MacBook won't boot up and has a blinking Q in a folder

It isn't my macbook but my wife's.... Anyone mac gurus out there have any ideas? I really don't want to have to format the drive just yet and I've disk booting from the install disk and doing a repair.

Any ideas?

It isn't my macbook but my wife's.... Anyone mac gurus out there have any ideas? I really don't want to have to format the drive just yet and I've disk booting from the install disk and doing a repair.

 

Any ideas?

Is it a question mark? (Guess it could be a Q?) Means the computer cannot find an operating system. Can happen from a bad hard drive, some file gets corrupted and some others things. If you are able to boot from the install disk and do a repair, it may be all that is needed. Come back with how that goes, it may be all you need. After that, there are other things to try.

Thanks Drew, yes it is a flashing question mark and I've tried booting off the install disk and doing a repair but no joy.

actually I just tried the disk repair function and the error message is:

Invalid Node Structure

Invalid Node Structure

Catalog file entry not found for extent

Volume check failed, Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed

Does this help?

Do you have Disk Warrior, Drive Genius or Tech Tool? (Tech Tool of some sort is on the Apple Care Disc. Have not used it in awhile, Disk Warrior is my go to first utility, does limited things, but does it very well for nodes/catalog extents and the rest. Has saved my bacon more than once.)

It could be hardware related, but looks like the files nodes/catalog. (The fact that you can see the drive on boot up is a good sign, even if it is not being repaired)

Not sure how much is on the MacBook or a reinstall is really more a PITA than anything else. You could back up the drive before the reinstall, if you go that route, and try to repair the copied data later (Basically make a boot FW or USB drive, include Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper! or similar and clone the whole drive.)

When you check the S.M.A.R.T status in the Disk Utility, any messages? Once your data is safe, you can try to run the utilities again from the install disc. There are some other things you can try, but I would bet that if you had a Disk Warrior disc, it could be a simple solution for you.

Both Disk Warrior and Dive Genius can be bought on-line and a DVD also sent, so you can probably get them now. Hate for you to get DW and not work, but it is something that every Mac user, IMO, should have. I usually will have a USB Pen drive or FW drive with a clean system and those utilities installed on those drives.

Try a reboot into single use mode and see if that works

Okay, so I purchased Disk Warrior but obviously can't install it.... how do I get it up and running from a USB drive. I've also ordered the disk which supposedly you can boot from but would love to try and get this sorted asap.

How do I copy the drive the drive to try and work on it?

Peter:- Just tried the single user reboot and no joy either......

Edit: I don't know if this makes a difference but the flashing folder icon has now disappeared and the HDD and fan is make noise????

Re-edit again... Nah the flashing question mark folder has come back

Here's a link to Apple's knowledgebase article on disk repair:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1417

Some of these steps you've tried, but I've never not been able to get a computer into single user mode and run fsck in terminal mode. You should be able to put disc warrior in the cd player and startup from it to repair as well.

The other thing you might be able to do is to see if you can run it in target disk mode with a firewire cable off another Mac. Then run diskwarrior off that Mac.

Other than that plug in another usb drive or cd, boot off it and then repair the internal drive.

If you can't get any of this to work, your disc may have a physical problem.

Jack

Thanks Jack, however the trouble I'm having at the moment is that I can't create a bootable disk warrior disk. I'm going through their manual but it is not that straight forward.... maybe I'm just being dumb

You should be able to boot from the disk that came with the computer. Try disk repair from that.

Thanks Dave tried that, the repair doesn't work. So now I am trying to use disk warrior but need to create a bootable usb with both osx and disk warrior.

Currently I'm trying to create a disc image of the install OSX, partition a USB drive and place the mounted disk warrior on that and fingers crossed.

Do you have access to another mac? Is so install disc warrior on the working mac.

Turn off both macs then connect them via a fire wire cable. Start the working mac. Start the other in target disk mode( hold down the t Key).

See if disk warrior can repair.

I had a similar problem, the hard drive was failing. Disk warrior couldn't repair it but it did fix it enough so I could copy all the data.

Other wise put in a new HD and restore your time capsule files

Thanks Dave tried that, the repair doesn't work. So now I am trying to use disk warrior but need to create a bootable usb with both osx and disk warrior.

 

Currently I'm trying to create a disc image of the install OSX, partition a USB drive and place the mounted disk warrior on that and fingers crossed.

Did you get this part going?

It's probably advice given after the horse has escaped from the barn doors, but, in the future, always do a complete system back up every month on an external drive dedicated for that purpose only. I bought one g drive and partitioned it for the desktop and laptop and use Super Duper to do a complete system bootable back up. Super Duper is inexpensive and, after the first back up which takes awhile, thereafter it uses a Smart Back Up which only deletes what is no longer there and backs up anything new. The smart back up goes much quicker. To help with your current problem, take a good look at Digital Rebellion's FSC Maintanence Pack which does a great job.

Steve

Update: I couldn't manage to create a bootable USB, so I think I will try the target disc startup.

To get this clear, I connect my mac (with DW installed) with my wife's with a firewire cable, start mine normally then start hers holding down T.

Now won't this cause hers to now mirror mine???? Or does it just startup using my mac?

Now here's the confusing bit.... are all my application on her comp and I will be able to see her Mac HD????

Is there any way that I can mess this up and wipe off my mac or hers in the process (less worried about hers)....

Cheers

Jon

P.S Steve: You are so right... in fact my wife uses time machine and backed up every week... until about 3 weeks ago when her external HD died, fate has it macbook died before she replaced and backed up.

Jon;

Go to Apple's Support site. Do some searches for target disc, disk repair, etc. They have excellent knowledgebase articles that will walk you through all of this. I still don't understand why you can't startup into single user mode and repair it. To me it sounds like the disc is physically bad, if the repair doesn't do it.

Jack

Is there any way that I can mess this up and wipe off my mac or hers in the process (less worried about hers)....

The target Mac will show as a FW drive, the same as any other firewire drive would show (orange icon with FW symbol) If you run DiskWarrior from your machine, just tell it to repair the FW drive and you should be fine. There really is no way to mess up, other than going way off script and using disk utility or something and pressing erase NOTE: There are some MacBooks, depending on the model, that will not boot in FW mode. You can boot your wife's machine and hold down the T key. If you see the FW symbol it will boot to FW mode. More info (basically the same thing) here

Well got it to start in target mode, still can't initialise her drive though. Disk Warrior sees it but cannot mount it or rebuild it.

Not looking good,

Any other ideas

A hammer would fix it

Well got it to start in target mode, still can't initialise her drive though. Disk Warrior sees it but cannot mount it or rebuild it.

 

Not looking good,

 

Any other ideas

On your boot drive, get SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner if you want to save it (to the drive that you are booting from). Clone the drive (wife's) to another drive via daisy chain via USB or FW to another drive (another drive or partition on the boot drive, PM me if you want to walk through it), it could be hardware....also I am PMing you...