My laptop wakes up randomly while sleeping w/ lid closed

[Codizzo Hawks]

I am a high school student who uses a MacBook to take notes. I recently had some troubles– I store my laptop in a shock-resistant bag that I never throw around or anything that would harm my laptop – My laptop sometimes is awake in something my friend said is called "clamshell mode" but I had never downloaded anything that would cause this. Strange thing is, if I close it, the sleep light turns on; the computer falls "asleep" and the light slowly fades in/out. After I walk to my next class, the apple light on the back of the screen is on, and when I open my laptop is on and is quite warm.
This is a problem because not only can I not leave my laptop in the case for very long, but it will also wear down my battery if it keeps using up power while it's on. ( i know sleep mode also uses up power, just not as much) Could I get some help?

Thanks.

[Phillyzero]

Sorry to be of no real use, but I've had this same problem and hopefully I'm allowed to bump this topic up a bit as I'd like to get a response as well.

[skybolt]

Look in system preferences>energy saver or maybe display. Do you have your MB set to wake with bluetooth activation? Network activity? LAN access? Check the various things to see how they are set. Some of them can wake your MB without your knowing. (I'm not at my mac right now, so can't really give specific entries, but look in there and you should find something that may help)

[Codizzo Hawks]

Well... it ends up now my laptop is running in clamshell mode. It wont sleep when I close the lid, and I've been through every system option that would allow for waking through BlueTooth, or any other connection. This isn't the first time I've had major problems with my laptop. If its a hardware problem, I'm glad I still have a warranty.

[leekohler]

Check your RAM. I had the same problem when I first got my BlackBook, and it turned out to be an improperly seated RAM chip. It's fine now, and hasn't done it since.

[ntrigue]

Here's my scenario:

Close lid. 20 seconds. Pulsating Light. 5 seconds. HDD winds up for clamshell mode. Eventually, (10 seconds to 2 minutes) goes back to sleep.

[Codizzo Hawks]

I might try the problem with the ram chips, but are there there any other suggestions on what to do?

[kockgunner]

i heard about something like this before. it might be the magnet that detects whether your lid is closed is broken or loose.

[austriker27]

i had the same problem for awhile (i am college student, pretty much same situation) and then i downloaded the apple update and it seemed to fix it. i used to have it happen a lot and now i have had it happen only a few times since downloading the update...

[Codizzo Hawks]

I took out my ramcards, and i saw something very... very weird.
there was some kind of mold developing... i have to go more updates later...

[iToaster]

I took out my ramcards, and i saw something very... very weird.
there was some kind of mold developing... i have to go more updates later...

Was it a white powdery or greasy substance? If so, that's just something Apple uses during assembly. If it was fuzzy and blue... well, then you have a problem.

[kbmb]

I took out my ramcards, and i saw something very... very weird.
there was some kind of mold developing... i have to go more updates later...

If it looks like this, then that's ok:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304107

-Kevin