What does it mean when ? Mark appears on screen

My computer screen just went blank and a ? Mark appeared and I'm not sure what to do. I can' t get into it nor can I use the mouse.

Sandy...
It means your Mac cannot find a system folder to boot from.
Startup your Mac while holding down the Option key.
That should launch the Startup Manager window where you can select the startup disk then click Restart.
If the startup disk does not appear, follow the instructions here > A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

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What does "Synchronize" mean when it appears in the history steps?

I think this is new in V5 because I've never seen it before. What does the word "synchronize" mean when it appears in a history step? I do not recall the exact phrase because I cannot reproduce the conditions under which it appeared. Having said that I do not want it to happen again because it caused me to have to delete and re-import a whole batch of photos (in order to start over).
I was editing some newly imported photos when I began to notice this "synchronize" message appearing in their history steps, and that edits were being applied to the wrong photos even though "auto sync" was NOT in effect. (only one photo was selected). In any event, auto sync does not cause this message (I just tested it). Does anyone know what function might have caused this?
(It is difficult to search the web for this issue because all the hits relate to auto-sync)

The history step says what, exactly?
I find a "Synchronize Settings" history entry but not a "Synchronize"

What does "waiting" mean when its on the screen instead of an app logo/picture?

I'm a new user of the iphone. After downloading some apps I have a block(where normally is the name of the app) that is grey'd out and is labled "waiting". What does this mean? Thanks.

Means the app is trying to download to the phone. If this has been some time, you might want to reset the phone and see if you can complete the download. The other alternative is to open iTunes on the computer, go to check for available downloads and then connect the phone to the computer and sync.

What does "maximum " mean when it appears onscreen

I have been using Pages to take notes for classes for a while now. Today the word "maximum" started appearing overtop of all my documents, new and old. It's very distracting and multiple google searches provide no information as what this is supposed to mean, nor any idea of how to get rid of it. The word itself visually resembles the word count feature when it is turned on.

The history step says what, exactly?
I find a "Synchronize Settings" history entry but not a "Synchronize"

What does it mean when boxes appear around commands on the ipad

Occasioally on my ipads, framed boxes appear around all the commands. They won't let me swipe, I have to click on them twice. Why does this happen and how do I make it stop?

Try triple-click on Home button (do it quick).

What does it mean when ipone has white screen and constantly vibrating

My iphone is turning on and off then constantly vibrates whats the problem

Sounds as if it got wet. If so, it's pretty much done. But, have you tried resetting your device by pressing and holding the Home button and power button until the silver apple appears?

What does it mean when I see the file with the question mark on my screen?

What does it mean when I see a file with a question mark on the screen?

Means no bootable system can be found or required system files are missing or damaged. Reinstall OS X.
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 it means when you turn on the macbook and a file with a "?" mark flashes?

What does it means when you turn on the macbook and a file with a "?" mark flashes?

It usually means some system files are missing or corrupted. Reinstalling OS X is the fix:
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/.

What does it mean when starting up, all you get is an envelope with a question mark in it?

what does it mean when starting up, all you get is an envelope with a question mark in it?

You should reinstall OS X. See the following for reinstalling instructions for Lion/Mountain Lion or 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 Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
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.

What does it mean when i have a flashing folder with a question mark in it when i try to boot up?

what does it mean when I have a flashing folder with a question mark in the middle of it when I try to boot the interface?

It means the system cannot find a bootable OS. Reinstall OS X.
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.

What does it mean when you computer crashes and when you turn it back on it shows you a blank blue screen with a little folder and a question mark in the middle?

What does it mean when you computer crashes and when you turn it back on it shows you a blank blue screen with a little folder and a question mark in the middle? It's a old imac from 1997.

I don't have original discs that it came with.
Then you still can use the second option with the keyboard combo I posted, called "resetting the PRAM."
Also when you way hold the c key down do you mean turn computer off and turn back on holding the c key?
Yes, or you can simply restart. As you don't have the CDs, this isn't on the plate any more.
The internal backup battery is not expensive and, in most iMacs is user-replacable. If yours has a tray-loading optical drive like this one:
it takes a major teardown to replace the internal battery. If this is the case, you'd be better off to leave the computer plugged in all the time; that eliminates the main reason for having a working battery.
If it has a slot-loading optical drive like this one:
things are much easier. The battery is visible through the RAM access door on the bottom of the computer case. The manual:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iMacG3_2000UserManual.PDF
has sketches of how to access the RAM and therefore the backup battery. Unfortunately, the pdf on the manual goes up sideways on-screen and the RAM instructions are pretty deep into the manual. It's probably easier to scroll (for a while) to the section on adding RAM and print the applicable pages.
When you work on the battery, some sort of non-conductive pliers or large tweezer or forceps help unless you have tiny fingers. Make sure to note the polarity of the old battery and install the new one in the same orientation.
The battery itself is readily available. If price is no oblect, you can get it for a small rasom from Radio Shack Store ("Tandy" outside the US) as part number 23-026.
Online, they are dirt-cheap even after adding shipping. I buy backup batteries form this outfit:
3.6v Newer Technology Lithium 1/2 AA PRAM Computer Clock Battery

What does it mean when the hard drive icon with arrow appears on screen on start up?

what does it mean when the hard drive icon with arrow below, appears on screen on start up?

it needs to clicked to select it as the startup disk......for the boot to continue...

HT203434 what does it mean when i connect to recharge and a microphone appears with lightening sign just above it?

what does it mean when i turn on my mini wi fi i pad and it shws a microphone and lightening coming out from it and nothing else is able to be brought up??

I think that you are seeing the lightning bolt and the lightning connector on the screen. That means that you have to plug the iPad into a wall socket using the power adapter becuse the battery is too low to charge using your computer.
Look at the photos on this website and not the one under the Connect to Power heading.
Charge the battery in your iPad - Apple Support

What does it mean when I get a message that says you do not have enough privileges for this operation

What does it mean when I get a message that says You do not have enough access privileges for this operation

To be honest I'd be very tempted to ring Applecare and explain that prior to downloading iOS5 your iPod Touch worked perfectly however since downloading Apple's new iOS5 it's "bricked" therefore can they as a matter of decency try to help put things right warranty situation notwithstanding. Afterall it does appear to be one of Apple's products that has broken your previously working iPod Touch.

In iBooks,what does it mean when it says: you have already purchased this item. To download it check available downloads in the store menu?

In iBooks,what does it mean when it says: you have already purchased this item. To download it check available downloads in the store menu?

Apologies if I seem rude but isn't it obvious?
you have already purchased this item means you have already purchased this item - you don't need to buy it, you've already bought it.
To download it check available downloads in the store menu means to download it check available downloads in the store menu. So if you look at your top menu bar (in your iTunes programme) select the Store and from the menu that appears, select Check for available downloads. My guess (and I realise I'm risking my reputation here ) is that when you click on that, you will see a list of the items you've bought which will include anything you haven't yet downloaded to your iTunes. I assume there will be an option with that list to download those items.
I would like to thank the person who thought of the idea of taking different words and putting them in a certain order, so that those words form a sentence, and that sentence can then be read by other people and those people understand. Genius!

What does it mean when it says "ipad has lost it's pairing"

what does it mean when it says "ipad has lost it's pairing"

If you are getting that message when you try to sync your iPad, eject the iPad, quit iTunes, restart your computer, reset the iPad and then try to sync again.
Reset the iPad by holding down on the sleep and home buttons at the same time for about 10-15 seconds until the Apple Logo appears - ignore the red slider if it appears on the screen - let go of the buttons. Let the iPad start up.
If that doesn't work, just try using a different USB port.

What does it mean when ? Mark appears on screen

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