What does it mean when trying to startup I get a grey screen with a box with a question mark flashing

My wife was getting the circling pinwheel so she shut down her MacBook Pro. When she started it back up we got the flashing box with a qestion mark in it. It will do that for a while then shut off.
Any suggestions?

It usually is a sign that the MBP cannot locate the OSX.  Either the HDD needs attention or the connection to the HDD has failed.  You will need the original installation disks to address the HDD for repair or if you MBP came with Lion or later, boot to the recovery partition and see if the HDD can be repaired.
Ciao.
Use this link as an aid in resolving the problem:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5281
Message was edited by: OGELTHORPE

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