My iMac loses sound

after a few minutes of operation, imac sputters and then loses sound entirely. simultaneously the mouse is erratic.
after being put to sleep, it will not wake.
no bluetooth devices.
reset smi and zapped the pram.
occurred after lion upgrade.

Contact Apple Service, iMac Service or Apple's Express Lane. Do note that if you have AppleCare's protection plan and you're within 50 miles (80 KM) of an Apple repair station, you're eligible for onsite repair since yours is a desktop machine.

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IMac loses sound

Recently my Intel iMac has started to lose its sound. It happens at random. Sometimes when I wake it from sleep, sometimes while I am actively using the machine. Sometimes it will happen twice in an hour or so and then it can go a week before it happens again. I can always get the sound back by restarting the computer. Nothing else I do restores the sound. Any suggestions?

Dmachine999, After I posted my problem I took my iMac to a Genius at the local Apple Store. He thought it might be a Flash issue so he recommended a reinstall of the OS. I did that, ran it through Software Update and... no change. He did not recommend and I did not perform a clean install, but I still may try that when I have a good amount of free time. In the meantime I found another way to restore sound. I just put the machine to sleep for about 10 seconds and then I wake it up again. It has to be the Sleep command under the Apple menu, when I use the hot corner I have set for sleep it does no good. So far every time I have done this it works. It is still annoying, but is a whole lot faster than a restart. Give it a try. – Joe

Can Reliably Lose Sound Effects On 10.4.5

I found a way to reliably lose sound effects on Mac OS X 10.4.5. I will report this to Apple using Mac OS X feedback.
1) Enable Fast User Switching.
2) Login as user1 and note that sound effects work.
3) Without logging out as user1, login as user2 and note that sound effects work.
4) Without logging out as user2, go back to user1 and note that sound effects still work. Then logout from user1.
5) Go back to user2 and note that sound effects no longer work.
6) Reboot system to restore sound effects.

Hi, Richard.
One question: are you using USB speakers? Have you tested this using only the internal speakers on your iMac?
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

TS3367 I lose sound after several minutes

I continue to lose sound during a face time conversation 3-5 minutes into the conversation. The other end can hear me fine, but I can no longer hear them. I usually hang up and call again and it's fine for awhile longer. I've called into Apple several times and so far the advisors have never heard of this problem. So far I can duplicate it when using my earbuds or without. I use my iPhone4S and my sister users her iMAC. Apple had me reset and test. Of course the next call I made for 6 minutes was fine. I made a call to the same person later in the day and could no longer hear 2 minutes into the conversation.

If you can duplicate this issue 100%, then I would advise to bring to an Apple store to show them so it gets documented in the system. It is a very odd issue because I have never seen anything like that.
Your not receiving a call or switching to apps during the facetime conversation?

I am using ALSA and Icecat. When I play any html5 audio/video it works, but the next time i click on another audio/video link I lose sound.

I am using Parabola (a fork of archlinux), Icecat 31.4 and ALSA
Icecat and firefox seem to hold onto the soundcard when I click on a new html5 audio/video link in the same tab. The next video/audio element loses sound. If I wait 10 seconds and click back to the start of the audio/video, the audio returns. I often get cpu spikes for icecat when it happens.
I have tried this with both motherboard and usb sound and I get the same problem. I have disabled extensions (addons) in Icecat, deleted profiles, reinstalled the browser and even installed firefox from the AUR and it still occurs.
I have disable gstreamer in about:config and restarted and it still occurs.
My .asoundrc is this:
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "hw:0,0"
All my other audio applications work. I have noticed that if I use pulseaudio it fixes it, but it should work without anyway, like it used to. I think something happened after an update, but I'm not sure.
Any help would be appreciated. I know it's not a big problem, but it's really frustrating and I've had it for ages. I even switched browsers to get away from it.

*nerding out*
I am not an expert in this and if we get stuck I have found a mailing list for the alsa project that can be contacted: http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Mailing-lists
Gstreamer is disabled in Firefox as well as the os?
Since you are seeing issues with ogg files and moving video/audio combination I started to dig into file formats {sox http://sox.sourceforge.net/soxformat.html}
For ogg would the file format affect the "raw"?
defaults.pcm.file_format "raw"
Updated libraries
alsa-lib-1.0.6-8.FC3
alsa-utils-1.0.6-3
No no, here:
http://oss.sgi.com/LDP/LDP/linuxcookbook/html/cookbook_27.html#SEC377
Is the OGG cpu intensive for your alsa architecture? [http://alsa.opensrc.org/Ogg]
Troubleshooting sound on Linux to narrow down the issue: [http://www.troubleshooters.com/linux/sound/sound_troubleshooting.htm#the_steve_litt_diagnostic_tools]
References: [http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Minivosc]
[http://www.troubleshooters.com/linux/sound/sound_troubleshooting.htm#the_steve_litt_diagnostic_tools]
I am sorry, this is where I can no longer help. Please seek the guidance of the Linux forums or that alsa mailing list.

Second user accont loses sound.

I set up a second account for my husband and it loses sound frequently. I login to my account-the sound works, then login to his account -it doesn't. Not the mute/volume. We restart, it's fixed, hour later- off again.
I haven't tested it to see if it works if I completely logout of my account, I just thought of this as I was typing it, but is there a common problem with this? I can't find any settings to adjust, etc.
I'm not technical, but I can follow software step instructions if pointed in the right direction.
Thanks.

There you go. Since I'm the only user, but have test accounts that I rarely log into, I've disabled FUS, finding it a resource hog.

Exporting with Adobe Media Encoder CC 2014 loses sound.

So... I've been having a hell of a time with the new Adobe creative cloud when it comes to video editing. The drop of .flv format, unable to straight export .H24 formats from after effects, it's a total nightmare. Here's the issue, to export as a .H24, you now have to use Adobe Media Encoder CC 2014. The biggest issue, however, is at the end of the export, when you open the video, half of the video's sound is mysteriously GONE. Just gone. If you go back to after effects, look at the file and the audio, the wave forms are there. There's nothing that would make it lose sound. Audio is selected on export... I have no idea what's up. Editing videos for youtube was a snap in previous versions of After Effects, now It's becoming almost impossible.

I think the same problem:
Part of audio missing in mp4 AAC rendered files from Watched Folders
Probably with cached files. Try this: Adobe Media Encoder 2014.2 Part of audio missing in mp4 AAC rendered files - cache problem? - Video Production Stack Exc…

Why do I lose sound when I try to make a dvd from imovie to idvd. The sound is all there in iMovie, but when I make my dvd, I have sound for about 3-4 minutes and then its gone.

I have made a 1 hour 30 minute dvd in IMOVIE. The video and the sound are perfect. However, when I make it into a dvd on IDVD, I lose sound after 3 or 4 minutes. Any Suggestions?

Hey MichiganMan32,
I found an article that looks like it applies to that audio issue you're experiencing. Check out the following troubleshooting steps here:
Resolution
Make sure the audio track has not been muted in the timeline.
Switch to timeline view by clicking the clock button in the iMovie window.
There are three checkboxes on the right side of the iMovie window underneath the sound icon. These checkboxes correspond to the video track and two additional audio tracks. Make sure all three tracks are selected. Any deselected tracks are muted.
If you are using iMovie 3 or later, check the "Edit Volume" option to see if it is selected. If so, make sure the volume of the affected video clips is not set to its lowest level, or try deselecting the option to Edit Volume.
See if the volume in iMovie is set to its lowest setting. Directly under the Preview pane in iMovie is a volume slider. Set this slider to maximum volume.
Make sure the computer's audio is not muted.
Quit and reopen iMovie, then check the clip to see if it now plays with audio.
Check to see if any of the video clips you have imported are in the MPEG-1 format. MPEG-1 clips will lose audiowhen you export them as part of your iMovie project.
Quit and reopen iMovie, then reimport the footage from the camera. Play the newly imported footage and see if you now have audio.
If you are using an analog to DV converter instead of a camera, make sure the audio connections are good between your VCR or other analog device and the converter. Check the documentation that came with your converter for more information.
Check /Library/QuickTime/ and ~/Library/QuickTime/ for any third-party plugins. Remove them if present, log out, and log back in. Check to see if the issue persists. If not, check with the manufacturer of the disabled plugin to see if an update is available. Note: The tilde (~) represents your Home directory.
Note: "Apple Intermediate Codec" and "QuickTimeMPEG2" are Apple components. For more information about a particular plugin, select the item in the Finder and choose File > Get Info. Look at the version string of the Get Info window to see if the plugin developer name is listed.
iMovie is missing audio on import, export, or playback
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2289
Cheers,
David

Follow These Steps To Lose Sound Effects On 10.5.8

I can lose sound effects on Mac OS X 10.5.8 by following these steps. Can anyone else also lose their sound effects? This problem has existed for me on 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5. Is there a daemon I can restart that will restore sound effects without a reboot?
Thanks.
1) Enable Fast User Switching.
2) Login as user1 and note that sound effects work.
3) Without logging out as user1, login as user2 and note that sound effects work.
4) Without logging out as user2, go back to user1 and note that sound effects still work. Then logout from user1.
5) Go back to user2 and note that sound effects no longer work.
6) Reboot system to restore sound effects.

Can anyone reproduce the lost sound effects problem?
Thanks.

Video loses sound then pauses

Hello everyone! I've recently encountered a problem in watching videos online. The video works well at first then after a couple of minutes it suddenly loses sound and then it pauses, this occurs randomly until the video is done. no matter which site I go this always happen. If anybody can help me I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Can you try if this still happens with the latest Flash Player beta: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer.html

My imac has sound but no picture?

My IMac has sound but no picture? I've tried everything but a hard restart. Anyone else know a solution? Oh by the way, my eight your old son was the last to use it but swears he didn't press anything.

This is the Mac Pro desktop forum. I requested your post be moved to the iMac forum.

When i turn on my iMac its sounds like a light bulb struguling

When i turn on my iMac its sounds like a light bulb struguling

Not sure what a struggling light bulb sounds like. It is very hard to describe sounds sometimes. Is it an electrical buzzing or crackling sound? Does the computer still startup normally after the sound? You have Lion so I wonder if it is a new iMac. If so, call AppleCare.

Imac loses connection

My Imac loses the wireless connection all the time. Problem has been getting worse last couple of weeks. We have no problems with the other laptops, they seem to stay connected fine(apple). Thanks

I have a17inch intel imac that has the exact same issue.... Loads a web page fine, open a link and the net dies... have to turn off airport and turn it back on and it is fine..... some nights, it is literally every other page..... really annoying when trying to get updates or downloading in general otherwise..... Running snow leopard and it is still by far the best computer in the house, bar none even a gaming laptop my wife bought 2 months ago.... please if anyone figures this issue out, let us all know the answer.....

My brand new iMac loses its WiFi connection when it goes to sleep, does anyone have a proven fix?.

I have a MacBook that is about 4 years old and a brand new iMac both are running the most up to date version of Lion. My old MacBook has no issues; however, my iMac loses its WiFi connection every time it goes to sleep. There are some discussions about this already out there but does anyone have a proven fix. This is very frustrating.

I was having the same problem for a long time. I tried everything but nothing seemed to make it stay connected. It was very frustrating. I just got a new Airport Extreme.....bang!.....all better. Problem gone.

My imac loses wifi connection when it goes to sleep, how to correct?

My iMac loses wif connection when it goes to sleep. How do I correct?

Are you running OS X Lion? If so there are unfortunately numerous threads on here discussing exactly the same problem. So far there doesn't seem to be a definitive solution, with everyone hoping that Apple will come up with a permanent fix.
Here's a quick search of these forums alone - depressing reading:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/desktop_computers/search.jspa?peopleEnab led=true&userID=&containerType=&container=&spotlight=true&q=Massive%20wifi%20pro blem%20with%20Lion
This 'fix' has worked for a few people but, unfortunately, not everyone:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/06/lion-wi-fi-problems-solution-mac/?utm_source=feed burner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+osxdaily+%28OS+X+Daily%29&utm_conten t=FaceBook

My iMac loses sound

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