Mac Repair Disk

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440

A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac Symptoms

If you see a flashing question mark when you start your Mac, it's probably because it can't find the system software it needs to start up. Usually, all you have to do to get your Mac back up and running is remind it where its software is.
Resolution

If your computer starts up normally after a brief delay, you probably just need to reselect the startup disk in Startup Disk preferences. It's normal to see the flashing question mark when a startup disk has not been selected. In most cases, reselecting the startup disk is all that is required to resolve the issue.

Sometimes, your computer may not start beyond the flashing question mark.

Tip: If your computer has a gray screen (with no flashing question mark) startup issue, see Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup.

Check the mouse and keyboard

This issue might occur if a mouse or trackpad button is pressed during startup. Make sure the button isn't pressed.

If the issue persists, shut down your Mac with its power button, disconnect any external mouse and keyboard, then turn on your Mac with its power button. If the flashing question mark issue persists, reconnect the keyboard and mouse.

Additional steps

If your Mac still starts to a flashing question mark, follow the steps below. If any step resolves the issue, you don't need to continue to the next one.

1. Select your Mac OS X startup disk with Startup Manager by restarting and holding the Option key. After your Mac starts up, restart again to verify that the flashing question mark does not appear.
2. If the issue persists, insert your Mac OS X installation disc. Be sure to either use the disc that came with your Mac, or, if you installed a later Mac OS X version from disc, use the newer disc.
   

   MacBook Air note: On a MacBook Air, there are two options for starting up from Mac OS X media: Either connect a MacBook Air SuperDrive to the MacBook Air via the USB port and restart the computer, holding down the C key during startup, or use Remote Install Mac OS X to startup from a system software DVD that's located on a partner computer. Once started up from Mac OS X media, skip to step 3.
   
   

3. Restart the computer, then hold the C key during startup.
4. From the Utilities menu, choose Disk Utility. Don't click Continue.
5. Select your Mac OS X disk (named "Macintosh HD" by default) in the left side of the Disk Utility window.
6. Click the First Aid tab.
7. Click Repair Disk to verify and repair any issues with your Mac OS X startup disk.
8. After repairing the disk, try to start up normally.
   
   Important: If Disk Utility finds issues it cannot repair, you may need to back up as much of your data as possible (or use Time Machine to back up to a different disk), then erase the disk and reinstall Mac OS X. You should back up important files and data before erasing a drive. Erasing deletes everything on the hard disk (including things on your desktop). Also, you can install Mac OS X onto an external disk, start from the external disk, and use Migration Assistant to transfer items from your usual internal Mac OS X startup disk to the external disk, then erase the internal disk and reinstall Mac OS X.
   
9. If the issue persists, and Disk Utility didn't find any irreparable issues, quit Disk Utility, quit the Installer, select your disk when prompted, and restart.
10. If the issue continues, reset PRAM. Note: After resetting PRAM, if the computer starts up normally, reselect the startup disk in the Startup Disk preferences.
11. If none of these steps resolve the issue, start up from the Mac OS X Installation disc and reinstall Mac OS X.

Last

A flashing question mark indicates that your computer cannot find valid system software. Find your Mac OS X install disk, insert it, and then restart your computer while holding down the 'C' key. Use the included Disk Utility to repair your startup volume. If the problem still persists, then you may need to back up your data and reinstall OS X using the aforementioned install disk.

font.f1 { font: 12px Helvetica; } Thanks for asking your question with Fixya Support. I will be glad to assist you.

What you are experiencing is what is called a Kernel Panic.
A Kernel Panic, is a internal fatal error, detected by your system from which it
cannot recover from safely. Such an error can be the result of a software
function or operation failing to execute as it normally does, or halting without
warning, or even a hardware component, suddenly ceasing to operating
or simply shutting down. In either scenario, the system will display the frozen
black and white screen with the languages text listed.

Normally a simple reboot of your Macbook Pro will resolve the issue, but in some cases it can take a specific procedure to correct and prevent a kernel panic from occurring again.

So here are a few procedures you can use to resolve and prevent further kernel panics:


• First, hold in your power button for approximately 10 seconds to do a hard shutdown, if your Macbook Pro is still turned on.

• Once your Mac is shutdown, you will need to perform what is called a PRAM reset (Parameter RAM)

• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously .

• Turn on the Macbook Pro.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

• Now, hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the start up sound for the third time.

• Release the keys and allow the Macbook Pro to start up.

If your Macbook Pro starts up normally and does not go into another kernel panic, then you should be able to resume normal session activity on your Macbook Pro.

However, should the kernel panic return, then you can use an SMC Reset to correct the kernel panic:

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

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

Shut down the computer.
• Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected.
• Remove the battery.
• Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
• Release the power button.
• Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
• Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Once again, when you are back up to your main desktop, resume your normal session activity.
At this point there should be no further issue a the kernel panic rearing its ugly head once again.

If it does, then you will need to take more intensive steps such as inserting your Mac OS X installation disc and booting up to that disc and running Mac OS X's Disk Utility, to repair the hard drive and permissions of the Mac OS X system you are using.

I will leave you with that procedure, in the event you need to run Disk Utility:

Insert your Mac OS X Startup disk
•Reboot your Mac
•At the Apple Chime, press the C key and hold it until you see a White screen, gray Apple and eventually a Spinning gear.
• Release the C key only after you see the Spinning gear.
•Mac will boot from the start up disk to the Installer environment
• From the Installer Menu bar, click Utilities > Disk Utility and open up Disk Utility application.
• Click on on the hard drive at the top of the window in the left sidebar and
• Select "Repair Disk"
**Let Disk Utilities run this repair the disk until completion
• At the end of this process, reboot your Macbook Pro
Return back to you main desktop and again, resume your normal session activities.

Any more kernel panics after this, you may want to consider taking your Macbook Pro in for service at your local Apple retail store Genius Bar or local Apple authorized service provide in your area.

I hope this information proves helpful for you.

Regards,

-Mactechtrainer

font.f1 {font: 12.0px Helvetica} Thanks for asking your question with Fixya Support. I will be glad to assist you.

Try running a Disk Repair with Disk Utility using your Mac OS X installation disc or restore disc (which came with your Macbook)

font.f1 {font: 13.0px 'Myriad Pro'}
-RUN DISK UTILITY WITH STARTUP DISK-

Insert your Mac OS X Startup disk
•Reboot your Mac
•At the Apple Chime, press the C key and hold it until you see a White screen, gray Apple and eventually a Spinning gear.
• Release the C key only after you see the Spinning gear.
•Mac will boot from the startup disk to the Installer environment
• From the Installer Menu bar, click Utilities > Disk Utility and open up Disk Utility application.
• Click on on the hard drive at the top of the window in the left sidebar and
• Select "Repair Disk"
**Let Disk Utilities run this repair the disk until completion
• At the end of this process, reboot your Mac

See if that process helps bring your Macbook up to the normal desktop.

If it does not, use the SMC reset procedure.

-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 computer'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 computer

This should help resolve the issue for you. If it does not however, just let me know.

Thank you.

Regards,

Mactechtrainer

Thanks for contacting Fixya Support.

Anytime you see the "rainbow pinwheel" which does manifest itself from time to time in Mac OS X environments, this is an indication of either a software issue or even a hardware issue.

Considering you are playing a game, it would be safe to assess that this issue you are having is in relation to the game you are playing (being unresponsive), means that this is a software issue.

There are several variables in regards to fixing issues with the spinning pinwheel in relation to a software.

If your application is not responding, you can first of all Force Quit the application by selecting Apple Command, Option and the Esc keys, and either select the game application in the window, which should be displayed as "Not Responding" and Force Quit or select Finder and simply relaunch it.

If you are unable to get your Mac OS X system to respond at all, then try a PRAM Reset process as shown below:

--PRAM RESET --
• First, hold in your power button for approximately 10 seconds to do a hard shutdown, if you have not already turned your Mac off.

• Once your Mac is shutdown, you will need to perform what is called a PRAM reset (Parameter RAM)
This should help with the freezing issue:

• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously .

• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

• Now, hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the third time.

• Release the keys and allow the Macbook to start up.
--Check to see if you are able to launch and play your game now.

If neither of these steps work, then if you have your Mac OS X installation disc which came with your Macbook, then I would finally recommend you perform these steps below with the installation (Macbook Restore) disk:


-RUN DISK UTILITY WITH MAC OS X INSTALLATION or RESTORE DISK-

Insert your Mac OS X Startup disk (Note: make sure the disk contains the same Mac OS X platform that your Macbook is currently running)

•Reboot your Mac
•At the Apple Chime, press the C key and hold it until you see a White screen, gray Apple and eventually a Spinning gear.
• Release the C key only after you see the Spinning gear.
•Mac will boot from the startup disk to the Installer environment
• From the Installer Menu bar, click Utilities > Disk Utility and open up Disk Utility application.
• Click on on the hard drive at the top of the window in the left sidebar and
• Select "Repair Disk"
**Let Disk Utilities run this repair the disk until completion
• At the end of this process, reboot your Mac

Now attempt to run your game application and see how your system responds after the Disk Repair process.

If the Macbook still persists in freezing or the game application still causes the spinning pinwheel to appear, then you may need to increase your Macbook's RAM memory, as the game may require more memory resources than you current have installed with your Macbook, or it may not be compatible with the current version of Mac OS X you are running with your Macbook.

I hope these steps point you in the right direction.

Regards,

-Mactechtrainer