Jon Israel

Q: iMac won't wake up from sleep using keyboard or mouse

I'm not sure what is happening but as of today neither of my wireless devices will wake the iMac - no problem use keyboard and mouse once the iMac is awake. Yesterday I had problems with the wireless keyboard disappearing from Bluetooth.
Now I have to press the power button if the iMac goes to sleep and even then it is a bit slow to respond. It is real pain in the face. What is the remedy anyone?

iMac 21.5 inch, Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Nov 5, 2009 7:38 AM

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Q: iMac won't wake up from sleep using keyboard or mouse

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  • by kevinfromoak park,

    kevinfromoak park kevinfromoak park Aug 27, 2011 12:20 PM in response to Vecino
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 27, 2011 12:20 PM in response to Vecino

    Seriously...try checking the Activity Monitor to see if there is a process consistently taking a bunch of CPU.

  • by Vecino,

    Vecino Vecino Aug 28, 2011 12:37 AM in response to kevinfromoak park
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2011 12:37 AM in response to kevinfromoak park

    Thanks for that. I checked, and it's not the issue for my machine. And having done everything so carefully yesterday and shut it down overnight, this morning it won't start.

     

    My new iMac 21.5inch, despite everything that's theoretically so wonderful about it, is basically a heap of junk and the worst purchase I've ever made.  Based on yesterday's experience of trying to get it replaced, there's no way of proving it either. But I've now gone from being an Apple evangelist to someone who will no longer recommend the hardware to anyone.

  • by ineedavodka,

    ineedavodka ineedavodka Aug 28, 2011 1:36 AM in response to Vecino
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2011 1:36 AM in response to Vecino

    I'm not convinced this is a hardware problem with the iMac itself. I've a 27" iMac that suffers from the blank screen/fans running won't go to sleep/won't wake from sleep issue and in both Snow Leopard and Lion if you unplug all your additonal usb and firewire devices before sleeping this just doesn't happen (obviously leave any keyboards and mice plugged in!).

     

    Smells of drivers to me, and the main culprit to me seems to be anything with a startup time. For example, slowly experimenting with what I had connected links it to either my USB drive (takes time to spin up etc) and my firewire mixer. If those are not switched on when I sleep it wakes every time.

  • by furrytoes,

    furrytoes furrytoes Aug 28, 2011 2:12 AM in response to Jon Israel
    Level 2 (229 points)
    Video
    Aug 28, 2011 2:12 AM in response to Jon Israel

    It turns out that if I turn off my 2nd monitor off (ie not just let it go to sleep as well) then, so far, my iMac wakes up from sleep every time.

     

    I probably need to continue this experiment further, but with the 100% success rate for the past week or 2 (that means at least 10 attempts) - I'm pretty happy.

     

    I realize this won't help others who don't have a 2nd monitor.

  • by Vecino,

    Vecino Vecino Aug 28, 2011 3:15 AM in response to ineedavodka
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2011 3:15 AM in response to ineedavodka

    Thanks for your thoughts on this.  I don't have any additional devices plugged into the machine. About an hour ago I took it to another room in the house, and plugged it directly into the wall there and not via my surge protector (which also provides power to my printer). It rebooted as normal, perfectly.

     

    So I restarted and ran the Hardware Test.  It found no problems. I put the computer to sleep from the main menu....and it wouldn't wake.  So now (and I'll have to learn how...because I don't have a physical disc) I want to do a clean install of Lion and then re-import my folders etc.

     

    But my biggest problem is that I can't get the machine to boot up.  I've kept the power button held down, unplugged it, waited half an hour etc. Nada. Hardware or software, I still feel like I've bought a heap of junk.

  • by Vecino,

    Vecino Vecino Aug 28, 2011 4:28 AM in response to Vecino
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2011 4:28 AM in response to Vecino

    The computer still won't boot up an hour later and doesn't respond to resetting PRAM, SMC .  Just the sound of the hard drive, the Install CD spinning in the drive and the fan. No tone.

     

    I live in Spain, and the Spanish Express Lane support runs out of options a couple of clicks in. Calling the Apple phone line advertised, I'm told that they only deal with iPhone help. I tried the UK line, and got the same answer. It's disgusting, I feel completely helpless and let down, and as of today, I am unlikely ever to be an Apple customer again, however much I love the operating system. I've just wasted 15,000 euros I could ill afford - as I said earlier, it's a heap of junk. I'm not going to, obviously, but feel like taking it across the road and dumping it in the recycling bin.

  • by Vecino,

    Vecino Vecino Aug 28, 2011 7:52 AM in response to Vecino
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2011 7:52 AM in response to Vecino

    This afternoon it chose to start, and I successfully managed to get Lion Recovery to run. Repaired permissions again (did it last night as well) and found an error on the Hard Drive, which I fixed ("orphaned file inode"). Booted up normally, and then had to try Sleep. Back to square one: machine won't start beyond the fan and hard drive. So I'll have to keep trying to until it decides to boot up again.....beyond words......

  • by Vecino,

    Vecino Vecino Aug 29, 2011 4:40 AM in response to Vecino
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 29, 2011 4:40 AM in response to Vecino

    Problem now resolved - the store has exchanged the machine.                                                    

  • by rmfmartin,

    rmfmartin rmfmartin Aug 30, 2011 8:22 AM in response to Jon Israel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 30, 2011 8:22 AM in response to Jon Israel

    Purchased my 21.5" imac 8/14/11 wondering if these sleep problems were still issue.  First bootup went fine...for about 1 second- then screen went black.  Couldn't wake it with any key or trackpad.  Did the hard stop, unplug, reboot. Was ok off and on.  Long story short-issue comes and goes with unwakeable sleep ocurring occasionally but unpredictably. Downloaded Lion to see if fix was in(that was easy btw-45 min to download, 30+to install).  No, but may be a little better.  With OS 10.6.7 apple pulldown menu "sleep" showed COMMAND-OPTION-EJECT keys(with Lion no keys are designated-why?).   Sure enough, it is a fast way to put to sleep.  Using those keys as a wakeup sometimes worked right away.  However, I have still had to contend with this "unwakeble" attitude(reminds me of my teen sons) whether just after startup or sleeping all night.  It's disconcerting, because it's like the screen is there and then passes out.  Being stubborn (and desperate in this problem) I held those 3 keys down for 10-15 seconds and this has worked for me every time (before and after Lion upgrade).  Sorry if this is already posted in the thread-couldn't read them all.  It certainly doesn't seem like a real solution to a problem that seems from these posts to have numerous triggers, but it's been a passable workaround for me and hopefully helps some users here.  

  • by conceptdesign,

    conceptdesign conceptdesign Aug 31, 2011 12:25 PM in response to rmfmartin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 31, 2011 12:25 PM in response to rmfmartin

    We bought three identical 27" i7 iMacs on the same day. One has this issue while the other two do not. We have had the logic board and hard drive replaced on the malfunctioning iMac and the problem persists.

  • by RunL8r,

    RunL8r RunL8r Aug 31, 2011 8:24 PM in response to Vecino
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 31, 2011 8:24 PM in response to Vecino

    I bought a new 27" iMac running Lion 10.7.0 one month ago. In the first week, I experienced a few instances of it not waking up after putting it to sleep. Each time I needed to do a hard reboot to wake it up. On about the fourth instance, the screen remained black even after the hard reboot, similar to many others in this thread. A terse conversation with Apple Support followed, with advice that I return the product to the store I bought it from. Not at all what I expected from Apple.

     

    For some unknown reason, the screen 'woke up' later that day. Coincidentally, that was the day Lion 10.7.1 was released, which I then installed with the hope that it would resolve the issue. Happily, the issue did not recur again for the next few weeks. I presumed the upgrade had fixed the problem.

     

    Until last night. Again the screen wouldn't wake up even after a hard reboot, and all the other recommended fixes proposed in this and other threads. I unplugged all peripherals and still no luck. And the blood pressure has started rising again. Does anyone have any idea why this would start again after the upgrade appeared to have fixed the problem? Maybe I should just go back and read the whole thread again.

     

    Luckily I have an aging but reliable Sony Vaio running Windows Vista that I could use to get contact details for Apple Support. And then would you believe the phone support desk was closed? At 8:30 in the morning! Not enough staff, or too many frustrated customers? I have scheduled a call for this afternoon and am ready for another terse conversation. Ahh, the joys.

  • by RunL8r,

    RunL8r RunL8r Sep 1, 2011 3:54 AM in response to RunL8r
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 1, 2011 3:54 AM in response to RunL8r

    Had a sensible discussion with Apple Support about the issue. They at least understand the frustration caused by issues like this. I'm not sure they really know the root cause of these problems but sounds like a hardware fault in my case anyway. Either that, or they just put it in the 'too hard' basket.

  • by Keith Gardner1,

    Keith Gardner1 Keith Gardner1 Sep 1, 2011 7:07 AM in response to RunL8r
    Level 2 (228 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2011 7:07 AM in response to RunL8r

    Can you please post more details regarding Apple's response to your problem? It's rare to have any indication here (in this particular thread) of what Apple actually thinks of it, and I'm keen to know how they are actually responding to the problem. Computers that are out of warranty are not eligible for free phone support, and I am highly averse to paying for a solution to a problem that the vendor "provided," as I believe is the case here.

     

    Anybody and everybody who can present solutions offered by Apple is encouraged to do so. Thanks!

  • by RunL8r,

    RunL8r RunL8r Sep 1, 2011 6:32 PM in response to Keith Gardner1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 1, 2011 6:32 PM in response to Keith Gardner1

    Keith - I really can't add much to what I have posted. Apple didn't state what would have caused the issue. Reading a number of posts in this and other sites, I gather a number of customers have had whole units or specific hardware components replaced. If the cause was a software problem, surely Apple would just release a software patch and not continue replacing hardware. But now I am just starting to speculate. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

     

    I am now starting to wonder whether I should have bought the AppleCare Protection Plan. Not cheap though.

  • by Almakos,

    Almakos Almakos Sep 7, 2011 8:06 AM in response to Jon Israel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 7, 2011 8:06 AM in response to Jon Israel

    So what about that fix from apple which was not working for some reason...what was that anyway?

     

    and can somebody explain how to delete sleepimage under Lion? 'cause I can't find mine =(

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