My iMac won't shut down.

My iMAC won't shut down. I get a gray screen with the spin wheel and simply stays in that mode forever until I hold the on/off button down long enough to kill the machine. What's up with that?

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Imac won't shut down, blue screen with spinig wheel is on and computer never shuts until I hold the power button down and shut it manualy..

Imac won't shut down,
blue screen with spinig wheel is on and computer never shuts until I hold the power button down and shut it manualy..

This is the instruction article for Intel-based Macs:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Your profile does not indicate the type of Mac you are using.
Barry

IMac won't shut down after using Time Machine

Here is the thing: My iMac (late 2009, 24", 8 GB RAM) won't shut down when I use my external HD for Time Machine. After the back up I try to eject the external HD but the icon won't disappear on the screen, it only gets blank and is not clickable anymore. It is still visible in the menu of the Finder but with no ejection sign anymore. Programs that were open before won't close even if I use the forced shut down function. But it seems like they are closed as they don't appear on the list anymore. When I then try to shut down the whole system the screen goes black and the wheel turns for hours! So that I finally have to shut it down manually.
This happens only after using the external HD for the back ups and when I then try to eject it. If I don't eject it everything goes normal. If I don't connect it everything goes normal. Sure, you might say, hey leave it plugged in then. But as it is a 3 TB HD I also use it for my MBP so I have to eject it
Is this a known issue or a bug in the system of Yosemite? With Mavericks everything worked really well - no problems at all. On the MBP (late 2011, i7, 8 GB RAM) it also works well. So I am kind of annoyed the I always have to shut the iMac down manually which can't be that healthy for the system.
Any insights on that issue are highly appreciated - thanks a lot!
Birgit

Okay, just realized that the same problem occurs with the MBP after rejecting the external HD
Icon gets blank, cannot be clicked anymore, while shutting down the MBP normally the screen goes black and the wheel is turning forever but nothing else happens. So I have to force it to shut down.
It seems to be a general problem with connecting an external HD once in a while for doing a time machine back up regularly and then eject it. So the question is: who has the same problem or does everybody have their HD permanently connected to their Macs for Back ups? Either by USB or WLAN? It never was a problem wit Mavericks and I don't want to permanently back up my system every hour - once a week is good for me BUT this cannot be adjusted in the time machine settings which would be a very good idea.
Any solution is still highly appreciated !!
Thanks a lot,
Birgit

IMac won't shut down or go to sleep - keeps rebooting or turning display back on. Is there any way to fix this?

A friend's iMac (2010 - Snow Lepord - 27" display) won't allow them to shut it down or put it into sleep mode. The system continually reboots itself when using the Apple > "Shut Down..." command. Similarly, it continually turns the display back on when using the Apple > "Sleep" command (even when no additional movement or action has taken place).
The only way to turn this monster off is to press and hold the power button behind the screen (lower-left). Does anyone have any ideas as to why this might be happening and how to fix it?
Many thanks in advance!

Have you tried an SMC reset?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964 scroll down and select the instructions for iMac.

IMac won't shut down? Blue screen w/ spinning icon?

I bought my iMac in 2010 and I've had absolutely no problems until recently.
My problem:
Every time I click "Shut Down," the applications quit and the screen turns to light-blue with the "spinning icon." It looks like it will eventually shut off, but it never does. The light-blue screen just stays there and the icon just keeps spinning. Every time this happens I am forced to hold the power button until it shuts off.
Does anyone have any solutions? Thanks.
Snork Maiden

Try the suggestions in Apple's Gray screen appears during startup. Those would be:
1. Dsconnect EVERYTHING from the iMac and try to re-start normally.
2. Reboot in Safe Mode.
3. Reset the PRAM
4. Run Disk Utility from the ORIGINAL Install Disc that came with the computer.
5. Check all connecting cables
6. Remove third party parts including RAM.

Imac won't shut down - asked to force quit programs

Hi Everyone,
I've had my iMac for about a year now. No issues until now. Recently when I try to shut down from the apple menu it doesn't do anything for a minute or so, then I get a pop up that asks to to quit a certain program or programs that are open. It asks me to force quit them. It seems to be anything I had open, like mail or safari. This never happened before. It would always just shut down. So, if I go back and quit all the open programs I think are open, then try to shut down, it still doesn't shut down. I then have to manually hold the power button to force it to shut down. When I quit all the programs, I don't get an task bar at the top to pick the apple icon to then shut down as well. Can anyone help with why this might be doing this recently and how to fix it? No new programs of any kind have been installed recently. I'm not real good at computers but I know something is not right with this now as it always would just shut down from the apple menu with no issues.
Thanks in advance for your help!
JB

Thanks Kiraly...Here is a list of everything activity says is running...I don't know what this stuff means but I quit everything and do not have anything else that I opened up.
2718 Activity Monitor JoeBoyne 1.2 6 15.25 MB 832.78 MB Intel
76 AirPort Base Station Agent JoeBoyne 0.0 2 2.69 MB 747.92 MB Intel
280 AppleSpell.service JoeBoyne 0.0 1 5.75 MB 602.05 MB Intel
85 ATSServer JoeBoyne 0.0 2 4.59 MB 626.45 MB Intel
1600 DashboardClient JoeBoyne 0.0 9 55.41 MB 861.41 MB Intel
86 Dock JoeBoyne 0.2 4 11.42 MB 790.36 MB Intel
2245 helpdatad JoeBoyne 0.0 2 5.92 MB 601.70 MB Intel
119 iTunes Helper JoeBoyne 0.0 2 2.32 MB 732.13 MB Intel
72 launchd JoeBoyne 0.0 3 492.00 KB 585.74 MB Intel
23 loginwindow JoeBoyne 0.0 4 7.25 MB 806.81 MB Intel
2701 mdworker JoeBoyne 0.0 4 7.49 MB 605.70 MB Intel
83 pboard JoeBoyne 0.0 1 344.00 KB 586.63 MB Intel
80 Spotlight JoeBoyne 0.0 2 2.11 MB 732.21 MB Intel
2714 SyncServer JoeBoyne 0.0 2 3.96 MB 597.98 MB Intel
87 SystemUIServer JoeBoyne 0.0 8 7.60 MB 781.84 MB Intel
81 UserEventAgent JoeBoyne 0.0 3 1.75 MB 599.15 MB Intel

IMac won't shut down or restart

My iMac 10.6.4 has been working fine until a couple of weeks ago. It will not shut down or restart unless I push the power button. The little wheel just keeps spinning on the blank screen. I'm not sure but I think shutting down with the power button may not be good for the machine. I do know that when I do start the machine it takes longer than usual. Watching the progress bar, it almost seems to be resetting. I have not installed any major apps prior to the problem beginning. I've run Disk Warrior, Drive Genius, and Tech Tool but none of them have found any problem. I've also have repaired permissions several times (although I have found one exception: "Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired." I'm not sure how important it is or if it's even needed. I don't know how it was modified). Sorry for the long explanation but I'm hoping someone can help. Much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Bob

Hi - you mention OS X 10.6.4 but your profile shows 10.6.5. If you did update to 10.6.5 using software update try downloading the combo installer: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1324 and re-applying the update. It seems to fix all kinds of strange behaviour. Worth repairing permissions before and after the update.

Yosemite OS X 10.10.2 won't shut down

I have a 2011 iMac (2.8 GHz, Intel Core i7)
I recently updated to 10.10.2.
Things were working fine, but now my iMac won't shut down.
I go to the Apple in the upper left corner... Click on "shut down"... but then nothing happens.
Normally, there is a little prompt window asking if I really want to shut my computer down, or something, but that window has stopped popping up.
And that's it. My Mac just stays on. I then have to hold down the power button to get it to shut down.
And, now, my screensaver won't come on. Not even if I try to force it on. It just refuses to come on.
Any ideas on what happened and how to fix it??
Thanks!

Try these in order testing your system after each to see if it's back to normal:
1. a. Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
    b. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the Utilities menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
3. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
4. Reinstall Yosemite: Reboot from the Recovery HD. Select Reinstall OS X from the Utilities menu, and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.
5. Reinstall Yosemite from Scratch:
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
How to Clean Install OS X Yosemite
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.

Imac running 10.7.3 won't shut down

Hi,
I have a new imac 3.4ghz - i7 with 16gbs ram that won't shut down unless I hold in the power button. Any idea what may be causing the issue. I checked the Console logs but that did not give me any indication of what might be hanging it up. I also, have a Macbook Pro running 10.6.8 and it has no trouble powering down.
I am running AVID Symphony which is not qualified for 10.7.4 yet so I am not going to do the update yet.
...Jeremy

Contact Apple's Express Lane.

10.5.3 won't Shut Down too often and have to Force Quit!

Right after 10.5.3 update, my iMac 24" often won't Shut Down at all, forcing me to use the ON/OFF button. Software that used to work fine like Firefox 2.00.14, PowerPoint 10.1.9, and You Synchronize 2.1.1 now lock up often and can't be Force Quit when they become unresponsive like before. This pretty much means the machine won't shut down either.
I've repaired permissions and all of the hard drives checked out fine. Any idea how to correct these unpleasant problems?

After further investigation it seems to be related (at least in my case) to a bug that affects firefox and 10.5.3 update.
Have a look here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1541870
and here:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=436575

Won't shut down after Tiger 10.4 install

After I installed version 10.4 the computer won't shut down. It will sleep, but won't restart or shut down. I just use the power button. It worked perfect before I upgraded. All advice is appreciated because I know nothing!

Hi there,
I found some references to items I got rid of (Virex and Konfabulator) in my Login Items... I checked my Console and there is a lot of repeating stuff like this:
Jan 19 19:56:53 Whitney configd[36]: AppleTalk shutdown failed, status = 71 (retrying)
Jan 19 19:56:54 Whitney configd[36]: AppleTalk shutdown failed, status = 71 (retrying)
Jan 20 06:22:57 Whitney /usr/sbin/AppleFileServer: AFPServer::AbnormalATListenerShutDown - clear listener
Jan 20 06:23:05 Whitney webdavd[568]: unexpected statusCode 503
Jan 20 06:23:05 Whitney webdavd[568]: network_mount: OPTIONS failed; file: mount.tproj/webdav_network.c; line: 2729
I don't know what Appletalk is, I am looking around now to try to find out.
Thank you, again, for your help.
imacmom
iMac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Mavericks iMac doesn't shut down

Now the HD Partition on my iMac running Mavericks won't shut down when asked. The title bar quits and then it stalls. The only way to shut it down is then to hold the power button until it asks if I want to shut down and then to OK it. The HD Partition running Snow Leopard behaves normally.
Any ideas?

Wow … I didn't expect an answer that fast :-)
No, I haven't tried to contact Apple for that. I hoped to solve it with some help here and the internet. If I can't, I'll contact Apple.
I am using a MBP, at home, with almoast the same settings and apps. "No" problems here so far.

My Macbook Pro won't shut down or restart without forcing shut down. Hangs on grey screen. iTunes not recognizing iPod.

HELP!!!
Here are the specs of my machine:
2011 13.3" MacBook Pro
4 GB Ram/320 GB HD
For the past several months my MacBook Pro refuses to shut down or restart without holding down the power button. Whenever I choose to restart or shut down the computer, it will hang on a grey screen. I have even tried letting it hang for an hour, and it still won't shut down. I notice that once in a while it will retart or shut down correctly if I had not used opened iTunes since turning it on. However, even manually closing iTunes before shutting down or restarting does not solve the problem. It seems as though it only shuts down if iTunes was not used since restarting the computer. Is this a registry error? Do I need to reinstall iTunes? I noticed this problem began happening after I uninstalled Kaspersky Virus Scanner, could that be the problem as well? Also, I cannot guarantee that the problem is only associated with iTunes. I just noticed that one of the few times it shut down or restarted correctly, iTunes coincidentally had not been used. Also, this problem started happening while I was still using Lion and has continued despite upgrading to Mountain Lion.
Also, whenever I update my iPod through iTunes, it won't eject properly, and a transparent icon of the iPod displays on the screen even after I have removed it from the USB port. Furthermore, the iPod will only be recognized by iTunes and will only be updated the first time I plug it in. After removing it and plugging it back in, it won't recognize or update the device unless I shut down and restart the computer. I have the latest addition of iTunes. I also have two iPods, one 80 GB Classic, and one 8 GB Nano, and I have the same problem with both.
I have AppleCare. Should I take my macbook to the genius bar?
Applications I normally use are Word, Safari, FireFox, iTunes, FinalDraft, Photo Booth, Notes, Mail, App Store, etc. No real heavy lifting.
Any feedback would be very much appreciated. :-)
Thank you everyone!!

I have this question too.

Imac freezing when shutting down

hi, i have this problem for quite a while now. it does not happen all the time but 9 times out of 10 this happens.
when i shut down my imac, the screen goes blue as it should then you get the circle with the black lines going round until it shuts down. thats where it stops, it freezes there and then i have to manually shut it down by pressing the button at the back.
is this a common problem ?
does it cause my imac harm by shutting down this way ?
how can i fix this ?
it didnt do this in the beginning only a few months later it started to
any help will be appreciated
thanks

Had had my 500GB HD replaced by apple in my imac24 today, after reinstalling everything and updating I indeed am experiencing the issue of the power button press to sleep COMPLETY locking and freezing the iMac.
I am for now clicking the iMac to sleep but plann to call tomorrow and ask why this has started happening.
Has anyone had a resolve yet??

External hard drive won't shut down after switch from OS10.5 to OS10.4.11

i recently chanded my OS from 10.5 to 10.4.11 (as a programme i want to use is not compatible with leopard), but since i have done this my external hard-drive won't shut down automatically when i shut down my mac. i have to switch it off at the plug instead.
can anyone suggest how i can get it to do this again?
i'm a little concerned that i'm damaging the external drive by turning it off manually all the time..
thanks

Some hard drives shut off with shutdown, some don't. Sometimes hard drives that did shut off with one system will not do the same with a different system. My hard drives which did shut off, prior to 10.5 now stay on.
This is not really a problem as all hard drives spin down after 10- 20 minutes when not in use, whether your computer is on or off. Leaving the drive on is fine, shutting it off manually is fine.
-mj
[email protected]

My iMac won't shut down.

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