Flashing question mark/ file on screen.

Hi there

If you see the question mark it means that your startup disk is not available or that it is not containing a valid macOS operating system.

See this steps to solve the question mark error If the question mark is persistent, and your Mac does not start up normally:

1. Press and hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds, until your Mac turns off.
2. Every Mac has a power button. On notebook computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.
3. Use Disk Utility to repair your startup disk. Follow the steps for a Mac with an Intel processor.
4. If Disk Utility found no errors or repaired all errors, reinstall macOS.
5. If you still need help, please contact Apple Support.

Have you first repaired your startup disk?

For each disk you're repairing, start by selecting the last volume on that disk, then click the First Aid button  or tab.

In this example, the last volume on the disk is Macintosh HD - Data.

Click Run to start checking the selected volume for errors.

• If there is no Run button, click the Repair Disk button instead.
• If the button is dimmed and you can't click it, skip this step for the disk, container or volume you selected.
• If you're asked for a password to unlock the disk, enter your administrator password.When it's finished, exit Disk Utility. If you used Disk Utility from macOS Recovery, you can now restart your Mac: choose Apple menu  > Restart.

If Disk Utility found errors that it could not repair, use Disk Utility to erase (format) your disk.

If you have tried all this and the question mark is still persistent, please Contact - Official Apple Support to get further support on this issue

Flashing folder with a question mark is an error that may occurs when Mac cannot detect its boot directory. This usually happens when:

1. Mac cannot find the startup Disk.

2. MacOS is corrupt

However, you can try the below methods to fix the issue:

1. Boot your Mac into macOS Recovery Mode

2. Repair startup disk using disk utility

3. Reinstall macOS

Further, to fix the issue, I suggest you to check the below link and follow the described methods:

Hope it helps!

[Link Edited by Moderator]

What were the steps

I need help