difficulty coming out of sleep

Question

Level 1

4 points

difficulty coming out of sleep

very new mac mini using 30 cinema display
quite often the system will have a difficulty waking up from sleep
key strokes seem to do nothing
short pressing of the mac mini power button sometimes wakes it up
sometimes this requires several attempts
then...often, but not always....the login password field already has a lot of keystroke asterisks in it (from attempts to wake the system) so, at some point it has awoken, but the monitor has not come back on, i guess

everything was restored from a time machine backup made on a macbook pro that is currently being repaired

macbook pro, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Jan 19, 2011 5:58 PM

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Answer 1

rrose selavy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 19, 2011 6:07 PM in response to rrose selavy

PS...when the system and monitor do come back, all open windows are lined up across to top of the monitor (overlapping depending on how many windows were open)...all open at the same vertical size (but not the same horizontal size) despite the fact that this was not where and how they were displaying when the system went into sleep

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Answer 2

Jan 21, 2011 7:35 AM in response to rrose selavy

I have the same difficulty with mine. Another clue. If I had a window(s) set to a large size before the no wake up after sleep, they are resized to a wide and short size, really really short. I suspect that what is happening is that the screen resolution is getting reset to something weird.

Another clue pointing this direction is that I can use ARD and see my mini is awake, then login and the mini comes back to life locally.

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Answer 3

rrose selavy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 21, 2011 11:42 AM in response to Dougapple Gilbert

Earlier today the computer would not come out of sleep at all.
Had to manually power off it off and turn it back on.

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Answer 4

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Jan 22, 2011 8:31 AM in response to rrose selavy

So pressing and holding down the space bar on the keyboard doesn't work? Sometimes if I just punch the space bar, meaning a quick press without holding it down, it doesn't create a wake event. That's been my experience.

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Answer 5

rrose selavy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 22, 2011 9:30 AM in response to BSteely

No pressing and holding down space bar doesn't always work. One time out of maybe 10? The fact that it comes out of sleep once in ten is what seems odd.

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Answer 6

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Jan 22, 2011 3:39 PM in response to rrose selavy

Is the keyboard plugged directly into a USB port on the mini or is a hub involved? You might try making a direct connection if it's not already configured that way.

Also, are you possibly using one of those power strips that shuts off the outlets based on the load drawn from the "main" outlet?

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Answer 7

rrose selavy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 22, 2011 6:58 PM in response to BSteely

the keyboard is plugged into a 30 in cinema display, so not directly into the mini

yes, am using a switched power strip

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Answer 8

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Jan 23, 2011 6:35 AM in response to rrose selavy

the keyboard is plugged into a 30 in cinema display

OK, so one thing to try is plugging the keyboard directly into the mini.

yes, am using a switched power strip

Just to be sure, I'm talking about something a little fancier than a power strip with a switch on it. There are power strips on the market now that have a low energy feature where they actually shut off "slave" outlets based on the current draw through the "master" outlet. So if the main component on the master is switched off, all the other connected devices are also switched off through their AC inlets by virtue of their connection to the switched outlets on the power strip. A sleeping mini's current draw will be so low that it would trigger the slave devices on the power strip to all be shut off. Just wondering if you have something like that.

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Answer 9

Boece

Level 5

6,264 points

Jan 23, 2011 7:05 AM in response to rrose selavy

May or may not help, but if you have an Apple Remote, try pressing its menu button once. This works for me when other wake-up methods fail.

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Answer 10

rrose selavy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 23, 2011 9:34 AM in response to BSteely

makes no difference plugging directly into the mini

"...trigger the slave devices on the power strip to all be shut off"

which would mean the mini would turn off entirely, yes?
not that it matters in this case, because i do not have such a power strip

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Answer 11

rrose selavy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 23, 2011 9:35 AM in response to Boece

yes...i did try using remote
it puts the mini into sleep perfectly
does not always wake it up
had to manually power down the mini and turn it back on again today

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Answer 12

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Jan 25, 2011 6:32 PM in response to rrose selavy

You might want to open Console and check the logs for any reported problems with the HCI (host controller interface). From the sounds of it, your mini has a hardware problem.

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Answer 13

rrose selavy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 25, 2011 7:17 PM in response to BSteely

thanks bsteely
i opened console and search for hci and host controller interface and nothing came up

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Answer 14

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Jan 25, 2011 8:44 PM in response to rrose selavy

I think it's time to take the matter up with Apple. Are you close to an Apple Store?

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