MacBook won't sleep right....

[todd2000]

So I got a new White MacBook a few weeks ago, and it isn't sleeping properly. When Im using it and the battery gets low, I get the message that it is running on reserve, and It will go to sleep in a few minutes. I keep using it, and turns off, but the light stays on solid for about 10 seconds while it is copying the RAM to the HD for the "Deep Sleep." Then it just turns off instead of breathing. To wake it back up again I have to plug it in and press the power button.

I was under the impression that it is supposed to enter normal sleep (I.E. the same as when you close the lid) when the battery gets low, and only enter "Deep Sleep" if it stays asleep too long and the battery dies completely.

I have calibrated the battery a few times, and it doesn't seem to help. Any ideas?

 

[chill.]

if you are using it until it turns off, doesn't that qualify as the battery dying completely and so therefore it goes into deep sleep?

maybe a better test would be to put it to sleep when it has a bit of battery left, and leave it on until the battery runs out, and see if it goes into deep sleep

the way you describe what's happening seems to follow your impression

or are you saying that the macbook should go into a light sleep automatically while you are using it and it still has battery left?

 

[todd2000]

or are you saying that the macbook should go into a light sleep automatically while you are using it and it still has battery left?

Exactly, it's supposed to go into a light sleep (where you can wake it by pressing a key) when the battery gets low and only go into deep sleep if the battery dies while it is in light sleep. Mine is just going straight to deep sleep.

 

[Rhalliwell1]

With my MacBook Pro i get the "reserve battery" warning at 6% battery left. i usually just plug it in at this point, i can only presume if you carry on it will, in effect, shut down.

Think about it this way - if you run the battery right down and it only goes into sleep how long is it before it is completely out of power and shutdown without copying the RAM?

The easiest solution to this is when you get the warning plug in your charger!

 

[todd2000]

I understand what it is doing, but Im not sure why.

My friend has a MacBook and when his battery is almost drained the computer enters "regular" sleep mode, if he plugs it back in while in this mode it will wake with just a key press. It stays sleeping (light breathing) for 30 min to and hour, and then the battery fully dies, and when he plugs it back in he has to press the power button and deep sleep kicks in and restores everything.

My question is why doesn't mine behave that way?

 

[todd2000]

Well I was just using it and let the battery get low, and it just turned off. No Sleep, no deep sleep no nothing. It had to boot up completely when I plugged it back in. Something isn't working right.

Here it is right from Apple:

When the battery reaches "empty", the computer is forced into sleep mode. The battery actually keeps back a reserve beyond "empty", to maintain the computer in sleep for a period of time. Once the battery is truly exhausted, the computer is forced to shut down. At this point, with the safe sleep function introduced in the PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD) computers, the computer's memory contents have been saved to the hard drive. When power is restored, the computer returns itself to its pre-sleep state using the safe sleep image on the hard drive.

So the computer is supposed to sleep (with light breathing) for a while, and then shut down. Mine is just entering "Safe Sleep" right away or in the last case just dying completely.

 

[nkawtg72]

any word on this. my brand new MacBook (white) is not sleeping either when the battery dies. the system completely dumps, and after plugging in power it reboots completely. very irritating.