question mark folder when i startup?
Message was edited by: worth1090
Mac book
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Mac book
I have a mid 2012 13" Mac book pro. I just experienced the grey folder and blinking question mark. I was just browsing the Internet and check my emails and the laptop froze and then turned into a blank screen then the folder popped up. This is the first time it has ever happened. I have tried to reboot it and all the other functions to reset it. It didn't work. I currently have my laptop shut down, I don't know what else to do, I really need to recover files and assignments I have in my laptop since I am in school.
Sounds like it is in the hardware more then it is in the software, my guess is that there is a problem with the hard drive I would take it in some where and have a professional take a look or if you have any experience then open up the back and listen for any unusual sounds coming from the hard drive. Also if you here no sounds then it is possible that the hard drive is not getting any power so if that is the case it really comes down to 3 things being ether the hard drive was nocked loose or the hard drive is fried and or the motherboard got fried. If you think that it was the last one then check the motherboard for any discolor around the Circuits. Let me know if this workes :)
That model had a recall on the hard drive cable. Even if your warranty period is over, you should be able to bring it to the Apple store and have the cable replaced for free under their "Quality Program." I'm an Apple Certified Mac Technician and we've seen a pretty large amount of these at work.
Hi Carl,
Unfortunately it sounds like your hard drive might be toast. If your machine is out of warranty, you could by a decent harddrive on Newegg for pretty cheap and try swapping it out (or, if your machine is still under warranty, you could just bring it into an Apple store). It is pretty easy to swap the hard drive in a Macbook:
1. Remove the battery
2. Loosen the three screws to remove the RAM cover (the screws will not come out of the metal cover).
3. You will see the hard drive on the left side of the battery bay. Pull the white plastic tab to slide it out of the Macbook.
4. Use a Torx screwdriver to remove the hard drive casing (so that you can put that handy pull-tab on your new hard drive)
5. Put the case onto your new hard drive and replace.
After that, try booting to your install disc again and format the disk with Mac OS Extended Journaled format and install Snow Leopard.
The water spill sounds like it may have fried your logic board, which is why the hard drive is not being detected (even if the drive itself was not damaged) and your display as acting strangely. Since the left side of the Macbook is where all the ports are, the water could have easily gotten into them and damaged the logic board. Unfortunately that's not covered under AppleCare so you could be looking at either paying for a logic board replacement or a new Macbook altogether. 😟
question mark folder when i startup?