TS1440 My Macbook will not boot, all that appears is a blinking file icon with a question mark.
I have done some research on the issue and it seems to be quite common, but all of the troubleshooting methods I have taken have failed.
The most common answer seems to be to insert my Mac OS X installation disk.
Well....
I recently bought my Macbook off of amazon, and the seller did not provide me with an installation disk. Go figure!
I have absolutely no idea what to do due to the fact that i have JUST started to become familiar with Mac's.
Help would be greatly appreciated, I live nearly 3 hours away from the nearest Apple store.
Hi Amanda,
The question mark means it can't find the ddrive it thinks it's supposed to boot from, most common cause is drive failure.
Hold alt key at bootup, if the Hard Drive doesn't show as a boot choice, then you have big problems.
If you don't know the model, find the Serial# & use it on one of these sites, but don't post the Serial# here...
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
How to find the serial number of your Apple hardware product...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1349
It's possible it may run 10.6.x & you can get that disc cheap from Apple.
Snow Leopard/10.6.x Requirements...
General requirements
* Mac computer with an Intel processor
* 1GB of memory (I say 4GB at least, more if you can afford it)
* 5GB of available disk space (I say 30GB at least)
* DVD drive for installation
* Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
* Some features require Apple’s MobileMe service; fees and terms apply.
Which apps work with Mac OS X 10.6?...
http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/
Buy Snow Leopard > http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Call Apple Sales...in the US: 1-800-MY-APPLE. Or Support... 1-800-275-2273
Other countries...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57
If it's a core Duo & not a Core2Duo, then it'll only run in 32 bit mode.
Similar Messages
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Hi Everyone, I have tried all the solutions mentioned by apple and still have a white screen with a blinking file folder with a question mark in the center, anyone have any ideas or experienced this?
Nooo or you would use OS X Recovery Mode: Disk Utilty and then Startup Disk.
Mac OS X & Mountain Lion Community
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/os_x_mountain_lion?view=discussio ns
Recovery Mode
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
ExpressLane
https://expresslane.apple.com/
Mac OS X Help
http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/
Isolating Issues in Mac OS
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1388
https://www.apple.com/support/osx/
https://www.apple.com/support/quickassist/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/help/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/tour/
Get Help with your Product
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304725 -
My MacBook will not boot up all I get is a white screen with the light on the front of the mac blinking and a beeping.
Check this Apple support article https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547
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HT3964 A file icon with a question mark appears instead of apple when booting?
Macbook will not boot. An icon with a question mark in a shape of a file apears after a long delay. I am accessing network on another Mac. Any suggestions for booting would be welcome.
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.
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. -
I erased my HD and while downloading a new screen went of.When I switched on again there was a file icon with a question mark
restart holding down command+r, you'll be able to reinstall your OS here
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After updating Airport software, Macbook will not boot
I see others have updated with the new Airport software without incident, but not me.
I just ran software update to install the Airport update (hoping it would cure the problem I've had -- and other users as well -- with the connection dropping every 5 minutes with Linksys routers [check the Airport discussion board for much discussion of this]).
After installing, upon restart my Macbook will not boot fully. I get the Apple symbol, then the spinning gear symbol, then a light blue screen and that's it. After a while the fan comes on.
Call it the light blue screen of death.
All was working fine until the update.
I have boot camp and I can boot into Windows.
I have tried removing the battery and resetting the PRAM. No help.
Sigh... Applecare is closed so I cannot call until Friday morning. Anyone have any suggestions of what I can try?
I have my Mac hard disk backed up from a few days ago using Super Duper on a USB drive but I am reluctant to try booting from it as I fear corrupting the drive. Unfortunately I don't have my Mac system CDs with me as I am away from home at the moment.
I just switched to the Mac 6 weeks ago after 3.5 years with a Dell laptop. Never had a single problem like this in all that time. But I still like my Mac.
PDWell, I spoke too soon. Last night I was able to start up as described above, but this morning when I tried to start it did not even get to the Mac symbol. It just hung at a dark blue screen for several minutes.
Tried restarting with the shift key held down but it would not go into safe mode. Just the dark blue screen.
Resetting PRAM made it startup.
But I'm pretty nervous about this.
So, is there a way in Mac OS X to roll back to the system before the update? In Windows XP this is very simple under System Restore. I have the impression OS X doesn't have this feature and won't until next year with Time Machine.
And I see now I'm not the only user with this problem.
PD -
My macbook will not boot. It goes to a blue screen after the logo and wheel goes off. I have taken the battery out and held the on/off button for five seconds and reset the PRAM. I have the the original os disk but have not put it in for fear of losing un backed op data.
Thanks
RichYou won't lose any data unless you erase your hard drive.
Put your install DVD into the optical drive and reboot. 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). That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
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 selected 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. -
My Apple Macbook 13.3" Laptop-Black 2008 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo will not boot up and instead I get a grey screen with a folder and a question mark over it. I've tried Option key, and Control S keys and it still will not boop up. Can anyone help?
If you are running Snow Leopard:
Reinstall OS X 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.
If you are running Lion or later:
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing 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
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 then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Mountain Lion or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it isthree times faster than wireless. -
It rained in my window last night, on my power strip. My macbook adaptor (charger) and iphone adaptor were both plugged into the strip. The power strip is dead. Iphone is fine. Macbook will not boot up and charger light doesn't go on. I borrowed another charger and still no luck. What should I do? (Charger wasn't plugged into Macbook until I dried it off.)
Spill Cleaning
And, don't think that just because it was two teaspoons and not a glassful that there is a difference.
Some liquid has just spilled into your Mac. What should you do?
Do
Immediately shut down the computer and unplug the power cord.
Remove the computer's battery (if you can)
Disconnect any peripherals (printers, iPods, scanners, cameras, etc.)
Lay the computer upside down on paper towels to get as much liquid as possible to drip out.
Note what was spilled on your Mac.
Bring the computer into an Apple store or AASP as soon as possible.
Don't
Don't try to turn it back on. Liquids can help electrical current move about the components of your Mac in destructive ways.
Don't shake the computer (this will only spread the liquid around).
Don't use a hair dryer on it (even at a low setting a hair dryer will damage sensitive components).
Do not put in a bag of rice in as much as rice will get into the ports and optical drive and do further damage. -
Macbook will not boot up after running Software Update
My MacBook will not boot up after running Software Update (Security update + Java?) earlier today. I have only the gray start up screen + Apple logo + gear wheel constantly rotating. I have tried restarts several times and tried to start up from my original system DVD - this makes no difference.
I called Apple support, tried resetting the power and PRAM - still no difference. He had no knowledge of other problems reported; although I note recent post may have same issue.
I cannot get an appointment at my Apple Store before Monday.
Any suggestions?Still no success. When I hold down the option key when powering up I get the hard disk icon plus arrowhead (only). When clicking the arrowhead it goes to the gray screen + apple logo+ rotating gearwheel.
This happens both with DVD in slot and without DVD. the DVD image is not coming up on screen. When I start up without DVD the hard disk icon appears promptly. When I start with DVD in the DVD is spinning for a short period before the hard disk icon appears. On clicking the arrowhead to hard disk icon the DVD spins again for a while then stops. Apart from the DVD spinning, both situations result in gray screen + apple logo+ rotating gearwheel. -
My iMac will not boot up. it brings up a black screen with a cursor
all of a sudden my imac will not boot up. it brings up the grey page with the apple, then instead of going to the login, it goes to a blank black page. The cursor moves with the mouse, but that is it
First carefully read and then methodically follow Apple's troubleshooting steps in Gray screen appears during startup
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Hello, My mac mini will not boot. When I turn it on, I get the chime, then the white screen, then the apple symbol, then a file symbol with a question mark, then the white screen and then it stays like that.
Is this a bad hard drive?Sounds like it. Try booting from your OSX restore DVDs - startup and hold down "C". This will take AGES! Then run Disk Utility from the menu.
The flashing ? means your system is corrupt, dead, not there, on a dying HD, etc... -
MacBook Air will not power on or reboot. A file folder with a question mark in the center of it appears. What is the problem?
Go step by step and test.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
Startup Manager to select Startup disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310
Repair Disk
Steps 2 through 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reset PRAM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
Reinstall OS X
If this does not help, contact Apple.
Best. -
I have a 21" iMac that only boots as far as a folder icon with a question mark in it. Anyone know what this means and how to fix it?
It usually means your OS has corrupted files. You need to reinstall OS X.
If you are using Snow Leopard:
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
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 the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.
If you are using Lion:
Reinstalling 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: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button. -
I5 still using ios6 as of last night the phone will not connect to my Internet, in settings it says connected with the check mark however there is no wifi icon at the top of phone, have done everything possible to resolve... My i4 and pads are fine, I've had this phone for 8 months with no problems until last night , AT&T not any help,apple wants $ I thing it's a software problem.. Any one had this issue?
- Restart the device. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430
- Reset the device. (Same article as above.)
- Reset All Settings (Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings)
- Restore from backup. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1766 (If you don't have a backup, make one now, then skip to the next step.)
- Restore as new device. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4137 For this step, do not re-download ANYTHING, and do not sign into your Apple ID.
- Test the issue after each step. If the last one does not resolve the issue, it is likely a hardware problem.
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