If you own a Mac and you are experiencing the flashing Question mark folder issue you are not alone as this issue happens from time to time. This is a tutorial on how to fix the Flashing Question Mark Folder on Mac problem.
The Issue
The problems usually happens when your Laptop starts up and you see a flashing folder with a question mark with a white background. The culprit is usually a Hard drive failure or an issue related to the hard drive. But in others cases it may be other issues that are much simpler. So in your case lets hope its one of those simpler problems which can be repaired without opening up your device or changing any hardware out.Also note this issue can happen with not only the Mac but also with the Macbook pro too.
How to Troubleshoot and Potentially Fix the Issue?
1.Hold power and the option key on the Keyboard and you will boot into Startup manager. Please note if the Hard drive is functional it should appear as: Macintosh HD or something similar. If so it’s a simple matter of clicking the drive and allowing the computer to boot.
2.Restart the computer and right after this hold the command and R key will start Internet recovery. This is basically a tool for diagnostics and is used to troubleshoot issues with your device.
When you get to: OS X Utilities choose Disk utility. This tool will indicate the state of the hard drive and any issues that might exist which can help in fixing issues you are having. For example if the drive shows up (Macintosh HD) then that means it detected and working which could be only for a while, in any case you can backup your files. If the drive shows up in red text then it’s usually indications its bad or it may not show up at all.
Go ahead and run the Fist Aid utility on your drive, it can fix system file based issues that may have been causing your drive not to function properly and fix them. If this takes really long it’s usually an indicator the drive has issues. The drive will get a check mark in green if its OK.
3. If it’s just a case where your Mac OS is corrupted you can go back to the OS X Utilities options screen by closing the current Window. Next you can choose: Reinstall OS X from the options menu or other similar option. When this happens you will need internet access and a new copy of the OS will be downloaded. Also when things are back up you can use this utility to also Restore your device using Time Machine backup.
4. Another cool thing you can do is to plug in a thunderbolt or fire wire cable into your Mac and hold the T key on boot. Plug the other end of the cable into another Mac and in some cases it should display the Hard drive on that PC and you can then backup your files.
What if all of the above does not help?
If you are still getting the white screen with the Flashing Question Mark Folder then you definitely have a Hard drive problem and the Hard drive or the cable to the Hard drive has gone bad affecting communication with your device. In such a case the defective component which is usually the Hard drive will need replacing with a compatible replacement.
So guys did you find this useful? please share your thoughts below on the Flashing Question Mark Folder on Mac issue in the comments also please share this article it would be really appreciated.
