Spontaneous logout in Snow Leopard

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Spontaneous logout in Snow Leopard

Looking for anyone who has experienced the blue screen and logout issue with Leopard or Snow Leopard and who has resolved the issue.

I have been having this problem with my Macbook Pro 3,1 since Snow Leopard first came out. I have seen the variety of discussions and it appears that Rosetta is the problem for some people, while 10.6.2 fixed the issue for others, but it appears that the problem remains for many. As of 10.6.7, this problem still exists on my machine. I do not have Rosetta installed. It happens when plugged in or unplugged, with an external monitor or without, with USB attached and without. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to it. It will happen 10 times in a day, sometimes while the machine is not being touched. I can go a month without it happening, and then pop back up when I least expect it.

Apple has looked at my crash logs but has not offered any real solution. While I appreciate their willingness to look at the logs, it is strange to me that the logs cannot point specifically to what is causing the problem.

So, has anyone solved this problem or heard any updates?

Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on May 3, 2011 10:10 PM

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Answer 1

May 4, 2011 2:25 AM in response to James DeRosa

System Preferences -> Security -> General -> Log out after xx minutes of inactivity

Maybe that option is set?

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Answer 2

James DeRosa Author

Level 1

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May 4, 2011 4:13 AM in response to Stress Test

No, it's not an orderly logout, but the screen just flashes blue, all programs close and you are back to a login prompt. When you log back in, you've lost anything you were working on. Most people show a crash of WindowServer.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

I'm really looking for an update on any number of previous discussion threads as those with this problem neverr seem to end with a solution, they just trail off and are archived.

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Answer 3

Barky6

Level 1

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May 11, 2011 11:32 AM in response to James DeRosa

I have the same problem. It almost always happens shortly after I set a video regardless of type (DVD, .mpg, .mov, .wmv, .flv) to 'full screen' mode. I can pretty much replicate the problem by i) opening up lots of windows; ii) running a number of downloads; iii) having Microsoft Office apps open at the same time (Entourage, Word, Excel, Powerpoint) and iv) starting a movie and setting it to full screen mode.

Window Server appears to be the culprit, based on log files.

I've created a separate user (problem still happens), repaired permissions, backed out to earlier versions of Snow Leopard and the problem still persists. I never experienced this problem under Leopard.

I've seen many threads on this and they all end with no resolution... but Surely this is a problem - I only wish that Apple would acknowledge it and offer up a fix. Very frustrating to have this happen and all the files have to be recovered and so on.

My System Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro OS X Version 10.6.7

Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 4 GB

Bus Speed: 800 MHz

Boot ROM Version: MBP31.0070.B07

SMC Version (system): 1.16f11

Serial Number (system): System Serial#

Hardware UUID: 00000000-0000-1000-8000-001B6394586E

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled

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Answer 4

Jun 22, 2011 1:50 PM in response to Barky6

I am experiencing the same issue with random logouts and believe too the windowserver crash is the culprit. I've seen several posts for this problem in Leopard and Snow Leopard but no solution. Has any progress been made on this?

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Answer 5

Jun 23, 2011 12:39 AM in response to James DeRosa

Something in the Logs? Open Console.app (Application > Utilities) after a crash and have a look if there are some errors written down.

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Answer 6

Jun 23, 2011 12:53 AM in response to Stress Test

This is what I found in the dying seconds - I noted the WindowServer crashed:

22/06/2011 19:07:51 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[132] ([0x0-0x1d01d].com.wacom.Consumer_TouchDriver[187]) Exited with exit code: 255

22/06/2011 19:07:51 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[132] (com.wacom.pentablet[160]) Exited with exit code: 255

22/06/2011 19:07:51 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[132] (com.apple.Dock.agent[136]) Exited with exit code: 1

22/06/2011 19:07:51 com.apple.ReportCrash.Root[820] 2011-06-22 19:07:51.568 ReportCrash[820:2903] Saved crash report for WindowServer[59] version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/WindowServer_2011-06-22-190751_localhost.crash

22/06/2011 19:07:54 com.apple.WindowServer[823] Wed Jun 22 19:07:54 localhost WindowServer[823] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.

22/06/2011 19:07:54 com.wacom.pentablet[832] TabletDriver[832]: Finish launching /Library/Application Support/Tablet/PenTabletDriver.app/Contents/Resources/ConsumerTouchDriver.app

22/06/2011 19:07:54 com.wacom.pentablet[832] TabletDriver[832]: Finish launching /Library/Application Support/Tablet/PenTabletDriver.app/Contents/Resources/TabletDriver.app

22/06/2011 19:08:10 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[132] ([0x0-0x14014].com.lexmark.aio.lexnet01[175]) Exit timeout elapsed (20 seconds). Killing

22/06/2011 19:08:10 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[132] ([0x0-0x14014].com.lexmark.aio.lexnet01[175]) Job has overstayed its welcome. Forcing removal.

22/06/2011 19:08:10 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[132] ([0x0-0x14014].com.lexmark.aio.lexnet01) Bug: launchd_core_logic.c:1114 (24498):0

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Answer 7

Jun 23, 2011 12:58 AM in response to Yaptastic

Is that the first line of the error messages according to that time?

If yes the line

com.wacom.Consumer_TouchDriver ... Exited with exit code: 255

seems like something is wrong with the Wacom driver. Have a look if there's an driver update for that product.

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Answer 8

Jun 23, 2011 1:15 AM in response to Stress Test

Firstly thanks for your input (and so prompt too!).

Yes that's the first line. I'll check the wacom driver (or remove). It's curious this would cause the random logout issue. I've gone back in the console log to see other instances and that maybe the culprit. Out of curiosity though, from other forums, I see the WindowServer is the common element to most random log out. How can a peripheral driver cause such a bad cascade effect?

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Answer 9

Jun 24, 2011 11:32 PM in response to James DeRosa

I have the same problem with my wife's computer. We don't have any Bluetooth devices. We don't have Microsoft Office installed. We have no Rosetta applications. It happens when just browsing the web using Safari. It looks like the crash is related to the display server.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. It looks like this problem has been out there since the initial release of 10.6. One of the benefits of purchasing a Mac is that the hardware and software are designed by the same company.

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Answer 10

Jun 25, 2011 1:47 AM in response to brandon98

Just to confirm, do you suddenly get logged out of your profile and return to the login screen?

Have you checked the Console log at the time of the sudden log-out? For majority of people who experienced this, the WindowServer crashed which causes the logout out, but as Stress Test suggests another app/plugin could be causing it. For me, it may have been the Wacom app, which wasn't so obvious because I hardly use my Wacom tablet. The tell-tale sign was that it 'exited' just before the WindowServer crash. Check for your situation. Let me know if you need guidance...

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Answer 11

Jun 26, 2011 8:20 PM in response to Yaptastic

Yes, whatever applications were opened close and I am dumped back to the log in screen. The only external device that gets plugged in is an iPod Touch. I have had the system kick me out with only Safari open.

Are there any other logs I should check to find exacly what is occuring? I am willing to help track this down if there is anything I can do.

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Answer 12

Jun 27, 2011 5:08 AM in response to brandon98

What is written down in the Log files? Open the Console.app as mentioned above just right after a crash, and copy the last line few lines as Yaptastic has done.

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Answer 13

Jun 27, 2011 5:09 AM in response to Yaptastic

@Yaptastic

Is it working to you? Was it the the first line according to the crash of the windowserver?

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Answer 14

Jun 27, 2011 6:17 PM in response to Stress Test

Here are the log lines before and after the crash.

6/27/11 5:00:29 PM [0x0-0x39039].com.apple.Safari[379] Mon Jun 27 17:00:29 macbookpro.home.2i.com Safari[379] <Error>: unknown error code: invalid drawable

6/27/11 5:11:19 PM WebKitPluginHost[409] HIToolbox: received notification of WindowServer event port death.

6/27/11 5:11:19 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.WindowServer[71]) Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault

6/27/11 5:11:19 PM com.apple.Dock.agent[99] Mon Jun 27 17:11:19 macbookpro.home.2i.com Dock[99] <Error>: (ipc/send) invalid destination port: CGSSetMagicMirror: server didn't like your request

6/27/11 5:11:19 PM com.apple.Dock.agent[99] Mon Jun 27 17:11:19 macbookpro.home.2i.com Dock[99] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.

6/27/11 5:11:19 PM com.apple.Dock.agent[99] Mon Jun 27 17:11:19 macbookpro.home.2i.com Dock[99] <Error>: (ipc/send) invalid destination port: CGSSetMagicMirror: server didn't like your request

6/27/11 5:11:19 PM com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[95] (com.apple.Dock.agent[99]) Exited with exit code: 1

6/27/11 5:11:20 PM com.apple.ReportCrash.Root[435] 2011-06-27 17:11:20.315 ReportCrash[435:2803] Saved crash report for WindowServer[71] version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/WindowServer_2011-06-27-171120_localhost.crash

6/27/11 5:11:22 PM com.apple.WindowServer[438] Mon Jun 27 17:11:22 macbookpro.home.2i.com WindowServer[438] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.

6/27/11 5:11:28 PM com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[95] (com.apple.ReportCrash) Falling back to default Mach exception handler. Could not find: com.apple.ReportCrash.Self

6/27/11 5:11:31 PM com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[95] (com.apple.Kerberos.renew.plist[472]) Exited with exit code: 1

6/27/11 5:11:31 PM com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[95] (com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-lisa@me.com-SharedServices[477]) Exited with exit code: 1

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Answer 15

bluezedd

Level 1

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Jul 8, 2011 7:09 PM in response to James DeRosa

i have no solution and as previous posts note that this problem is noted (since 2009) but no solution is found.

i have had sudden spontaneous logouts 3 times recently but not previously under 10.6.

At the time of spontaneous logouts i had 10.6.7

1st time sudden log out and blue screen then login window. was using pages 4.0.5 and lost all work. also open but hidden was text edit which was still there after login.this under 10.6.7. later consol check shows window server.

as pages does not auto save i lost a lot of important work. could have cried!!

next incident was using Ultraviolet Dawn.app, the only app open. again window server on consol.

i have just updated to 10.6.8 and will be saving pages docs after each entry but would also like to know if anyone has got answers. thanks

macbook pro 15" 2.93GHz 6GB 1067 MHz DDR3 10.6.7 (at time of spontaneous logouts) no USB or bluetooth atttachments.

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