Macbook Air – Blinking folder at startup on occasion

bootmacbook pro

I have a Macbook Air (mid 2012) which has some various problems. The main problem is that the computer will occasionally display a blinking folder at startup. Whenever that happens I do one of the following things, until I can boot into the computer again that is.

  • Reset the NVRAM
  • Try to boot into safe mode
  • Repair the start up disk
  • Choose the right disk as the start up disk
  • Various keys getting bashed

Besides the blinking folder problem, 3 beeps can be heard at start up.

I have tried to reinstall the OS a couple of times, but that hasn't helped at all. So my solution is to keep the Macbook running with Amphetamine, basically never shutting it off to avoid these problems. But this is quite troublesome whenever wanting to travel with the computer, so I was wondering if any of you have any ideas how I could mitigate all these problems?

Thanks in advance

Best Answer

Three startup tones indicates that the RAM installed in your Mac is not passing an integrity check:

Three successive tones, then a five-second pause (repeating): RAM doesn't pass a data integrity check. If you recently replaced or upgraded your computer's RAM, check to see if it was installed properly.

From: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202768

Misbehaving RAM can contribute to a host of problems, including, (but not limited to,) the startup problems you've been experiencing.

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