What causes a flashing question mark and the failure to start up my Mac?
Essentially you get the flashing question mark when the Mac can t find a system to initiate start up. There are basically five causes: 1) The System Folder is missing; 2) an unblessed system. If the System and Finder have been removed from the System Folder, the system becomes unblessed and the computer will not recognize it at startup. 3) a SCSI device conflict. This occurs when two SCSI devices have the same SCSI number. For example, if your internal hard disk s address is 7, you cannot have another SCSI device assigned that number. 4) a corrupt hard disk driver; 5) sticky drive syndrome. The lubricant in the hard disk drive loses viscosity so the hard drive has difficulty spinning up to the appropriate speed. This is usually an indication of imminent failure and getting a current backup from this disk would be a wise thing to do. Q: How do I update my hard disk driver? A: Start up from an alternate disk (hard disk, Jaz or Zip Drive, CD, etc.) freeing the startup disk from any contro
