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iMac won't sleep

R

rshire

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 17, 2009
15
0
My iMac refuses to sleep no matter what sleep preferences I set or even if I try to sleep it manually (apple>sleep). It doesn't do anything. The display doesn't even dim like it used to a week ago. I don't have anything plugged in but the keyboard and regular mighty mouse, and restart doesn't change anything either.

The Apple store installed a new hard drive on the computer a few days ago, since the 1.5 year old one randomly crashed and died. (AHH!) So I don't know what kind of funky things they might have changed, I'm just wondering if there's any simple maneuver I can do to make it sleep like it's supposed to!! Thanks!
 
I just tried that . . . no go!! The computer still refuses to sleep. When I try to manually sleep it, the only thing it does is make the mouse icon disappear, that's it.
 
Try a Safe Boot. Hold the Shift key while booting up. It is normal, and should, take longer than usual to boot. For example, my MacBook Pro usually takes 1 minute to boot and takes anywhere from 12-15 minutes to do a Safe Boot.

As a last resort, you could do an Archive and Install.

David
 
Hmm I just tried the safe reboot and the unplugging . . . it still does the same thing - nothing!!

So if nothing else ends up working, what is an Archive and Install, and how would I do that? Thanks!
 
Oooh, I see. I would really like to avoid that if possible . . . since I JUST reinstalled everything on the new hard drive over the past few days. Any other thoughts about how to fix it anyone??
 
rshire said:
Oooh, I see. I would really like to avoid that if possible . . . since I JUST reinstalled everything on the new hard drive over the past few days. Any other thoughts about how to fix it anyone??
Click to expand...

Which is why I think reinstalling again is not a good idea. I'd bring this Mac back to the Apple Store.
 
Haha yes, insomniMac . . .

Those links looked very promising! However when I tried them, they were doing the same thing as when I did a manual sleep (apple>sleep): the mouse icon disappears and the screen "freezes" (the clock stops updating time, etc.) but the screen stays fully lit and doesn't go black like it's supposed to!!

My very uneducated guess would be that there's something wrong with the programing of the sleep function???? Like, to where the command for blacking the screen is somehow missing?? I have no idea. . . .
 
It is probably something plugged in via USB.

Check your iPod isn't still connected or your External Hard drive etc.
Also it may be your mouse it moving (Faulty Laser) and is causing your iMac to wake before it has begun sleeping.

Try unplugging ALL USBs and click the power button once, Dont hold it in otherwise it will power down.
 
Oh, I misunderstood your problem.

If your computer goes to sleep, but the screen remains on, I think you have a serious software problem or even a hardware fault.

I would install OS X "clean" on an external drive for testing purposes, boot from it and check if the problem persists.

If yes, I would have the computer replaced.
 
As he said, OSX has already been reinstalled -- recently. Doing it again isn't likely to be helpful. My guess is that this Mac has a hardware fault, which Apple missed the first time they looked at it.
 
Well, safe to say having the computer replaced is entirely out of the question . . . it's not under warranty, aside from the new hard drive.

So, since I don't have an external hard drive to do the test on, the general consensus would be that it's a hardware/firmware issue and to take it back to the Apple store for them to look at it??
 
I'd protest any additional charges. It seems they may have charged you the first time for repairing the wrong issue. That's the position I'd take with them.
 
Oh yeah, agreed: I do not plan on paying them any extra for repairs or whatnot. I just shelled out a few hundred on a new hard drive installation! The old hard drive was obviously messed up since it crashed completely, the question would be whether that's related to this other issue or not.
 
Ok, yeah I'll call them and see about taking it in again. Thanks for everyone's help! I'll update if I learn anything new. . . .
 
So, long overdue update in case anyone's interested in the results . . . .

About an hour before my Genius Bar appointment like two weeks ago, the sleep function randomly started working again . . . go figure. But then the whole computer refused to shut down for a bit!! I took it in, but because by then it was working perfectly, they couldn't help me.

One employee thought it could have just been caused by the new hard drive indexing and all . . . so who knows. It's been working fine so far!
 
I didnt have the exact same sleep problem, but suddenly it is working again too!

I dont know if it is related or not, but I changed the standard address book and calendar app back from Contactizer Pro to iCal and Address Book.app.

Since then, the computer goes to sleep as set up in the preferences... weird!
 
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