TS3742 Imac running snow leopard starts up with folder and question mark

My Imac on start up shows an icon with a questionmark inside a folder. What can I try to fix it myself?

Thank you for your assistance. Very much appreciated. I was able to install the snow leopard Install dvd holding down C but the repair facility was not available. I have time capsule and a WD my passport external drive and was able to copy to the external hard drive.
It took around five hours to download but my imac is now firing up okay, but I don't actually know if it is now only working from the external HD. Sound gobblygook, but I am not expereienced in this field of repairs.
Can I now disconnect the extra external HD or not ? Thank you

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I have a grey screen with folder and question mark-why?

When I turn my computer on I see a grey screen with a folder and question mark over it. The folder and question mark are blinking then a couple minutes later the screen turns black. Help please!

Kfrost5792,
if your MacBook Pro didn’t originally come with grey installation discs in the box, then you can substitute “booting from Recovery mode” for “booting from your grey Mac OS X Install disc”, and from the OS X Utilities menu that appears on the desktop in Recovery mode, you can select Disk Utility there to erase your internal disk, which will allow you to perform an OS X Internet Recovery the next time that your MacBook Pro is powered up.

TS1440 iMac freezes, no choice but to hard shutdown, turn back on, white screen with folder and question mark appears

Hi,
so my iMac (it's not the most recent iMac if it makes any difference, and I'm running mountain lion 10.8.3) often freezes and I do a hard shutdown as I cannot force quit the applications or click on the apple in the top left to shut it down. When I come to turn it back on, I'm greeted with a white screen, in the middle of which is the dreaded folder with the flashing question mark in it. I've noticed that just before a freeze occurs, it starts running slowly and if I try going onto Facebook for example, it says that it cannot connect to facebook.com despite the internet connection being fine as I can browse things on Google. I have also noticed that before a freeze, in Finder, in All My Files, no files show. I went through this http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440 and the problem still persists. Sometimes it does load fine if I shut it down again but when I eventually open up safari, if I had been on youtube for example, it will reload the page from a few videos before and not the one I was on when it actually froze.
Any help would be hugely appreciated,
Thanks
Side note: When it says I must choose a community in order to post this, it only gives me a choice of 3 which are Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, v10.5 Leopard, v10.6 Snow leopard, so apologies if this is posted in the wrong place - is there any way to get it moved to the correct place?

Yes,easy fix but difficult to buy,think you can get them from the states (off the top of my head about £15).When you go to the apple store,tell yhem what you suspect and they will test if it is the cable or if its the hard drive,dosn't take that long and it's free.If you know what to do you can take the back off and with strong magnifying glass you might be able to see the fray look at the bend of the cable.

Imac boots with folder and question mark

I have been getting messages about a corrupt index on Mail. Although I followed the instructions to rebuild nothing seems to have changed.
I now have a situation whereby on reboot I get a folder with a flashing question mark or just a white screen.
I have tried to reboot from a snow lion disc I have; it spins up but I just get a white screen.
Is the HD faulty?
Is there any way I can boot to check status. I read about holding down the option key or CMD+R but this does not appear to have any impact.

I have been getting messages about a corrupt index on Mail. Although I followed the instructions to rebuild nothing seems to have changed.
I now have a situation whereby on reboot I get a folder with a flashing question mark or just a white screen.
I have tried to reboot from a snow lion disc I have; it spins up but I just get a white screen.
Is the HD faulty?
Is there any way I can boot to check status. I read about holding down the option key or CMD+R but this does not appear to have any impact.

Dreaded Gray screen with Folder and Question Mark (EFI Boot poofs away)

Hey--
I've had trouble with my Imac that I purchasd in 2005 for a year and a half or so. I had a gray screen about a year and a half ago, went on vacation for a week, came back and it booted just fine. Another time it went down, I did a safe boot and it came back. I've tried Command-Option P+R before with some success. I had a boot camp partitioned windows xp drive on there also (I don't know if this matters, but wanted to mention that). I've also tried putting the installation disk in there with no luck (thinking it would find the software on it)
I put it away because I moved and dragged it out of storage to see if a miracle might have occured since the last time I tried 5 months ago. Well, same thing--gray screen with a flashing folder with question mark. I read in the discussions to hold the option key down to select a book device. I tried this and got an EFI Boot icon with a mouse pointer, but when I go to select it it "poofs" away (literally, the icon POOFS away) before I can select it with the mouse pointer icon.
Has anyone seen anything like this or have any suggestions? I guess I'm at my wits end and am ready to haul it down to the Apple store to get the prognosis (I'm sure it will not be good--probably shot hard drive or something). I'm hoping this can be salvaged without much cost.
Thanks so much for any advice or input you might have.
Chris

How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) 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. Now restart normally.
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. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.
If yours is an Intel model, then I recommend getting Snow Leopard to upgrade OS X, but I would recommend first erasing the drive before installing Snow Leopard.
Upgrade Paths to Snow Leopard, Lion, and/or Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
Upgrading to Snow Leopard
You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.
     Snow Leopard General Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
       2. 1GB of memory
       3. 5GB of available disk space
       4. DVD drive for installation
       5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
           fees may apply.
       6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
           terms apply.
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
     OS X Mountain Lion - System Requirements
       Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
     For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.

Grey screen on startup with folder and question mark

My computer was already running slow but after I downloaded, edited and burned a home movie to disk, my screen froze with the screen locked black. So I force shutdown my Mac holding the power button but when I booted back up the screen turned white and instead if the usual apple, a blinking folder with a question mark comes on. I read other discussions on it and tried the solutions and I've given up and want to reinstall with my install disks so i put install disk one in and try to erase and reinstall, it asks for a destination to install the software, but my "Macintosh HD" is not shown as an option to write to, only my partitoned portable hard drive. I have all my files on the hard drive backed up on time machine so I don't mind erasing and restarting.
Please help

Have you tried running repair disk from the install dvd. Follow the article below and see if that helps
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440

Macbook stuck on white screen with folder and question mark

My macbook is stuck at the screen with the folder with a question mark on it. I have tried a few things like the ones I found on google and so far no go. I tried pressing the command + p +r keys and it didn't work. I also tried to eject a cd and nothing. finally i tried pressing the command + option + p + r and nothing. Guys please help me. I really need this laptop.
I even tried just the command + r. I would like to reinstall OS. What are the steps please?

What version of OS X are you running? When you hold down the Command and R keys whilst booting, do you get to the Recovery partition?
Clinton

Gray screen on Macbook Air with folder and question mark flashing

when I am trying to boot up the brey screen and a flashing forlder with question mark appears
I did a bootable flash drive usd but I cant get to the flash drive! I tried with option key with C key but nothing works.
When i press Option key its getting the wifi connection , which i establish but that is all nothing else happens.
With C key you see that reads the flash drive but that is all what it does, after a minute will go to that traffic sign on interdiction.
Anybody could help.

My macbook OSX10.5 has done this twice. First time I tried all the "fixes" suggested by the gurus. Waste of time but I did not reformat the HD and instead put it aside for a few weeks. I tried it agan and hooray, it booted normally and continued for some months until two days ago with the return of the gray folder of death. The clicking noise sounded like the HD hunting or maybe stuck. In desperation I gave it a thump on my knee and my old macbook booted normally and continues to work normally. I know that eventually I'll have to invest in a new computer but in the mean time I will try to keep "old faithful" going as long as possible. Sometimes Ockhams Razor is the best solution.

HT1199 my MAC has white screen with folder and question mark anyone have the same issue?

My mac has a white screen and a file folder with a question mark...anyone else have this issue before?

There are four general causes of this issue:
1. The computer's PRAM no longer contains a valid startup disk setting when there aren't any problems with the disk itself. This can be checked for by pressing the Option key and seeing if the drive appears.
2. The internal drive's directory structure has become damaged. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to perform the repair.
3. Critical system files have been deleted. This requires usage of an alternate bootable system to reinstall them.
4. The internal drive has died or become unplugged. This is the most likely case if the computer took a sharp impact or there are unusual sounds coming from the hard drive's location.
(79884)

I used Target mode to transfer files to a new iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 from an older Dual core Intel machine (EMC 2105) also on 10.6.8. but originally Tiger 10.4. The operation was successful and I ejected the disk icon from the new machine and po

IS THE SITUATION HOPELESS
I used Target mode to transfer files to a new i7 iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 from an older Dual core Intel machine (EMC 2105) also on 10.6.8. but originally Tiger 10.4. The operation was successful and I ejected the disk icon from the new machine and powered down the old machine. When this was restarted the next day there was a grey screen with flashing Mac symbol alternating with a 'no entry' sign and occasionally a question mark.Keyboard and mouse were unusable so k inserted the original instal disc (No.1 for 10.4. with installer 1.0.4) which came with the machine in 2006 in an attempt to boot from this. The ensuing window said this was not possible and now it cannot be ejected.I have tried everything ! It offers Disk Utility and other options like Terminal but that doesn't work either.I 'repaired disk' and that was pronounced o.k. None of the various keystrokes at start up will work, and the computer will only offer the installer disc continually.The only option would seem to be is to erase the hard drive completely from the disc in the machine.I don't want to do this as there is still material which I need to recover. I think the drive has in some way been corrupted by using it in target mode, and I don't know if there are any other options to try.
Please tell me how to get this disc to eject !

Graham Giles wrote:
Have you seen this type of problem before? I think it could be a serious issue for anyone in a similar position.
No; but then, I've not had occasion to use TDM. I've been using firerwire drives for over 10 years, both FW400 and FW800, with no issues except a bit of instability using a B&W G3 machine.
TDM should be safe. Using cautious, manual copying of files from the Target machine to the Host machine should not result in unexpected loss of files or damage to the Target drive's directories. It should behave exactly the same as if it were an external (to the Host) firewire drive.
• I don't suppose there is anything I can do to 'put back' lost items from a separate Time Machine drive which has an up to date backup on it.
There is probably a way to do that - seems to me that's one of the reasons for a Time Machine volume.
On the other hand, if the Time Machine volume is rigidly linked to the now-absent OS on the original drive, there may be no way to effectively access the files in the TM archive.
I know that using a cloned drive would work well in this instance.
I have no experience with Time Machine, so perhaps someone who has will chime in with suggestions.
With the machine in TDM with the other machine, have you tried running Disk Utility to see if you can effect repairs to the drive?

HT204408 Purchased FaceTime ver 1.0.4 for iMac running Snow Leopard. Now can't activate.

Purchased FaceTime ver 1.0.4 for iMac running Snow Leopard. Now can't activate.
Get the message "Could not sign in. Please check your network connection and try again"
On Apple Support page titled: FaceTime, Game Center, Messages: Toubleshooting sign in issues
all items in Resolution list are OK, e.g., have an active Internet connection, have a valid Apple ID and verified, etc.

Thank you for the reply.
As my father-in-law's MacBook (10.6.8) with FaceTime 1.0.4 is not at hand now, I can not check it for myself right away.
But my understanding is :
(1) FaceTime 1.0.5 update is free for download for the OSX 10.6 users who have already purchased and installed FaceTime 1.0.4 or earlier.
(2) The OSX 10.6 users who want to start using FaceTime from now, need to purchase the 1.0.5 for $0.99 (just as other OSX 10.6 users did before).
The latter (2) is because OSX 10.6 does not include FaceTime which was not ready at the time of its release. Due to some accounting regulation, Apple chose to sell the FaceTime to OSX 10.6 users at the mimimum price rather than to add the function afterward for free.
That means every OSX 10.6 user who wants to use FaceTime has to pay $0.99 at some point of time, but I believe Apple is not so greedy to charge the same software twice to fix its bug.
I guess the screen shot you posted might be taken either by a non-OSX 10.6 Mac, or by OSX 10.6 Mac without FaceTime installed. If you see the same page by a OSX 10.6 Mac with FaceTime alreay installed, it will look diffrently.
Anyway, I may be wrong, but I will check it with my father-in-laws' MacBook hopefully this afternoon.

My 2006 iMac running Snow Leopard won't boot even after erasing and re-installing Snow Leopard (via my MacBookPro), either from the HD or DVD drive. Can't get it to run Hardware Test. Disk Utility says disk OK - files are there. What can I do?

My 2006 iMac running Snow Leopard won't boot even after erasing and re-installing Snow Leopard. I erased and re-installed by putting the iMac in Target Disk mode and usin my MacBookPro as the host. But after numerous attempts I still can't get it to boot either from the HD or DVD drive. I just get the white screen after the wheel stops spinning. I can't get it to run Hardware Test - just get the white screen. If I use Disk Utility via my MBP it says the disk appears OK. All the Snow Leopad files appear to have been installed. What can I do?

Hi-NRG Bwoy wrote:
I erased and re-installed by putting the iMac in Target Disk mode and using my MacBookPro as the host.
Reet the SMC and the PRAM
 Cheat sheet to help diagnose and fix your Mac
Perhaps you installed the wrong version OS X onto the iMac, you can't use the disk from another Mac.
clean the disk.
If it's not working then use this method to create a bootable 10.6 USB from the iMac machine specific 10.6 disk or the 10.6.3 retail disk on your other Mac, use it to boot the iMac with.
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

Problem installing officejet pro 6830 software on my iMac running Snow Leopard

Greetings, I have a problem installing officejet pro 6830 software on my iMac running Snow Leopard. When I insert the HP software disc onto my iMac, and go to the HP website, it says:
"403" Ooops! Request forbidden...
Any possible solutions to this? Thanks for any feedback...

Hi @RNOjetnow ,
Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forums and Welcome. I have looked into your issue with needing the drivers for the 10.6 Snow Leopard OS. You should be able to install the Apple Drivers just by connecting the USB cable.
Here is a document that might help.
Hope this helps you install the drivers.
Thanks.
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom to say “Thanks” for helping!

TS4185 Just downloaded FACETIME on my 4yr. olf Imac running Snow Leopard. When making a call to my friend's Imac all works correctly going both ways. When my wife calls me via Facetime from her Ipad, I cannot click on "accept"- not there?

Just downloaded FACETIME on my 4yr. olf Imac running Snow Leopard. When making a call to my friend's Imac all works correctly going both ways. When my wife calls me via Facetime from her Ipad, I cannot click on "accept"- not there? When called by the Imac (newest), the "accept" or "reject" radio button appears for me to click and connect. On my wife's Ipad the two radio buttons always appear when a call actiivates Facetime and comes on?
There is nothing I can find in "Preferences" in Facetime to turn that on or off. I suspect it has to do with having a more current operating system; that the "controls" are in the operating system? [I'm guessing] It's frustrating getting Facebook calls from several friends on Ipads! Any ideas...VFP

I suspect it has to do with not having a more current operating system
Exactly, what Apple is doing is leveraging new features only on newer OS X versions to force you to upgrade OS X to 10.7 or later.
What they don't tell you is 10.7 or later will NOT run your PowerPC based software, some of it you can't get Intel versions like for perfectly working printers, scanners and games etc. So it can be a very expensive OS X upgrade to 10.7 or later with third party software.
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table
Also they don't tell you is the risk in bricking your machine if the update goes badly, so you have to have AppleCare in case that occurs so it's on them to fix it. Else your paying money to replace the logicboard or buying a new machine prematurely.
A four year old machine can't have AppleCare, it's only good for 3 years from date of purchase new.
Your machine came with a boot hard drive, it's usually got about 4-5 years of life on it, then it needs to be replaced.
Also they don't tell you the newer OS X version has more abilities and features that causes your machine to slow down in performance, especially on older machines.
Also they implement new, idotic and extremely fustrating new user interface features in a arbitrary "you take it or leave it" manner with little or no fall back method.
So upgrading OS X is a gamble on older machines that otherwise would likely work perfectly fine for the next 5 years if one didn't need to have to mess with it.
Since Snow Leopard has slightly over 25% OS X version market share, your still good for security updates etc for the next few years if you just want to stay where your at and be happy.
OS X 10.4/10.5 need to upgrade, 10.6.8 ok still
The Lions are, well, not so welcome due to Scott Forstall retard UI issues, OS X Mavericks 10.9 is likely going to fix things a bit better.
But basically what is occuring is Apple is trying to force a faster hardware upgrade cycle with the more expensive products by leveraging features on the smaller devices that expire sooner.
Apple is a hardware company that leverages whatever it can to get you to buy more hardware, it's why they are as rich as they are.

Have a MacBook Pro running Lion and an IMac running Snow Leopard. Want to Back up both images and restore on opposite machine. Essentially swapping images between hard drives. Is this possible and any "gotcha's" to look for? Thanks

Have a MacBook Pro running Lion (10.7.9) and an IMac running Snow Leopard (10.6.8). Want to Back up both images and restore on opposite machines. Essentially swapping images between hard drives. Is this possible and any "gotcha's" to look for? Thanks

If the MBP came with Lion, it most likely won't boot with SL. Easiest thing to do is create a bootable backup/clone of each to an ext HD, partitioned to hold each on a separate volume, ensure that the original machines can boot with their respective clones, and finally, try booting the other machine with the other clone. Images are useless since you can't boot with them to test them out.

TS3742 Imac running snow leopard starts up with folder and question mark

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