Tournament system: Mac Mahon with handicap -1. We use OpenGotha for pairings. Mac Mahon bar at 4 Dan. (All players with a Mac Mahon score of 4 Dan and above will play without handicap.) Minimum entry level is 20 kyu. (Players weaker than 20k will play as 20k.) Playing rules: AGA; Komi: 7,5 points or 0,5 points if handicap. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. This document is a Mac OS X manual page. Manual pages are a command-line technology for providing documentation. You can view these manual pages locally using the man(1) command. These manual pages come from many different sources, and thus, have a variety of writing styles. Reset the default startup disk. Difficulty level: Beginner. If your Mac displays a flashing question.
When your Mac does not start up, there could be a multitude of issues behind it. For that reason, we came up with these top 10 troubleshooting tips for a Mac to help resolve any problems.
While most of us are fortunate enough to experience trouble-free years, working every day without issues, others run into problems keeping them from using their Macs. Well, if a Mac does not start up, that does not necessarily mean you can’t do anything about it. Yes, it can be a disaster, especially if you have a deadline to meet. But again, these Mac troubleshooting tips should help you diagnose the problem and fix it, or at least, prepare you ahead for any problems.
1. Use Mac’s Safe Boot Option.
One of the easiest and most straightforward methods to diagnose startup problems with Macs is to use the Safe Boot option. This method technically forces a Mac to start up with only the most important apps and programs required for startup. It scans your startup drive to make sure that everything is ready for booting.
Follow the steps below to safe boot your Mac:
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- Shut down your Mac.
- Turn it on by pressing the Power button and holding the Shift key.
- Wait for the Apple logo to appear.
- Once the login window shows up, you may release the Shift key and enter your login credentials.
- Sometimes, you will be asked to log in twice, especially if you enabled
2. Reset your Mac’s NVRAM or PRAM.
A PRAM or Parameter Random Access Memory holds the information needed for your Mac’s configuration, including the time and date, volume, mouse, desktop, and other control settings. Since it is powered by a tiny battery, most of the configurations won’t be deleted even if you turn off your Mac.
Now, there are times when a Mac does not start up because there is a problem with the NVRAM or PRAM. To fix it, you simply have to reset it. Here’s how:
- Switch off your Mac.
- Press the power button while pressing the Option, Command, P, and R Hold them until the startup sound is heard twice.
- Release the keys.
- That’s it. You have successfully reset your Mac’s NVRAM.
3. Reset your Mac’s System Management Controller.
Most of your Mac’s basic hardware functions are controlled by the System Management Controller. That includes thermal management, how the power button works, and managing sleep mode. In cases when a Mac does not finish starting up or freezes while in the process of starting, sometimes, resetting the SMC fixes the problem.
To reset Mac’s SMC, follow these steps:
- Go to the Apple menu and hit Shut Down.
- Unplug your Mac’s power cord and wait for 15 seconds before plugging it back in.
- Wait for 5 more seconds and press the Power button.
- You have successfully reset your Mac’s SMC.
4. Reselect your Mac’s startup disk.
If you see the dreaded flashing question mark on your screen while your Mac is starting up, you might have to reselect a startup disk under System Preferences. To do that, here’s what you should do:
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
- Click Startup Disk.
- Select the icon of the disk you normally use when starting up your Mac. It’s often named Macintosh HD.
- Your Mac should now restart normally without the flashing question mark.
5. Disconnect all your Mac’s external peripherals.
The startup process of a Mac is indeed unpredictable. After pushing the Power button, sometimes, you’d see a gray screen. If your Mac gets stuck at the gray screen, know that there’ll be a bit of work ahead of you. However, one of the best ways to avoid this issue is to disconnect all your external peripherals. Here’s how:
- Press and hold the Power button to force shut down your Mac.
- Disconnect all the external peripherals connected to your Mac, excluding the display, mouse, and keyboard. Make sure you disconnect the headphones, audio in or out cables, and Ethernet cable.
- Restart your Mac.
6. Repair blue screen problems.
If you turn on your Mac and you get stuck at the blue screen, chances are, your startup drive might be having issues. Often, they can be fixed with Apple’s Disk Utility, but you can also use third-party apps, such as TechTool Pro, DiskWarrior, or Drive Genius. Since you won’t be able to start up your Mac successfully, you might need to boot from another drive or from a DVD install disk.
7. Fix hard drive issues.
Some startup problems are caused by drives that require minor repairs. To get a Mac with a damaged hard drive up and running again, you have to repair the drive, using third-party software. You can browse the web for software or tools you can use to diagnose and repair the hard drive.
8. Create another user account to use in troubleshooting startup problems.
Creating another user account that has admin access can help diagnose and troubleshoot Mac startup problems. The primary reason for creating a spare account is to have a unique set of extensions, user files, and preferences that could be loaded at startup. Just be sure you create an account before the problem occurs.
9. Use Mac startup keyboard shortcuts.
By using Mac startup keyboard shortcuts, you can change your Mac’s default behavior when starting up. You may start up using special modes, such as Single-User or Safe mode, both of which are handy for troubleshooting. With these shortcuts, you can also ask your Mac to guide you through the startup process so you will know which particular step it is failing.
10. Fix installation problems, using OS X Combo updates.
Other Mac startup problems are triggered by OS X updates that went wrong. OS X update failure usually happens when a power hiccup or a power outage occurs during the installation process. The result could be a corrupted system that does not boot or a system that is unstable.
Which troubleshooting tip works best?
Though Macs are known for their quality and stability, they are still computers, which means they are susceptible to errors and problems. Now, whatever it is that prevents your Mac from starting up correctly, these 10 troubleshooting tips should help get it working again. It does not matter which tip you use. As long as you follow it correctly, then any startup issue won’t stand a chance.
While it does not actually get rid of Mac startup problems, installing Outbyte Mac Repair on your computer will make a difference. Not only will it improve your Mac’s performance, it will also keep your Mac free from junk files that may cause it to slow down and trigger other problems.
If you’re running into errors and your system is suspiciously slow, your computer needs some maintenance work. Download Outbyte PC Repair for Windows, Outbyte Antivirus for Windows, or Outbyte MacRepair for macOS to resolve common computer performance issues.Fix computer troubles by downloading the compatible tool for your device.
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With no warning in advance, a flashing folder with a question mark appears when your Mac startup.
What does it mean? A folder with a question mark icon means that your startup disk is not detected or doesn't have a usable Mac operating system.
Commonly, the folder with a question mark happens after you've booted from an external system drive recently, replaced a new HD or SSD, or updated a recent macOS. It could see that both software and hardware errors are the possible causes.
For the worst situation, you can't go past the question folder icon, even with a restart. So, to avoid data loss, recover files from your Mac first. Then, follow the solutions below to get rid of the blinking folder with question mark and boot up your Mac as usual.
Here are the solutions to fix the folder with question mark on Mac in this post:
- 1. Check Startup Disk preferences
- 2. Reselect the startup disk in macOS Recovery mode
- 3. Repair the startup drive with Disk Utility
- 4. Reformat the startup drive and reinstall macOS
- 5. Check and replace the startup HDD cable
- 6. Update firmware of your MacBook
- 7. Check the lifeboat connector on the logic board
- 8. Check the faulty SSD socket or hard drive on Mac logic board
Recover data from Mac showing a folder with a question mark
You can watch this video to learn how to recover data from Mac that won't boot due to the folder with a question mark.
Data recovery is the first thing once your Mac won't boot, which can prevent forever data loss caused by some fixes. As the Mac is unbootable, you can only recover data with data recovery software like iBoysoft Mac data recovery.
Go to run iBoysoft Mac data recovery in macOS Recovery mode to get the lost files back. If you don't want to check the details, watch the above video instead.
How to fix the folder with question mark on Mac
You could see the folder with question mark on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac mini. But anyway, you can try to reset NVRAM on your Mac first. If it doesn't work, try the following solutiuons one by one.
1. Check Startup Disk preferences
If your Mac displays a flashing folder at startup, you can wait for a moment and see if it can boot past the icon.
If fortunately, it continues booting up, congratulations! But just in case, you can reselect a startup disk in Apple menu > System Preferences > Startup disk.
If you Mac can't boot past the flashing question mark, you can manually select the startup drive. You can do this by restarting your Mac while holding down the Option key.
If you boot from an external drive, you can check these factors.
- Make sure the hard drive is powered on, especially for some desktop drive that needs an external power source.
- Make sure the USB port and cable is working.
Tips: In the case of some older Mac OS X machines, you can boot from the install DVD or CD that comes along with your Mac in the optical drive.
2. Reselect the startup disk in macOS Recovery mode
When the first method won't work, you can boot into macOS Recovery mode. The built-in recovery system of your Mac allows you to reselect the boot volume to fix the flashing folder with a question mark on Mac without CD.
To do this, you can follow these steps.
- 1. Force your Mac to shut down by pressing the power button for seconds.
- 2. Identify if you are using an Apple Silicon M1 Mac or not, restart your Mac and immediately press one of these key combinations to boot into macOS Recovery mode.
- Note that the way to boot into macOS Recovery Mode on M1 Mac is different from old Macs.
- 3. When you see the Apple logo or it's loading recovery options, you can let the keys go.
- Once you see the four macOS Utilities as below or similar, it means you have booted into macOS Recovery mode.
- 4. Then, you can click on the Apple logo at the upper left, choose the Startup Disk option.
- 5. Reselect the correct Mac startup hard drive that holds a macOS.
After you click on the Restart button, your Mac should then start up without the blinking folder with question mark.
Tips: If you can't boot into macOS Recovery Mode from the local recovery system, try Internet Recovery mode by replacing the keys in Step 2 with Option + Command + R (or Shift+ Option + Command + R). Make sure your Mac connected to the Internet at the same time.
3. Use Disk Utility to repair the startup disk
If you can't see any startup option in the Startup Disk window, probably, the startup drive is corrupted and that is the cause for the folder with a question mark on your Mac.
Then, you need to check and repair the hard drive with First Aid to boot your Mac from this drive.
The worst situation is that you don't see your built-in startup disk even in the Disk Utility. It indicates that there's a hardware issue. You need to check the connections of your hard drive or contact the Apple authorized service for Mac repair.
Some other times, the startup drive is showing up in Disk Utility. However, Disk Utility finds issues with your startup disk that it can't repair. In this case, you need to move forward to the next part.
4. Reformat the startup drive and reinstall macOS
After trying First Aid, you still see a folder with question mark during Mac rebooting, which means your startup disk has serious corruption. You need to reformat it and assign a new file system.
However, reformatting will wipe your files off the hard drive. If you don't have a backup of your Mac, you would lose important files after reformatting.
However, you can follow this safe guide to reformat the startup disk without data loss:
- 1. Recover data from Mac that won't turn on. (Of course, you can ignore this step if you have a backup.)
- 1. Boot your Mac into macOS Recovery Mode and select Disk Utility from the macOS Utilities.
- 2. Select the startup drive in Disk Utility and click on the Erase button at the top menu.
- 3. Name it as Macintosh HD, choose GUID scheme, and APFS format if you want to use macOS 10.13 and later.
Now, you'll have a fresh new Mac hard drive but it contains no Mac operating system. To boot your Mac up without the flashing folder with question mark, continue with reinstalling macOS in macOS Recovery mode.
How to Reinstall macOS to start up the Mac?
Here is a guide to reinstall macOS to start up your MacMacBook Pro, Mac mini, MacBook Air, and iMac. Read more >>
5. Check and replace the startup HDD SATA connections
You internal Mac hard dirve is working on the basis of HDD cable transmitting the electronic signals between the logic board and the hard disk drive. Therefore, once it's loose, damaged, broken, or deformed, you might get the Mac folder with quesiton mark at startup.
Here is how can you check the connector of the startup HDD. Note that ask someone prefessional to help you do this job is necessary.
- Check and remove any foreign object on the connector
- Make sure the connector is clean and corrosion-free
- Check if the flex HDD cables are broken or damaged due to overstress and bent.
The SATA hard drive is connected to the logic board in your Mac in the way of bending 90 degrees twice. This particularly can be seen in 13' MacBook Pro 2012 model (on the edge of the super drive).
So, it's likely that the copper wire inside the flexible plastic cable is broken or damaged at the bent section.
Then you'll need to replace it with a good HDD cable.
If your Mac mini, MacBook Air, or MacBook Air shows folder with a question mark, you can check the SATA connection like this.
- 1. Open up the cover of the Mac.
- 2. Find the SATA connection of your hard drive. You can remove the connection and then clipped it back firmly.
This works well if your Mac doesn't recognize the internal hard drive for booting up. But if it doesn't help, either the hard drive or the SATA connection is damaged. You'll ask for a repair or replacement service from Apple.
6. Update firmware of your Mac Computer
If you see the Mac folder with flashing question mark after a recent macOS update, it may be a result of incompatible firmware that should be automatically upgraded by the installer.
Possibly, the firmware fails to complete the update during the whole system update. Then, the new system can't be recognized by the old firmware, causing boot issues.
To re-update the firmware, you can manually erase the disk and reinstall the macOS with stable network connection and enough free disk space.
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7. Check the lifeboat connector on the logic board
Inside MacBook Pro in 2016 and 2017 with Tochbar, a critical bridge connector called lifeboat is used to connect the SSD circuit to the CPU so the CPU can read and write data to the SSD chips.
However, if you have send it for repair and forget to put it on, or if the lifeboat connector cap is not functional, you will get the flashing folder when turning on Mac.
![Mac Mac](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzI5NjAwMTIucG5n/original/vmua6T.png)
Here are some basic checks you can perform to make it work again (Do these checks with someone professional):
- Make sure there is a lifeboat cap and it's on.
- Remove the lifeboat connector cap and check if it's corroded or dusty.
8. Check the faulty SSD socket or hard drive on Mac logic board
Sometimes, Mac can't find the startup drive just because the drive itself is in trouble.
Your removable SSD drives on the Mac logical board is connected using SSD sockets. Once these components are corroded, damaged, or dusty, you'll receive the 'Mac folder with question mark' error on Mac booting up.
So, think if you have spilt any liquid on your Macbook Air or Pro. If you see the SSD socket is corroded, you can cut off the corrosion and map the pins with 99% alcohol. If it doesn't help, you need to replace the socket.
For most Apple iMac, pre-2013 MacBook and MacBook pro that use mechanical hard drives, the Mac flashing folder with question mark appear when there is a mechanical disk failure, and you might hear beeping or clicking noise. Or if you can't feel the vibration of the hard drive spin motor, the hard drive is dead.
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Conclusion
Most of the time, errors like the circle with line through it and the folder with a question mark on the Mac/MacBook screen means a system software issue. You can simply fix this by reinstalling macOS (Remember to recover data first).
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If macOS reinstallation can't fix the Mac flashing folder issue, it could also result from the hardware issues. In this case, you'd better send your Mac to a trusted repair store.
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