my mac starts up with a flashing file with a question mark. I have tried to turn off with power button and pressing command r. It takes me back to the flashing file with question mark. Any suggestions

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, Mollysmom1234!

We understand your MacBook is starting up to a question mark. We'd be happy to provide information to help you address this.

The next steps depend on which MacBook model you have. Try the steps here:

How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility - Apple Support

"Open Disk Utility

In general, you can just open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. However, if your Mac doesn't start up all the way, or you want to repair the disk your Mac starts up from, open Disk Utility from macOS Recovery:

1. Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:

• Apple silicon: Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window. Click the gear icon labeled Options, then click Continue.
• Intel processor: Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold these two keys until you see an Apple logo or other image: Command (⌘) and R.

1. You may be asked to select a user you know the password for. Select the user, then click Next and enter their administrator password.
2. From the utilities window in macOS Recovery, select Disk Utility and click Continue."

Let us know the results.

Have a great day!

If the question mark is persistent, and your Mac does not start up normally:

1. Press and hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds, until your Mac turns off.
2. Every Mac has a power button. On notebook computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.
3. Use Disk Utility to repair your startup disk. Follow the steps for a Mac with an Intel processor.
4. If Disk Utility found no errors or repaired all errors, reinstall macOS.
5. If you still need help, please contact Apple Support.