Cannot boot to MAC os

Discussion in 'macOS' started by airfreegeo, Jun 19, 2008.

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  1. airfreegeo, Jun 19, 2008

    airfreegeo macrumors newbie

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    Jun 19, 2008
    #1
    I have a MAC book with a boot camp installed.

    My secondary OS is windows xp and lately i cannot boot to my MAC os. When I turn on my computer it displays a folder icon with a question mark on it and then it boots to my windows xp.

    How can I get back to my MAC os and I really need to get rid of the windows os? I tried to use the 'alt' key to choose where to boot, but still same thing happens.

    note: I was running my mac with windows xp for about 3 years now.

    Thanks.
     
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  2. Neil321, Jun 19, 2008

    Neil321 macrumors 68040

    Neil321

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    #2
    Firstly id make sure you got all your stuff backed as the question mark maybe a sign of a failing HDD,have you tried using the startup option in system preferences?,to get rid of your windows partition you should be able to use bootcamp assistant to delete the partition,failing that disk utility just click on the root drive ( not the icon ) then the partition tab,then click on the partition you want deleted,then the minus sign,a drop down should appear click remove

    Oh MAC is short for Media Access Control ( MAC Address ) & not Macintosh ( Mac )
     
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  3. airfreegeo, Jun 20, 2008

    airfreegeo thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Jun 19, 2008
    #3
    First of all sorry for my ignorance regarding the MAC thing but i guess you get it right that I am referring to my MacBook.

    Is it still possible to boot to windows xp even if my HDD is failing? I tried getting in to my Mac so that i can use the bootcamp but sadly I cannot. When I select to boot on Mac it shows a blank screen with a blinking folder with a question mark on it then after that it boots to XP.

    Thanks for the reply. All help will be greatly appreciated.
     
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  4. JNB, Jun 20, 2008

    JNB macrumors 604

    JNB

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    #4
    The way you describe the boot sequence indicates some sort of corruption on the Mac partition, rather than hardware failure.

    Boot from the original Mac CD/DVD (either the Install disk that came with your machine or a retail copy of Leopard, Tiger, whatever you're currently on). Get past the Welcome screen and quit the installer, then run Dusk Utility on the HDD's Mac partition.
     

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  5. airfreegeo, Jun 20, 2008

    airfreegeo thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #5
    Thank you JohnNotBeatle!!!


    Will try :)
     
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  6. airfreegeo, Jun 20, 2008

    airfreegeo thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Jun 19, 2008
    #6
    It worked like magic!!!

    The next thing is how to uninstall my winXP so that I can allocate the HDD space to my Mac. Sorry guys, I am really new to these things and this forum is my only source of solutions.

    Many thanks.
     
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  7. Watabou, Jun 21, 2008

    Watabou macrumors 68040

    Watabou

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    #7
    Open up Bootcamp assistant from the utility folder, click continue and then choose the option that says "Create or remove a Windows partition." Then just hit restore and the windows XP partition will be deleted.
     
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  8. airfreegeo, Jun 21, 2008

    airfreegeo thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #8
    Thanks!!! :) Will try.
     
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