Start up and waking from sleep problems. early 2011 macbook pro i-7 2.0

Question

Been having problems with my computer starting up and waking from sleep.  If i shut the lid it wont wake up upon reopening the lid unless i hit the power button.  After hitting the power button it will restart automatically and you hear the chime and the cdrom ejecting , once the gray screen pops up it restarts again this time you hear the cd rom making the ejecting sound twice then it will start up as normal.  Once it finally starts up my date and time has been reset to jan 2008.  Other times when i open the lid hit the power button it does nothing at all.  Even holding the power button for multiple seconds to force shut down it does nothing.  Only way to get it to start up at that power is if i connect the charging cable.  I have tried reseting the smc multiple times with no results and pram(even though it doesnt have anything to do with start up problems just did it anyways).  It all started i last time i updated not completely sure what all updates i got but im still running 10.7.  It seems like a battery issue which would make sense since its nearly 3 years old and i use it extensivly.  Last thing that just started recently after i go threw the whole mess of getting it to start up if i pick it up or nudge it the thing will just shut off out of no where.  Almost like there is a short somewhere, cant really be sure if its linked with the waking up from sleep/start up problems but seems right up the same ally.  Any suggestions to what could be wrong would be greatly apreciated.  Im assuming my battery may be on its last leg but the thing still holds a charge and my battery life hasnt dimished at all so cant really be totally sure.  Thanks agian

Answer 1

Power or other problems related to unexpected system sleep, shutdown, lights or fans call for an SMC reset. It may not fix the problem but it would be the first thing an Apple Store would do if you were to bring it to them with this complaint.
If bumping the Mac causes problems it's an intermittent internal connection that the SMC reset is not likely to help.
Read all the steps.
Before Resetting the SMC
Try each of the following steps in this order before you reset the SMC. Test the issue after completing each troubleshooting step to determine if the issue still occurs.
Press Command + Option + Escape to force quit any application that is not responding.
Put your Mac to sleep by choosing the Apple () menu from the upper-left menu bar and then choosing Sleep. Wake the computer after it has gone to sleep.
Restart your Mac by choosing the Apple () menu from the upper-left menu bar and then choosing Restart.
Shut down your Mac by choosing the Apple () menu from the upper-left menu bar and then choosing Shut Down.
Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own
Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if it's not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time. The power adapter indicator light will cycle off / on once.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.