How To Fix a Flashing Question Mark Folder on Mac
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2016
- Here is a guide on how to troubleshoot when your Mac computer starts up with a flashing folder and question mark.
More at: www.gottabemobile.com/2016/08/... - Věda a technologie
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I literally watched 50 videos and nobody said anything about holding down the option key to see my hard pop up :/ Thank you so much man you just saved my life
dude i cannot thank you ENOUGH. Ugh. i was just about to format my entire computer without a back up but stumbled upon this vid in a last search in despair. it was the 'hold option key on start up' that helped. i searched high and low on apple site for solutions but i never saw that. so thanks again, life saver.
I work for a school district and we have seen this issue on several laptops. It can also be a bad hard drive cable. We saw a big jump in this issue with the 2012 model laptops. They were notorious for just randomly going to the flashing folder screen while they were in use. It is a fairly simple replacement, so it's worth considering.
It works! I don't know why it took me 3 years to do this. My Mac desktop sat on my desk for three years. I didn't want to touch it so I bought a new laptop. My laptop started to age so I thought I should check my mac and followed your instruction. Bingo! It works!! Thanks! What really helped was that one of the comments below saying hit the control and R as you hear the sound. I am deaf so I missed the video . After the comment I read, I touch my monitor and feel for the sound. It did it! Thank you! My Reno 911 was stuck in there for three years! god!
Jennifer Furlano wow lol
This comment saved my life thank you
Haha. I did that when my laptop "died" I was so upset I stuck it in the corner and left it. Especially as I hadn't backed it up.... Alwaysbackupyourharddrivewillfaileventually
Didn't work for me
Hi Tim,
Thank so much for this video, this allowed me to restore my computer from a flashing folder of gray to a correctly updated Sierra. your step by step instructions were perfect. Holding 9th We option key down while turning it on got me to the right place. Thanks a million, we now have a working Mac again which we desperately needed.
my heart went straight to my ass my heart is still heavy
I definitely found this helpful and I just installed a new hard drive and got this indicator. After watching your video I tried holding down the option button and internet recovery was prompted on the screen. I very happy to see this and I am now waiting for the process to finish uploading.
Your voice and background music go well together. So relaxing.
Thank you - this tut helped me fixed a non-booting Macbook Air, my daughter was delighted she didn't lose any course work! (of course she wouldn't have been worried if she'd backed it up, but that's teenagers for you)
I just spent 4 hours on the phone with apples and this just helped me in 1:31 more than they did in four hours. You're a life saver. Thank you!!
It worked great✌️. The internet installation usually takes about 30min to an hour depending on how fast your link is..Don’t panic just relax and follow the instructions
Kofi Freddie, does the screen turn white, while it’s downloading from internet?
You’re god sent! I was trying to completely wipe it and get it to factory reset but I almost lost my cool. Thank you for the help!!
Youre instructions were spot on!! Thanks for the clear and concise video!!! Saved me a lot of money and time by not taking it to Apple. 👍
Same, i was deciding to go to Apple the following week but luckily i found this video.
This helped me out so much!!! I though I was going to have to bring it in to apple which would have charged me a fortune!!!! Thank you again so much!!!
Dude. I litterally love you now.
Man all I did was open up the laptop, unplug the hard drive and then plug it back in securely and my problem was fixed. I’m so glad I did not lose all my projects. Please try this step before wiping everything off :)
Thank you very much. This helped so much, i was stressing on the fact that my macbook wouldn't work anymore. Thank you very much for this tutorial.
Helped a bunch! I was upgrading my system got sleepy because it was taking to long close the top & got the blinking folder. So glad nothing major is wrong rebooted it now its updating again.
a year ago i was dumber and tried to restart my Mac thinking nothing would happen .. i was wrong 💀 , I went to a lot of websites even Apple’s website and a lot of CZcams videos and nothing would work, i gave up after a lot of research and never touched it. Until literally today at 11:13 p.m, I’m about to start my first year at college in 2 weeks and desperately needed my laptop to work and came upon this video and IM ALREADY INSTALLING THE OS X!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Lol mac crashed during taking my finals...trying to fix xD
Missy Syrena same here. Im suffering. Did u fix it?
Same I am doing my final major project for graphic design diploma and this happened
OOF
That's what mines doing right now
The technician told me not to update to the latest updates as it caused the crash.
Thank you so much! I HOPE you see this message. You helped me more than a live Apple agent could. Sad asf.
Thank you for this. I almost lost my shit. I was trying to reset my laptop and I thought I broke it. Appreciate it all ☺️☺️
Danielle Patrice lol I tried to rest my laptop
Same here thx
Should I reinstall OS X? Or just cancel it? Like what he did
can you help me?? i was trying to reset my computer
Same😅😭
Thank you so much, i was not in the mood for having that pop up and hanging over my head all day
this is simony's computer but Mariya is thanking since my computer was starting then turning white with many flashing folders. your technique solved the problem. thanks again.
best video about this problem so far :-)
finally a person who knows the answer. Thank you sir!
This is a very helpful tutorial. Definitely the best piece of information is holding down the power and option key for internet recovery
At the same time?
Quick and simple fix, just what I needed, thanks!
This was exactly the information I needed. Thank you so much.
hey man
thank you very much! very helpfull
but i have another issue now
after aolving this problem it started really really slow ! any suggestions?
O M G! Thank YOU for your content! My mom’s had this macbook pro thinking it was broken and I, in need for a laptop, got to fix it. Thanks to you! Lol
when i reinstall os x it downloads high sierra but it takes 121 gb and i only have 30 gb left but can i still reinstall?
Whewwwwwww thank you! Easy fix I thought I lost all my work! I was just about to set up time machine too!
how did you recover your files?
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR AMAZING VIDEO! I think I would have had a heart attack had I not found your video. I couldn’t even find my serial number and Apple won’t even help you without a serial number... lol!!! Thank you thank you thank you!
omg i cried three days a row and then this helped me like a magic thanks u saved me❤
Thank you again for creating such a helpful and well-versed video! Subscribed and waiting for more. 🙋♀️
Tim everything worked fine until...I found two disk drives listed. One was as described. The other was different. I selected the odd one and got a message indicating the needed to be repaired. I selected that option and midway through got a message it couldn't be repaired. Prior to that the drive icon that looked like the one in your video worked like you described. After trying to repair the odd one nothing works other than i still get the flashing folder with the question mark. Any suggestions? In your video you suggested connecting a certain kind of cable and looking for a drive on another computer. Does the other computer have to be a Mac?
My head is like “dude you got one shot, mess this up your fucked”
Thank you so much😭 I was freaking out but you were so helpful and informative and I could restart my MacBook and not lose anything
How did you do it without losing everything? I did it and mine says there is no disk or backup ...!
My Macbook responded to MVRAM reset (alt+CMD+p+r), but no other combination works (alt or CMD+r after startup). Why they don't work? It's an older model with SSD drive as primary and HDD as secondary. Any tips?
i have a secondhand laptop and it had really bad battery life so I eventually stopped using it. ages ago i leant it to my cousin who was going to use it as a desktop. pretty quick it stopped working and only flashed the folder. months later, (today) he finally returned it and i googled this problem and it working!!
If you do have a hardware issue and you decide to buy a new replacement iMac, can the faulty iMac still function as a secondary monitor linked to the new?
Thanks, this helped my Mom restore her computer after I installed a new hard drive for her.
i'm trying this on a 2011 macbook air that is running Mac OS Catalina so the steps are slightly different but i hope it will work
You saved thousands and millions of lives.
Any tips? I have held down the alt key and the hard drive icon shows up. But when I click it nothing happens. The Command "r" also does nothing when I've tried it. It is also making a louder than Norma sound as its boots up.
i did the off button and option and it did come up with the drive and i clicked on it but when it was in the middle of loading as in the booting thing it would reset and come back up with the folder with the question mark please reply with an answer
My parents got this on their Mac and decided to just buy a new Mac since they were in need for an upgrade from their 2010 anyways, this really helped me out any hopefully I can get this up and running again
Thank you i watched all the videos on CZcams and you are the best again thank you.
This worked to turn it on! Mine ended up being a hard drive cable that was the issue. I’d recommend just taking it your local computer shop so you don’t accidentally erase or delete all your data!
tbh i don’t feel like paying and everything on my mac can be reinstalled so ima erase it haha
How did you connect your Bluetooth keyboard I have my keyboard but it disconnected from the Mac so I can’t really press the option button is there anyway I can connect the keyboard back to the Mac while it is like this?
I cannot see my HDD on disk Utility
I brought this to the apple store and they "fixed it in 10 minutes"
It worked then and there but when I got home, I tried to login but the spinning wheel of death appeared and kept spinning until it restarted itself.
Then a white screen,
then flashing questionmark folder....
I swapped in a different hard drive and it still didnt show up on disk utility and I checked the cable that its plugged in and the lights in the front of the mac is on (Hdd light). What could be the problem here?
Apple says they have "fixed it" already....
My MacBook Pro late 20 13 15 inch it takes a while for the screen to display a blue folder with a question mark I try or troubleshooting keys like command R, command option R, all and nothing shows up in the screen just a blue folder with? I called Apple to guide me but they determine it might be a hardware failure, But it’s weird all I did was update my operating system and when it was time to boot up it never did only this problem can you please help me
I did the thunderbolt to another computer and I can see it in disk utility but it doesn’t mount on the desktop . First aid says it’s ok but any advice from this point? Cmnd R first aid fails on that drive
Thank you so much for this tutorial.Almost went to apple to buy a new one
I changed the hard drive after a SMART error and now I get this question mark folder all the time when trying to access recovery mode (it simply never gets there).
Do you maybe have an idea why that is?
I have this issue but I have the MacBookPro 2012 showing me a different scene do you have a video on that ?
I know this is an old video but the recovery mode doesn't open when I hold the keys
SIR can you solve my problem in macbook air model A1466 i cannot be install mac os sierra...and if i start my macbook show on screen flashing question mark error and after pc turn off...if i press option+power button then show wifi mode to start recovery from internet....and after recovery net then show install mac os mountain lion and after install then several hours to take install...but i will try many times but not install no any mac os...please help me....Thank you...
when i press option + power a white screen appears with the mouse icon, but that's it. i just installed a new hard drive. command + r doesn't do anything, it just goes to a folder icon with a question mark on it.
THANK TOU SO MUCH I WATCHED SO MANY VIDS AND I DIDNT UNDERSTAND UNTIL I SAW URS😭
hey! i know im a bit late but im trying to fix my brothers computer and he is using a different keyboard because he broke his mac one. and I cant seem to get past the flashing file stage?
First I had the reboot issue where it acts like it’s going to boot up then load bar stops and the machine auto reboots. This issue (which many have) was fixed by replacing the graphics card. Now I’m having the question mark folder... I can get the computer to boot properly if I restart the machine about ten times....
Its not working! I tried doing it and it did go to apple logo, but then it goes right back to the flashing folder. What do I do?
Do you click the power button and then the options or do you hold the power in
Thank you you saved my 2011 Mac mini I was thinking of buying a new Mac but you saved me money and a Mac
Should I press first aid on the OS X Base system? Will that solve the problem? Thank you
So what should I do if the Macintosh HD file isn't bold? For my case, I had a really bad weekend so I wasn't in the most patient mood. So I was sitting through a mac OS update and me being stupid me, I shut down the MacBook air during an update that was taking forever. So yeah, this is a self inflicted issue.
So my question is, what should I do? It seems to be an issue I can fix myself but the problem is how.
I did the same thing
Ughhhh.......
I just did the SAME THING!!! But I looked up online what I should do and I am currently in the middle of installing Mac OS high Sierra on my MB air.
Gay is The way did it work for you? I had the exact same issue..following the video I am installing mac OS high Sierra but that too is getting stuck at the 2 minute mark? Any way to fix this?
Sudeep Rohit Try rebooting in internet recovery mode by command + r, go to time machine and try to find a backup before you updated. If you can’t find a backup your only hope is to reformat your Macintosh HD drive (this deletes ALL data). I fucked up big time while trying to install dual boot Kali linux..
Hey mate, I tried to reset my IMac to factory settings to clean it out. I followed all the steps I found online. I got to the last step “IOS reinstall” but it wouldn’t let me continue. So I restarted my computer which lead me to a black screen with flashing question mark folder. I followed your steps but nothing happens except the continuous flashing folder.. any ideas on how I can get back into my system to try reinstall IOS and start fresh?
I’ve been given a iMac that’s been completely wiped. It has no macOS on it. I have a magic keyboard and mouse (version 1) which I’ve bought so they’ve never never been connected to this iMac before. Is there any way I can connect them in order to try recovery steps?
You are the best! Thank you for the clear explanation and step by step options! You saved me! thank you so much!
I need a help. I have connected the iMac on my WiFi and then I have pressed Internet Recovery. Now, it has ben over 2 hours and nothing happened: the loading bar is stuck right after the start. What can I do?
Holding the option key down while turning the computer on
AMAZING, nice steps of troubleshooting.
This video fixed my problem. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for making this video, helped me out a lot! Have a great day ✨
When I start de iMac they keyboard just turn of, every time I want to type command and r it doesn’t work. It’s not the battery from the keyboard y checked
Oh my God you are a genius an angel sent from heaven!!!One key the option key I’ve searched everywhere online and the answer was a simple as one option key thank you very much once again your a genius
So ive tried at least a dozen differeny videos with this now and nothing has worked for me i just want to know if anyone could tell me if it would be safe to sell my imac with this issue like if the person could fix it and recover any of my previous information off it? Hope that makes sense
I need some help, i spent 2 days with Apple support no luck, my Mac Pro 2011 has question mark issue- new hard drive was added-old one had issues, tried to boot MacOS by USB Sierra and even tried El Capitan and it doesn't boot nor it goes to recovery mode-gets stuck to white screen. My friend was able to boot the Mac in Windows 10 version, apart from that no luck at all. Please could anyone recommend me steps i missed, or any way for me to over come this?
during the internet recovery my laptop shut down, I turned it on again and again the folder with the question mark appear, I did everything again and it appeared a world with a ! in it, what should I do
Macbook pro early 2015 13 inch (16gb ram 256 ssd aftermarket) I am using bigsur in it.
Whenever i powers on my machine QUESTION MARK SIGN ON FOLDER starts blinking.
Sometimes it appears and sometimes it doesn't. Totally unpredictable.
I have done following things as solutions but sign comes again after somedays.
Reset SMC and NVRAM, Disk Utility Repair, Factory reset machine, Reinstalled new OS from bootable drive.
Still question mark sign appears after working fine for few days. Really tired and irritated from this issue.
Need your help guys, what could be the problem?
What should I do when after the question mark and pressing option key, it gives an error of no bootable device
So once I do this would I be able to get online I mean I just wanna get on the internet mines not working I don’t know if I’m doing it right mines has 2 faces on the folder with a question mark ?
I have never commented on a youtube video but you are a GOD!! Thank you for saving me £2400! virtual big fist!!! came straight on!
What if your computer is half dead and shows folder with question mark when i do that command+R. What do i do now? Please answer
It works on new mac as well, good job thanks for the tips
A friend found this Mac, so it may have been wiped. It didn't show the OS option, but rather asked to connect to the internet. Gave it my hotspot and the wheel keep spinning. How long should I wait before trying something else? if so, now what?
Thank you I was freaking out I thought I broke my mac
i have no disk appearing at all and i feel like crying because i figures out a way to just let my laptop die and then it works again but when ever it turns off it does the folder thingy again but now when it dies it doesn’t turn back on again
I followed your instructions, I saw the hard drive picture on the screen. I clicked it and got the blank screen. What should I do next?
Thanks Tim! U Saved me time and distress. 🤗
Had a friend install a new hard drive (with more space)...everything was there but it would overheat after 10 minutes then I'd get that "power off now" message. Did that for about 2 years (didn't use it much). It sat for about a year and now I'm getting the flashing (?) folder. Im afraid if I have to install, it'll overheat. Any suggestions? It's older but has a ton of pictures videos that I really don't want to lose. I don't care about the computer itself at all...just my files. If I can save the computer...great, but I don't care if it's garbage as long as I get my files.
Thanks so much!!!
Guys this happened to my laptop and I am super scared. I am starting to cry
TheThreeSisters same here
TheThreeSisters same here
Same here
Same
TheThreeSisters
And I, sdfg
I can't repair disk. It looks like I don't have a disk. Once i click on first aid, erase or restore... I am.not allowed to click any of the buttons below. They are all in faded grey color. Pls help.
Hey thank you so much for this tutorial I thought I lost it all though I need to figure why the Mac mini is running slow I checked storage and I have 410 gb available so not sure what makes it drag any ideal... Thanks 🙏 again for tour help, PeaceLove&GodBless
I'm starting it up using command r n once I connect to WiFi it shows a world with a triangle on it help
HELP!!! I tried to restore a MacBook Pro to factory settings. I see the folder with the question mark. I pressed the on button and the option key, but the hard drive doesn't appear. I also tried the command R and the utilities doesn't appear either. Both times it's looking for me to connect to the internet. I hope the hell I didn't ruin it.
I’ve tried holding down the option key and trying command + R, nothing works for me. I removed and installed a new hard drive, still nothing. It’s for a 2007 IMac 27”
On my Dad's iMac, the folder does not flash and when i hold command + r, the globe pops up and after a while, a triangle with a "!" sign in it pops up in front of the globe. on the bottom of that globe, it says apple.com/support, and under THAT, it says -2106F
I am confused. help........