White screen  buzzing noise and no question mark folder just white screen

So i noticed my macbook pro was slowing down and a ran disk warrior and disk utilities - repaired permissions , repaired drive then i noticed it was freezing up after 5 minutes of running.
so i removed all files i wanted to keep to an external drive and backed up with time machine.
I wanted to re install mac os X from the supplied DVD and it was going fine til about 2/3rds the way and it froze
now i turn the computer on and i get buzzing sound and white screen NOT even a question mark flashing folder.
I have tried :
PRAM reset = nothing
eject disk on start= nothing
im under a year in purchase
but im wondering if there is anything i can do before i take it in on monday??
it is a Macbook pro (13 inch mid 2009) intel duo 2 core

circle23,
Welcome to Apple Discussions!
It sounds like the HD failed. Try inserting the OS X install Disc in the DVD drive this time re-starting holding down the Option Key. When it starts choose the OS X install Disc and allow it to get to the point where it asks what language. Then choose the Utilities menu and click the internal drive then check the S.M.A.R.T status of the drive, it should say Verified if it's OK. If it doesn't try repairing the disk several times and see if the S.M.A.R.T status changes. If it doesn't make an appointment here and take it in.
Regards,
Roger

Similar Messages

  • My MacBook will only turn on to a grey screen with a file and a question mark flashing on the screen

    When I turn my MacBook on a grey screen with a file and question mark in the center of the screen  flashing. What can I try to
    get out of this screen?

    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.
    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, boot from the recovery partition (Command +R on boot) and use Disk Utility to repair your OS 10.7 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.

  • Clicking sound and flashing question mark folder

    This morning I started getting a repetitive clicking sound from the left of the machine. I wasn't using it at the time.
    This stopped, and I tried closing apps: got the spinning beach ball. Let it run for a while, then tried force quit, which didn't work - the "Force Quit" window didn't appear. So, did a power off by pressing the power button.
    At start up got a gray screen, the clicking noise, and then the folder icon with flashing question mark. Tried another start, got the chimes and blue screen and the clicking noise this time, then the gray and question mark.
    My guess is I've got a bad hard drive: should I keep trying to start up so I can try to back up if I get a good start (last backed up a week ago) or is it doing more damage to keep trying?
    Is it worth trying to run Disk First Aid or Tech Tool since it seems to be hardware related?

    If it's clicking, it's probably failing. Try things in Apple doc.#58042 on Flashing? mark.
    If the drive still spins, You could try the free demo of DataRescuell .
    If the demo "sees" your stuff, you can purchase the full version to rescue the bigger files. Don't use the drive, till you get this program, if the demo works. Best chance of recovery. Otherwise Data Rescue companies will charge you a fortune! Everyone needs to have at least one backup of their system.
    Cheers! DALE

  • MacBook Pro won't boot (question mark folder) after blue screen on windows bootcamp

    Hi,
    So, I was on windows, using bootcamp, and I was creating partitions on a pen drive with it, and then it asks me that it needs to restart to apply changes.
    But then, while restarting, a blue screen occurred (**** windows).... And I forced the shutdown pressing the power key.
    Then, I simply turned the MacBook on, trying to boot on my snow leopard and I got a flashing folder with a question mark on it.
    Now I can't access any partitions on it, if I press option key on startup I get a blank window!
    I tried to reset PRAM, repair the MacOs partition using the snow leopard DVD (it shows up fine, along with windows partition and EFI partition), and I still don't get my startup disk showing up...
    How can I fix this? I can't loose my files and I need to work with it :/

    I just fixed it!
    For future reference, what I did was:
    - Booting from OSX DVD, go to disk utility
    - Erase windows partition (yap, I lost it...)
    - Do a "repair disk" on every partition of my hard drive
    - Restart
    And it just worked ;)
    Thankfully I had no important files on my windows partition, now I will just reinstall it.

  • MacBook Pro crashed, and then question mark folder appeared

    So I have a MacBook Pro, the other day I left my computer on sleep mode as I always do. I open my computer to find a screen that is slightly grey, like the picture link: http://farm1.staticflickr.com/55/126466201_486bff5598.jpg
    I've had this happen to me before, and so I restarted it without worries.
    First I held down the Power button for 3-5 seconds and then it powered off.
    I'm not one to have patients as I am a teenager, so I quickly booted the computer on.
    I had the signature Mac chime, and then it went to a grey screen, I went to get something to drink, as I remembered Mac's take quite the time to boot back up.
    I came back to the same grey screen with a flashing folder with a question mark on it. I was now in panic mode. I lucky had my trustee iPhone by my side and quickly described my problem, found many articles on solutions, but nothing truly worked. I tried the "Hold C and turn on power at the same time", "Safe boot by holding Shift", "Try PRAM", and blah blah blah.
    At first I was missing my Install disc, as many of the articles stated, my problem may be resolved by using the disc. I am a teenager, this disc could be ANYWHERE, so thinking on my feet, I went to my mothers laptop case and found her Install disc (which was 10.6.7, my computer was running 10.6.3). I didn't realize the difference until much later.
    After a few hours of trying to fiddle around with my moms disc, I decided to go on a hard core hunt for my disc.
    Hours later, my room in a huge mess, I found my disc, under my bed (of course).
    It took me an hour to figure out how to get my moms stuck disc out of my MacBook.
    I found that solution through another article.
    So I put in my Install disc and I went to go backup my MacBook with my external hard drive, and I went through the steps required and I thought forsure it was fixed and done, until this: http://tinypic.com/r/hupto4/5
    I'm stuck.
    I've been sitting trying to fix this for at least 12 hours now, and I have had minimal success.
    --Questions
    1.) Could I have damaged something, by putting my moms install disc in?
    2.) Where did my hard drive go? Could I have possibly deleted it?
    3.) Is this the end for my MacBook Pro?
    Specs:
    MacBook Pro
    Bought: Last year (but on the back it says 2010)
    Snow Leoperd
    OS X 10.6.3
    External drive: My Passport (Link: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=440 )
    Please provide a step-by-step fixture if possible.
    Thanks!

    Failed hard drive possible. Bring it to an Apple store or AASP.

  • Booting problem - first question mark folder and now grey screen

    Hi all,
    I'm having problems with my Macbook booting.
    Yesterday it worked fine until I tried to open an old Excel file, then all became extremely slow, but anyway I was able to shut it down properly, or at least this was what I thought.
    The next time I tried to turn it on, a flashing question mark forder appeared instead of the apple. Then I tried various solutions I've found in forums, like turning on while holding down shift button like in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455 (nothing happens), the option botton (the cursor appears, but bootcamp does not start), and command+V for verbose mode (nothing).
    Anyway now if I turn it on nothing appears, neither the question mark folder, just the grey screen.
    I know that everything suggests that my HD is dead, but I don't really see the reason why it should have done so...
    Thank you for your help.
    Giulia

    Hello,
    "*a flashing question mark forder appeared instead of the apple."*
    A flashing question mark can mean several things. One, the hard disk disk is failing. Two, it means that when you boot your MacBook, it can't find a System Folder to boot from.
    Try booting while holding down the Option key. That should prompt the Startup Manager window so you can select your startup disc.
    If that doesn't work... grab your install disk and check the hard drive for errors.
    Insert the installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
    Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger and later) and launch Disk Utility.
    Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
    Select First Aid in the Main panel.
    (Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)
    Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
    If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
    If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
    When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
    Select your start up disk and click Restart
    The fact that you can't boot in Safe Mode (shift key) is not a good sign...
    *"but I don't really see the reason why it should have done so..."*
    How long have you had your MacBook? Do you have AppleCare?
    Carolyn

  • Flashing Question Mark Folder on Start-up

    I recently starting having administration issues with my Mac Mini.
    I went to update to OS 10.5.7 and when the administrator box came up asking for my password, my name was missing. After putting in the correct information, was unable to update, but received the message what my clue to password was.
    Anyway, I performed a safe startup, changed the password and tried again. Same issue as before. So I started up from the Start Up Disk, and ran Disk Utilities and verified the disk and repaired any permission issues. When I started up my Mac Mini from the hard drive, I still did not have my administrator password working.
    At this point, the start-up ping is gone.
    I reset the Pram and had the same issue. So, I saved all important files to an external hard drive and tried to do a clean install. I was unable to do the clean install.
    I removed the hard drive from my Mac Mini and installed it into a friends Mac Mini. I had complete control of my computer with no administrator password issues, the ping was there, and I could reload all saved items and still not have any issue no matter how I started up the computer. I then performed a complete erase and reinstall and still had no problems.
    I reinstalled the hard drive into my Mac Mini, and I now have the Flashing Question Mark Folder with gray screen on start-up and no ping. Can't fire wire to start up, can't clone, can't start-up from disk, safe mode, etc..
    Any ideas would be helpful. Most likely I will be going to the Apple Store and seeing what they can do.

    generally, the flashing folder mark means it can not find the startup drive.
    if you hear those kind of noises your hard drive is most likely dead. while this is almost certainly true you can try booting from the install DVD and see if the drive is visible in disk utility. if you can't insert the DVD try this. reboot and hold option at the chime. this should boot you into startup drive manager. there you should be able to insert the DVd and choose it as the startup drive. boot from the DVd and once past the language screen start disk utility from the Utilities menu at the top. see if it detects the internal drive. if it does, try repairing it. if it doesn't the drive is dead.

  • HT201250 Flashing question mark folder

    When I turn on my mac book a grey screen appears with a flashing question mark folder.
    If I hold down the option key when I turn it on I get place my wifi password in and click on an arrow for Internet recovery.
    Once the Internet recovery completes which took about 3 minutes I am then given the option to select my language the taken to the Mac OS X Utilities. There are 4 options:
    1. Restore from time machine back up
    2.reinstall Mac OS X
    3.get help online
    4.disk utility
    Mac book pro information
    Intel core i5
    Mac OS X 10.7.5
    Hoping someone can help and lead me in the right direction to fixing this!!!
    Thank you

    First of all, do you have backup of all your data? If not you may want to stop any troubleshooting until you have got that covered for fear of making the situation worse.
    Assuming you do have backup, from your first post, where you started in Recovery mode, did you run Disk Utility (option 4) to see if it could discover/fix any problems? If not, open Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD on the left and click on 'repair disk'. If anything gets changed/fixed/altered, click on repair disk again until you get a 'clean pass' and then restart as normal from the Apple menu.

  • IMac won't boot - flashing question mark folder

    Hi, I was having performance issues with my iMac, so after searching for a resolution, I followed some suggestions to reset the PRAM and SMC....after resetting the PRAM it will not boot up at all! The startup sound chimes, then a blank grey screen briefly before a flashing question mark folder appears. Nothing happens..... I have the install cd, but there is a CD in the drive and I can't get it out. Help!!
    Thanks in advance....
    Andrea

    HI Andrea,
    To get the disk to eject, start the iMac while holding down the mouse button.
    A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
    Try booting while holding down the Option key.
    Carolyn

  • I cant even reinstall os x after a question mark folder showed up on my mac.

    I opened my macbook pro this moring and this question mark folder came up. I restarted it and it came back normally and was working just fine. I came home and the same problem occured, Ive tried to shut it down and press option key on my keyboard. Os x utilities popped up and it seemed like theres nothing for the system to repair so I moved on to restore from time machine which also didnt work. I finally decided to reinstall os x mountain lion knowing that all my files will probably be gone. but then there was no disk I could select for the new installation. What's happening? Is there any ways I could fix this problem?

    its a mid2012 macbook and yes theres one near where i lve. Connecting cable as in the charger? Sorry i have very little knowledge on stuff like this. But thanks for letting me know. Just out of curiosity do u know what can i do to prevent future damge thats similar to this one?

  • HT1553 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...

    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.

  • I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

    I messed up badly by trying to restore my brand new macbook pro by doing restart then command R and choose disc utility repair now when I start ,all I get is the white screen with a folder and a question mark,What can I do???help please

    Can you still boot to the Recovery partition using Command and R whilst booting? Or did you wipe the Recovery partition as well?
    If your Recovery partition is still intact, you can simply boot to it and reinstall the OS via the Internet. If you wiped the Recovery partition, you can hold down Command, option and R keys whilst booting and boot into true Internet Recovery mode. You'll be able to reformat the hard drive, erasing all partitions (format it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a dingle GUID partition) and then reinstall the OS that shipped with your machine.
    Note that you should use a physical Ethernet connection when restoring over the Internet - it's three times slower if you use wifi.
    Try your Recovery partition first and if that doesn't work, use Internet Recovery.
    Clinton

  • Macbook Air - White/Grey Screen with a folder and a question mark

    Out of the blue , my macbook air stopped starting up and strted to show me a white/grey screen with nothing but a folder and a question mark . After searching on the internet for solutions and trying to reset my PRAM setting , it still wouldn't boot up . I opened up disk utility and going through internet recovery , I ran the first aid verification on my MAC OS X Base System and it said that it found no problems . I can't restore or erase by the way and i really wouldn't erase my files as I have very important files on my mac . Moving on , I tried to reinstall OS X , but apperently it needs a disk to install OS x on and since none appear , I tried using an USB . After creating a partition and erasing everything on my USB , not happy about that  , it wasn't big enough for the OS . So now I am basically stuck in the mac white screen Limbo .
    Any sort of help would be fantastic and please do keep in mind that this is a macbook air and I do not have a place to put DVDs into . All I have read on different forum pages didn't help so i decided that it would be a good idea to create my very own thread . I am not very sure about the Mountain Lion version ,but I am not very sure that it matters .

    Out of the blue , my macbook air stopped starting up and strted to show me a white/grey screen with nothing but a folder and a question mark . After searching on the internet for solutions and trying to reset my PRAM setting , it still wouldn't boot up . I opened up disk utility and going through internet recovery , I ran the first aid verification on my MAC OS X Base System and it said that it found no problems . I can't restore or erase by the way and i really wouldn't erase my files as I have very important files on my mac . Moving on , I tried to reinstall OS X , but apperently it needs a disk to install OS x on and since none appear , I tried using an USB . After creating a partition and erasing everything on my USB , not happy about that  , it wasn't big enough for the OS . So now I am basically stuck in the mac white screen Limbo .
    Any sort of help would be fantastic and please do keep in mind that this is a macbook air and I do not have a place to put DVDs into . All I have read on different forum pages didn't help so i decided that it would be a good idea to create my very own thread . I am not very sure about the Mountain Lion version ,but I am not very sure that it matters .

  • White screen with a folder and a question mark in the Folder

    Hi,
    My daughter's Desktop Mac Pro won't reboot. On reboot, it shows a white screen with a folder and a question mark within, It just stays there and nothing happens. Is this a problem with a dead hard drive, dead processor, faulty USB connection, problem with airport.? We need advise and help, please!
    effie imperio

    Hi, Anonymoustache, thanks for responding.
    Yes, I think it is "a flashing question mark". If it is flashing, you think it is a hardware problem like a dead hard drive? I had a flashing question mark with my Power book G4 and Apple replaced a dead hard drive.
    Thanks Hatter, I will convey your response to my daughter and see if it will help.
    effie imperio

  • Hello, mac mini will not boot. I get a file symbol with a question mark, then a white screen, Hello, mac mini will not boot. I get a file symbol with a question mark, then a white screen

    Hello, My mac mini will not boot. When I turn it on, I get the chime, then the white screen, then the apple symbol, then a file symbol with a question mark, then the white screen and then it stays like that.
    Is this a bad hard drive?

    Sounds like it.  Try booting from your OSX restore DVDs - startup and hold down "C".  This will take AGES! Then run Disk Utility from the menu. 
    The flashing ? means your system is corrupt, dead, not there, on a dying HD, etc...

Maybe you are looking for

  • Ipad won't sync all of photo library.

    I have recently bought an iPad 2. I updated it to ios5 and it does not sync my complete iPhoto library. I have ~9000 photos in my library, only about 3000 of which are being transferred to my iPad. There is plenty of space on the iPad 32GB of a 64GB

  • How do I sync Notes from iPhone to iMac

    Will the Notes I create on one IOS device sync to the others (iPhone, iPad, iMac)?  I don't see

  • File corruption in Aperture 2.1.4

    recently I went back to work on photos I have opened many times. RAW CR2 format shot with canon 50D. The thumbnails look good but when I select one, it appears briefly in the large screen, but then I get a red screen with "unsupported image format".

  • Joins issue in query - OBIEE 11g

    Hi all, I have created a new repository with a simple star schema, and also have created ragged hierarchy. Now when i select any dimension field and a measure from the fact, the query generated by BI has 2 physical queries i.e. one for dimension and

  • Service Tax Code Creation?

    Hi, While raising A/R Invoice I have to charge service charges of Rs. 100000/- in which 67% is exempted from Service tax. In this circumstances how i have to create Service tax set up. Ex.  Service Charges - 1,00,000 Less : Abatement 67%---- 67000