A quick demonstration on how to change a folders icon in Mac OS X. How To: Rotate the Display on Linux, Mac, & Windows Computers; How To: Create an Admin User Account Using CMD Prompt (Windows); How To: Lock Folder Without Any Software with Password; How To: Extract the contents of a rar file with WinRAR. The system icons of Mac OS X decorate nearly everything found within the Finder and desktop, ranging from default folder icons, to the default icons of hard disks, network machines, even the Finder sidebar items, and some toggles found throughout Mac OS X.
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Few things are as frustrating as trying to start your Mac and ending up with the dreaded Mac folder with a question mark. You’ve probably tried using keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+R, CTRL+Option+R, or Shift+CTRL+Option+R, but you still get the flashing folder icon on startup.
While this may strike fear into your heart as a Mac user, there are known causes for it, and tried and tested solutions that will help you get your Mac back to normalcy.
Follow along to find out why you’re getting the folder with the question mark in the middle of the screen, and how you can resolve the problem. While this is issue is more prevalent among older Macs, we shall try to address the same for new Mac models as well.
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Click here to see our macbook articles pageCauses of Flashing Mac Folder with Question Mark
There are several reasons why the folder with a question mark appears on your Mac’s screen:
- Your Mac can’t find a bootable volume. That means it can’t find its startup disk, so it can’t boot or start up. Probably you previously started up your Mac from an external disk and later unplugged it, or its hard drive just failed terribly, so it’s having trouble locating its system folder or boot directory.
- Corrupt macOS.
- Corrupt system files.
- Hard disk drive has failed catastrophically.
- The external disk you boot from may be off or disconnected.
- The ribbon cable connecting the drive to the motherboard may be damaged. This cable sits between the bottom case and optical drive, and if the case has indentations in the same area, the cable may be the problem.
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Read MoreBoot Your Mac From an Install DVD (For Older Macs)
This process forces your Mac to boot from the install DVD placed in the optical drive. For that, you must follow these steps:
Step 1: Place the install DVD that came with your Mac in the optical drive and reboot. You can use that disc, or if you have a later macOS version, use a newer disc for the same purpose.
Step 2: Once you hear the boot chime, hold down C key on your keyboard or the Option key until you see the Install Disk or Apple logo show up.
Note: Boot from the recovery partition if you’re on 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion or 10.9 Mavericks, and then repair the OS 10.7 or 10.8 partition using Disk Utility.Step 3: When your Mac starts up, choose the language you’ll use, press Return on your keyboard, and an Installation window will open. Ignore this window and click Utilities and then click Disk Utility.
Step 4: If you see your hard disk on the list, click your macOS partition for the hard drive, and then select First Aid tab.
Step 5: Next, run Repair Disk. To enable this button, click on your hard drive’s macOS partition. If this fixes any issues, run it all over again until you see the green OK, and then run Repair Permissions.
Step 6: Finally, use the Startup Disk to select your hard drive to restart your Mac from the hard drive. If it’s not recognized under Disk Utility, it’s probably dead.
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Read MorePut Your Mac in Recovery Mode
If you’re trying to boot from your Mac’s internal drive, you need to shut down the computer and then start it up while holding down Command+R keys until the globe or Apple logo appears. Free designing apps for mac. That will put your Mac in Recovery Mode, and then you can change the startup disk by selecting the option from the Apple Menu.
Recovery Mode comes handy when your Mac won’t boot normally because the startup disk is damaged or corrupted.
That could be caused by corrupt files or mild power surges you’re not aware of, but it fixes the issue without you having to go to extreme lengths, such as performing a reinstall of your macOS.
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: You can boot using an external Mac startup disk or bootable installer if macOS Recovery doesn’t work.Mac Os Icons Download
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Replace the Disk
If the Mac folder with a question mark appears because of your disk has failed, the only thing you can do is to replace the disk and use the time capsule or another backup device you’ve been using to recover your data to the new disk.
Backup Data and Reinstall macOS
If Disk Utility can’t repair your startup disk, you may have to reformat it. Before doing that, take a backup of any important data from the disk before erasing everything stored on it. You can take the steps below to take a backup of your data to an external drive if you don’t have a recent data backup for your startup disk:
Step 1: Connect an external drive that’s similar in size or larger than your startup disk. Erase the external drive using macOS Recovery and then install macOS to it. Select the external disk that you want to erase, not your startup disk.
Step 2: Once macOS is installed, your Mac will restart automatically from the external drive. When you see the Setup Assistant, choose the option you want to use to move data from another disk, and select the startup disk on your Mac as the source from which to migrate data.
Step 3: After migration, follow the setup assistant instructions to the end, and when you see your desktop, confirm that all your data is present on the external drive.
Step 4: Erase your startup disk using macOS Recovery and reinstall macOS (don’t select your external drive). After erasing the disk and installing macOS, your Mac will restart automatically, and the setup assistant will appear. Copy your data to your startup disk by selecting the option to migrate data from a Time Machine backup or another disk, in this case your external drive.
Note: If you can’t erase the startup disk or reinstall macOS, take your Mac for repair to an Apple Genius or authorized service provider.Get Your Mac Back
We hope you now know what to do when you find the flashing Mac folder with a question mark on your screen. Try the fixes above and let us know what worked for you.
Next up:Want to reduce boot time for your Windows PC? Our next article shows you how to do that using Quick Startup.
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Read NextHow to Use Quick Startup to Reduce Windows Boot TimeAlso See#apple #folder Did You Know
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Links / Help
- How to use Mac icons
Setting Icons In Mac OS X
To customize a desktop icon manually in Mac OS X, you need to access the Finder's 'Inspector'. The inspector is shown or hidden when you press Command-Option-I with an item selected. Mac os file recovery. Opening the Inspector for an item reveals various types of information including what the current icon is set to.
Here is a step-by-step guide for setting a folder icon:
- Select a file or folder that has the icon you want to use.
- Press Command-Option-I to bring up the Inspector panel.
- Click on the icon once. You should see a highlighted border around the icon.
- Press Command-C to copy the icon. Do NOT close the inspector panel.
- Select the file or folder that you want to customize.
- Click on the icon in the Inspector panel again and press Command-V to paste the icon.
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That's it! If you don't see the icon immediately update, you may need to log out and back into Mac OS X for the change to take effect. You can now close the Inspector panel safe in the knowledge that your icon has been customized. If you ever want to clear any custom icon you've applied, just open the inspector for that item, select it and press the 'Delete' key or Command-X to cut it.
Mac Custom Folder Icons
You should note that there are certain icons in the operating system that simply cannot be changed. Still others can only be customized using a separate application like The Iconfactory's own CandyBar utility. CandyBar lets you quickly and easily replace all of the icons in the Mac OS X system folder as well as the Finder's toolbar icons, trash can and Dock icons. Please visit the CandyBar home page for more information about this product.