IMac & Sleeping.

I'm wondering if there is something wrong with my iMac. When I manually sleep it with the power button, keyboard shortcut, or the click to, it takes 30 seconds to actually sleep. When for the first 4 months, I've been able to put it to sleep manually in less than 5 seconds. My main questions are...
Why is it slow?
Can I fix it in anyway?
Will an update fix it?
Other details...
Running on 10.6.4 Leopard OSX.
21'inch

Hi JPingul
Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Sounds like you have some applications or something running that needs to save or finish up an operation before the iMac can go to sleep.
See > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1776
Check and remove any application set to start at login *System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items* and/or try quitting all open applications before forcing sleep.
Dennis

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Odd iMac sleep issues

I first noticed the issues a couple of weeks ago - mid-2007 iMac, running SL.
The iMac will sleep fine if I use the command in the apple menu or the power button.
But it won't sleep automatically as suggested in the Energy Saving preference pane. If I select the 'sleep' keyboard combination (option, command, eject), the iMac sleeps but instantly wakes again.
I've tried everything! These problems aren't due to peripherals - it was working fine with the same peripherals connected. Wake for LAN isn't selected, nor is the wake for BT option (and I don't have any BT devices). I've looked in Activity Monitor and Console and can't find any obvious process that might be keeing the Mac awake. I've tried restoring plists from a TM backup, deleting plists, resetting the PRAM and SMC. One of these measures (not sure which one) worked ONCE. But when I went into the energy saving preference pane, it stopped sleeping automatically again.
My main concern is the lack of auto-sleep. I've scoured the forums and no one seems to have this problem together with the mac waking instantly after the sleep keyboard combo. I'm hoping this peculiar combination of probems might shed some light on what's causing them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Can be very hard to impossible to track down auto sleep issues. Just get PleaseSleep.
http://www.dragonone.com/products/macosx/pleasesleep/

How do I fix the gray screen and non responsive cursor after iMac sleeping?

How do I fix the gray screen and non responsive cursor after iMac sleeping?

If you're running OS X 10.8.5 or earlier, then from the menu bar, select
 ▹ System Preferences... ▹ Accessibility
If the checkbox at the bottom marked
Enable access for assistive devices
is checked, uncheck it and test.
If you're running OS X 10.9 or later, select
 ▹ System Preferences... ▹ Security & Privacy ▹ Privacy ▹ Accessibility
If any applications are listed on the right and have a checked box next to them, uncheck all the boxes and test. You may first have to click the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window and authenticate as an administrator to unlock the settings.

IMac - sleeping problem

Hi Guys,
i have new model of iMac (Late 2012 with 10.8.3) and i have in my point of view problem with "deep sleep".
1) after about 60 min (pmset -g, timer - autopoweroffdelay14400) away from keyboard iMac sleeps "deep sleep".
2) no possible to wake-up with keyboard or mouse
3) only power buttons work
4) iMac needs two login, first for FileVault and second to the System (why ? on MacBook Air you need only one)
5) all applications starts again (why ? The new start take 1 or 2 minutes :-((( On MacBook Air all applications starts where im finished, no restart, etc. I can working instantly without waiting)
6) no applications (for example iTunes) can't prevent iMac from this type of sleep. If i listen to iTunes (music play, using remote to change albs, etc.) and after about 60 minutes away from the keyboard, iMac sleeps (why ?)
7) in this type od sleep can't use remote desktop from through internet (use AirPort Extreme), no possible iMac to wake up (you need to push power button, why ?)
8) in this type od sleep no application can't iMac wake-up. For example remote from iOS :-(
What i try to fix my problem:
1) in pmset set sleep to 0, iMac now can wake-up with keyboard and mouse
2) restart SMC and PRAM https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3603
3) repair disk permissions http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1452
4) delete sleep file http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_remove_diskhogging_sleepimage_file_you r_mac (BTW: my sleep file have only 2G and i have 16G RAM)
5) in pmset set autopoweroff to 0
6) in pmset set hibernatemode to all modes
7) in pmset set sleep to 0 (i try to sleep to never, but iMac sleeps again)
8) in pmset set setautopoweroffdelay to 0
Nothing helps :-(
Do you have any recommendation ? In next steps i try to erase whole system and install new vanilla and will see :-(((
Thank you guys ! Im so tired :-)))

Have you tried "fsck -fy" repairs under single-user mode?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1492
Reboot and hold down the Command (Apple) and S keys before the grey screen appears.
Wait for the command prompt, then type:
sbin/fsck -fy
Repeat that command until "file system was modified" is no longer reported back, type:
reboot
Or try Titanium Software's "Onyx": http://www.titanium.free.fr/downloadonyx.php (not affiliated)
Check your preferences for corruption: Under the "preferences" tab, within the "Verify" tab.
Hope that helps.

IMac sleeping automatically more and more frequently with hudge fan noise

A few days when I was watching a DVD my computer started to sleep suddendly.
Of course I desactivated sleeping option in preferences panel and I also tried to reset the nvram without success.
It was getting worse when I tried to play games (on DVD) : every minutes the computer started to sleep (iMac G5 iSight 20")
Now it is not a matter of DVD, my computer often sleeps every 20 seconds even during startup, it is impossible to work. When I restart there are hudge fan noises which are not disappearing after starting.
The only way to work without the imac sleeping every 20 s is to boot under my safe tech tool pro partition.
I tried to repair permissions, reinstall combo update, delete caches with Onyx, ran techtools tests and as I said reset nvram...without result
If I can get some help it would be nice, I am currently backing up all my data in case...

You are dong the right thing by backing up, it sounds as if your power supply is going bad. What did TechTool report?
Have you tried booting from the install disc and verifying/repairing the drive? Try running the Apple Hardware Test as well, but it doesn't always catch things. It does sound like a hardware problem, if none of the suggestions helps, call Apple.

HT3728 every time my iMac sleeps or restarts it loses the connection to airport express and i must reset and connect with router via ethernet cable.

Every time my imac sleeps or restarts it loses the wireless connection with my airport express (used for streaming music). I then have to disconnect the airport express from my stereo, bring it to my router, connect it to my router with ethernet cable and reset the wireless connection. Even with my airport express in the same room as my router Airport Utility cannot find it until i plug in an ethernet cable, so i do not think this is an issue with my wireless network. Router is a newer netgear.

Hi there frustrated newbie 2014,
You may find the troubleshooting steps in the article below helpful.
Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628
-Griff W.

IMac sleeps too soon since Mountain Lion

I have a mid 2011 iMac i5 27'' on which I have installed Mountain Lion.
Everything is working great, except for one thing.
I have my Energy Saver set to the default Sleep of 10 mins of non use. Whenever I was downloading anything under Lion it would always stay awake until the download had finished, even if that was 2 or 3 hours. Since changing to Mountain Lion my iMac sleeps exactly as per Energy Saver settings regardless of the fact that there is network/hard drive activity.
It does this whether downloading to the internal hard drive or an external USB drive.
Is there a setting somewhere which needs tweaking? I have tried checking/unchecking "Wake for Network Access", but that doesn't make any difference.
Any ideas?

Hi Stepppy,
I have always used uTorrent on windows for my torrent-downloads. When I got my first Mac 1 month ago, Mac Mini (mid 2011), I was amazed at how Lion handled uTorrent! The Lion slept, while the torrents were downloading. For 2 days I worked like this. When I saw a FREE upgrade possibility for Mountain Lion I did not hesitate and downloaded...... expecting it to be better ofcourse..... I was wrong.
I use the mac solely for downloads and watching movies and shows(hooked up to my Sony LED 46HX820...sweet!).
After some browsing I finally found the caffeinate command to be the best work-around see (h t t p : //apple. stackexchange. com/questions/57951/mountain-lion-sleeps-too-aggressively), that is until the guys at uTorrent update the software, which they promised to do see (h t t p : //forum. utorrent . com / viewtopic . php ? id= 122652)
This is my setup for uTorrent:
My sleep settings for screen and hard disks are set to 1 minute, just because, I don't know, just because!
I open Terminal and use this command everytime I start downloads with uTorrent:
caffeinate -i open -W -a utorrent.app
(for other apps use that app's name instead of utorrent.app)
This should keep the system awake as long as uTorrent is running and not idle. To prevent any sleep at all, use -s instead of -i.
And I always set my uTorrent to Sleep After Downloads Complete.
I hope this helps you and some others.
Ofcourse, this is not what we want eventually, but I don't find it necessary to go back to Lion for this problem and I just hope the app will get an update!
Good luck

Firewire issue--Backup drive not found w/Time Machine after imac sleeps

I've had a lot of problems with Time Machine on my G4 imac since starting to use it a month ago. I think I have isolated the problem:
Time Machine functions properly while the computer is in use, and it has no problem after a restart or shut down, but if the computer goes to sleep and then TM runs its hourly backup, I get an error that it cannot find the Backup Drive. Once this happens, TM will no longer work until I've deselected the drive in TM, unplugged it, plugged it in again, and reselected the drive as the backup Drive. Sometimes this requires a shut down or restart too.
Here's what I've tried:
1. connected the drive via USB--it operated without a problem
2. unplugged all devices from the computer, shut down, waited, 20 mins, restrted, plugged the external drive back in via Firewire--the problem persists as described above.
3. deleted the TimeMachine.plist file, restarted--problem persists.
I've read that the Firewire port can be reset with other procedures such as zapping the PRAM or updating the firmware. I've also read that new problems can arise after reseting the PRAM so I'm hesitant to do this. Can anyone shed some light on the PRAM option?
I cannot find where the firmware updates are located on the mac site. Could someone point me in the right direction? I've looked under downloads and after searching, came up with a long list, but nothing was labeled clearly. Each listing mentioned firmware in the header, but it seemed to always pertain to a certain issue (eg. superdrive, or installing appleworks). I could not tell what was the most recent firmware released for my machine, and I fear installing something retrograde that will create new problems.
If anyone has any thoughts on how to deal with the firewire problem, or if you think my issue with using a FW connected drive with Time Machine might be rooted with something else, please comment.
Thanks!
HM
Message was edited by: imaginary_forest

fzgy wrote:
"Mac OS X can't repair the disk. You can still open or copy files on the disk, but you can't save changes to files on the disk. Back up the disk and reformat it as soon as you can."
It's possible a heavy-duty 3rd-party disk repair app can fix it, but they're expensive (DiskWarrior is about $100), and there's no guarantee it can do it.
Am prompted to reformat but I don't have a good understanding of what this means and how to do it.
That will erase it. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #5.
It sounds very much like the disk is beginning to fail, although it's possible there's a bad port, cable, connection or power supply (if it has its own).
I'd suggest getting a new one, and using it for your Time Machine backups; once you have a good backup there, reformat the old one (and select Security Options to write zeros to the whole drive -- if that fails, you know the drive is toast). Use it for secondary backups, per FAQ #27. If it has failed, get a second new one for secondary backups.

More iMac sleep and overheating problems - any ideas?

My iMac is about 2.5 years old now. It was working fine until the power supply had problems and was replaced under warranty. It then had could not mount DVDs or CDs and that was replaced under warranty, at the same time it was performing really, really slow, and then give me the spinning beachball for few hours straight before I had to turn off the machine by holding down the power button. The technician ignored that problem and I got my computer back partially fixed; the DVD drive was replaced and in his limited testing the computer did not lock up so he returned it to me.
After a few days of use I then took the computer back again and he agreed the motherboard had to be replaced.
While waiting for the motherboard to be replaced, I had extraordinary faith that my computer would come back in perfect working order: I ordered Leopard.
Before upgrading to Leopard I decided to back everything up using SuperDuper so I could restore if I had problems with the upgrade. As a new father I have tons of photos and my son's iWeb page that I could not risk losing. My previous hardware issues made me act more prudently; I was lucky to have done that.
Unfortunately the old motherboard was replaced with one that had more problems; after a few days of light use I upgraded to Leopard and was greeted with immediate kernel panics (grey screen of death). I restored from SuperDuper backup and tried again: same problem.
Since I have lots of stuff on my system I decided to do a clean install: problem solved. I then started importing and consolidating my iPhoto libraries from my old G4 tower and my old "backup" system. The machine would overheat go to sleep after only importing a few photos or give me the spinning beach ball while typing in mail (when it was the only program open).
After researching the situation one the internet I realized that many people have similar problems and I ended up installing "Temperature Monitor" to find out the temperature of my computer. The reported temperature of my computer is regularly hovering between 76 C - 85 C (169F - 185F). If the machine is idle the temperature is still very warm at 64 C (147F). I reset the SMU but that did not have an effect. I then found out the diagnostic test of the 4th LED that would turn on if the machine detected a heating problem. This test is intrinsically flawed since it can only be done with the case open so the heat can easily escape to the room (note both fans do work).
I then took the machine in to serviced again. The problem would be easily solved if I lived in the United States or Canada, but I live in El Salvador. The only Apple Certified Technician (at least for warranty repairs that I know of) may be a little tired of trying to fix my computer (I can sympathize with him as I am tired of having it needing to be fixed).
I dropped off the machine and 2 weeks later (I have learned to be patient for parts to come to this country) I called for an update. It turns out my computer is "fine". I went to pick it up and he performed the 4th LED test in an air conditioned room (with an open case obviously), copied a few files, opened some problems and it worked fine in his limited testing in an air conditioned building. He also said Leopard may have caused some problems.
I have no faith in that computer right now so everything I do is on my 8 year old G4 "Gigabit Ethernet" tower. I have upgraded the CPU twice from 400 MHz to 800 MHz and then to 1.3 GHz over the years and put in 768 Mb of ram (as an aside I just ordered 512 Mb more ram as it is now my primary computer to edit video).
I have videotaped the computer acting incredibly unresponsive and slow and am exporting it (currently 277 more minutes for 15 minute video) and overheating. It did not "sleep" when I had chance to tape it, may try again later (currently restoring 10.4.11 backup on iMac so technician cannot blame a clean install of Leopard).
I called AppleCare and they were supportive with my problems and I hope to take in the computer again soon.
Exasperated in El Salvador . . .

Strongly suggest that you contact/call Customer Relations.
Relay to them what you stated in your post. With all those repairs, you may be entitled to a new iMac.
Sorry, I do not know the phone number of Customer Relations in your country. You may need to contact AppleCare & ask firmly & politely to be transferred to CR.
Good luck!

Time Machine backup disappears when iMac sleeps

Tried finding this topic but could not find the specifics. I have an Intel iMac running 10.6.7 and I use a Mercury enclosure with a Seagate Barracuda 2TB SATA for Time Machine backup, connected with FireWire. Every time my Mac goes to sleep overnight, the next morning, the Time Machine icon disappears from the desktop. It's been disconnected, because when I run Check Time Machine, the log reads thusly:
<<Thu Apr 21 10:29:30 com.apple.backupd-auto Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup - time machine destination not resolvable.
Thu Apr 21 12:30:05 [0x0-0x2d22d2].backupd-helper Not starting Time Machine backup after wake - failed to resolve alias to backup volume
>>
Occasionally I'll get the error message on the Mac that a device has been "improperly disconnected" but most of the time when it sleeps the TM drive icon just goes away (even tho the backup drive is still on).
Any ideas? Can I fix this or have to live with it? Are there alternatives to TM that may work better?
Thanks for any help/suggestions.
Best,
Mike

I had the same problem as Bru-Hed, but with a Samsung G3 Station 1 TB with USB-connection. After waking up the MAC the message "improperly disconnected" appeared. Was happy with the solution you gave and changed the power save settings accordingly, the drive holds its power, but....... things did not change. Switching off the MAC and restarting gives no problems with the back-up drive, but after waking up I have to reinstall the back-up drive every time by disconnecting and connecting the USB-connector. After choosing the drive again in Time Machine, everything works properly until the next time the MAC goes asleep......
Any other solution to this problem ?

ITunes library not available upon iMac sleep

I have an Intel Core Duo v10.4.8. My iTunes music is on here and I share it on my local network through AirPort Express. When my iMac goes to sleep the sharing is not available on the other computers and I must wake it to continue.
I have the computer set to sleep when it is inactive for 'never'. The display is set to sleep after 15 minutes. I've checked my network settings and have not found anything that would cause this.
I am connected through Built-in Eithernet. AirPort is currently off.
iMac4,1 Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Goth,
You checked it or did you actually perform an SMU reset?
How about the frequency? Does it sleep once a day? Every hour? Every 15 Minutes? Etc?
How about the "Schedule..." settings under Energy Saver? Are both those options cleared?
Mark

Losing connection to 2nd monitor when iMac sleeps

I have a 2nd monitor connected to my 21" iMac (late 2013) with Mavericks via displayport/thunderbolt port to HDMI. I had the same one with the same link connected to my old 2010 Macbook Pro, and I never saw this.
What happens is when the computer goes to sleep, all of the windows on the second screen move to the iMac, and my Wacom tablet even goes from being mapped to ONLY my second monitor to being only mapped to the iMac!
This is kind of driving me crazy, and I have searched and Googled and just can't find a solution.
Any ideas would be rad. Thanks.
David

Try a reset > Mac OS X: How to reset the printing system

24" iMac Sleep disorder

My 24" won't sleep on it's own, I think it has to do with the network connection but it's hard to isolate what is causing it. It only seems to sleep on it's own after rebooting or after I enable then disable airport. This machine on a wired LAN so I don't use airport, I have disabled "wake for ethernet" with no luck . The problem first became noticable after the 10.4.8 Update.
I noticed others had similar problems any solutions yet?
Thanks in advance
-Josh
24" iMac Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2.16 GHz 2GB RAM 250 GB Internal 500 GB FW800 EXT

Hi Josh,
Go back into system preferences > energy saver and check to make sure your settings are where you want them. Also repair permissions through disk utility > Macintosh HD
Lastly, I would go ahead and reset the SMC: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303446 - the SMC deals with some power issues including wake and sleep cycles...
as a last resort you can always run the combo update: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx1048comboupdateintel.html - this is the latest version and it may solve your problems...
Good luck, Rick
iMac G5 iSight 20" - 30G iPOD in Slimming Black - Mac OS X (10.4.7) - HP Pav 15" WS and Toshiba Sat 17" WS LP's - Canon 20D & A620

IMac Sleep Problem Waking - Screen Black and Pixelization

I am having a screen problem "waking" my iMac (2010 model)
After the iMac is in (deep?) sleep mode
(I have it set to enter a password after sleep mode)
Screen is blank/off
I "wiggle" my mouse or trackpad
Screen is still blank (sometimes it may display my screen saver, but the screensaver is frozen)
If I start moving the mouse or trackpad, it starts "un painting" the black screen. You can see whatever is supposed to be on the screen, such as the logon "button".
It is really wierd. Like a black "overlay" is painted on the resume from sleep screen. As I move my mouse or trackpad, it is basically erasing the black, to show what is underneath. Each movement of the mouse, erases a small black square.
I usually move my mouse around the middle of the screen to uncover the logon button. Press the logon button. The screen magically reappears as normal. I enter my password and system logs back on normally.
It only seems to be when the iMac is in (deep?) sleep mode. If the screen is just blank for short time: I move the mouse/trackpad, and the logon screen is immediately displayed normally.
Any thoughts or recommendations?
There is a few other treads on this issue e.g. on the macrumors site, but no solutions.
Thanks to all in advance.
--john--

Hi! When you say "the power light goes off once again" are you talking about the power light on the monitor or the computer? If it's on the computer then it's likely the computer but if it's the monitor it could be the monitor or the video card. You may have to find another monitor to troubleshoot it. Tom

Wireless Quits When iMac Sleeps

Can someone help me out with the following annoyance?
Every single time that my iMac wakes from the sleep mode, I lose my internet connection.
I'm automatically presented with the Network Diagnostics window when this happens and as soon as I select my Network name from the list, the connection is immediately restored.
But why is the connection lost every time the iMac shuts down?
Cheers
John

I think that I may have found the answer, at least in my situation. If I understand correctly, every time the Mac goes to sleep, it turns off the WiFi card. The key to ensuring that the connection is renewed again when the Mac powers on again, is to make sure that the - Ask To Join New Networks - box is checked
in my case, just as the Screen Shot shows, it wasn't. I have of course checked it now and hopefully that will be the end of my problems with the WiFi constantly conking out.
Cheers
John

When iMac Sleeps, AirPort Disconnects: Why?

I took delivery of my iMac yesterday (my first Mac), and my problem is this:
After awakening the iMac from sleep, the wireless Internet connection is lost and I have to go through the few clicks to select the wireless network, etc. It's then reconnected fine.
Shouldn't the wireless Internet connection be maintained through sleeping?

Make sure that there is only one choice for your Mac. Old networks that you setup and old preferred network passwords can confuse your Mac, especially if you migrated old user accounts when you originally setup this Mac.
The old networks can be found in System Preferences>Network>Air Port. Press the Advanced button. In the AirPort pane you will have to highlight each network listed and remove it by clicking the "-" button below.
Old preferred network passwords are in your Keychain. Go to Apps/Utilities/Keychain Access. If you sort the passwords by kind they should be labeled such as Airport Network Password.
When you designate a wireless network as preferred, the password is saved to the keychain. So if you make sure that your iMac only has only one preferred network from which to select, upon startup or waking, it should ignore all the other wifi networks drifting around your location and make a beeline to its one preferred choice.
I hope something here applies and is helpful.

IMac & Sleeping.

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