When I turn it on it stays blank with a folder sign and a question mark?
I need help to understand what to do and where to go!?
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Symptoms
If you see a flashing question mark when you start your Mac, it's probably because it can't find the system software it needs to start up. Usually, all you have to do to get your Mac back up and running is remind it where its software is.
Resolution
If your computer starts up normally after a brief delay, you probably just need to reselect the startup disk in Startup Disk preferences. It's normal to see the flashing question mark when a startup disk has not been selected. In most cases, reselecting the startup disk is all that is required to resolve the issue.
Sometimes, your computer may not start beyond the flashing question mark.
Tip: If your computer has a gray screen (with no flashing question mark) startup issue, see Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup.
Check the mouse and keyboard
This issue might occur if a mouse or trackpad button is pressed during startup. Make sure the button isn't pressed.
If the issue persists, shut down your Mac with its power button, disconnect any external mouse and keyboard, then turn on your Mac with its power button. If the flashing question mark issue persists, reconnect the keyboard and mouse.
Additional steps
If your Mac still starts to a flashing question mark, follow the steps below. If any step resolves the issue, you don't need to continue to the next one.
Select your Mac OS X startup disk with Startup Manager by restarting and holding the Option key. After your Mac starts up, restart again to verify that the flashing question mark does not appear.
If the issue persists, insert your Mac OS X installation disc. 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.
MacBook Air note: On a MacBook Air, there are two options for starting up from Mac OS X media: Either connect a MacBook Air SuperDrive to the MacBook Air via the USB port and restart the computer, holding down the C key during startup, or use Remote Install Mac OS X to startup from a system software DVD that's located on a partner computer. Once started up from Mac OS X media, skip to step 3.
Restart the computer, then hold the C key during startup.
From the Utilities menu, choose Disk Utility. Don't click Continue.
Select your Mac OS X disk (named "Macintosh HD" by default) in the left side of the Disk Utility window.
Click the First Aid tab.
Click Repair Disk to verify and repair any issues with your Mac OS X startup disk.
After repairing the disk, try to start up normally.
Important: If Disk Utility finds issues it cannot repair, you may need to back up as much of your data as possible (or use Time Machine to back up to a different disk), then erase the disk and reinstall Mac OS X. You should back up important files and data before erasing a drive. Erasing deletes everything on the hard disk (including things on your desktop). Also, you can install Mac OS X onto an external disk, start from the external disk, and use Migration Assistant to transfer items from your usual internal Mac OS X startup disk to the external disk, then erase the internal disk and reinstall Mac OS X.
If the issue persists, and Disk Utility didn't find any irreparable issues, quit Disk Utility, quit the Installer, select your disk when prompted, and restart.
If the issue continues, reset PRAM. Note: After resetting PRAM, if the computer starts up normally, reselect the startup disk in the Startup Disk preferences.
If none of these steps resolve the issue, start up from the Mac OS X Installation disc and reinstall Mac OS X.
Similar Messages
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What do I do when I power up the computer and get a grey screen with a folder icon and a question mark?
vickyfromosseo wrote:
What do I do when I power up the computer and get a grey screen with a folder icon and a question mark?
Read this: A flashing question mark or globe appears when you start your Mac -
I did the back up as instructed... Installed a larger hard drive and followed the restore instructions... Now I get a white screen with a folder icon and blinking question mark. When trying to set startup with new drive I get a bless tool error... Help!!
If you have installed a new hard drive , you will need to have formatted it in Disk Utility correctly. This may explain your problem.
Boot into your 10.6 Install disk again at the top menubar > Utilities > select Disk utility and in there select your new hard drive, and select the tab Erase and choose to make the format as Mac OS Extended Journaled. When that is finished look in the main window to make sure that the partition map scheme says GUID Partition Table.
Now go to the Restore tab and reinstall from your backup. -
My Macbook won't startup. After turn on, I get a white background screen with a folder icon (question mark inside) in the center. this icon even blinks
The battery is charging.It sounds like your hard drive is bad. If you can see it in Disk Utility you may still be able to get your files off of it. If you have one of the MacBooks with the removable battery it's very easy to put in a new hard drive.
Here's instructions on replacing your hard drive http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
To buy a hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-5-SATA-HDD-HARD-DRIVE-EXTERNAL-ENCLOSURE-CASE-BOX-/120 636286623?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item1c167ba69f
Put your old hard drive in an external case and after you've formatted your new hard drive and installed your operating system on it plug in your old hard drive and see if it is recognized by the new system. If so then transfer whatever files you want to the new hard drive -
used imac starts up with a gray screen
You will need to purchase a retail OS X install disc.
You can Purchase OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard here.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard.
While you are ordering this, call Apple at 1-800-MYAPPLE and ask for retail software sales and tell them you need a set of original OS system discs for your iMac.
You'll need to give them your iMac's serial number to obtain these. There will be a small, but minimum charge for obtaining and shipping of these discs.
Good Luck! -
I used utilities to source my 10.6 snow leopard install disc to my main hardrive, and now when I turn on my computer the apple with the spinning wheel stays on the screen and stuck like that. How do I fix it Help please. I already tried all the commands such as Command R, Holding down the Option key, C and holding down shift at the start up but nothing happens.
initialy All I was trying to do was downgrade 10.7 to 10.6 .You have to consider the possibility the hard drive may be dying. If your data isn't backed up, try one of the tools below:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1689
Once you are sure your data is backed up, we can examine other possibilities. In the meantime call AppleCare for your original installation DVDs. You may need them. -
My iPhone 5 will not turn on. And when it does, it will only stay on for a short while and then it dies again.
Hi lammyrock,
I want to let you know to be patient as this troubleshooting can take some time depending on many different. First try putting your iPhone into recovery mode and then use iTunes to restore it. To do that, you can that by making sure that your iPhone is turned off, hold the Home button down while it is plugged into iTunes. You should get the graphic on your iPhone to plug it into iTunes and iTunes should prompt you to restore it. Once that is done and if you have a back up in iTunes or in iCloud, then you can put that back on after the restore is complete. Take a look at the article below for more information to help you.
If you can't update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201263
Hope this helps,
-Norm G. -
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 -
I installed memory to my 2007 imac. When I turn the computer on it is making a strange noise and the screen is blank
Are you hearing beeps?
What was the spec of the RAM?
What was the brand of RAM?
Have you double checked that the RAM is properly seated? -
My computer shows a blank screen and a question mark in a folder when I turn it on
my computer shows a blank screen with a folder and a question mark in it I wonder what is wrong with it?
this means that the computer can not find the operating system on the hard drive. try booting the computer from the disc it came with.
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I am trying to stop programs from opening automatically when I turn my computer on. I tried system preferences>users and groups>login items...then I deleted them itunes and emial from the list but it did nothing. They continue to open up every time I turn on my Macbook Pro.
Hi r,
It sounds like you're running Lion?
Have you tried running Verify and/or Repair Disk?
Have you tried running Repair Permissions?
Do you have at least 15% free space available on your HD? -
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Derek RandallI don't use LR and rarely use the bridge so I can not answers about thumbnails in them, However thumbnails in windows file explorer and windows dialog for CS2 files will only show if you have installed codec into windows that will produce them. Windows does not do CR2 thumbnails on its own. I use FastPictureViewer Codec package for RAW File and PSD files thunbmail support.
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Hi Noob Søren
There are a few things that are confusing in your question.
As far as I know, you dont have to install Time Machine on this OS as it is already installed for you. You only need to connect a hard drive to your computer via firewire or usb, click on the Time Machine icon, Open Time Machine Preference in the drop down menu and select a disk: your connected hard drive.
You can of course reformat this connected device, partition it into a few volumes to organise data if you so wish.
I find it strange that your mac's hard drive is divided into two volumes... perhaps this was created through bootcamp?
You can access the configuration of your hd through Applications/Utilities/Disk Utilities.
Clicking on one of the icons on the right hand panel will bring the details of the contents of your hardDrive and volumes. From there you can decide to erase a partition, reformat etc....
If your hd contains more than one volume, and one of them is empty, you could decide to remove it. Back up all your important data before doing so.
Hope this helps
WN -
Bought the iphone 5 today, and when i turned it on it made me set up the language and my origin of country. Then it made me set up wi fi settings but my wi fi settings are messed up! Now i can't proceed to press next! Please help!!
No
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your iphone could not be activated because the activation server cannot be reached. try connecting your iphone to itunes to activate it, or try again over the cellular connection in a couple of minutes. You can also try to activate using a Wi-Fi connection.'
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when i turn on itunes, it crashes automatically with the error message saying "itunes has encountered a problem and needs to close." I've tried reinstalling itunes but its the same. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!
Try:
iOS: If you can't back up or restore from a backup in iTunes
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