Mac won't allow log in, shut down, restart or sleep

This morning I started my Mac but it wouldn't allow me to log in, shut down, sleep, restart or anything else. I phoned for help and was told to shut down by holding the button on the back. Then unplug Mac from the power source and leave for a couple of minutes. Reconnect plug into socket and re-start using the button on back. This fixed it! Apparently, static power can remain in the system sometimes, causing this kind of problem. You need to disconnect from the power source and wait to allow all the static to drain from system, before re-connecting. Hope this helps.

As a followup, upon the advice from someone else I created another user account (non admin) and logged in as that user. From that account I could successfully power down.
I'm still convinced the issue is related to Software Update as examining the logs showed none of the Software Update related entries as above:
04/05/2011 09:56:40          com.apple.WindowServer[760]          Wed May 4 09:56:40 macpro.local WindowServer[760] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.
04/05/2011 09:56:44          com.apple.coreservicesd[87]          ThrottleProcessIO: throttling disk i/o
04/05/2011 09:56:50          com.apple.loginwindow[759]          2011-05-04 09:56:50.297 migCacheCleanup[781:903] Flushing Cache Locations...
04/05/2011 09:57:12          com.apple.WindowServer[840]          Wed May 4 09:57:12 macpro.local WindowServer[840] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.

Similar Messages

Mac wont shut down, restart or sleep - corrupted software update?

My Mac Pro (2007 - OSX 10.6.7) will no longer shut down, restart or sleep. When I try to shut down, it logs me out of my user account, shows the light blue screen, momentarily shows the Leopard space background screen, before showing the blue screen again, and finally returning to the login screen prompting for my user/password.
The only way to poweroff from this point is to hold down the power switch until it forces a power down. This issue has been present for the last two weeks or so ever since I did a Software Update containing a security update. Initially it just failed to perform that update, although after a few days it did do the update, seemingly by fluke. After that, the problem persisted and now there is a new update (Fonts) which again fails to update.
I have tried all of the following:
Power off Mac, unplug power and leave for a few seconds
Power on Mac holding down Ctr + Opt + R + P (resetting PRAM etc)
Boot up from install CD and perform Disk repair (it did find problems with the disk and repaired them)
Check and repair permissions
Delete Software Update related plists & caches from ~/Library and /Library
Still the problem persists. Examining the logs shows me this:
04/05/2011 00:24:50          com.apple.WindowServer[11503]          Wed May 4 00:24:50 macpro.local WindowServer[11503] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.
04/05/2011 00:25:00          com.apple.launchd[1]          ([0x0-0x226226].com.apple.SoftwareUpdate[11517]) Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault
04/05/2011 00:25:00          com.apple.ScreenSharing.server[11508]          Wed May 4 00:25:00 macpro.local AppleVNCServer[11508] <Warning>: CGSShutdownServerConnections: Detaching application from window server
04/05/2011 00:25:00          com.apple.ScreenSharing.server[11508]          Wed May 4 00:25:00 macpro.local AppleVNCServer[11508] <Warning>: CGSDisplayServerShutdown: Detaching display subsystem from window server
04/05/2011 00:25:00          com.apple.UserEventAgent-LoginWindow[11507]          Wed May 4 00:25:00 macpro.local UserEventAgent[11507] <Warning>: CGSShutdownServerConnections: Detaching application from window server
04/05/2011 00:25:00          com.apple.UserEventAgent-LoginWindow[11507]          Wed May 4 00:25:00 macpro.local UserEventAgent[11507] <Warning>: CGSDisplayServerShutdown: Detaching display subsystem from window server
04/05/2011 00:25:00          com.apple.ReportCrash.Root[11518]          2011-05-04 00:25:00.895 ReportCrash[11518:2703] Saved crash report for Software Update[11517] version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Software Update_2011-05-04-002500_localhost.crash
04/05/2011 00:25:02          com.apple.WindowServer[11520]          Wed May 4 00:25:02 macpro.local WindowServer[11520] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.
I can paste the crash report referred to in the logs if that would be helpful but for now will leave it out as it's huge and largely full of gobledygook.
I'm at my wits end now. I've always been very proud that in ~4 years of Mac ownership I've never had to reinstall OSX - something I used to do on an anual basis with Windows. My next step probably is a full reinstall, but I really do consider it a drastic step and a last resort.
Here's hoping that the Mac Support Community can help me out
Thanks in advance.

As a followup, upon the advice from someone else I created another user account (non admin) and logged in as that user. From that account I could successfully power down.
I'm still convinced the issue is related to Software Update as examining the logs showed none of the Software Update related entries as above:
04/05/2011 09:56:40          com.apple.WindowServer[760]          Wed May 4 09:56:40 macpro.local WindowServer[760] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.
04/05/2011 09:56:44          com.apple.coreservicesd[87]          ThrottleProcessIO: throttling disk i/o
04/05/2011 09:56:50          com.apple.loginwindow[759]          2011-05-04 09:56:50.297 migCacheCleanup[781:903] Flushing Cache Locations...
04/05/2011 09:57:12          com.apple.WindowServer[840]          Wed May 4 09:57:12 macpro.local WindowServer[840] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.

My computer won't shut down or restart b/c it says that I need to close Safari. However, my Macbook won't allow me to shut down Safari. How do I resolve this?

How do I get my Macbook Pro to shut down. It won't allow me to, b/c it says that Safari needs to close. However, Safari is closed, and when I re-open Safari to try to Quit Safari, it isn't in bold to allow me to Quit. How do I resolve this issue?

Force Quit .
Press command + option + esc keys together at the same time.
Wait.
When Force Quit window appears, select the application if not already.
Press Force Quit button at the bottom of the window.
Wait.
Application will quit.
If this does not help, press the power button for 7 or more seconds.
Computer will shut down.
Restart.

My MacBookPro is locked up in the mail program. It won't allow me to shut down. Help!

My new MacBook Pro wont shut down because the mail program cancels the shut down. I try again but nothing happens. The drop down menu doesn't have the quit mail highlighted. What can I do to get out of the mail program. Obviously I'm new to Apple MacBooks.
Thanks,
Jack

Try one of these:
1. CTRL- or RIGHT-click on Mail's Dock icon. If there is a Force Quit item in the context menu, then choose it.
2. Press COMMAND-OPTION-ESC to open the task manager. Select the Mail entry, click on the Force Quit option.
3. Open Activity Monitor in your Utilties folder. Select the Mail entry. Click on the Quit button, then click on the Force Quit button.

My Macbook Pro will not shut down, restart or sleep, with either Apple Logo at the top or the power button.

Hi, I have a 13" Macbook Pro with Mountain Lion, and I've had it for less than six months.
It has worked perfectly ever since I got it and I have been completely happy with it, until today. My computer's had a variety of problems; The screen has turned black three times now in the middle of me using it (actively typing or using the touch pad). After clicking some keys or swiping the touchpad, it comes back, but I cannot figure out why this is happening. The big problem, however, is that it won't shutdown.
I usually shut my computer down at night, and I was trying to today, but it just didn't work. I have tried shutting down by pressing the power button; no dialogue or question box comes up. I have tried shutting down from the Apple Logo at the top left of the screen; nothing happened. My computer won't sleep, restart or shutdown at all. When I close the screen, it goes darkens and lights up as usual, but it won't shut down! What's more, none of the options in the Apple Logo will work; for this post, I tried to see the About This Mac screen, and nothing happens. At best, the Rainbow Disc of Pain will appear and then just go away. The menu does pop up though when I click on it, my Wi-Fi is fine, the apps work, the keyboard's fine, the touchpad is great, everything works but that.
I have tried Command+Tab to see open applications; I have shut them all down till only Finder is left. I have tried click Force Quit, of course, nothing happened. Nothing at all, not even a dialogue box. I have tried emptying my trash, along with all the 'sketchy' applications. I have plugged my computer in, just in case. Nothing has made any difference and I am very worried!
I love my macbook pro, and have up to this point, but now I am extremely worried about it; all my important files are on it, and I have nothing to back up with.
Please, please, please, please help!
FYI; I have avast! Virus Database. I cannot imagine that that would cause a problem. Please help me!!!

Yay! Solved my own question; just did a hard shutdown, worked like a charm! Funny, didn't before. But who am I to question salvation?

Mountain Lion won't sleep, shut down, restart, or log out.

Hi All,
After Mountain Lion my 2010 iMac 27" won't sleep, shut down, restart, or log out.
Basically most functionalities of clicking the apple icon are disabled - "About this Mac" doesn't work either.
Please help!
Before Apple fixes this, is there another way of putting my Mac to sleep or shut down?

Just adding another voice to the chorus. Since upgrading to Mountain Lion my computer will not sleep. The cursor freezes when I try to invoke sleep but the computer and monitor remain on. The cursor unfreezes when I tap the spacebar the way I would normally do to wake from sleep. Fortunately, shutdown, restart and logout function normally, so I guess I should count my blessings. This isn't my only problem with Mountain Lion, but I didn't want to muddy the waters on this thread with other issues.
Dual quad-core MacPro3,1

My menu bar does not appear at the top of my homepage on a brand new 27" iMac only when i pull up an app. this does not allow me to shut down my mac when all apps are closed nor does it all me to use finder. any help would be awesome

My menu bar does not appear at the top of my homepage on a brand new 27" iMac only when i pull up an app. this does not allow me to shut down my mac when all apps are closed nor does it all me to use finder. any help would be awesome

Press the escape (esc) key to exit full-screen mode.

Problems to shut down, restart my Mac it displays a message saying Safari does not allow it. I try to quit Safari and does not do it.

Problems to shut down, restart my Mac it displays a message saying Safari does not allow it. I try to quit Safari and does not do it.

Have you tried using Activity Monitor to shut down Safari?
Ciao.
Have you clicked on the Safari icon in the dock and seen if 'Force Quit' is displayed?
Message was edited by: OGELTHORPE

Why won't Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 (Windows XP) log off, shut down or restart?

Hello,
I have recently installed Microsoft's Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 or Windows XP on my Dell latitude D510. Anytime I try to log off, shut down, or restart it says logging off with the bar going across but even after 1/2 an hour the thing still says
that. I tried disabling my sound card, reinstalling the driver, and the Microsoft UPH thing but still nothing. Anytime I want to turn off my laptop I have to hold down the power button which I know is bad for it but I have no choice! Any
help is appreciated, Thanks in advance.
Laptop Specs:
Intel Pentium M 740 @ 1.73GHz
1GB DDr2 RAM
Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 SP3
Dell Latitude D510

Download and install all the Windows XP hardware drivers available from
Dell Support.
Carey Frisch

Brand new Mac, had to erase drive through disk utility as time machine back up failed. Now disk utility only has the option to install Mountain Lion which my Mac won't allow. Anyone any ideas as my Mac won't load anything up but disc utility!

Brand new Mac, had to erase drive through disk utility as time machine back up failed on initial setup, USB cable popped out Now can only access disk utility as won't load to log in screen. The only has the option in disc utility is to re-install Mountain Lion which my Mac won't allow or loading another time machine back up but after an hour of it processing, that didn't resolve the issue either! The time machine back up is the latest back up of my Mac Book Pro which was using OS X Maverix. I'm guessing I'm going to have to take my Mac to the store but that would be a hassle so does anyone have any ideas?

Follow this guide using another Mac.
Insert your newly created Mavericks USB into you Mac, press the power button and then hold down 'option,' until it gives you an option to boot from the USB. You will then be able to erase the internal disk with Disk Utility and reinstall Mavericks straight after.
After that you should be able to use Migration Assistant to restore your applications and user data.

Firefox 19 will not allow computer to shut down

firefox 19 will not allow computer to shut down
I have my computer set to shutdown at 2 pm and at 2 a notice comes up and starts to count down for 10 min. Firefox and thunderbird are still running. at the end of 10 min I get a notice that application firefox did not quite and system cannot shutdown. Firefox and thunderbird have stopped
any suggestions?

from previous post "I get a notice that application firefox did not quite and system cannot shutdown. Firefox has logged out and stopped.
what are you suggesting that i do from your post? I have only had the problem with scheduled shut downs?

Macbook Pro Won't Shut Down, Restart, or Logout after using Onyx.

Hi,
Earlier this week I found that my macbook wouldn't shutdown, restart, or logout from the finder menu (or any other menu, such as Onyx or Software Update). The only way I could get it to restart was through Terminal. I tried every solution, but nothing would fix it. After backing everything up, and doing a clean reinstall, everything was fine. Then, when I used Onyx, I tried to install the Archives Preference pane and the Processor Preference pane. The window just sort of hung there not responding - and finally I had to force quit Onyx. Now my system is back to not shutting down, restarting, or being able to log out again. The good thing is that I think I've isolated the problem. The bad thing is that I have no idea how to fix it. I tried uninstalling Onyx, but that did nothing. I've used Onyx regularly and have never had any issues, and I can't seem to find anyone else with this problem.
Can anyone help? I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum for this topic. If there is a better forum for it, let me know and I can repost.
Another problem that I'm having is when I open iTunes, the dock icon comes up for about a second and crashes. I tried completely reinstalling iTunes, but that hasn't worked. Perhaps I missed something? BTW - everything else is operating just fine (i.e. Quicktime, etc.)

HI and Welcome to Apple Discussions...
Run Disk Utility from your Mac install disc.
Insert your install disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
*(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)*
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
Select your start up disk and click Restart
While you have the Disk Utility window open, look at the bottom of the window. Where you see Capacity and Available. *Make sure there is always 10% to 15% free disk space*
If you cannot boot from your install disc, try booting in Safe Mode
You do not need Onyx, especially not good for Snow Leoaprd. You can run cron tasks from the iStat Pro widget available here.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html
Carolyn
Message was edited by: Carolyn Samit

I have an older IMac 5. I installed snow Leopard on. Now my DVD drive is not working. Discs go in but it dosn't boot up or show in finder. Then disc won't eject unless i shut down and restart. HELP !

I have an older IMac 5. I installed snow Leopard on. Now my DVD drive is not working. Discs go in but it dosn't boot up or show in finder. Then disc won't eject unless i shut down and restart. HELP !

Snow Leopard cannot run on a PPC G5 Mac as it requires an Intel processor. Please confirm what Mac you have.

Cannot shut down, restart, or log off iMac

I have an iMac with OS 10.5.2. I use the Virus Barrier virus protection program and have not had any problems with it. However, immediately after installing the latest Virus Barrier update, my computer began acting strangely.
Most importantly, since that time I have not been able to shut down, restart, or log off my computer. When I try to take any of these actions, I get the standard message box asking, for example, "Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?" I click on "Shut down" and the desktop icons and the menu bar disappear but then nothing at all happens. Sometimes, after a while, I may get a message saying that the action "timed out." I then click on the Finder icon on the dock, and the desktop icons and menu bar reappear. I've tried force-quitting the Finder, but that did not work. Even if I manually shut off the power, when I turn it back on, the desktop immediately appears without the usual beep and without going through the normal startup procedures. It seems that even when I turn off the power manually, the computer itself does not actually shut down.
Additionally, my screen saver no longer works. Although I have it set to come on automatically, it never does.
I contacted Virus Barrier support which advised me to uninstall the program. I did, but that did not help the problem. I've tried "Repair Disk Permissions" in the Disk Utility application, but that did not help either.
Apart from the above, I still seem to be able to use the programs on my computer with no problem.
Does anyone have any idea what is causing this problem and what I can do about it?
Thank you.

DO NOT JUST PULL THE PLUG! Press and hold the power button until it shuts down fully. This can take several seconds. Once you are sure the fans are off, click the mouse a couple of times to make sure there is no response, then you can pull the plug, to be sure.
I suggest that you then start up in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key as soon as you hear the chime. The OS should start in the normal fashion, except you will see a Safe Boot legend.
Once you've logged in, bin the Finder .plist as suggest, and I'm make sure that all the Virus Barrier files are well and truly gone as well. Don't forget to check /Library/StartupItems and ~/Library/StartupItems. Once you reboot, things should be back to normal.
As suggested, AV programs are pretty much a waste of CPU on a Mac. If you really must have one, I recommend ClamXAV. Apart from anything else, it's free.

After installing Mac OS 10.5.8 my 2005 iMac G5 shuts down instead of sleeping

After install of OS 10.5.8 my iMac G5 - 2005 model, no Intel processor - whenever I choose sleep from the Apple menu or the time-out goes to sleep mode the computer shuts down instead of sleeping. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Try using Disk Utility t repair your disk
   1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
   2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
      Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
   3. Click the First Aid tab.
   4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
   5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
   6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.
Then reboot and repair permissions from your internal drive.
Miriam

Mac won't allow log in, shut down, restart or sleep

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for