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Model A1225 / Mid 2007 and Early 2008 / 2.4, 2.8, or 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo processor

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Question mark and startup manager unavailable

iMac Intel 24" 2.8 GHz EMC 2211

Hi,

When starting up the iMac it goes to the grey screen with a folder with a question mark. I have replaced the harddrive but its still the same. When I hold any kind of key combination, when its booting nothing happens.

When I hold the option key the cursor appears but nothing else.

Any idea what is wrong if not the HDD?

Any help would be appreciated since this is the first time I deal with Apple hardware failure.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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It sounds like your HD was not prepped. Did you install Mac OS-X on the drive yet? The blinking folder is telling you it can't locate the operating system files. That could be because the disk does not have them on it yet or the drive is not connected up correctly.

Lets start with an external disk do you have a bootable OS-X disk which you can connect via FireWire or USB? If not you'll need to find a friend who has a Mac so he can help you create it. A USB thumb drive will do here.

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I thought it was possible to boot up and select the new HDD and then install the operating system. Now I have taken out the HDD and will install Mac OSX on it. Still I don't get why I can't even get into the boot menu

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The boot manager still needs access to the partition table of the prepped drive. If the drive is virgin this is not created yet. In any case you do need a bootable drive of some sort to boot the system to then prep up the new drive. Think of it this way (if you remember how an old water hand pumps works): The pump requires water to prime the vacuum of the pump so you can pump the water from the well.

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