Mid-2010 MBP Shutdown Issue - Snow Leopard

[Nick521]

I have a Mid-2010 MBP running Snow Leopard. Once in a while (this happens about once per week or so) when I shutdown, the menu bar on top disappears, but the dock does not disappear and the computer does not shutdown. I have to force the shutdown (by holding the power button).

I went to the Genius Bar (I am still under AppleCare) and the tech said that it seems this is a software issue. They ran tests (the HD, logic board, RAM, everything checked out ok).

What are your thoughts? Also, when I shutdown, I have no open programs.

 

[Nick521]

Nobody?

 

[Freyqq]

it's a lot of work, but I recommend formatting, reinstalling osx, and then individually reinstalling all programs. Sounds like a software issue to me too.

 

[hakuin]

A program you have installed may be running in the background causing the issue. You could check Activity Monitor to see what is running (only under My Processes) and close some of those to see if it makes a difference.

 

[thekev]

Nobody?

Ram takes a long damn time to test properly. Unless you were there for hours, testing it properly is still recommended. I would run a memory testing utility. If that checks out do a clean installation of the OS. It's probably not memory. If it was kernel panics or complete system freezes would be more likely. Reformatting is optional, but it will remap any bad sectors if you zero out the disk. You can apply the update as a combo update. I would like to mention that connected devices can cause these kinds of issues if the firmware is problematic. External drives are notorious for this. If you can still access anything when the machine fails to shut down, you can check activity monitor or open terminal and type the word "top". This brings up all running processes, so that you can see what may need to be investigated further.

 

[Nick521]

Thank you, all! I might do the reformatting and reinstalling.

If I continue to do forced shutdowns, will that ruin the HDD?

The tech did a diagnosis test which took at 15 minutes. I don't think it is the RAM because the computer came with 4GB and I just upgraded to 8GB. I have had the problem before I installed the 8 and still have the same problem with the new RAM.

As far as software, I only have iWorks and Microsoft Office. I may have downloaded other things here and there, but have since removed those programs.