Flashing question mark on folder at start up...help,please

Put the original OS DVD in the Macbook and start up while holding the c key down. Eventually the Mac will boot. It will think you want to install the OS. You can navigate to Disk Utilities (the precise path depends on the OS) which is available when you boot from the OS DVD.

Run DU and, 1. select the hard drive and click on "Repair" drive, then 2. click on "Repair" permissions. Now restart.

sorry to jump in.. but my computer is going through the exact same thing.. I've followed the troubleshooting in the manual and have inserted the OS reinstall disk 1.. i got to the disk utility part but there was no available hard-disk to choose from... pleasssse help!!

If Disk Utility (from the Install DVD) does not recognize the drive then you'll have to bring it in to your Apple store for testing. If you have another firewire computer (with os x) then you might try seeing if the Macbook is detected from there...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583

hi,
I am sorry to give you the bad news but you need a new hard drive and most likely you lost all data on your hd. I think you are a victim of Seagates faulty hard drives like me. just to make sure remove battery and memory slot cover, then take the hard drive out. check the brand and firmware, if it is Seagate 7.01 you will need a new hd.
Apple refuses to replace it if you have no apple care. hard disk comes with 5 year warranty from Seagate and they say you have to through Apple which doesnt make much sense because Apple wont do anything unless you have warranty from them... I ordered a new western digital hd (120gb-$89) from an online retailer. let me know if you need address. good luck...

Hello,

I too have this exact problem. This morning i went to jiggle the mouse to bring the screen back from sleep but it wouldnt. I did a hard reset, but kept giving me the flashing question mark folder. I inserted x.5 disc into the drive to do a disk repair, but couldn't find the disk. I've assumed that the HDD is dead so have ordered a new one.

I'm really kicking myself today, as I foolishly turned off Time Machine a couple of days ago as i am shuffling media around. I have learnt my lesson.

However i'll put the Macbook's HDD into an enclosure and see if i can bring it back to life/restore my data.

I'll post my results next week 😟

This is a bit suspicious for a couple people in the same month to have the same problem.

FYI, i am running X.5.1, 80gb, 2gb RAM.

I just had this happen to me 15 minutes ago...recently updated to leopard. I'm on the road so I don't have my OS X disc or my backup drive to boot from. This looks like a patterns.

I took my hard drive out last night and confirm it is the Seagate 7.01. The exterior looks normal to me. No melted bits/distortions.

I bought my Macbook on the 1st August 2006, if this helps.

I'm having the same problem and it just happened this morning. I was working in emacs and this screen popped up that said I needed to reboot my computer. I wasn't able to do anything further at this point so I restarted the computer via the power button. On bootup, however, all I got was this flashing folder.

Does anyone think this could be a virus? It's awfully suspicious especially since it's happening to so many at once.

hrmm dunno if it would be a virus. Your problem seems to be different to what i had. I wasn't prompted to reboot at all. The computer just hung, so i had to manually restart.

Try booting from disc or see if your drive is available via firewire (target mode, restart your macbook and hold down T then connect your macbook to another mac via firewire). If the drive mounts you;re all good.

I've tried everything with this drive and its not responding.

Happened to me also on Nov 24, 1007 after using Safari.

Hello everyone,
I am also having the same problem. I had this problem since last Friday 11/23/2007. I described what I have done so far to fix the problem in this topic: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1259845&tstart=30 before I read your post.
In addition, I have reported the problem as a bug to Apple.
Do you also hear a whir from HD at start up?

This problem is so weird! Can’t tell if it’s software or hardware problem.
I ran the hardware test but no hardware problem was found!

Let's keep this post active till we get the problem solved.

Good luck.

I think I'm having this problem too. I bought a MacBook in August, upgraded it to Leopard (now to 10.5.1) and last night it went into meltdown.

It was plugged into (and updating) my iPod, my Time Machine drive, and an external display. I was playing music and went into time machine, and then the music stopped and it froze for ages. I held down the power to reset it, and when it woke up it failed to show anything at all. After a few more restarts it is now showing the flashing question mark folder.

Fortunately I have my time machine backups, and I'll try booting from the leopard discs, but I don't think I have a Seagate hard disk. Does this affect all MBs?

i didn't see this post until just now. i just posted a similar one. my mac just did the same thing about 2 hours ago. i'm dying, i haven't backed up anything, and i have over 4000 pictures from when i studied abroad last year, not to mention 1000s of itunes.

anyway, on my thread, somebody posted this link to an article about the 'faulty harddrives.' i really hope something gets done about them. because i can't figure out what i did to trigger the failure...if it was even a fault of my own.

http://www.macrumors.com/2007/11/26/apple-acknowledges-reports-of-macbook-hard-d rive-failures

Dagnabit, just happened to me too. I was writing some code in Textmate on my Macbook and the system completely froze. I rebooted and am getting the flashing question mark folder.

I've tried resetting the PRAM and PMU, and have tried booting with the option key depressed.

After a little research it looks like there has been an increased number of incidences in the last few days. I doubt it's a virus, but it could be a matter of the Macbook hard drives reaching the end of their lifespan. (I really hope thats not the case)

My Macbook is about 16 months old, so is no longer covered by warranty. If the hard drive is dead, I guess I'll have to buy a new one. On the other hand, the iSight camera failed 4 months ago, and the Ethernet port died 2 weeks ago, so I think I'll just buy a new laptop.