mac mini keeps entering sleep mode

Hi. Thanks for the info. I'm still having problems, but you got me
on the right track. First, I'm new to Mac OSX, but I am very familiar
with Unix. I didn't know what plist was so I had to google and found
that it is just an xml for system files. I can vi the file as read-only. I
did a 'sudo -u root bash' and removed the file,
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.PowerManagement.plist.

I noticed that it regenerated this file. Previously, I could cause my system to enter the sleep mode just by trying to rip an audio CD. Upon
closer examination, I can reproduce the same effect by selecting the
processor preference and uncheck "Allow Nap" button. After unchecking
I would hear the mini fans kick in overdrive and after a few seconds, it
would put the mini to sleep. I press the power button to wake it up
and it would wake up for a couple seconds just to go back to sleep.
Most annoying. Grrr.

Ideally, I would like my mini to Nap if it is idle after some time, but it
should not voluntarily take a nap when I have something for it to do like
rip a CD. How does one disable this Nap feature? It's nice to have, but
it renders my mini useless... All it wants to do now is go to sleep. 😟 I also
tried resetting the PMU, but no luck.

One thing I did not mention is that I have a Microsoft Wireless
Natural Multimedia Keyboard and cordless optical mouse. Yeah,
Mac users will probably cringe, but it's really nice! I've used Windows
since the beginning of time because I didn't want to use a computer
that only had a one button mouse. With the introduction of USB, Apple
has made it possible to use PC peripherals which is nice. Actually, my
primary use for Windows is a VNC viewer terminal. I do everything in
Unix. I made the switch because MacOSX has a Unix core. I still need
to learn the oddities of Mac OSX... 😉

Any other ideas? How can I prevent my mini from sleeping? Is it
possible my Microsoft keyboard is causing this problem? Any
Apple engineers read this forum? Thanks again for your help!

Jim

Hi. To get to the processor nap feature, I click on
the system preferences. At the bottom, there is a
processor icon. I click on that and it brings up
a new window. This window has a check box for the
processor nap. On my system, this box is checked
by default. If I uncheck it, the mini will go into
highgear (fans going) and then goes to sleep. I
ran top on a terminal and my load average was only
like 0.40 when it decided to go to sleep. I did
upgrade my system to 10.4 latest. I have an Apple
store here in Walnut Creek. I'll bring it in for
a check up.

Thanks.

Hi Carl. Thanks for the info. I'll give this a whirl
when I get home tonight. Again, thanks for all the
help!

Hi Carl. I was unable to find com.apple.AutoWake.plist in my
system. Deleting com.apple.PowerManagement.plist didn't
help.

I decided to try your open firmware instructions. I like the
boot loader. It reminds me of the Sun's boot monitor.
I did the reset-nvram, set-defaults, reset-all. It didn't
help though. 😟

I don't think it is my power supply, either. The reason why I
don't think this is the problem is I can watch DVD and listen
to audio CD just fine. My sleep problem would only occur
when I try to rip an audio CD. I can assure you that I draw
plenty of power just playing a DVD movie.

My guess is I have a power management configuration
issue or a hardware problem. Since this has a Unix core
underneath, I started poking around in the usual places
for log files. I found the familiar /var/log and stumbled
on system.log. Looking at the file, I found something
that caught my eye.

Aug 17 01:06:19 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.

Doing a 'grep overtemp system.log', I got the following:
...
Aug 17 01:04:13 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Aug 17 01:04:37 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Aug 17 01:04:56 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Aug 17 01:05:37 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Aug 17 01:05:51 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Aug 17 01:06:00 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Aug 17 01:06:13 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.
Aug 17 01:06:19 Jim-Fridlunds-Computer kernel[0]: Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.

If you look at the time stamp, you'll see that each event
is only a few seconds apart. This matches with what
I was seeing. Machine goes to sleep. I press the power
button and it wakes up and goes back to sleep. One
big endless cycle. The only way I managed to get out
of it is to quit iTunes and to eject the CD.

Yes, I did install the Xcode 2 development kit that came
with the Mini MAC OSX setup. I eventually want to write
software for the Mac. So, I most likely installed the
CHUD tools package that you had mentioned.

I think the equivalent command line command for
disabling the nap feature is 'hwprefs -v cpu_nap=false'.
When I do that, I get the overtemp event and my mini
goes to sleep. Zzz.

In any case, my mini seems to be detecting false overtemp
condition. Either I have a bad temp sensor or my power
management overtemp threshold is set way too low. It's
possible encoding audio CDs is enough to heat up the
PPC core, but it happens way too fast. I'm thinking my
temperature sensors are not set correctly. If anyone has
schematics for the mini, it would most likely be a Dallas
temp sensor chip. I'm not ready to open up my mini yet
since it is still under warranty. I'll take it in the Apple
store in Walnut Creek this weekend.

Anyway, thank you guys for all your help. I found my
experience on this forum to be quite pleasant. People
here are very helpful.

Jim

fyi, my problem turned out to be a hardware
problem. I called Apple support in the morning
(6am PST) and didn't have to wait very long to
talk to their help group. The support person
was able to walk me through their diagnostics.

The mini comes with a comprehensive diagnostic
software that is on the Panther CD. Running
the extended test showed that my logic board
had a problem with error code "2STH/1/2: CPU
BOTTOMSIDE". This appears to be a faulty
temperature sensor.

I stopped by at the local Apple store in Walnut
Creek. The staff there was friendly. The only
negative part was the long waiting list. I should
have my mini back in a week or so.