Imac Power Issues

Hi,
I'm a new Mac user, and have had my system for quite a while. Over the several months I had it, I would notice the system rebooting for no reason coming off of display sleep, the speakers would pop, I would see the desktop and then a reset would happen.
Unbeknownst to me, the system never actually went into sleep mode (even though I had it set to do so).
After the latest firmware update it does go into sleep mode (Yay!), but still reboots randomly.
I tried all the fixes on this board, SMC, PRAM reset, removing boot programs, taking out the ram and putting it back in, and have found the system is rebooting randomly less often.
EXCEPT, it seems that when the system is not yet asleep, but the display is asleep and I move the mouse to bring the system back on, it reboots itself from time to time, but not if I press the keyboard. I'm content with bringing the system back by hitting the spacebar, but I'm wondering if this may be a sign of something worse and I have to bring it in for dreadful servicing.
Would anyone know some reason why this would happen, or where I can check in the error logs for the cause? Sonce this only seems to happen when the system is in display sleep I think its a software problem, but since my system didn't even fully sleep for the first 3 months, it could be hardware.
Another simple question, should moving the mouse bring back the system from full sleep? Mine doesn't.
And has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks,
Aaron
Intel Imac Mac OS X (10.4.6)
Intel Imac Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Random restarts are sometimes attributed to bad RAM.
My dads iMac had this issue.
Insert your original iMac Tiger install disk and read the Apple Hardware Test Readme, and follow the instructions.
To bring the computer back from sleeping the display only, moving the mouse should do it fine.
To come back from full sleep, hitting the spacebar does it for me.

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Imac power issue - randomly shuts down & won't turn on again

Hello
Just wondering if anybody could help us with this issue as the Apple Genius's failed to...
Our early 2006 Intel Imac has recently started to switch off at random times. There doesn't seem to be any particular point at which it will do this and no warning either. It's as if somebody has pulled the plug out but the power supply has not been touched! It then often won't allow you to switch it on again until you have left it over night - or sometimes it will switch on after a few minutes.
It is very frustrating as you never know when it might happen, it has been ok for a couple of weeks but now it has done it twice in the last two days.
We did take it to the Apple Store, who said they had kept it on for a day and could not replicate the issue so therefore there is nothing they can do...
If anybody can shed any light on this mystery it would be VERY much appreciated.
Thank you!

Hello and welcome to the club of "random shut down".
Since 8 days I am also having this problem on an early 2006 2 GHz intel core duo with OS 10.4.11 After approx. 5-10 minutes it shuts down and the only way to wake up again is to disconnect the plug, wait 10 sec and connect it again and push the start button on the back.
There a many discussions ongoing and also many suggestions (SMC reset, memory replacement, change the power cord etc.). Nothing really worked in my situation. My assumption is something with overheating, but the widget "istatpro" or "tempmonitor" are showing not more than 35°C on the CPU at a max.
I found a little tool called "smcFanControl" to adjust the minimum speed of the fans (my settings: ODD 2850 rpm, HDD 3150 and the CPU fan at 2160 rpm) and since that adjustment the working period seems to be much longer. Sure, there is an annoying noise now, but I can use the imac again.
Hope that there will be a better solution soon.

IMac Power Issues -Won't Turn on Most of the Time, Sometimes it Does

I'm having an issue that as far as I can tell doesn't really fit into any of the usual categories of problems.
Starting immediately after I installed Snow Leopard, when I turn my computer on (after having been shut down and left for a while), it makes some sounds as though the hard-drive is starting, and if a disk is in the disk-drive revs, but there is no chime and the screen doesn't turn on and nothing happens. I've since discovered that if I unplug everything from the computer including the power cord and remove the power cord from the wall as well (dunno if that part is essential), wait a long time, and then only attach the power cord, it boots up fine. Then I can use the computer as normal with no issues whatsoever. I can restart it as much as I want and it'll boot up every time until I shut it down (then the problem starts again.)
I called Apple Support and they had no idea what was up, so they sent me to a store to speak to a genius. He wasn't sure but he figured it was either the logic board or the internal power unit (or something like that). They wanted $800 to fix it, so I said I'd think about it and decided to work on it more myself.
Once I got the computer on I ran Onyx, Disk Utility (both off the Snow Leopard disk and off my computer without it), the hardware diagnostic test extended test, and I reset the PRAM and Power Manager. Onyx and Disk Utility found issues but fixed them, and I ran them again after I fixed those and they didn't find anything.
I'm pretty sure I've covered every test I can do. The only possible conclusion I can think of is that the power supply is slowly failing when it comes to booting up, but it seems strange and way to coincidental that it happened the same time I installed Snow Leopard. It also doesn't seem to make sense that the computer is fine once I do get it on and that I can somewhat reliably get it to boot by leaving it unplugged long enough.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Hello BB:
Your personal troubleshooting has been comprehensive. One question:
I reset the PRAM and Power Manager
Is this the SMC/PMU?
If that is the case, I think I would assume a hardware problem.
Barry

Intel iMac Power / Overheat issue?

Hi there,
I have an Intel iMac from 2006. About 2 years ago it started to just turn itself off randomly as if there was a power failure. When it does, the only way to power it back up is to switch it off at the plug, switch it back on and press the power button (strangely) twice. I have noticed it seems to be temperature related - when my iMac reaches around 78C (which I'm pretty sure it should be able to handle fine?) it tends to be in the danger zone and at any minute can switch itself off.
I've got around this by using smcFan Control - which thankfully displays the temperature in the menu bar meaning when I hit around 72C I can whack the fans up to full blast to keep the temperature down. Being a sound studio computer - the hum of the fans really isn't ideal, but it at least makes my computer usable. However, I'm currently in the middle of a big project on Logic and I've had to turn my room into a fridge (window open-more clothes on) to be able to work on it as all the processing involved heats it up to 75C+ in no time.
I was hoping someone could shed some light on this or at least tell me if I am right in thinking that 78C is nothing really and the iMac should deal with it easily.
I have seen tons of posts regarding the G5 iMac power problems and similar problems with the intel iMacs - I've done all the hardware resets (PRAM, SMC, PMU) as suggested in these forums but nothing has helped.
I have had the power supply changed in the past (before this problem arose) as one day it just went kaput. Don't know if that makes any difference but I'm pretty sure that the problem started a little while after the replacement was installed.
Thanks in advance!
Message was edited by: Lee_Head

LR is a Universal Binary app. YOu're good to go. I did a migration from iBook to MacBook recently with no issues.
Don
Don Ricklin, MacBook 1.83Ghz Duo 2 Core running 10.4.9 & Win XP, Pentax *ist D
http://donricklin.blogspot.com/

IMac (2007) intermittent power issues

Hi,
I have a 2007 iMac. I am getting intermittent power issues with it.
One day it wont power up at all...and might not power up for a number of weeks. And just when I have given up on it, it will power up and work for a wee while without any issues (including being shutdown nightly). It'll work for a while and then it'll stop working and again it may take a couple of weeks before it'll start working again.
Does anyone have any idea what might be the issue?
any help/advise greatly appreciated.

Hi IsMiseAodh - did you ever determine what the cause of intermittent no response to power was? I have a iMac with a similar problem. Thanks!

Slightly Different CRT iMac Power Up Issue

So I saw several variations on CRT iMac Start-Up Power issues, but none seemed quite what I have going on. I have a graphite CRT iMac (bought around 2000) that I was hoping to limp along with for a good chunk of this year but realized it's time might almost be up. I'm now worried it sensed me drooling over a new Mac Pro, got jealous, and fried itself... grin
The house had a power outage recently, and I do keep it plugged into a surge protector. However since then, when I press the power button it gives an initial chime as usual for a second with what sounds like the drive starting to whir and then immediately shuts down again. Repeat presses of the power button do nothing... UNLESS I unplug the power cord and plug it back in and it does the same chime w/ immediate shutdown.... I've opened the case, attempted to reset the CUDA or whatever it is called (if I'm pressing the right button like I think so...) and tried to blow the dust out as best I can. I've tried booting it upside down as suggested in other items. I haven't replaced the battery, which I assume is the one that looks like a short fat AA battery (Made in France which I found interesting for some reason...)?
Any input on this would be greatly appreciated...
I have replaced the slot loading CD/DVD drive in this machine twice just fine, so I do have some experience with the innards to draw upon.

I don't know about that... but your CRT iMac symptoms sound like a bad analog video board. This is the part that connects internally to the CRT. When you first start the iMac, the startup process checks the board. If it does not pass a test, the iMac shuts off (probably for safety reasons). Pushing the button again does nothing, until you unplug it, which resets the iMac to try again.
The same thing happened to my iMac. Is your iMac a slot-loader or a tray-loader?

IMac Power Failure

Just wondering if i could get some ideas on what could be happening with my iMac. I seems to loose power when I'm in the middle of using an application like iTunes or Safari or any application that has heavy CPU usage or HDD Read/Write like installing something from a CD/DVD or even on a mouse click or a key pressed on the keyboard. When it's idle it doesn't usually do this. When it does loose power, it will restart after about 7 seconds since i have reboot after a power failure checked in System Prefs. I can replicate this using any power outlet w/ or w/o a surge suppressor in my house but I can't seem to replicate it at work or at the Apple Store (annoying), suggesting it would be something in my house but i can't seem to pinpoint it. Could it be the iMac's power supply just being picky or something else?
Some Info: iMac 7,1 late 2007 (First Gen Aluminium). The power supply was already replaced in early 2008 oddly enough from the same problem but Apple was able to replicate the problem and replace it. The only upgrades done to it was the memory from 1gb to 4gb a while ago. I already put back in the original memory to see if this was it but the power issues continued.
Thanks for helping me out!
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Jake,
I think what the previous poster was trying to say is he thinks it might be your power supply again. That was the first thought I had by the way your described the issue. If the iMac is still covered by AppleCare contact them immediately and open a case before your warranty runs out. If it's not covered follow this link to make an appointment at your local Apple Store to have it looked at.
Regards,
Roger

IMac power problems?

Sinse upgrading to Snow Leopard, I've been having some power issues with my iMac. First, during the night and day, usually when it is idle and in sleep mode, it will wake up on its own. However, it does not turn on the display. THe fans will run, the hard drives clicks, in the same pattern as it does when usually waking up, but the screen remains off. For about 10 to 15 seconds after wake-up, the hard drive will go mad crazy as it seems to seek the hard drive, then go back into sleep mode. I have no idea why it does this; I do not believe it is the "Wake for Network Access" feature because this is disabled.
Another problem it has is that it will just randomly shut off. That simple. As if I pulled the power cord, it simply turns off. WIthout closing Finder and the Dock first. It just simply dies. Loosing whatever I haven't saved.
Anyone else having issues with their macs and snow leopard?
(I am using a iMa7,1. Obviously a much older aluminum iMac.)

I fresh installed Snow Leopard 3 days ago on my mid-2007 24" iMac. Once, the machine went into sleep mode and would not wake no matter what I did. Finally I held the power button until the machine turned off and then powered it up again.
Then last night even more disturbingly I put it in sleep mode and when I went to wake it this morning... nothing. But this time the machine was dead. No matter how long I held the power button in there was no response. I could hear neither fans nor power supply. I did an SMC reset and the first two tries nothing happened. Then for whatever reason, on a 3rd SMC reset the machine responded normally to the power button and has been running since.
I am very much HOPING this is a Snow Leopard issue since the alternative may be a failing power supply. I just got this machine back from Apple Service last week for replacement of a failed hard disk.
If anyone else has information regarding Snow Leopard power issues or other suggestions I'd love to hear them.

HT3988 imac power button pulses but imac will not turn on

imac power button will turn on

Hi and Welcome,
On my old G5 when I saw the red light through the front grill it meant that the machine was not going to boot. I just turned it off in the front, a hard shutdown, when I saw it. For me, I was able to wait for for a while and usually it would start up with no trouble again. But that Mac also had heat issues and sometimes running a small fan through the grill would allow me to start up sooner.
One thing that might be adding to your problem might be the amount of RAM you have, it's a very small amount.
Is your Hard Drive almost full? That can be a problem.
Can you start from one of the OS disks and use the app Disk Utility?
If you have the Discs that came with the Mac (originally), on one should be The Apple Hardware Test. That might help you diagnose the issue.
A PMU reset might get you started again. It's a bit model specific, for some it's just pulling the cord out (sound familiar?) and that resets the NVRAM. For other models this is a good reference: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1436
Quicktime likes RAM, so does your Mac in general, the amount you have is just sliding by.
Take a look inside your Mac to see if it's very dusty inside. That can cause a host of problems.
Good luck.

Obvious power issue effecting back plane jks. Popping HOURLY thru speakers, lites up lamp doc scanner. Has blown power supply once. "Genius" diag NTF twice B4 PS blew.

Late 2011 IMac, Obvious power issue. Popping HOURLY thru speakers, lites up lamp doc scanner. Has blown power supply once. "Genius" diag NTF twice B4 PS blew.

G3 Graphite 500mhz slot loader power issue

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Namely, the display would start to 'twitch' after it was on for a little while. These twicthes would continuee every few minutes until eventually it would twitch and shut off....but the machine would always turn right back on. The twitches almost remind me of the degauss button on old monitors. Now it twitched and turned off, but it won't turn back on this time. It seems to me to be a power issue as it is completely dead now and I cannot boot it in target mode, nor do I get a chime or any reaction at all when I try to power up etc etc.
I have access to a a pretty good supply of old parts (I have a 'skid row' of old iMacs that my school district will not repair anymore due to their age) so what do you guys think the issue may be? I've pulled apart a good number of iBooks, but this will be my first iMac.....

'Sorry to be so spleeney about the "plugO'death" there IS a way to slip a grounded screw driver under the plug and discharge the capacator. (It's the plug you can see right on the top of the tube with the large rubber flange around it) I just hate to see folks get in there.
The flyback circuit consists of mainly a high-voltage transformer and a capacator that stores the charge. This charge applied to the tube attracts the electrons from the back of the tube and encourages them to jump the vacuum and smash into the screen phosphors in a somewhat orderly manner.
If you just pull the drive, there's no problem with high voltage, high current components.
The Apple site Apple's Knowledge Base has links to .pdf technical manuals if you should decide to live life on the electrical edge.
David

I just updated the software on my iPad and now I cannot update my Aps or install new ones. I ran a diagnostic and that resulted in "power issue." It wouldn't let me select what my options were. Any ideas?

Don't know where to get help. I just updated the software and I am having issues with not being able to update Aps or install new ones. The circles just spin and Aps just say "waiting." I tried running a diagnostic with the apple store and it came back with "power issues" (?) as a result. It wouldn't let me select an option to see what steps I could take to fix it, it just backed out of the page. I just don't know what to do.....

Hi,
Thank you for your reply, I did go to my general settings, but for some odd reason I don't have a restrictions setting, or a reset setting. I thought I could reset all the setting to see if it could be that, but as I said there aren't any.
My husband also has the iPad 2, and also did the software update and hasn't had any problems at all. I took both iPad's and compared the settings thinking maybe there could be a setting that could have been changed when the update was done.

TS4088 I have a MacBook pro that has power issues and will not start but the hardrive is fine. I do not want to lose all of my files so I was wondering if it's possible to transfer my hardrive from a older Macbook pro to a new one if I were to purchase o

I have a MacBook pro that has power issues and will not start but the hardrive is fine. I do not want to lose all of my files so I was wondering if it's possible to transfer my hardrive from a older Macbook pro to a new one if I were to purchase a new one? Also, the software is not updated as the computer hasn't worked for about 2 months.
Also, if it is possible to transfer the hardrive, would my iTunes music transfer as well? It is not saved in the cloud.
Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated.

You computer is probably perfectly repairable, but if you want a new one anyway, it is perfectly possible to transfer the data from the faulty one.
But it would be a mistake to simply put the old HD in the new computer.
These are the steps:
Remove Hard drive from faulty computer. (very easy on Unibody MBPs, do-able but not so easy on older MBPs)
Put it in a cheap enclosure
Connect it the new computer
Boot up new computer.
If the new computer has never been run before the Setup Assistant will ask if you want to import your apps, data, settings etc from either another mac, another HD connected to the Mac or a Time Machine back up.
Obviously chose the second option (another HD connected to this Mac) and follow prompts.
If the new computer has already been run (so Setup Assistant doesn't run when you boot it up), you will need to use Migration Assistant...or run the installer again so that Setup Assistant runs again.
Message was edited by: Mike Boreham...added sec on line

Is there a way to adjust the bass and treble on my iMac Power PC sound system?

Is there a way to adjust the bass and treble on my iMac Power PC G5 sound system? It has a lot of volume (more than my JBL speakers).

No, but iTunes has an Equaliser that enables you to do that.

Unable to Troubleshoot Power Issues on Mac mini 2011

I have been having odd and intermittent power issues with my Mac mini 2011 and could really use some help before I resign myself to taking it into an Apple Store. It's under warranty, but I now live in another country so I hope I don't need to ship it should it come down to that.
However, I have searched this topic a lot, and not only have I tried troubleshooting it, I haven't seen any power issues with other owners of this model. That leads me to think that the power supply itself is probably OK.
First of all, I live in China and the building I live in seems to have a questionable power supply. The air conditioner for example simply would not work and the repairman spent two hours messing around with wires inside the outlet and in the breakers. That did the trick, so I wonder if I'm simply not getting enough juice?
Main symptoms:
- My monitor recognizes an analog signal but will not light up (black monitor). Unplugging and replugging adaptor doesn't do anything.
- Startup Keyboard Commands (e.g. Cmmd-R) may work, but I can't tell because the monitor won't light up. Letting the computer boot up though I can hear keyboard volume keys and such making the standard sounds. I can usually restart using the keyboard too.
- My 2T external HD more often than not dismounts as well.
- I can't hear any computer activity after the chime (hard drive, etc.).
- Since I can hear the chime and there is audio feedback through the keyboard, I think that eliminates hardware problems such as logic board failure or bad RAM.
- I can't boot even if I unplug all USB peripherals.
- Holding down the power button (I have it set to make the computer sleep as well as shut down) often won't shut down the computer, but it seems to stay in sleep no matter how long I hold it. Unplugging the computer finally shuts it down, obviously.
- Unplugging and waiting 5 minutes or so and powering up again doesn't seem to make any difference, nor does switching sockets, plugging directly into the wall, etc.
Problems began about two weeks ago, got better, and then worse again. Now I'm just keeping the computer and monitor on (never sleep 24/7).
Miraculously, after much frustration and countless restarts, suddenly the screen will turn on to reveal a fully booted system that was running all along in the background. No startup screen- the monitor just magically comes on again. Often I find that my external has unmounted, but it's no big deal to get to remount. At this stage, the Mac is still very quiet and for a while the system is sluggish, though it hops back into action in 5 or 10 minutes.
At first I thought it was just my monitor, and though that's possible I suppose, it seems I'm just not getting enough juice. Once the monitor is on though, everything is fine: I can power it off and on with no problems. But I can't just leave my computer on forever though.
Any help appreciated.

Well, with the other monitor (which did not work with the mini either but worked fine on a laptop), I was able to narrow the trouble spot down to either a faulty Mini Display to VGA adaptor or a damaged port. I could determine that all the other ports (incld. the USB drive, programs, internet, etc., were all working fine behind the big black GUI all through sound feedback, so I seriously doubted it could be a supply problem or a residential electric problem.
I took my mini and adaptor to a "Mac Shop" (reseller) here in China, and found it quite professional, just like a Mac Store. They tested my machine, and although they didn't have VGA monitors, they said I could return the new $30 USD adaptor if it didn't work. But as I'm writing this on the monitor now, the new adaptor did the trick.
The long and short of all this is that I've read a lot about display problems with the mini and I suspect that most of these problems are adaptor related. I myself tried to save some bucks by buying a third party plug and lived and learned. I hope the Apple adaptor works like a champ, and if it doesn't, I'll know the first thing to eliiminate next time.

Imac Power Issues

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