Question mark?

When was it last working and what was the last thing you were doing with it?

A question mark is usually an indication that it cannot find a valid OS - corrupted or non-functioning hard drive perhaps. Can you hear the hard drive?

Have you tried your installer CD/DVD?

An issue with some users of portable Macs is that they rarely shutdown - they simply close the lid and put the Mac to sleep.

Ensure that it is properly shut down, by holding the power button if necessary, and then try a safe boot:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564?viewlocale=en_US

It is important to retain OS installer disks as they enable you to do extra things such as format disks and change passwords. On there forums the lack of an OS installer disk may be interpreted as a stolen Mac.

For information: Holding the alt key does not invoke utilities - it lists valid OSs so that you can decide which one to boot - the OS discovery process can be slow.

You could reset your PRAM:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

If that does not improve things carefully try the 'Use fsck if necessary' section of the following.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1417

You may also like to read:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440

It is quite rare for Open Firmware to be password protected - I always advise against it.

Can I assume you have not set an Open Firmware password?

I propose that you print out the 'Use fsck if necessary' instructions and try it again.

Record every detail of each step and paste it here.

Are you pressing the ctrl key?

Just the Apple key, (Apple key = CMD key) & the s key on boot up.

Sadly it seems like the drive is really messed up or dead, does this MacBook have a Firewire port? And do you have another Mac with a Firewire port?

It is important that you understand it should be fsck.

I know some people get the following wrong:

1 - always press and hold the modifier key (eg cmd) first and release it last

2 - next press the other key - in this case 's' - and hold it until you see white writing on the screen

If the hard disk is working and contains OS X it is very unusual for single user mode to fail - it might be worth trying it again.

Whilst I don't think it is an SMC issue it should not make matters worse if you try this:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

It is possible that you have disk corruption or failure - can you borrow an installer DVD from a friend?

Orjol wrote:

Hi Neville,

I tried to make fsk according to the rules but still not success.

I found an installer DVD Mac OS 10.5.6 and I'm waiting to come here (in Albania).It will come after new year.

Can you send me the procedure of installation?

Thanks

As I think I said before, it will not work until you learn to type 'fsck' and not "fsk". See below:

Use fsck if necessary

fsck is a command-line utility that may be able to verify and repair a disk. If you can successfully start up in Safe Mode or use Disk Utility while started up from a disc, you don't need to use fsck. Here are some situations in which fsck may be necessary.

• Your Mac OS X disc isn't available.
• Your optical drive isn't available.
• You can't start with a Safe Boot by holding the Shift key during start up.

To use fsck, you must run it from the command line. Unlike using your mouse pointer to open an application to do something, you'll need to type a text command at the prompt (#) to tell fsck what to do. The Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities) and single-user mode are two examples of command-line interfaces in which you can type such commands. To use fsck:

1. Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line.
   Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
2. At the command-line prompt type:
   /sbin/fsck -fy
   
3. Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:
   

   ** The volume (name_of_volume) appears to be OK

   If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
   

   ***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****

   Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
4. When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type reboot at the prompt and then press Return.

Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.