Flashing file folder of death

[Aesmodan]

Hi all,

 

Having a strange issue on which I've 'Googled' extensively, and I also haven't found too many relevant hits here, so I thought I'd put this one on record. Tried to post here:

 

InsanelyMac Forum Apple World Mac OS X OS X Leopard (10.5)

 

But it seems I should be first posting here (apologies if I have hit the wrong forum).

 

Issue:

 

I run Leopard 10.4 on about a 2 year old iMac and it has run almost flawlessly until I recently rebooted with an external WD HDD 1 tera attached. While it was rebooting I wandered off for coffee, and when I came back the wheels were still spinning -- I figured it was trying to boot off the external (a non-TimeMachine storage drive largely for digital photos, but it does have the WD factory default boot tools in the root directory), so I disconnected it and restarted.

 

Since then, most of the time I try to power on the machine, I get the infamous blinking file folder with question mark. But here's where it gets weird:

 

Sometimes (not so much lately) I turn the machine on and it boots normally, no problems. I am able to see the drive in DiskUtility, and I have verified and repaired the permissions successfully. DiskUtility also reports that there are no problems with the physical device. Great sez I, I'll go do a disk repair.

 

But, when I try to boot off the startup/install disc, (command+C) the machine spits the disc out and gives me the blinking folder. If I try to get into SUM (command+S) boot into safe mode (shift), or get into StartupManager (option), I get the folder. I have reset the PRAM countless times, and that hasn't helped. If I insert the disc and let it alone (depressing no keys), one of two things happens:

 

1. The disc 'helps' the OS 'see' my HDD and I boot normally, or:

2. I get to OSX install, but DiscUtility can't see my HDD (it sees only the Optical).

 

 

Temperamental part #2: if I walk away and start the machine a half hour later, it will occasionally boot normally on its own, no disc and no keys (whereupon DiscUtility insists nothing is wrong). I'm baffled -- and I can't repair the OS since the HDD isn't being seen when booting off the CD.

 

I read this thread:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=105641

 

And what Advokit describes sounds like my problem, but running the script hasn't solved the issue (script works when I run it, but it hasn't made the flashing file folder stay away. Do I need to plug in the factory name of the volume or what I named it?)

 

So now I'm not convinced the external HDD was the issue here. Any ideas?

 

Cheers and thanks,

-Aes

[dothacker]

isn't booting from install disc / bootable cd or dvd holding the C button, not command + C (that's shortcut for "copy")

[Aesmodan]

isn't booting from install disc / bootable cd or dvd holding the C button, not command + C (that's shortcut for "copy")

 

Opps, very true -- that's just a typo.