jparento

Q: iMac (27"-2011) won't restart/shut down. Everything shuts down but the dock.

I'm having an issue whenever i try to shut down my iMac.  All the desktop items and the menu bar disappear, but the dock still remains there thus preventing the computer from shutting down/restarting.  This doesn't happen all the time but when it does happen i'm forced to manually shut down the computer.  What could the issue be? 

~I'm running the latest version of Yosemite (This issue has been happening even before this operating system)

~I also check to make sure all running apps in the background are closed using Command+Option+ESC.

~And i did a pram reset.

 

Forever yours,

John P.

iMac

Posted on Jul 16, 2015 5:25 PM

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Q: iMac (27"-2011) won't restart/shut down. Everything shuts down but the dock.

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Jul 16, 2015 5:30 PM in response to jparento
    Level 10 (122,107 points)
    Apple Music
    Jul 16, 2015 5:30 PM in response to jparento

    If your Mac won’t shut down, press and hold the power button for 5 seconds to force a shutdown.

    Important:   If you force a shutdown, you may lose unsaved changes in open documents.

    The Mac is completely shut down when there is a black screen, no active power light, and no fan or drive noise.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 16, 2015 5:32 PM in response to jparento
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 16, 2015 5:32 PM in response to jparento

    The Dock may have a corrupt preference file. Try removing the /Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist and the com.apple.dock.extra.plist files to the Trash, but don't Empty the Trash. Open the Terminal in the Utilities folder and at the prompt paste the following: killall Dock. Press RETURN. See if that helps.

  • by jparento,

    jparento jparento Jul 16, 2015 7:08 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 16, 2015 7:08 PM in response to Kappy

    I'm not finding this file extension...?  How would you find it?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 16, 2015 9:11 PM in response to jparento
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 16, 2015 9:11 PM in response to jparento

    Exposing the /Home/Library/ Folder

     

    Pick one of the following methods:

     

    A. This method will make the folder visible permanently. Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder and paste the following at the command prompt:

     

    chflags nohidden ~/Library

     

    Press RETURN.

     

    B. Click on the Desktop, press the OPTION (⌥) button, select Library from the Finder's Go menu.

     

    C. Select Go To Folder from the Finder's Go menu. Paste the following in the path field:

     

    ~/Library

     

    Press the Go button.

  • by jparento,

    jparento jparento Jul 16, 2015 9:40 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 16, 2015 9:40 PM in response to Kappy

    I tried what you said, and it reset my dock settings (Which looked promising), but it didn't not fix my issue.  My computer still keeps the dock up and doesn't restart....  This is frustrating.  Any other suggestions?  I really appreciate your time and input.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 16, 2015 9:46 PM in response to jparento
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 16, 2015 9:46 PM in response to jparento

    Then it's possible something else is stopping the shutdown. Note the exact time of the hang. Reboot and open the Console in the Utilities folder. Look for the timestamp you noted and see what is listed in Console log for possible clues to what is holding up the shutdown.

     

    Try booting into Safe Mode, then try a shutdown and see if it works. If that doesn't help, then create a new user account. Log into the new user account, set it as the default startup account. Reboot the computer and try another shutdown. See if it works.

  • by jparento,

    jparento jparento Jul 17, 2015 4:48 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 17, 2015 4:48 PM in response to Kappy

    Tried all of your suggestions and still no luck.  However, i did copy a screen of the console readings and you might be better at deciphering what it reads.  What do you think?Screen Shot 2015-07-17 at 4.40.36 PM.png

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 17, 2015 5:02 PM in response to jparento
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 17, 2015 5:02 PM in response to jparento

    That's not readable. Please make a screen snap of the log or, better yet, copy the text and post it here.

     

    To post screen shot do this:

     

    1. Press COMMAND-SHIFT-4 which will change the cursor to crosshairs.
    2. Hold down the mouse button and use the crosshairs to select the part of the screen you wish to capture.
    3. Release the button and the image will be saved to your Desktop.
    4. Click on the Camera icon in the toolbar of the forum message editor.
    5. Drag the image onto the Choose File button and click on the Insert button.
  • by jparento,

    jparento jparento Jul 17, 2015 5:52 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 17, 2015 5:52 PM in response to Kappy

    Screen Shot 2015-07-17 at 5.52.07 PM.png

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 17, 2015 9:38 PM in response to jparento
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 17, 2015 9:38 PM in response to jparento

    Not knowing if these entries are related to your problem, but the item to which it refers is the Malware Removal Tool (mrt.) The entries suggest the tool will not shutdown, but I have no idea why. Most all of the log entries might as well be Greek. I surely don't know the cause of this. Were I to see this on my machine I would probably just backup, erase the drive, then reinstall OS X from scratch. But I would be inclined to try what I suggested earlier:

     

    Try booting into Safe Mode, then try a shutdown and see if it works. If that doesn't help, then create a new user account. Log into the new user account, set it as the default startup account. Reboot the computer and try another shutdown. See if it works.


  • by jparento,

    jparento jparento Jul 19, 2015 5:21 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 19, 2015 5:21 PM in response to Kappy

    Still no luck, i'm almost at the point where my computer is about to be thrown at a wall.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 19, 2015 5:25 PM in response to jparento
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 19, 2015 5:25 PM in response to jparento

    Backup your files and do this:

     

    Install or Reinstall OS X 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.

     

    Boot to the Recovery HD:

     

    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears.

     

    Erase the hard drive:

     

      1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.

     

      2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the

          left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.

     

      3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on

          the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.

     

      4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.

     

    Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Install button.

     

    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible

               because it is three times faster than wireless.

     

    This should install the version of OS X that you had installed.

  • by jparento,

    jparento jparento Jul 28, 2015 7:21 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 28, 2015 7:21 PM in response to Kappy

    OK, I found a fix for my situation. So I noticed that there was an OS Update that was due, but my computer couldn't restart if I let it do its thing. So I manually shut it off. When I got to the login screen I restarted from there. That allowed the update to install and let my computer restart. After the computer finished the install and I logged back into my account, I restarted my computer with no problems.

     

    TL;DR - manually turn off computer. --->  Restart from login screen. ---> Log back into account and test it out again.

  • by rickliving,

    rickliving rickliving Nov 15, 2015 12:22 PM in response to jparento
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 15, 2015 12:22 PM in response to jparento

    worked for me. thanks jparento. not sure how you stumbled onto the solution.

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