iMac won't start up- just flashes pictures of apple, question mark folder,

C

Cloots Tokala

New member
and "don't enter "sign!? Just recently I had been having huge problems with it crashing, my internet browsers locking up, programs freezing... and having to restart two or three times in an hour long session. but now it wont even start up.
It will flash pictures of the apple symbol, a folder with a question mark on it and a sign kinda like the do not enter sign... I read that I should re-install OSX ,which I can do, but..
Will I lose all my data?
I'd like to rescue all my music in iTunes,I have resume stuff on there, and i have loads of Photos that I unfortunately don't have stored anywhere else :(
Will all this be gone? Is there any way to save it?
 
The folder with the question mark means that it can not find the Operating System. If you do a full blown reinstall you will lose everything. If you notice any clicking noises coming from this machine when you turn it on, it is more than likely a bad harddrive (which means you will lose your data anyway). What I would do is go to the nearest Apple Store and see if you can get an appointment with a genius. Tell them what happened and see what they recommend. It shouldn't cost you anything for them to give you a recommendation.
 
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