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Dreaded folder with question mark

jas1122

jas1122

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hi,

I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro with the old Intel core 2 duo processor that I’m trying to revive and I’ve run into a few issues! I’m sorry if this problem has been asked before but I have had a look though the forums! There is a long story but I’ll cut it short.

I’m trying to revive my MacBook but it was so slow to open apps and to open or close programs so I’ve been thinking to dual boot Linux Mint to try and speed things up a bit. I could boot from USB and run Linux live fine with no problems and it ran very quickly. I then went to partition the hard drive to install Linux and the Disc manager said there were problems and couldn’t partition the drive, so I decided to format the complete drive for a fresh install and that wouldn’t work. Now every time I turn on the laptop I get the folder with the question mark, I have tried recovery mode, internet recovery and even dual booting to usb but all I’m left with is a white screen and then the folder with the question mark again.

Sorry for the long post but does anybody have ideas.
Thanks,
Jason
 
There is no Internet Recovery on a 2009, so that’s a non-starter.

Do you have a bootable OS X installer? If so boot that, run Disk Utility, and see if the disk is showing up at all. If so format the disk (the actual DISK, not a single partition) and see if it’ll install.

If your only using Linux and no macOS at all, then… see what someone more familiar with Linux has to say, I’m not your guy 😬
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I don’t think I still have the recovery disk but I’ll have a look, or I should be able to buy one. It was strange that the option button and power button still went to the white screen and folder with question mark
 
I don’t think installing Linux should be a problem as long as I can boot from the USB
 
Folder with question mark simply means the Mac isn't seeing a "Bootable" partition/volume. That could be a setup issue, or could be a hardware issue with the disk itself. Using a bootable USB installer (or the original setup DVD; though that's only useful if the DVD drive is working which many aren't after so many years) is the easiest way I know of to determine which.
 
If you install a new hard drive would you still need the usb installer or original disc? Can you then format the drive from the installer if that makes sense? Thanks
 
Yes, if you replace the existing hard drive, you would use a USB bootable installer, or (if you have it) the original DVD (if you still have it). But, the original installer DVD is likely a Leopard (OS X 10.5), or newest would be Snow Leopard. Even the newest supported install for OS X would be El Capitan. Any system in that range is going to be challenging to make useful. Perhaps a Linux install might be more useful for you. OR, you could immediately go to a more current Mac system by installing with Open Core Legacy Patcher (OCLP). That would give you a Mac that you could still use as a Mac - with a more modern macOS, such as Sonoma or Sequoia. I have gone to a newer macOS on about 6 or 7 Macs similar in vintage to your 2009 MacBook Pro. OCLP doesn't necessarily make the process simpler, just makes it possible to do.
 
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Thanks all, and some excellent advice. I can’t find the original disc so I’ll purchase a usb bootable installer. Although I love the MacBook and OSX I think the best option would be to boot to Linux but I’ll have a look at the OCLP and see if that option will work. Would a more modern Mac OS run quick enough and would the older Intel processor be able to handle the OS?
 
The main purpose for the OpenCore setup on a Mac is to provide a software setup that will run an otherwise unsupported OS. That does NOT change the hardware itself. The newer system will likely have a noticeable slowdown, compared to running an actual supported system. Whether that change in performance is noticeable, or even usable for your needs, would be entirely up to you to decide.
 
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"I’ve ordered a snow leopard bootable install usb"

If that works for you, fine.
But if it still won't work, it's probably not worth putting any more money into a MacBook that is now 17 years old...
 
re: reviving 2009 mbp

- If it were me, Id install a new 120gb 2.5" SSD (why not as they're affordable)
- Upgrade ram to at least 4gb if you don't have it, ideally 8gb of DDR3 (again, it's cheap lol) as big apps will definitely use it all.
- Download MX25 Linux (25.1_xfce_x64), copy it over to an 8gb or bigger USB thumb drive, then boot the Mac and then immediately hold down the option key. This will bring up the boot picker where you should see the usb stick. Choose it and then install MX. As it is a new HDD, let it use the whole thing. This will make installation fast and easy as you won't have to learn and understand how to partition for a linux install as the machine will do it for you. This also accomplishes a couple additional key objectives:

- This will give you current, supported MX linux and associated apps, security etc.
- Unlike most Linux distros Ive used (ubuntu/lubungtu/elementary/debian etc), MX23 and 25 are the only ones that installed perfectly with 100% functionality of the MacBook out of the gate. Nothing was broken like wifi or the kb layout for example that required me to go back in and download updated drivers etc. over ethernet. In other words, "MX just works". It is a fantastic entry point into Linux+C2D Mac imo where macOS is not needed.
- Performance is very good for daily driver tasks on C2D era machines. Id describe it as snappy with XFCE desktop (when you install MX, XFCE is the default desktop environment option IIRC, so you don't need to do anything).

and best of all, MX is free. 🙂 Reboot your Mac and explore MX. It's a great distro and one I use across multiple C2D era Macs and diy build pcs today in 2026 with great productivity.

Good luck.

*added: I just saw that you are in England, so my eBay links are useless to you LOL but hopefully pricing is not too far off there. Should've looked 😀 Still, even without those upgrades, MX will install to and spin up just fine on the stock hdd and MX's absolute minimum ram requirement is 1Gb with recommended minimum being 2gb. Let that sink in LOL - the ram minimum req in 2026 is 1gb LOL. Anyways, don't let anyone tell you that your old Mac is useless or not worth a modest 20-40 pound upgrade. Im telling you right now, MX itself makes that assertion not accurate. Speaking of MRF folks from England, I know @DCBassman is quite busy & very successful with DDing his Early Intel Mac collection too as is @TheShortTimer .

Again, good luck, I hope this was helpful to you, and welcome to the forum.
 
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jas1122 said:
I’ve ordered a snow leopard bootable install usb and I’ll let everybody know how it goes because it might help to have a conclusion. Thanks for all the help
Click to expand...
If you go the route of installing Snow leopard from this thumbdrive, you're going to need a supported browser. I recommend Powerfox. Even though the macOS is no longer supported, this browser is and will provide a modern browsing experience for you. Basilisk is another good one and is actually what Powerfox is forked from iiuc. Either would work fine for your needs.

Good luck.
 
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Thanks for all the advice, I love the look and feel of the MacBook so I don’t want to just bin it and really want to use it again. I’ve got the Linux Mint Distro on a bootable usb stick already but I’ll have a look at MX25 and can give it a go. I don’t really need to install Snow leopard and wanted to give Linux a go because of how lightweight and quick they run with limited resources.

Thanks for all the links and gives me great ideas.

I’ve just tried to boot Linux mint from the bootable USB on the old hdd and a white screen and the cursor appears but there is no boot picker and then eventually the folder with the question mark appears. It’s as if the MacBook doesn’t recognise the USB which is why I was going to try Snow leopard just the try and get it working again!!
 
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jas1122 said:
It think it will be my last chance. I’ve owned the MacBook from new and usually use my iPad for most things but I needed a computer for something the iPad can’t do and I didn’t want or need a new one!
Click to expand...

I'm somewhat miffed that you've been put in a situation where you have to justify using and maintaining an Early Intel Mac in a sub-forum that's intended to help people achieve exactly this. Gosh, there are even older machines being tended to over at our PPC sister forum!

If you want to use it, go ahead and do so and hopefully most people within here will help you with this goal. 🙂

jas1122 said:
I’ve just tried to boot Linux mint from the bootable USB on the old hdd and a white screen and the cursor appears but there is no boot picker and then eventually the folder with the question mark appears. It’s as if the MacBook doesn’t recognise the USB which is why I was going to try Snow leopard just the try and get it working again!!
Click to expand...

Most of the responses have offered great advice so I'll focus on your struggles to get Linux booting. What's the method that you're using to create the bootable Live USB? This might be the cause of your difficulties.
 
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I completely agree there some great advice and I’m looking forward to getting the MacBook up and running again.

Before the troubles started the MacBook was running really slow and nearly unusable and nothing was supported anymore and couldn’t be used on the internet!! With research I decided to use Linux and because I don’t have a computer to make a bootable USB I purchased a USB with bootable Mint pre installed.

When I first tried the USB I could boot Linux Mint Live and tried all three versions to find the best that worked. To boot from USB I pressed the option button and then powered up and all was good. I then decided to partition the hard drive so I could use Linux and keep Mac OS and this is when problems started.

When using the disc utility to partition, I saw an error message saying the drive couldn’t be partitioned although I can’t remember the exact error message. I then decided to completely install Linux and format the HDD but again had an error message. Now when try to boot Mac OS nothing happens and you get the folder with the question mark.

Now when trying to boot from the USB all you get is a white screen with the cursor arrow and no boot options!

Sorry abut the long reply but I thought it might help with a complete explanation
 
Strangely I tried to boot from my Time Machine backup and this time the usb was recognised and when selecting the backup I got the circle with line though it!
 
Quick update if anybody has the same issues! I’ve now installed a temporary HDD and managed to get a bootable USB snow leopard. I’ve now partitioned the HDD and installed Snow Leopard to one partition from the USB which worked no problem at all but when I try the Linux bootable USB it just doesn’t show up at all so I can’t install it.

I followed Certificate of Excellence advice and ordered more RAM and an SSD which didn’t cost much and I’ll install later and I’ve also got a bootable USB El Capitan to try.
 
This is the final update just in case somebody will benefit.

I have now installed a refurbished SSD, which was cheap on EBay and I managed to get another bootable USB with Linux Mint. I then booted straight from the USB and installed Linux Mint on the SSD and it’s running fine on the old MacBook. The bootup time is about 40 seconds from off to the password screen.

Im really pleased with Linux and I’m glad I installed it to get the laptop running great again.

I haven’t fitted the new Ram yet but I fit it when it arrives. I didn’t bother installing macOS El Captain because I’m happy with the speed of Linux Mint and I’m using the Cinnamon version.

From my experience I can guess the old HDD went faulty and it wouldn’t let me boot from USB and somehow it corrupted the original USB,( if that’s possible)and I can’t read from it all now. Installing the SDD and using another bootable USB appears to have fixed my problems and I’m so happy with the 2009 MacBook Pro.

Many thanks to all the help from the people and you have helped me a lot.

Jason
 
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jas1122 said:
This is the final update just in case somebody will benefit.

I have now installed a refurbished SSD, which was cheap on EBay and I managed to get another bootable USB with Linux Mint. I then booted straight from the USB and installed Linux Mint on the SSD and it’s running fine on the old MacBook. The bootup time is about 40 seconds from off to the password screen.

Im really pleased with Linux and I’m glad I installed it to get the laptop running great again.

I haven’t fitted the new Ram yet but I fit it when it arrives. I didn’t bother installing macOS El Captain because I’m happy with the speed of Linux Mint and I’m using the Cinnamon version.

From my experience I can guess the old HDD went faulty and it wouldn’t let me boot from USB and somehow it corrupted the original USB,( if that’s possible)and I can’t read from it all now. Installing the SDD and using another bootable USB appears to have fixed my problems and I’m so happy with the 2009 MacBook Pro.

Many thanks to all the help from the people and you have helped me a lot.

Jason
Click to expand...
Glad it worked out for you! Sounds like you will get many additional years of productive use out of your mbp. 🙂
 
Thanks for all your help. I’ve got two 4gb Ram coming and I’ll get them installed soon.
 
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