Why do I get flashing envelope with question mark on my iMac?

Hey there!

A folder with a flashing question mark means that your computer's startup disk is no longer available or doesn't contain a working Mac operating system.

To learn more and see troubleshooting steps, please see:

If your Mac starts up to a question mark - Apple Support.

Let us know if you need more help or have any questions!

-Jack

According to Apple:

A folder with a flashing question mark means that your startup disk is no longer available or doesn't contain a working Mac operating system.

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.

Need more help?

• Chat now or call 1-800-APLCARE.
• International Support.
• Mac Support.

Click ▶︎ macOS User Guide. 📖

In addition what has likely happened is the hard drive has likely failed. If you have been backing up using Time Machine your data is safe. Please let us know the model year of the computer and we can offer some ideas on what to do.

if the computer is older than a 2017, just replace it!