I have a 10-year-old MacBook Air. A folder with a question mark appears, which means the system cannot find the startup disk to load the operating system. This often indicates that the operating system (macOS) failed to start or the disk data is corrupted. I have an old MacBook Air (probably about 10 years old). I should have taken photos from it before disposal. The first time it started fine, and I was able to work normally for 30 minutes. Later, I thought I would continue and turned it on again. But the folder with the question mark appeared. What does this mean? Can the data be recovered? Apologies if this topic has already been raised, but maybe you can help or share ideas and suggestions?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
folder with question mark
- Thread starter Hans_solo
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Definitely sounds like a hardware failure. Do you have data on the MacBook Air that you need to recover? If so, you could try connecting your computer to another Mac to try to get data off of it.
Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode
You can connect an Intel-based Mac to another Mac using a USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt cable, then transfer files.
support.apple.com
Yes, I do have data what I want to save.
Is it 100% passibility that I will save them?
No idea! Really depends on how corrupted or damaged the drive is.
Your next Mac, you really want to be backing up using Time Machine or something.
I'm not an expert but maybe using target mode will allow for recovery of files.
Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode
You can connect an Intel-based Mac to another Mac using a USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt cable, then transfer files.
support.apple.com
Absolutely not 100%. You might get some files back, you might not. For a guess at a percentage, talk to a bookie - not to MacRumors
Set up a backup strategy, either way, going forward.