My macbook is frozen with the folder icon showing on a blank screen with a question mark on it? Help

Thanks for contacting Fixya Support, I am glad to assist.

What you need to do is perform an SMC Reset in order to allow your Macbook to start back up correctly to the desktop.

Here are the procedures for an SMC Reset:

-SMC RESET-
The System Management Controller is an integrated circuit (computer chip) that is usually on the logic board of your Mac computer.

It is responsible for power management of the computer. It controls backlighting, hard disk spin down, sleep and wake, some charging aspects, trackpad control, and some input/output as it relates to the computer sleeping.

• If the computer is on, turn it off.
• Disconnect the AC adapter and remove the Macbook's
battery.
• Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds and then
release the button.
• Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
• Press the power button to restart the Macbook

If this does not work, then try this procedure:

I am going to have you take your Mac into Safe Mode to see if we can't remove a possible folder(s) that may be affecting your Mac's start up function.

-SAFE BOOT MODE-
• Reboot your Mac
• Upon restarting your Mac, press the Shift key.
• Hold the Shift key until you see a White Screen with Gray Apple icon and eventually a spinning gear.
• When you see the Spinning gear, release the Shift key.
• Allow the Mac to continue booting up. Also this may take a little while.

(NOTE: this may take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to load to the Safe mode screen depending on the performance of your Mac, but if it exceeds this time, shutdown your Mac and try just once more. It may have just frozen up the first time around for you.)

• You are going to enter the Safe Mode (which looks like your main desktop environment - the only difference is certain startup items are disabled.)

• Once within the Desktop in Safe Mode
• From the Finder Menu, click Go> Go to Folder
• Type in this line: /System/Library/StartupItems
• This path, is going to take you to the System Library folder which has all of your Mac OS X Startupitems.
• Remove all of those folders to the Trash.

*Reboot your Mac normally and see if you can access your normal User desktop environment.

Let me know if this helps.

Regards,

-Mactechtrainer

The problem in blank white screen is the display (LCD). Send it to a technician for repair. The blinking folder with a question mark is conflict on drivers. Have you installed a software lately? If you do please uninstall it. Maybe that is the cause of having a blank white screen.

Sound like your motherboard is going bad. ibook G4's are notorious for this. The only thing you can do is either replace the ailing motherboard or try to find the breaks on the existing board. I am going to try and bake a board and see if that repairs any SMD *(surface mounted device) breaks.
I will keep you posted!

update the driver of that folder with the question mark. viit mac's website and you'll see downloads of drivers free for end users. http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/drivers/

Your macbook is not locating your hardrive.
turn off your laptop, insert the Mac OS disc in the drive, and then reboot while holding down the c key to allow it to boot from the OS on the DVD.
Then use the disk utilities application from the desktop menu and to a disk repair on your hard drive and then restart.

Sounds like someone spilled windex on it. You may be out of luck if it ran down and hit the electronics. (which it sounds like it did)

This is a sign that the startup disk can't be found.

When you power on the computer, try holding down the "alt" key or "option" key on your keyboard.

Then after a while, it should ask you to select the location of the operating system. Select your macintosh HD. Everything should load as normal.

If this doesn't work, insert the install cd's and hold down "c" instead. This will load the cd with mac os x on it. You can then install the operating system. Please make sure you have backups. Unless the option to simply upgrade or repair your mac pops up, you will loose your files following this method.

Nathan.

go to bios setup load optimal defaults.
then save.

mouse right click >arrange icons by> show desktop icons

check mark this show desktop icons if it is not check marked ...

after you check this you will get the desktop icons ...

if that is already check marked and if you dont get the desktop icons then reply me i will tell you further what to do ..

It's not finding your operating system. Could be failed hard drive, corrupted registry or a start up disk error. Have you tried starting on the Macbook Pro install disk 1? If not, insert the disk while it's starting up, it and hold down "c" key. When I comes to the start up window, click the right arrow button, proceed to the install window but don't install! Instead select "disk utility" under the pull down menu (upper left hand corner of the screen). Select the hdd in the upper window and click the "repair" button. Repeat the repair again after is finishes. If there is no hdd icon in the upper window, the hdd is probably fried and needs to be replaced. Hope this helps.