Chosen Solution
I have An iMac 2011 That has a super large flashing folder icon. I cannot get it to go into recovery, pram reset or even to see if there is an Efi lock. It will not recognize the keyboard. I can attach a wired mouse with the red IR light and it lights up so I know there is power. It doesn’t look like the mother board was ever removed and it looks clean so I’m not sure why the keyboard is locked out and I have NEVER seen such a large sized flashing folder icon-it’s almost twice the normal size. The screen is an lg screen ….I removed both ram sticks and I can get the long Missing ram beeps. It’s some kind of lock. Oh I also replaced the PRAM battery but that didn’t help. Update (08/13/2020) just to clarify….I refurbish Apple products. This isn’t a simple problem. I am using a wired keyboard (ugh) and I have a flash drive and an external bootable. Not one person noticed the title about supersized flashing folder??? I was hoping for some expert solutions or input. Maybe Mayer or old turkey
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The flashing Question Mark in a Folder is the system telling you it can’t find a working boot drive with the needed macOS If your Mac starts up to a question mark References: If your Mac doesn’t start up all the wayMac startup key combinations Do you have a second Mac system which you can connect your system to or have a bootable external drive to boot up your iMac? Update (08/13/2020) I wish you had posted your images beforehand I would have then been able to explain the size issue upfront. The scale is all subjective! What one calls normal, large or super sized is not a firm measure. Using a ruler with some level of standard graduations is much better when you see something out of sorts (or posting pics that clearly show it). As I was thinking what the desktop icons are in size as normal and the EFI one (what you are seeing) is large or what someone might call super sized. At this point you’ll need to unplug the AC power cord as well as take the PRAM battery out. then let the system sit awhile so the capacitors have a chance to discharge. Install a fresh PRAM battery, reconnect things and the displays image should be normal. OK, let’s look at the keyboard issue. Are you using one with a Lightning cable connection? The newer Apple Bluetooth keyboards use a lighting to USB cable so they can be charged. The keyboards signal is still Bluetooth even when you use the USB cable! Which could explain why the keyboard commands don’t work.
Well I haven’t looked at this post in a long time because I was getting the simple Simon answers. Let me state this…I have refurbished apple products for 5 years now. I know what the folder means. I know how to install OS X …I know how to reset PRAM and SMC. I know what the flashing folder size is SUPPOSED to be….I can boot up another 1311 next to it and this iMac folder is about 1/3 as big (not quite twice as big). the keyboard is locked out but when I boot it as an external it will mirror another iMac. I don’t know how but I think the previous owner flashed the bios.
