I get a flashing question mark in a folder icon when powering up, then no further, what to do?

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Level 1

134 points

I get a flashing question mark in a folder icon when powering up, then no further, what to do?

When I power up my MacBook Pro, I get a bluish screen, a flashing folder icon with a question mark on it, which sometimes turns into the universal no symbol, and then I get no further.

This first happened after my mac suddenly turned itself off while I was using it. After some unsuccessful attempts at starting it, I waited til the next day, and all of a sudden it did start. When I logged in, everything I had open when it shut down reopened, and I see that I've suddenly got a tab open that says something along the lines of "congratulations on downloading safari recovery", which, I didn't download, so I'm guessing maybe a virus?

Half an hour later, my mac shut down again, and that's where I am now. I googled some on my phone, and found a couple of possible solutions, but none of them have helped so far:

I've tried powering up, then holding down Command + R.

I've tried powering up and holding down the shift key.

I've tried pressing the power button while holding down Option + Command + P + R.

I don't have a disc to reinstall Mac OS X, I never had one, I got my mac via school, so now I don't really know what to do any more.

Please help me!

Posted on Sep 17, 2017 9:49 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

141,301 points

Sep 17, 2017 10:15 AM in response to Mrri

The flashing question mark (possibly with folder or Prohibitory sign) means that some essential components needed for starting up MacOS are missing or damaged.

First, make sure the Drive Directory is OK:

The usual first line of defense is to Boot into Safe Mode, but if you cannot boot up normally, Safe Mode is unlikely to work.

--OR-- boot into Recovery mode ... AND use Disk Utility to Repair the disk. Simply entering Recovery Mode does nothing for you.

Once the drive directory has been repaired, if the problem persists, an essential file is missing or damaged:

You will need to re-Install MacOS. This cannot be done on a still-damaged damaged disk.

Installing Mac OS, right on top of an existing copy of MacOS, is not intended to delete ANYTHING outside of MacOS. Nothing is bulk erased, but over 350,000 files are re-written. But if something were to go wrong, you could lose some of your files.

Do not be in a Big hurry to ERASE the internal drive, because that deletes ALL your files.

If you have access to an Apple-owned store, you can make a genius bar appointment for an evaluation. They MAY (or may not) be able to help you salvage some files.

What model Mac (including screen size and year), and what version of MacOS are you running?

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Answer 2

Mrri Author

Level 1

134 points

Sep 17, 2017 11:05 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hi again,

I clicked repair, and this is what I get:

"Disk Utility stopped repairing Macintosh HD. Disk Utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."

So I guess that's that then.

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Answer 3

Sep 17, 2017 12:20 PM in response to Mrri

The good news:

If you have allowed Time Machine to run recently, all but your latest files are safely tucked way in you most recent backup.

IF you had a drive that had a working Directory, you could do a Restore from Your Time Machine Backup and return to the moment of your Last Backup.

how do I go about backing my files up to my hard drive

The bad news:

You cannot Mount a damaged drive, so you can not Read or Backup any of its files in the usual way. In addition to not being able to boot from it, any new files are dead to you unless you are running full-blown MacOS (from a different drive) AND additional Utilities designed to go onto an unmounted drive and do salvage operations.

At this point you are ready to make an informed decision:

a) If you want your old Boot drive more than you want your unsaved files:

To proceed along this path, you must wave goodbye to anything NOT included in your Time Machine Backup, erase the drive, and hope it comes clean and can be used to re-Install macOS. The downside is that after an afternoon of work, you may discover your Boot drive has lost it integrity and needs to be replaced anyway.

b) If you want your unsaved files more than you care about the Drive:

to proceed along this path, buy a replacement drive, install MacOS anew in an external enclosure, and attempt to salvage old files that may or may not be salvageable. You can decide later whether the old drive is working well enough to keep in service.

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Answer 4

Sep 17, 2017 11:03 AM in response to Mrri

select Macintosh HD, then click "First Aid" or "Repair Disk" whichever is offered.

If it does a repair, do it again until it comes clean or gets stuck.

if it comes clean, then try to boot up normally.

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Answer 5

Mrri Author

Level 1

134 points

Sep 17, 2017 10:42 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hi,

So I tried Recovery Mode, and all of a sudden that worked. So, now I'm at utilities, where I'm guessing I should repair disk using Disk Utility (definitely not jumping to erase here), or Reinstall Mac OS X?

What should I choose when repairing (I'm a noob)? Macintosh HD?

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Answer 6

Mrri Author

Level 1

134 points

Sep 17, 2017 11:23 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I've tried repairing it 5 times now, and I still get the same message.

Should I just go about backing up my files, reformatting the disk, and then restore my backed up files?

I hope I'm not testing your patience here, but how do I go about backing my files up to my hard drive from the Utilities screen that I'm now on? I've only ever done it via Time Machine while all the way logged in, but it's been a while and I've new files I need saved too.

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Answer 7

Mrri Author

Level 1

134 points

Sep 18, 2017 2:22 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I haven't backed up since February, so there's a lot of files disappearing on me, but I can deal with that.

I think option b is too advanced for me, and my grasp on technical lingo English is not as good as my everyday English, I'm sad to admit.

I think I'll be going with option a, and just hope for the best. It's a 5 year old computer, and I think it's okay to replace it now, so I'm hoping it'll last me til over Christmas so I can save up some money for a new one.

Thanks for all your help, you've been a life saver!

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Answer 8

Sep 17, 2017 11:19 AM in response to Mrri

If it fixed anything that can sometimes improve things so that the next attempt works. Try again until it comes clean or gets stuck.

macOS cannot be installed onto a disk that has a damaged directory (which is what disk Utility is essentially telling you). A re-Install needs to remove and install over 350,00 files, and if the table of what files are where in not perfect, that will not be successful.

To make progress, presume that your drive will not be able to boot agin. Now you need a different drive on which to Install macOS. Luckily, MacOS can be installed on any appropriate drive, Internal or external.

You can buy replacement for your Internal drive, and an enclosure to hold it in while you install MacOS on it. Then Install while that drive is still in the external enclosure. then you can use the full capabilities of MacOS, plus additional Utilities such as Data Rescue, to try to salvage your files.

Or you can throw yourself at the mercy of the genius bar technicians to start a similar process for you.

This whole process in not difficult. But it is complicated.

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