening for
iphoto and system preferences. If I
Install it from your iLife or computer's original disk, using Pacifist if needed, and then run the latest applicable iPhoto updater.
will it erase any photos I have on my computer?
I can't use Time Machine because I can't open System Preferences.

Blinking folder with question mark behind it

My computer was going very slow, so I held down the power button, and rebooted it. Now is shows a white screen and after awhile a folder with a question mark pops up
Please help!!

See here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

My MB pro doesn't recognize any start up discs. I have the flashing question mark, but when I press option/alt, I'm only prompted to start the internet recovery. Afterwards the Mac OS X Utilities pops up, but there's no start up disc?

I have the flashing question mark, but when I press option/alt, I'm only prompted to start the internet recovery. Afterwards the Mac OS X Utilities pops up, but there's no start up disc when I try to reinstall Mac OS x or anything.

Hello, sullivja.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
Here is an article I would recommend going through when experiencing this issue.
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
Cheers,
Jason H.

My iMac has a blinking question mark folder on it and won't let me boot.

I have a late 2009 27 inch iMac whos hardrive failed a while back. A couple days ago i decided to pop in a new hard drive in it, the same brand, just different capacity. I wanted to put windows on it, and tried to boot it with pressing c on the keyboard at startup but encountered a few problems.
When i power on my imac the screen is just a blank white screen for about 20-30 seconds. During this time, any devices plugged into the USB ports do not work. My mouse is not lit up, and my keyboard will not react to pressing caps lock, num lock etc. After that 20-30 second period the folder with the blinking question mark on it pops up. I tried holding C, as well as windows key and C but nothing seems to make the mac recognize i want it to boot from other devices.
The hard drive i installed is empty (obviously) So i'm not sure if its an issue with the way I installed the hard drive (pretty sure i did it right) or another issue that may involve trying to put windows on it. Also worth noting is im using a normal USB mouse, and a normal USB keyboard, not mac devices. I'm willing to put OSX on this computer if its necessary to make it work, but right now all i can get on it is that white screen and then the blinking folder. Does anybody have any idea how to fix this?

Drive Partition and Format
1. 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 Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
When formatting has completed quit Disk Utility and install OS X.

Strange question mark error while opening pdf files in adobereader from SAP

Hi Gurus
We are having a strange intermittent problem with Adobe Reader. When we try to open PDF files from SAP Frontend we get an error pop-up. The pop-up does not have any text. The title of the pop-up has "Adobe Reader". There is a blue question mark and an OK button.
This issue occurs few times a day
This issue does not occur in Windows XP.
Since past few weeks, we have been trying to find some error/warning/atleast some text in log files of SAP, OS, Adobe Reader, Registry entries, Event Viewer. So far, we have not found anything.
SAP is not able to help as this issue occurs intermittently and said when they tried, the issue did not occur. They made two attempts and in each attempt they tried 10 times to reproduce the issue. This issue occurs intermittently.
Environment
SAP R/3 4.7 EE SAP_Basis 620 Support Package 61
Windows Vista Enterprise
Adobe Reader 9.0 and Adobe Reader 9.1 (tried with both versions)
SAPGUI 710 Patch 12 (latest patch). It also occured in Patch 11.
Please suggest
Thank you
Pavan

Thank you for the quick reply.
We tried many notes from Service Market Place. Also, Windows Team is in contact with Adobe.
As per Adobe's suggestions, we tried changing preferences of Adobe Reader. We think it might be a problem with SAP Frontend.
Present status - Issue still exists. nothing works.
Thank you

Flashing Question Mark in Folder at Startup - Retrieving Lost Data on HD

I've had my macbook for 9 months and Thursday it started making a clicking noise. I remember accidentally opening iMovie, then all my applications slowed down. The rainbow wheel wouldn't go away and everything froze (clicking noise continued). So I shut it down manually using the power button and instead of starting up, the flashing question mark in a folder popped up. I took my computer to an Apple Store and they told me I can either get the hard drive replaced, meaning all my data would be lost, or I could contact a hard drive recovery company to try to retrieve as much of it as possible. They said it would be fairly expensive ($500-$1000)..
Does anyone have any experience with any of these companies? Do they try to fix your old hard drive (I've noticed that a number of other people have had problems with 9-month old macbooks) or do they retrieve as much data as they can and save it to a new hard drive? And how long could this process take? I am a college student and I need access to a computer as well as the information on my own laptop.

Funny I has a very similar problem with my 8 mo old MacBook on the 15th and got the same reply from the Genius at the Apple Store today.
I spoke with someone at one of those companies located in the Boston area. They could look at my computer with in the hour if it was an emergency, turn around time could be pretty quick or take up to a week. They charge $95 to look at it and then will give you a list of files they can retrieve. You can then make a decision as to whether they should go ahead and recover. The fee for them to actually recover your files is $500 at a minimum and it could be higher. They do not fix your hard drive. They said my warranty would still be valid when they were done. hope that helps...I can't decide what to do for myself, it was just pictures that I had not backed up yet. Good luck.

Mac Book (2009) Question Mark Folder ... Help!!

Hello, I have a mid 2009 Macbook, and i bought it off e-bay i while ago. My school happens to give these computers to students so that they can take them home and they also give these computers away on ebay when a class leaves and i bought it from them . The computer worked fine the first day that i got it, But then the next day the question mark with the folder popped up. I had never seen this before, and i have seen on here the resolutions to fix the computer, but how can i fix it if it wont restart or start up? i have no documents on the computer because i just got it so i dont care about losing any information on the computer. There is a Certain disk that I've heard about the Mac os x, should i purchase that? and if that dosent work, do i go to the mac store and get it fixed? and if i do get it fixed how much would it cost? Please Help Me!!!
P.S. The computer screen stays on the blinking folder with the question mark and then shuts off after 10 mins, i know its prob. the hard drive cause its an old computer but how do i fix this
Thanks
-Erika

The 10.6 Snow Leopard DVD is in the Apple online store. You can get it for $19.99. You will need to be running 10.6.8 to access the App Store to order Lion or Mountain Lion. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
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. 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. 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) until the apple shows up. That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
Or if you are running 10.7 Lion or 10.8 Mountain Lion, boot from the recovery partition (Command +R on boot) and use Disk Utility to repair your OS 10.7 or 10.8 partition.
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. After repairing use Startup Disk from the same menu to choose your hard drive for restarting from your hard drive.
If your hard drive isn’t recognized in Disk Utility then your hard drive is probably dead.

Instead of an apple, I get a file folder with a question mark!

Hi. I turned on my MacBook today, and instead of the apple popping on to the screen after a few seconds, I got something that looks like a file folder with a question mark in the middle of it. Then it starts to flash! Turned it off with the power button, tried again a few times...same result. Anyone know what to do? Thanks

If the computer starts up after a brief delay, you probably just need to reselect your startup volume. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Click Startup Disk and select the the desired startup volume.
If your computer does not start up, try repairing your startup disk and reselecting your Mac OS X startup volume. Click the link below for the webpage with detailed instructions.
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

Question Mark in Finder Window

Just bought a new mac book and im noticing something odd. When I open the finder window there is a "?" mark at the top of the window located between the button with the "gear" on it to create a new folder and between the 4 view buttons. When I click it I get a pop-up box with the Finder icon in it that says "the item cannot be found." My Mac Mini does not have this. Any thoughts as to what this means? Im relatively new to Mac so please forgive me if this is something I should know.

newtxmgf,
If you're running Leopard, that's where the Quick Look button should be.
In the Finder, choose View>Customize Toolbar and see if you can drag the Quick Look button up there and get rid of the question mark.
Matt

Question marks popping up?

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