What causes blinking ? file folder

My mackbook froze, the pinwheel just kept going. I then powered off and when i turned it back on I got the flashing ? file folder. Does anyone know what causes this? Thanks for any help you can give.

The computer isn't able to locate or mount the hard disk. Restart from a compatible install disk and use the Disk Utility to repair the internal drive if possible. If it doesn't find anything wrong with the drive, reinstall the OS.
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What does a blinking file folder with a question mark indicate?

What does a blinking file folder with a question mark indicate? I cannot get past it or do anything with the unit.

glamiera wrote:
What does a blinking file folder with a question mark indicate?
That's the firmware telling you it can't find the operating system it's been assigned to boot from.
It could be because it forgot somehow, or the operating system is no longer there or readable or the hardware holding the operating system has failed.
Hold the power button to force a hardware shutdown, then reboot holding the option/alt key held down on the wired or built in keyboard, icons will hopefully load on the screen and if OS X appears, click the arrow to boot from it.
Once in OS X, head to System Preferences > Startup Disk and select your boot drive so it can remind the firmware.
If there is no OS X boot volume, just recovery or Bootcamp (if Windows installed) then you need to perform more work.
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
To get a copy of your files off the drive.
Step by Step to fix your Mac
To fix your machine and find out (hardware test) if it's a hardware issue of some sort.

What does a file folder with a question mark in it mean when the computer won't start?

What does a file folder with a question mark in it mean when the computer won't start?

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.
(68976)

Restarted and received a blinking file folder with question mark image.

I left my computer sitting while I was working on homework long enough for the screen saver to come on (I'm not sure exactly how long it was). Earlier in the day, I had to force quit safari and then later it unexpectedly quit several times. While my computer was sitting, it looked like it does when it restarts. I waited until it started to come back up, and instead of coming up to the desktop, it came up with a blinking file folder and question mark. I had not done anything unusual with it, and had not tried to restore it. My dad was working on trying to fix it, and inserted the OS X disk. When the options came up, in the repair feature, the disk could not locate my harddrive. I was wondering if anyone else had encountered this problem, and if so how it was resolved. If anyone had any tips or ideas of things I could try that would be great. I can't really get it to an apple store soon, and I'm a student so my computer is very important to me. Thanks.

Mornin' John,
I also have an OWC external firewire drive that I tried to install OSX Tiger to but was told that I could not install OSX Tiger on the external drive.
What Format is that Drive? GUID/MacOS Extended? It should work if the right format.
Is there any way to run Disk Warrior from the external hard drive ... to try and rectify this issue, or at least get my data off the dead drive (if it is so)?
From the external only if you can get OSX installed.
What version is it? Do you mot have the CD?
or from my PowerBook G4
Possibly, with the MaBook in FW Target Mode
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
If DiskWarrior can't fix it, you might try Data Rescue II...
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
(Has a Free Demo to see if it could or not, but you'll need another drive to recover to).

Why do I have a blinking file folder on my screen? (and nothing else)

When I turn on my Mac, I get a blinking file folder with a question mark on it. What can I do?

The iMac can't find any bootable partition. First, insert the OS X DVD, press C key while your Mac is starting, go to  > Startup Disk and select Macintosh HD.
If it doesn't work, go to Utilities > Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD in the sidebar and repair the disk. If nothing helps, take the Mac to an Apple Store

Startup = blinking file folder icon?

After waking my Intel iMac from sleep mode I selected "Mail" too quickly and got the spinning beach ball for a while. I put the iMac back to sleep, woke it, same problem. I turned it off using the off button on the back of the iMac, because I was unable to turn it off using the menu option. When I turned it back on I got a blank screen for about a minute, then a blinking gray icon of a small (1 inch) file folder. HELP! This reminds me of the old days of system conflicts.

From what you say, it looks like the hard drive has dead. The blinking file folder appears when your Mac doesn't find any bootable volume.
The best you can do now is to take the Mac to an Apple Store or reseller and get your hard drive repaired or replaced. I hope that you have a backup of your files

Blinking file folder question mark on start up!

My mac was working fine I shut it down because the mouse froze like it does some time. It turned back on with a white screeen and and a blinking file folder with a question mark on it and stays that way until it shuts down! Its a white screen behind it and it makes the start up noise. What is going on and how can I fix it? I already kept it off for a while then took out the battery.. any other suggestions?

I got this same message after using Disk Utilities to create a new partition formatted in FAT 32, booting from my windows XP CD, reformatting that partition to NTFS, and installing Windows XP on that partition. (So I can dual-boot without using Boot Camp Beta, which is expired)
I worked around it just fine by holding the "alt" key when booting, which (after entering my firmware password) allows me to select the boot partition. It's like I somehow selected "Neither" for my default startup disk.
It's possible that your problem goes beyond this.
By the way, in my Windows reformat, I did end up deleting several 200 MB partitions that appeared on my drive...it looked like this:
(partition) (size) (name) (file format)
Partition 1: 198 MB [unknown empty
Partition 2: 250000 MB [Windows FAT32
Partition 3: 202 MB [unknown empty
partition 4: 850000 MB [Unknown unknown
this one is formatted in the mac file system, but XP (of course) doesn't
recognize it....
partition 5: 201 MB [unknown empty
Anybody know what's going on here? I sucessfully merged the first three from the XP cd, but I don't know what's up with Disk Utility and why it leaves these spaces after partitioning.....

15" MacbWhite screen with a blinking file folder icon with a question mark on it.

15" Macbook. When i power on all I get is white screen with a blinking file folder icon with a question mark on it.N

You may have a bad hard drive. The flashing folder with the ? indicates that the system cannot find your hard drive. Use the installation disc that came with your machine. Insert it into the disc drive and restart the machine holding down the "C" key . When the restart shows the Apple screen you can release the C keyWhen the installation screen appears, click on the utilities button. Does the left side of the disc utilities screen show your HD? If not, then your HD is bad or it could be a loose connection. ifixit.com has a good tutorial on how to replace the HF in the Macbook. Follow the instructions to remove your HD. Reinstall your HD and boot up your machine to see if it recognizes your HD. If it does't, you probably will need to replace your HD>
Is your machine still under warranty? If so, take it to your nearest Apple Store for repairs as the repairs will be covered under your warranty. If you bought AppleCare when you bought your computer your warranty is for three years. If you didn't buy the Apple Care, then your warranty is only good for one year from the date of purchase.

TS1812 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?

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

HT3964 What does a file folder with a question mark that appears upon startup?

What does a file folder with a question mark which appears on startup mean??

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.
With 10.4, 10.5 or 10.6 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, 10.8 Mountain Lion or 10.9 Mavericks, 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.

TS1367 My MacBook air has a blinking file folder icon on a blank screen with a ? In the center of the icon. I've tried turning on and off three times but it hasn't helped. Any suggestions?

My MacBook Air has a blinking file folder icon on a blank screen with a ? In the middle of the icon. I've tried turning my computer off and on three times with no luck. Any recommendations on how to fix the problem?

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.

What does the blinking file folder mean when I turn on my computer?

So my computer got unplugged while it was loading a web page and now when I turn it on it just shows a blinking/flashing file folder with a question mark on it. What am I supposed to do?

The startup disk has possibly been corrupted...try starting holding the Option key and then select the main hard drive and see if you can continue to normal startup. If that does not work, insert your Mac OS X install disk, you show you have 10.6.8, and restart either holding the Option key and select the install disk or holding the C key so you boot from the install disk. Then reinstall Snow Leopard to cleanup whatever is corrupted. If you do a normal reinstall you will not lose information.

What is proper file/folder hierarchy in iWeb 08?

I'm not sure if this is an iWeb question or an iDisk question. I had iWeb 06 and created a website, then did the upgrade to iWeb 08. During that upgrade, I think my folders got messed up because here is what I see when I go to my iDisk: Finder/Go/iDisk/My iDisk/Web/Sites/....THEN I see the iWeb folder, but also see a folder called _gallery (which appears to have nothing in it), a file called Sites.rss, my website folder (which has all of the correct folders/files for my created website). If I double click the folder iWeb, I then see a file called index.html and another folder of my website which contains only some files that pertain to one page of my website! I'm sure this has to be wrong, but when I try to copy the correct files from the domain folder, Finder hangs and gets stuck on "preparing to copy" and I have to restart computer. This has happened many times in a row, I just can't seem to copy the files. The website is working now so I'm not sure if I should do anything...?

iDisk>Web>Sites>iWeb folder is the iWeb 06 folder.
iDisk>Web>Sites folder is the iWeb 08 folder.
The _gallery folder is for the Webgallery you publish with iPhoto.
It's always fun to mess around with the unknown and see what happens.

Blinking file folder w/ question mark at startup

This morning I opened my 2009 MacBook and it was business as usual. Then safari froze, which happens a lot, so I force quit the app and started it back up. Then the whole computer froze, so I force shut it down and when I restarted it the apple logo appeared on the blue screen as usual but the wheel that indicates that it's loading kept spinning. So I restarted again, and every time I've tried to reboot since, the blinking folder with the question mark appears. And after a while the computer shuts itself down. I know this has to do with the hard drive, but I don't know how to fix it. I have it charging right now and a friend suggested I try shift+R, but are there any other fixes? I'm super concerned because I'm studying abroad in France and I don't know of any apple stores that provide the care that the USA ones do, and I'm also broke (the student thing, again), AND I'm here until the end of June. So I definitely can't just wait till I get home to get it fixed. Thanks for any and all help and suggestions!

The flashing qustion mark on boot means the system can't find a device to boot from.
You didn't say what operating system you have, so if 10.5 or 10.6 see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440?viewlocale=en_US .
If it's 10.7 follow the steps in the note above. You may also need to use Lion recovery, see http://www.apple.com/macosx/recovery/ and http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

What causes this file to be so big?

Hi.
This morning I created a little logo for work in A4
In consists of two lines, a word in helvetica and a gradient red through to transparent, about 4 cm x 4 cm
Thats it, and the files is 64megs.
Whats all that about?

It seems unlikely, but could the sector size on your hard drive be set to 64 MB? Do you have any other files smaller than 64 MB on your HD?
I just built the same thing in AI CS6, and the file was around 300K. Maybe repeat the steps and build the design again, to see what happens.

What causes blinking ? file folder

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