Not Staying Awake After Scheduled Startup

Question

Hello
I imagine this question must have been asked before but I can't find reference to it.
I have my computer scheduled to automatically sleep at midnight and start up at 08:00. It goes to sleep on schedule but when I come to my computer some time after the scheduled start up time, it is asleep. It then wakes just fine if I press a key on the keyboard.
I looked at system.log and it contains the entries below at 08:00 (text in brackets are my edits to keep the log anonymous). This suggests to me that the computer is trying to start and either not succeeding or shutting down again.
Please could someone tell me how to fix it?
Thanks
Ian
Oct 17 08:00:02 <computername> kernel[0]: System Sleep
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: IOBluetoothHCIController::restartShutdownWL this is a wake from sleep
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: System Wake
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: Wake event 0040
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: Sound assertion "0 != err" failed in "AppleLegacyAudio/AppleTexas2Audio/AppleTexas2Audio.cpp" at line 960 goto Exit
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: ^PUniNEnet::monitorLinkStatus - Link is up at 100 Mbps - Full Duplex
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: IOBluetoothHCIController::terminateWL .. done
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: IOBluetoothHCIController::start Idle Timer Stopped
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: IOBluetoothHCIController::configurePM Start Idle Timer
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: [HCIController][setupHardware] AFH Not Supported (0x1ceef70)
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: smbiodsendrq: TRAN_SEND returned fatal error 57
Oct 17 08:00:10 <computername> mDNSResponder: hndlChallengeResponseAck - ID changed. discarding
Oct 17 08:00:10 <computername> configd[37]: AppleTalk shutdown
Oct 17 08:00:11 <computername> mDNSResponder: -1: DNSServiceRegister("<iTunes Library Name>", "daap.tcp.", "local.", 3689) failed: Client id -1 invalid (-65549)
Oct 17 08:00:11 <computername> mDNSResponder: -1: DNSServiceRegister("<iTunes_ID>", "dacp.tcp.", "local.", 3689) failed: Client id -1 invalid (-65549)
Oct 17 08:00:12 <computername> mDNSResponder: NAT Port Mapping (LLQ event port.): timeout
Oct 17 08:00:12 <computername> KernelEventAgent[32]: tid 00000000 received VQ_DEAD event (32)
Oct 17 08:00:13 <computername> KernelEventAgent[32]: tid 00000000 type 'smbfs', mounted on '<mountname>', from '<mountname>', dead
Oct 17 08:00:13 <computername> KernelEventAgent[32]: tid 00000000 found 1 filesystem(s) with problem(s)
Oct 17 08:00:13 <computername> configd[37]: AppleTalk shutdown complete
Oct 17 08:00:13 <computername> configd[37]: AppleTalk startup
Oct 17 08:00:15 <computername> /usr/sbin/AppleFileServer: AFPServer::AbnormalATListenerShutDown - clear listener
Oct 17 08:00:23 <computername> configd[37]: AppleTalk startup complete
Oct 17 08:00:38 <computername> kernel[0]: InternalModemSupport::acquirePort -- ERROR -- InternalUSBModem.kext did not load after 30 seconds
Oct 17 08:00:38 <computername> kernel[0]: InternalModemSupport::acquirePort: still no modem after powering on the modem
Oct 17 08:00:55 <computername> kernel[0]: InternalUSBModem::setPowerState(1)
Oct 17 08:01:19 <computername> configd[37]: AppleTalk shutdown
Oct 17 08:01:19 <computername> /usr/sbin/AppleFileServer: AFPServer::AbnormalATListenerShutDown - clear listener
Oct 17 08:01:19 <computername> configd[37]: AppleTalk shutdown complete
iMac 17" Flat Panel (OS X 10.4.7)    
iMac 17" Flat Panel (OS X 10.4.7)    

Answer 1

Hi, Ian.
Your computer woke as expected and noted this at 08:00:08 (8 seconds past 08:00) in the log:
Oct 17 08:00:08 <computername> kernel[0]: System Wake
There's nothing in the log snippet you provided to indicate the machine went back to sleep.
Check the settings in the System Preferences > Energy Saver > Sleep tab. If the Display or Computer sleep sliders are set to short time intervals, e.g. a few minutes, then either inactivity period may be triggered after it wakes from lack of activity.
For example, if you have Display Sleep set to 3 minutes and you come to the machine at 8:05, then the display would be asleep despite the machine having awoken at 8:00 since there was no activity between 08:00 and 08:03.
To rule out the possibility of corrupted preferences, try the following:
1. Quit System Preferences if it is open.
2. Open the Computer > Macintosh HD > Library > Preferences > SystemConfiguration folder.
3. Trash the following two files therein:• com.apple.PowerManagement.plist
• com.apple.AutoWake.plist
You may be prompted for your Admin password when you trash these files.
The first file contains the settings specified in the Energy Saver preferences tabs, while the second contains the settings specified via the Schedule button in Energy Saver preferences. Note that the second file is only extant if you have used the Schedule to schedule startup, sleep, or shutdown.
4. Empty the Trash.
5. Launch System Preferences and reset the Energy Saver preferences accordingly.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X