How to fix Mac folder with a question mark

 Few things are as frustrating as trying to start your Mac only to end up with the dreaded Mac folder with a question mark. You've probably tried using keyboard shortcuts like CTRL + R, CTRL + Option + R, or Shift + CTRL + Option + R, but you still get the flashing folder icon on startup.While this may strike fear into your heart as a Mac user, there are known causes for it and proven solutions that will help you get your Mac back on track.

Follow the instructions to find out why the folder with the question mark in the middle of the screen appears and how you can solve the problem. While this issue is more prevalent among older Macs, we will try to address the same for newer Mac models as well.

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Causes of the Question Mark Flashing in a Mac Folder

The folder with a question mark can show up on your Mac screen for a number of reasons:

  • Your Mac can't find a startup volume. That means it can't find your startup disk, so it can't boot or boot. Probably, you previously booted your Mac from an external drive and then unplugged it, or your hard drive just crashed terribly, so you're having trouble locating your system folder or home directory.
  • Corrupt macOS .
  • Corrupted system files.
  • The hard drive has catastrophically failed.
  • The external drive you are booting from may be powered off or disconnected.
  • The ribbon cable connecting the drive to the motherboard may be damaged. This cable is between the bottom case and the optical drive, and if the case has indentations in the same area, the cable may be the problem.


Boot your Mac from an installation DVD (for older Macs)

This process forces your Mac to boot from the installation DVD placed in the optical drive.To do that, you must take these actions:

  1. Put the installation DVD that came with your Mac into the optical drive and reboot. You can use that disk, or if you have a later version of macOS, use a newer disk for the same purpose.
  2. Once you hear the boot chime, press and hold the C key on your keyboard or the Option key until you see the Installation Disc or Apple logo .
  3. When your Mac starts up, choose the language you will use, press Return on your keyboard, and an Installation window will open. Ignore this window and click on Utilities and then click on Disk Utility.
  4. If you see your hard drive listed, click your macOS partition for the hard drive, and then select the First Aid tab.
  5. Next, run Repair Disk. To enable this button, click the macOS partition on your hard drive. If this fixes any issues, run it again until you see the green OK, and then run Repair Permissions.
  6. Finally, use Startup Disk to select your hard drive to restart your Mac from hard drive. If it's not recognized in Disk Utility, it's probably dead.


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Put your Mac in recovery mode

If you're trying to boot from your Mac's internal drive, you need to shut down the computer, and then boot it up while holding down Command + R until the globe or Apple logo appears. That will put your Mac into recovery mode, and then you can change the startup disk by selecting the option from the Apple menu.

Recovery mode is useful when your Mac won't start normally because the startup disk is corrupted or corrupted.

That could be due to corrupt files or minor power surges that you're not aware of, but it fixes the problem without you having to go to extreme lengths, like reinstalling your macOS.


Replace Disk

If the Mac folder with a question mark appears because your drive has failed, the only thing you can do is replace the drive and use the time capsule or other backup device you've been using to recover your data to the new drive .


Data backup and reinstall macOS

If Disk Utility can't repair your startup disk, you may need to reformat it. Before you do that, back up any important data on the drive before erasing everything stored on it. You can follow the steps below to back up your data to an external drive if you don't have a recent data backup for your startup disk:

  1. Connect an external drive that is similar in size or larger than your startup disk. Erase the external drive with macOS Recovery, and then install macOS on it. Select the external drive you want to erase, not your startup drive.
  2.  After macOS is installed, your Mac will automatically restart from the external drive. When you see the Setup Assistant, choose the option you want to use to move data from another drive, and select the startup drive on your Mac as the source from which to migrate data.
  3. After migration, follow the setup wizard to the end and when you see your desktop, confirm that all your data is present on the external drive.
  4. Erase your startup disk using macOS Recovery and reinstall macOS (do not select your external disk). Your Mac will restart on its own after wiping the disc and installing macOS, and the setup wizard will show up. Copy your data to your startup drive by selecting the option to migrate data from a Time Machine backup or another drive, in this case your external drive.


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Recover your Mac

Hopefully now you know what to do when you find the flashing Mac folder with a question mark on your screen. Try the fixes above and let us know what worked for you.

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