AFG034

Q: Mac Pro (early 2009) won't wake up from sleep.

Whether the Mac Pro goes to sleep on it's own or I manually put it to sleep, it doesn't wake up, no matter what I do (other than holding the power button down).  I've researched this and followed the few steps listed on the Apple website, but still nothing.  Can anyone help?

 

Mac OS X El Capitan: 10.11.6

Mac Pro (early 2009)

 

Thank you!

Posted on Sep 22, 2016 6:23 PM

Close

Q: Mac Pro (early 2009) won't wake up from sleep.

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by irina_w,

    irina_w irina_w Sep 24, 2016 6:39 AM in response to AFG034
    Community Specialists
    Sep 24, 2016 6:39 AM in response to AFG034
    Hi  AFG034,

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Based on what you stated, it seems like the Mac will not wake from sleep.  It looks like you have already done some troubleshooting. You don't state specifically which steps you have completed so there may be a few things still left to do. 
    I would recommend you read this article, you may have seen this article previously but there are some additional steps we can try like trying in another user profile or in safe mode. 
     

    If the previous steps don't work

    These additional steps may help identify or resolve the issue: 

    • Reset the SMC.
    • Reset NVRAM.
    • Disconnect external devices other than your Apple keyboard, mouse, and display. If that resolves the issue, gradually reconnect your devices, testing each time, until you find the device that is interfering with sleep. Then check the documentation that came with the device, or contact the device manufacturer.
    • Start up in Safe Mode to see if the issue is related to non-Apple startup items, login items, or kernel extensions. 
    • Try to isolate the issue by using another user account


    If your Mac doesn't sleep or wake when expected - Apple Support


    Cheers.

  • by AFG034,

    AFG034 AFG034 Sep 24, 2016 8:24 AM in response to irina_w
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 24, 2016 8:24 AM in response to irina_w

    The only thing I haven't tried from the above suggestions is safe mode and try another user.  I will give them a shot and let you know.

  • by AFG034,

    AFG034 AFG034 Sep 25, 2016 7:07 AM in response to AFG034
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 25, 2016 7:07 AM in response to AFG034

    So I tried everything and it still didn't fix the issue.  I contacted Apple and they said it's best to bring in for a service.  Does anyone else have anything I can do here before the service?

  • by kahjot,

    kahjot kahjot Sep 25, 2016 7:34 AM in response to AFG034
    Level 4 (1,357 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 25, 2016 7:34 AM in response to AFG034

    Do you have any external drives connected? If you do: Eject the external drives, power them off, and disconnect them. See if your system wakes from sleep correctly without external drives attached.

     

    More details about your system might be helpful.

  • by AFG034,

    AFG034 AFG034 Sep 25, 2016 7:42 AM in response to kahjot
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 25, 2016 7:42 AM in response to kahjot

    I had a WD external drive connected to the CPU but since I updated to 10.11.6, I lost the ability to access the drive and since it has become corrupt, so it is no longer connected to my CPU.  I was getting an error message that the disc was unreadable and I should eject it.

     

    Here's more info on my CPU.

     

    OS X El Capitan: 10.11.6

    Mac Pro (early 2009)

    10GB of Memory

    20" Apple Cinema Display with a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB graphics card

    3 internal HD's (1-640gb, 2 and 3-80gb) all three drives have been installed for years

     

    What else would you need?

  • by kahjot,

    kahjot kahjot Sep 27, 2016 12:57 PM in response to AFG034
    Level 4 (1,357 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 27, 2016 12:57 PM in response to AFG034

    Are the internal drives in good shape? What does Disk Utility tell you about them?

     

    When the Mac Pro fails to wake, what happens? Does the front panel light continue to pulse, or does it come on and stay on, even though the machine does not wake?

  • by AFG034,

    AFG034 AFG034 Sep 27, 2016 1:06 PM in response to kahjot
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 27, 2016 1:06 PM in response to kahjot

    The last time I checked with Disk Utility, all three internal drives were in good shape.  I will run again and post the results if it helps.

     

    When the Mac Pro goes to sleep, the display goes to black and the tower stops running and the front panel light pulses.  I press the mouse, I press the keyboard and nothing happens.  I even press the power button on the tower once and even that doesn't wake it up.  The display doesn't turn on and the panel light continues to pulse (it's as if I didn't wake it up).

     

    I turned the sleep feature off for the tower but left it on for the display.  When the display goes to sleep and I press either the keyboard or the mouse, it instantly wakes up and shows the desktop.

  • by AFG034,

    AFG034 AFG034 Sep 29, 2016 12:07 PM in response to AFG034
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 29, 2016 12:07 PM in response to AFG034

    The disc utility showed the hd's operating perfectly.