My Macbook has the question mark folder. No OS

alejandro01970 · #1 February 21st, 2007, 10:52 AM

Hello everyone! I replaced the HD on my macbook, and when I tried to start it up to install the OS, the question mark folder appears. I pressed the "C" key when I restarted and that did not work. I also pressed the option key and nothing. Can anybody help me? I just need to install the OS on my new HD.

thanks

mvashee · #2 March 18th, 2008, 02:38 PM

Help! I have a Macbook with OSX Leopard 10.5.2 and it shows me a ? mark folder, and when i tried the PRAM clear it didn't work, i tried to hold "C" to load cd, didn't work - in fact, it kept spitting my Boot CD back out.

PLEASE HELP ... I CANNOT afford to lose the information on this comp.

Thanks in advance

CJ MAC OSX IPOD · #3 March 18th, 2008, 03:38 PM

Have you guys tried booting into safe mode??

If you manage to. BACKUP that precious data!

(Tip: Hold shift during startup)

mvashee · #4 March 20th, 2008, 11:54 AM

Tried that with no luck. Again, I've tried the T button, the C button, the Shift Key, the Command+Option+P+R keys....

ElDiabloConCaca · #5 March 20th, 2008, 04:26 PM

What CD are you using to boot the computer -- is it the original CD/DVD that came with the computer, a retail version, or a version from a different model of Apple computer?

mvashee · #6 March 20th, 2008, 08:36 PM

Using Macbook Tiger Boot CD first (or DVD if u wanna get technical), and same with my Leopard DVD...

I have a MBP but i didn't try those cds...should i?

eric2006 · #7 March 20th, 2008, 09:22 PM

The boot manager (option key) should show up regardless of whether the hard drive is installed correctly. Make sure the keyboard works, and try an external one if possible.

Make sure you are pressing the key immediately after the bootup chime.

Paul Pollock · #8 March 23rd, 2008, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alejandro01970

Hello everyone! I replaced the HD on my macbook, and when I tried to start it up to install the OS, the question mark folder appears. I pressed the "C" key when I restarted and that did not work. I also pressed the option key and nothing. Can anybody help me? I just need to install the OS on my new HD.

thanks

Hi,
Firstly, I assume you have replaced a laptop drive in a Mac Laptop before. If not, then the following needs to be discussed. Firstly, in most Mac Laptops that have IDE (or SATA) drives that are intended to be used in MacOS-X, it is necessary to make the CD "Master" and the HD the "slave" The CD is the original in your machine so the hard drive has to be tagged to be "slave". If not, the CD won't boot a bootable CD disk, because it will be sharing the "Master" access with the hard drive. In many very new Macs, the factory is also beginning to use "Chip Select", which allows the on-board controller to sort things out, easier. It's up to you. The extra setup pins on the hard drive determine all that, and it is a good idea to contact the hard drive maker to get the pegging instructions, as they vary a bit (although less so than for 3.5 inch drives). Also check out the label on he drive, pegging instructions are often printed right on it.

Nextly, a new drive MUST be reformatted using Drive Setup (the Apple Utility) located on your original OS CD/DVD. Reformatting the new drive is necessary because all hard drives are formatted at the factory to be recognized by Windows, which is often a Mac no-no. The system optical plate is bootable, if it won't then see the above and study it.
Booting from an optical plate, MUST be operational, otherwise you cannot proceed further. Once the new hard drive is formatted, you can copy your old drive contents, if available via Carbon Copy Cloner, or you can reinstall the MacOS from your original install CD/DVD, and then use the automatically called migration assistant to copy your personal data, applications, and user created files automatically from your backup, or contents of old drive.
No Backup? No readable original drive? Then you are bluntly out of luck, and you start fresh.

Hope that helps. For newcomers, no such thing as loading just any CD in the drive and booting. CD must have a bootable OS on it, and the boot track must contain a valid disk driver (usually created at the time the disk is made [most utilities that make bootable CD's set this stuff up]). Good idea, when in doubt, to cold start the machine and then hold down the "C" key. This forces the firmware to start the CD search from scratch, which is a good thing, and follows the Apple recommendations to the letter <grin>.

Have fun, and good luck!

-Paul