iMac shutting down slow

If you have not already, run Disk Utility and use +Repair Disk Permissions+ in the +First Aid+ tab. See of that makes any difference.

Try starting up and waiting a few minutes (but not running anything). Then shut down before running anything. Does it shut down quickly or does it still take too much time?

If it shuts down quickly, you may be running an application or some background process during normal use that is having a difficult time quitting during the shutdown process.

If it still takes time to shut down, take a look at System Preferences Accounts pane +Login Items+ tab. Those are the items that start up and run automatically upon startup. Note if there is anything that has been added recently.

Except for the +Repair Disk Permissions+, most of that was to help identify the cause. It's harder to fix a problem if the cause is not clear. And my mind-reading superpower is not working today... 🙂

So if you shut down immediately after starting up, is there any difference in the shutdown delay?

One more test... Create a new admin user account in System Preferences Accounts pane

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8235.html

Log out and log in to the new account. Try shutting down from the new account. Is there any difference in the shutdown delay (or no delay)?

If the delay goes away, the cause is likely to be something in your normal user account. If the delay is the same, the cause is likely to be at the system level. Either way, the answer will help narrow down the cause and make troubleshooting easier.

+And my mind-reading superpower is not working today...+

It might be time to have that looked at Kenichi! 🙂

Roger

Possibly related (?), I mostly sleep my i7 and that takes 30 seconds or so. I have not yet tracked down a cause and the 30 seconds is consistent, even with no Applications open. I am curious rather than worried.

So the problem seems to be at the system level, if it recurs in a new account.

USB and FireWire devices can sometimes affect startup, shutdown, wake, and sleep, so you should try disconnecting everything (including any hubs) except for keyboard/mouse and see if that has any effect.

Also, you can try doing a reset PRAM

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

and if that does not help, reset SMC

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

After the SMC reset, again try it with only keyboard/mouse connected. If the problem goes away, add your peripheral devices and check again.

If the problem continues, one thing you can try short of reinstalling the OS, is to apply the latest combo updater manually. That would be for 10.6.2 and you can download it here

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/macosxv1062updatecomb o.html

Even if you already have 10.6.2, running the combo will reinstall all the changes at once, and this can sometimes resolve hard to diagnose issues.

Kenichi, beware of the 10.6.2 combo and the latest iMacs. I tried that recently and it would not install. I tracked this to a different build number - my i7 is later, despite being 10.6.2.

If the current iMac has a special build of 10.6.2, then it would be like trying to install 10.6.2 combo over 10.6.3. So I'm glad Apple prevents you from doing something that would be harmful. 🙂

Thanks for pointing that out.

No problem - I only spotted this by trying the present combo to see what happened. The only niggling concern with my i7 is it takes 30 seconds to fall asleep. I thought the combo etc. ....

If you have an external drive that you can erase, even a small one, you can do a test installation on that drive and boot from it. Otherwise, you can try what you mentioned yourself; back up your data, erase the internal drive, and reinstall the system. Either way, try a shut down when booted from a freshly installed system with no third-party software installed.

I guess I would not notice a problem like this myself, because I rarely do a shutdown.

For troubleshooting it some more before having to resort to a reinstall...

Question #1: If you do a restart instead of a shutdown, does it take just as long to restart (hear the startup sound)?

Question #2: If you log out, does it take just as long to log out and get to the Login Screen?

Question #3: From the Login Screen (after logging out), if you do a shutdown, does it take a long time?

That's great what was it?