Hi RockSolid93,
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. It looks like no one has responded yet to your question. If you could provide the following information, it may help the community respond:
1. What is the exact screen that you are seeing, and where are you seeing it? Can you describe in more detail what you are seeing? Is this in iTunes on your computer or in Music on your iPhone? Are there any alerts or error messages?
2. How long has this been going on? Was it working successfully previously? If so, has anything changed recently (new network location, new app or OS update, etc)?
Cheers!
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. It looks like no one has responded yet to your question. If you could provide the following information, it may help the community respond:
1. What is the exact screen that you are seeing, and where are you seeing it? Can you describe in more detail what you are seeing? Is this in iTunes on your computer or in Music on your iPhone? Are there any alerts or error messages?
2. How long has this been going on? Was it working successfully previously? If so, has anything changed recently (new network location, new app or OS update, etc)?
Cheers!
Jun 02, 2012 How to Fix Macbook Pro, Air. Flashing Folder, Blinking Question Mark, White Screen, Freeze Randomly - Duration: 3:14. All about phones 458,351 views. Oct 21, 2016 My macOS Sierra shows all question marks instead of readable characters. I allready did a re-install of Sierra but this has not changed the problem. My last actions were: Removed VMWare Fusion V8 from the applications folder (trial version, expired yesterday) Reinstalled VMWare Fusion V7. If an app’s icon is in the Dock and you delete the app from your Mac, the icon remains in the Dock but is covered by a question mark. Remove the question mark icon: Drag the icon out of the Dock until you see Remove. To download again an app you purchased from the Mac App Store, see Install and reinstall apps. See also Use the Dock on Mac Drag and drop items on Mac Install and uninstall apps from the. Jan 10, 2012 Office for Mac icons have a question mark or Office for Mac applications do not start after you install an Office for Mac update. Hope this helps! Instead of telling our young people to plan ahead, we should tell them to plan to be surprised.
Nov 21, 2017 6:55 AM
Summary: This blog offers one of the best solutions for resolving a flashing question mark (?) folder problem on Mac screen. And while you deal with this problem, you may face data loss situation due to corruption or inaccessible media. So, we also cover along data recovery solution for Mac hard drives. Do you know Stellar Data Recovery Professional recovers data from a non-booting Mac as well? Free download to know more. |
When I turned on my MacBook Pro, a flashing folder with a question mark came on the screen. That stayed there for a few seconds, but the Mac booted later on. Is there an issue with my MacBook Pro? Any suggestions…
Yesterday, after I turned on my MacBook Air, it displayed a flashing folder with a question mark. It didn’t boot so I had to force shut down. Then on, I didn’t start the MacBook. I don’t know what’s going on. Any clues on how to fix this?
In this blog, we will help you resolve the problem of ‘flashing folder with a question mark sign’ on your MacBook or iMac. And while you deal with this problem, you may come across the possibilities of data loss due to corruption or inaccessible media. So, we also cover along data recovery solution for Mac hard drives.
Let’s begin with the reasons for— why your Mac is flashing a question mark folder?
Flashing folder with a question mark (?) errormay occur if the Mac cannot detect its boot directory. This can happen in the following situations:
- Mac cannot find the Startup Disk i.e. Macintosh HD
- The macOS is corrupt
How to Repair Mac Flashing Question Mark Folder?
Following are the scenarios you would face in the ‘MacBook flashing folder question mark’ situation, along with the solutions you can use to tackle them:
Case 1: When MacBook displays the error for a few seconds but boots
Step 1: Go to Apple menu > SystemPreferences > StartupDisk.
Step 2: Click the icon of the Startup Disk that is generally named as MacintoshHD.
Step 3: Click Restart; your Mac won’t display flashing folder with question mark again
Case 2: When MacBook displays the error but does not boot.
A) Force Shutdown and Enter macOS Recovery Mode
Step 1: Press & hold the power button for a few seconds to force shut down the MacBook.
Step 2: Power on the Mac and immediately press & hold Command + R keys until Apple logo, spinning globe, or firmware password prompt appears.
a) When prompted, select a Wi-Fi network. You’ve entered into macOS recovery mode.
Step 3: When macOS Utilities appears, go to Apple menu > StartupDisk.
Step 4:Click the Startup Disk (Macintosh HD), and then click Restart.
If the Startup Disk icon is not visible in the Startup Disk window, then likely the Startup Disk is facing a problem. Try repairing it with First Aid, as follow:
B) Repair Startup Disk
Step 1: In the macOS recovery mode, go to macOS Utilities and click DiskUtility.
Step 2: From the left pane, select the Startup Disk (MacintoshHD).
Step 3: Click the First Aid tab and then click the RepairDisk button.
Step 4: Exit DiskUtility once the repair process is over.
Question Mark Mac Startup
Step 5: Go to Apple menu > Startup Disk then select the Startup Disk (Macintosh HD) and Restart.
If the Startup Disk is still not visible after repair, then you would need to reinstall macOS to solve the ‘Flashing Folder with a Question Mark’ problem.
Also Read: 8 Best Ways to Recover a Failed Internal Mac Hard Drive
C) Recover Data from macOS
Step 1: Back up the MacBook data [critical step]
This is critically important because if you reinstall the OS without first backing up the data, it will result in data loss due to overwriting. So, back up the data present in the Startup Disk to another functional Mac (Target Disk Mode), as follows:
Step I. Connect the Mac that has flashing question mark to another Mac via Target Disk Mode.
Step II. Easily get the Stellar’s data recovery software from the below:
Step III. Install Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac on the working Mac.
Step IV. Launch the tool, and from the main interface, select RecoverData.
Step V. Select the type of data and the location of the flashing question mark drive.
Step VI. Click Scan after you turn on the DeepScan feature for rigorous searching.
Step VII. Click Recover, and on the dialog box, specify the save location and click Save. The ‘save’ location can be the working Mac’s internal drive if it has sufficient space or else another external drive.
For quick walkthrough on how to use the software for MacBook data backup, see the following video:
Step2: macOS Reinstallation
Afterthe data stored on the HD – having flashing question mark folder problem – isbacked up, proceed with reinstalling macOS, as follows:
- In the macOS Recovery mode, go to macOS Utilities and click Reinstall macOS.
- Click Continue then select Macintosh HD (Note: You have already done the Mac data recovery to an external storage drive.)
- Erase Macintosh HD and execute the on-screen steps to reinstall macOS. Once the installation is over, Mac automatically restarts and boots from the Startup Disk.
- In Setup Assistant, migrate your data from the source disk (i.e. external storage/HD of the functional Mac) to the internal Mac drive.
Note: When Disk Utility does not show the Startup Disk or cannot repair it, then the storage drive has hardware problems. Contact a Mac repair service provider in this scenario.
Conclusion
The article elaborated various methodsto repair flashing question mark folder screen on Mac. The first case occurs when your Mac shows a flashing folder with a question mark for a few seconds. In this case, you reselect the Startup Disk fromsystem preferences.
Thesecond case happens whenyour Mac is stuck in the flashing folder with a question mark without booting.In this case, you need to enter the macOS recovery mode and reselect the StartupDisk. If it’s not visible, then try repairing it with Disk Utility.
If the Startup Disk repair fails, thenyou would need to reinstall macOS to overcome this problem. But, before that,it’s critical to back up the data stored on this hard drive, as reinstallingmacOS will simply overwrite the existing data.
So, connect the affected Mac to a functional Mac via Target Disk Mode, install Stellar Data Recovery Professional software on this working Mac, and then run it on the affected hard drive to extract and backup all the data to a secure location. Once the data is backed up, reinstall the macOS on the drive to fix the flashing folder with a question mark issue on Mac.
Mac Question Mark Cursor
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