{"id":1910,"date":"2020-07-15T12:11:44","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T12:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/?p=1910"},"modified":"2024-12-22T14:22:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T14:22:11","slug":"macbook-question-mark-folder-resolution%ef%bb%bf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/macbook-question-mark-folder-resolution%ef%bb%bf","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Fix the Question Mark Folder Issue on Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>It often happens that when we start up our iMac or Macbook, we get a question mark folder. If you happen to be a regular Mac user, you know that it is not a good sign. There could be various reasons for this issue. Therefore, let us explore what it actually is, how it occurs, and how to solve it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>What actually is a Question Mark Folder?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A flashing file folder is a nightmare for many Mac users. Typically, when such an error pops up, it means that \u2018no boot device found.\u2019 This means that Mac is not able to find and locate its startup disk, which is causing the boot to fail. When it comes to the question mark folder situation, there could be two scenarios: one is that your device will continue to boot even after the message has been displayed. However, in other cases, the boot process will ultimately come to halt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>How to solve the issue?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In the first scenario, where your device continues to boot even after the question mark folder error has displayed, you simply need to re-select the startup disk. Once you have re-selected the startup disk, restart your device to bring an end to the problem.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Unfortunately, in other scenarios, where the boot process has completely stopped, it could be a major sign of the HDD\/SSD\/Fusion giving up. In such a case, make sure that you have your data backed on an external device as you will have to format your startup disk later on.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>What else could be done to solve the Question Mark Folder issue?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em>Try Restarting the device<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Restarting the device is the first thing you should be trying. In many cases, the problem will be automatically fixed, and your device shall start normally. However, in other cases, the problem may be a bit complex.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em>Run Disk Repair<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If restarting the device has not solved the problem, then running disk repair might solve it. Open the \u2018disk utility\u2019 in Mac and run \u2018repair disk.\u2019 Once the repair disk process is completed, navigate to the Apple menu and select \u2018startup disk.\u2019 Make sure that you restart your device after this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>To do this,<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Launch recovery mode and select macOS Utilities<\/li>\r\n<li>Click and select \u2018Disk Utility,\u2019 then Mac HD startup disk<\/li>\r\n<li>Tap the First Aid tab and select \u2018Repair Disk\u2019<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em>Update Mac OS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If the tips mentioned above fail to work, you might need to re-install and update your Mac OS. Furthermore, make sure that you have backed up your data in an external drive so that you do not lose crucial content. You will need to delete everything on your Mac and reinstall the Mac OS software.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>To do this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Erase Mac\u2019s regular Startup drive via Disk Utility<\/li>\r\n<li>Boot in the recovery mode using the external disk<\/li>\r\n<li>Select \u2018Reinstall macOS\u2019<\/li>\r\n<li>Restart your Mac and select the \u2018migrate data option\u2019.<\/li>\r\n<li>Choose the external drive as the source this time for the data you wish to move<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em>Choose Startup Disk<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In many cases, selecting the right startup disk can solve the problem. To do this, follow the steps mentioned below:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Launch Apple Menu and Click \u2018System Preferences\u2019<\/li>\r\n<li>Tap the \u2018Startup Disk\u2019 option<\/li>\r\n<li>Click the lock icon located down below and enter the password<\/li>\r\n<li>Select \u2018Macintosh HD\u2019 as startup disk and Restart the device<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>We hope that the tips mentioned above will solve the question mark folder problem on your Mac. If everything fails, you might have to contact Apple as your hardware may have become defective.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It often happens that when we start up our iMac or Macbook, we get a question mark folder. If you happen to be a regular Mac user, you know that it is not a good sign. There could be various reasons for this issue. Therefore, let us explore what it actually is, how it occurs, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,46],"tags":[965,963,964],"class_list":["post-1910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple","category-data-management","tag-how-to-solve-the-question-mark-folder-issue","tag-what-is-macbook-question-mark-folder","tag-why-mac-is-not-able-to-find-startup-disk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1910"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2662,"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910\/revisions\/2662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sorcim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}