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Mac won't restart

machenryr

machenryr

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2016
748
101
I've had this particular problem on the machine. Mac Pro 2.8 quad. Until recently it only had 3GB ram. I switched the hard drives into my other MP quad 2.66 and it never had a problem restarting.

I just dropped 32 GB ram and installed a X5690 CPU in the Mac that doesn't restart. I didn't do that as a solution to the restarting problem; but you know, I thought it might fix. It didn't.

It didn't USED to have this problem. I think it started when I went to Yosemite or maybe the previous OS but I can't pinpoint it exactly.

What should I look for to fix this? What can this be? When I select restart or shutdown all the applications close and then it just sits there without shutting down or restarting. I have to manually shut it down by pressing the button in front.
 
what happens if you:

  • manually quit all apps, then restart?
  • log out, then try to restart? that should at least narrow down if it's something in user accounts.
  • create a new account at the same admin level as yours, and see if it has the same problems from fresh.
 
Manually quitting apps and shutting down is what works. Won't restart then, only shutting down.

Logging out worked!

I started a new account but this is just too complicated. I have so many apps!! It'd be good for the streamlined version though. Thanks.
 
Sounds like Yosemite issue. Did you try to wait (I mean at least something like 10min, not few seconds), to see if it shut down or lot?

If the shutdown time is super long but it will eventually shutdown, that's a known problem (but not real fix AFAIK). It exist for few years already (before Yosemite exist). Someone even develop a script to make the Mac has a quick shutdown (as a work around). I didn't have the link, but you may search for it. It should be on the OSX forum.
 
Do you think El Capitan will fix it? I haven't done it in a long time, but I used to just let it sit there to restart like for 20 minutes 30 minutes, and it wouldn't restart. But I'm willing to up grade to the next OS and see what happens.
 
If you have a full backup, why not? If that didn't fix it, you can always restore from a full backup.

I prefer to make a clone and test the upgrade on the cloned disk.

El Capitan should be better than Yosemite on this matter. I may have long shutdown, but never really hang.

However, please make sure you know what is SIP and will it affect you before you do the upgrade. If you have a lot of "hack stuff", upgrade to El Capitan may not be a good idea.
 
I have a couple of full back ups. I have a mirrored drive that backs up every night. I just don't want the hassle of installing all of that software and through all the copy protection rigamarole all over again. It'd take weeks.
 
h9826790 said:
If you have a full backup, why not? If that didn't fix it, you can always restore from a full backup.

I prefer to make a clone and test the upgrade on the cloned disk.

El Capitan should be better than Yosemite on this matter. I may have long shutdown, but never really hang.

However, please make sure you know what is SIP and will it affect you before you do the upgrade. If you have a lot of "hack stuff", upgrade to El Capitan may not be a good idea.
Click to expand...
What's hack stuff? I don't have anything hack besides maybe the upgraded CPU. I bought all of my software.
 
machenryr said:
I've had this particular problem on the machine. Mac Pro 2.8 quad. Until recently it only had 3GB ram. I switched the hard drives into my other MP quad 2.66 and it never had a problem restarting.

I just dropped 32 GB ram and installed a X5690 CPU in the Mac that doesn't restart. I didn't do that as a solution to the restarting problem; but you know, I thought it might fix. It didn't.

It didn't USED to have this problem. I think it started when I went to Yosemite or maybe the previous OS but I can't pinpoint it exactly.

What should I look for to fix this? What can this be? When I select restart or shutdown all the applications close and then it just sits there without shutting down or restarting. I have to manually shut it down by pressing the button in front.
Click to expand...
Are you finding that the system does not shut down but goes to a black screen with the circular animated wait widget?

You have a (background) app that is not quitting. Try a new account and see, whether it shuts down cleanly.
 
It just hangs. No widget. No black screen. Everything closes but the empty finder. All apps quit and the finder just sits there. Sometimes on the very rare occasion it works and restarts. I get excited thinking that whatever I last did fixed it, then it doesn't restart all over again.
 
machenryr said:
I started a new account but this is just too complicated. I have so many apps!! It'd be good for the streamlined version though. Thanks.
Click to expand...

The new account is to isolate whether the problem is something installed in your regular account - a user-level driver, a background process for an app etc, or whether it's a system-wide issue.

Another option would be to then boot in safe mode and log in to your regular account and try the reboot, which should also point to whether it's a system file specific to your account, or if it's a 3rd party file specific to your account

also: check if you have any paused / incorrectly sent jobs going to a printer in the print prefpane. I spent hours dealing with a mac that wouldn't sleep, only to find a printjob attempting to connect to a printer that wasn't on the network any more.
 
Wow. Interesting about the print job. I'll check that out. I guess you didn't see up the thread where I stare that I can restart if I logout first. Also I started a new account and it restarts fine. But I have SO MANY FRIGGING APPLICATIONS and authorizations I really don't want to reinstall everything under a new account, unless someone can tell me a shortcut.
 
I've had a similar problem on and off - restart works on logout, but from within my account, it'll hang on a black screen, with the cursor visible.

the printjob one was hairy, because it persisted through user accounts, login or out status, power cycles, SMC reset, safe mode, nothing solved it.
 
I have yet to do safe mode. But I've been slowly eliminating USB peripherals. I THINK it's either a device or an entire Belkin hub that's daisy chained. Have mercy! Lol. When I disconnected this hub it restarted immediately.

I have a studio with a LOT of software instruments, USB cables and iLok keys. Possible the hub can be out of date? You know, these things don't really get updates. And I have one musical device that also had been causing me great grief. It works intermittently, even though the company sent me a brand new FireWire to replace the PCIe card. Better but it's still not playing nice.

So even after CPU and big memory upgrade I'm having these problems.

One note - I have another Mac Pro. At one point I put the hard drives in the other MP. I had no problem restarting. There goes one theory. But I still had the problem with that other PCIe card.
 
I need to stop being so lazy. I just need to do a clean install. I haven't done one for the last several OS upgrades and this is what I get. Stop whining. I'm sure that's all it is. When I log in to the new account it's fine. I haven't tried the problematic device but I bet it will be too. There's his so much software.
 
machenryr said:
I THINK it's either a device or an entire Belkin hub that's daisy chained. Have mercy! Lol. When I disconnected this hub it restarted immediately.
Click to expand...

that sounds like a good candidate - could be its not getting power consistently if it's got an external power supply, could be a dodgy connector / port / cable. USB has shades of SCSI in its need for goat sacrifice.
 
Hm. This morning it still wouldn't restart. I'll just start slowly doing a clean install while using this one. Or maybe I should just transition to a SSD for OS, apps. Damn it. Bite the bullet dude. Lol.
 
I'm still trying I emptied a lot of random stuff in my download folder. I'm a pack rat and just keep that stuff. I don't know why. So I copied it to a hard drive and am about to delete it. But initially after deleting s bunch before trashing the whole thing it restarted. Then it didn't.

Now Disk Warrior again.
 
The hub seems to be the problem:

  • plug it in (testing in multiple usb ports) with nothing connected, see if the problem occurs.
    • If it does, replace hub
  • If not, plug in half the things normally connected to it.
    • If problem reoccurs unplug half the things plugged in, repeat
    • If not, plug in the other half of the things, repeat process.
Go through it methodically until you know what's wrong, you might save time on wiping your system and getting it back to a comfortable working environment.
 
I spent all of yesterday with all of the USB and FireWire unplugged from the computer. Still wouldn't restart. Or very, very occasionally. I emptied the download folder. I trashed a bunch of apps I don't use.

NOW EVEN LOGGING OUT AND LOGGING IN IN MY OTHER ACCOUNT DOESN'T WORK!

Man.
 
Progress. I replaced the lithium battery under the video card. I also cleaned the contacts to the three PCIe cards.

It restarted twice so far.

Earlier I also removed the PCIe with no change. I didn't clean the contacts to the Radeon though.

In case of continuing trouble, can a video card going bad exhibit strange behavior like this?
 
Still isn't working. Tell me what you think about these possibilities - anybody who reads this.

1. Something is hokey in the OS 10.10.5. I need to reinstall Yosemite, or since I don't have the disc because there aren't any, close my eyes and jump into 10.11. Probably clean install, right??

2. Switch out video cards. Long shot but I'm grabbing at straws.

3. Long shot I never really signed into iCloud. Only half way. So when logging in or installing OS I quit on the iCloud set up. Perhaps logging out or shutting down or restarting it looks for iCloud information??? I don't use iCloud and don't want all my info there.

Other ideas? I have given up on trying to solve this problem and the problem of a PCIe card that refuses to work properly. Even the same card but the FireWire version. UAD-2 Solo and Duo Satellite FireWire. This is a music hardware software thing.

Next week when I get my W3690 CPU I'll install it in my other MP 2.66 quad. Then I'll try switching out cards and applications.

One problem I did was putting the sand hard drive in both MP. So the UAD was problematic in both indicating whatever THAT problem was was in the drive. But it didn't extend to restarting.
 
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