Level 1

9 points

An ALARM goes off every day at 2 a.m. - don't know why, please help

Over a month ago an alarm started going off everyday at 2 a.m.. I have exhausted dif. avenues to try to determine why. The alarm sounds similar to an alarm clock, but starts out slow and then reaches a frantic crescendo...and I almost swear its length of time is increasing. The alarm lasts around a minute. I used the app. to check the system and it found no errors. During the alarm, I can perform any function, so it's not affecting usage, but am desperate to find out its cause "and" cure, plus I'm tired of it making me up in the middle of night. Thanks for any help.

iBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on May 20, 2008 6:49 PM

107 replies

Clea Rees

Level 4

1,245 points

Jun 3, 2008 5:58 AM in response to andyBall_uk

andyBall_uk wrote:
wow, apple do make resetting the pmu (they seem to call it smu with much the same info on desktops...) sound a desperate & dangerous measure don't they?

for what it's worth, I wouldn't worry about it one bit. Sure, it's not the first thing you do when a mac won't start or has some problem or other, but far from being very risky imo.

again fwiw, you can find various user reports & 'expert' types saying that more is better with resetting the pram - meaning hold the awkward key combo until 3 or 5 'extra' startup chimes have been heard.

Thanks. I was somewhat surprised at the vehemence of the warnings but thought maybe I didn't fully understand what was involved. I had thought it was significantly less drastic than, say, erasing everything and reinstalling the OS but the document makes it sound like a far more serious operation. I wasn't quite sure why they said, on the one hand, to only use it when a certain hardware issue was suspected but, on the other, presented it as a solution to problems caused by settings getting out of wack after a while as the result of normal use.

- cfr

Clea Rees

Level 4

1,245 points

Jun 3, 2008 6:09 AM in response to shiptoshirl

Correction: I think the contents of RAM disks may get saved on shut down and iBooks could have them. I'm not sure whether they are relevant to OS X, though, or whether they were a feature of only earlier (traditional) versions of the OS. All the information I can find seems to be in that context, but I haven't searched very extensively.

- cfr

shiptoshirl Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 3, 2008 9:48 AM in response to andyBall_uk

Hi Andy and Clea,

Re:

wow, apple do make resetting the pmu (they seem to call it smu with much the same info on desktops...) sound a desperate & dangerous measure don't they?

for what it's worth, I wouldn't worry about it one bit. Sure, it's not the first thing you do when a mac won't start or has some problem or other, but far from being very risky imo.

... Does ease my mind, if I do reset PMU, I will again need assistance. Probably won't happen before I leave for vacation.

again fwiw, you can find various user reports & 'expert' types saying that more is better with resetting the pram - meaning hold the awkward key combo until 3 or 5 'extra' startup chimes have been heard.

...May have unintentionally performed more than one reset. After what we thought were a few unsuccessful attempts, realized my speakers weren't connected, reconnected, and performed reset again....worked like a charm, chime came thru loud and clear.

...Did the hardware test, everything passed.

Tonight I'll do the disconnecting of power and removal of battery. I will set my alarm clock to check if alarm still sounds at regular time.

shiptoshirl Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 3, 2008 9:51 AM in response to Clea Rees

Hi,

Did the hardware test, everything passed.

Tonight I'll do the disconnecting of power and removal of battery. I will set my alarm clock to check if alarm still sounds at regular time.

Resetting PMU will require I get assistance. Don't see that happening before I leave for trip Sunday.

shiptoshirl Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 4, 2008 8:34 AM in response to Clea Rees

Hi,

I disconnected power and removed battery.....alarm went off!

It appears both my alarm clock and computer's alarm went off simultaneously. I was woken from a deep sleep, floundered around to turn off alarm clock, did so, and realized the computer's alarm was also on. I just wish I would have been alert when this happened.

Clea Rees

Level 4

1,245 points

Jun 4, 2008 8:59 AM in response to shiptoshirl

shiptoshirl wrote:
I disconnected power and removed battery.....alarm went off!

I had a feeling that would happen... OK. I'm going to see if I can find the links I lost before when stuff got deleted. I'm not entirely sure what use they will be but maybe something will emerge. Always assuming I can find them, of course.

It appears both my alarm clock and computer's alarm went off simultaneously. I was woken from a deep sleep, floundered around to turn off alarm clock, did so, and realized the computer's alarm was also on. I just wish I would have been alert when this happened.

It's drifting a bit more, maybe. (Assuming your alarm clock isn't.) So it is going off a bit earlier.

Too bad you don't have the kind of reset that worked with a bent paper clip but I can't think of any trick to reset the PMU that won't require you to get assistance.

- cfr

shiptoshirl Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 4, 2008 9:58 AM in response to Clea Rees

Hi,

The sound of my alarm clock and computer are the same. The reason I wished I had been alert when both alarms sounded is that I would have noted the time...it appears the computer alarm may have been slightly earlier, but I can't verify that. Was thinking about trying it again...but no guarantee I'll be any more alert.

Clea Rees

Level 4

1,245 points

Jun 4, 2008 9:26 AM in response to shiptoshirl

iBook beeping

I remember you said the noise was like beeping and this has some similarities in that it continues even with the power disconnected and the battery removed...

- cfr

Clea Rees

Level 4

1,245 points

May 20, 2008 7:12 PM in response to shiptoshirl

Check /Applications for any alarm/clock applications.
Check iCal for any alarms.

- cfr

May 21, 2008 6:25 PM in response to shiptoshirl

What does your console.log and system.log show when the alarm goes off?

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

May 22, 2008 12:25 PM in response to shiptoshirl

Whew! 😟

What happens if we make it skip it's appointment by unplugging the AC and removing the Batteries?

Does it try to catch up, or wait until 2AM again?

Clea Rees

Level 4

1,245 points

May 23, 2008 3:56 PM in response to shiptoshirl

When the alarm sounds, has the Mac woken up and powered back up? What is it doing/does it do afterwards?

- cfr

iBod

Level 7

29,357 points

May 23, 2008 4:05 PM in response to shiptoshirl

Try having "Activity Monitor" running the next time it happens and see what applications are actively using the CPU.

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

May 23, 2008 4:07 PM in response to shiptoshirl

If it's back, maybe I should just try to find a job where I would have to get up at 2.

LOL... cracked me up good, but definitely a solution a Zen Master could enjoy! 🙂

shiptoshirl Author

Level 1

9 points

May 24, 2008 1:06 PM in response to BDAqua

Just trying to make lemonade out of a lemon.

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An ALARM goes off every day at 2 a.m. - don't know why, please help