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Macbook Pro overheating in sleep mode - possibly indexing?

I routinely close the lid of my Macbook Pro (15", 2,53 GHz, Mid 2009) to put it into sleep mode prior to putting it into my bag for transportation, this has not been a problem for years with this or previous models I have owned.


Recently, I have found that the machine has not properly gone to sleep so I discover it some hours later very warm (iStatMenus says 85º C) and of course with the fan doing its nut and wearing down the battery.


On the last occasion this happened, when I got the machine running again via a soft reset, the CPU started working hard and I discovered that for some reason, the system was indexing - could this be a connection?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on May 7, 2012 3:01 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 7, 2012 3:05 PM

Test after each of the following steps that you haven’t already tried:


Step 1


▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Power Adapter ▹ Wake for network access: uncheck. You may need to unlock the preference pane by clicking the lock icon in the lower left corner and entering your administrator password.


Step 2


▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Schedule… ▹ Start up or wake: uncheck


Step 3


▹ System Preferences ▹ Print & Scan ▹ Open Print Queue...

Check all printers for unfinished jobs. Deal with any you find.


Step 4


Disconnect all wired peripherals except keyboard, mouse or trackball, and monitor, if applicable.


Step 5


Launch the Activity Monitor application in any of the following ways:


☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)


☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.


☞ If you’re running Mac OS X 10.7 or later, open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Activity Monitor in the page that opens.


Select All Processes from the menu in the toolbar, if not already selected. Enter “powerd” (without the quotes) in the "Filter" text field. Select the powerd process and click the Quit Process button in the toobar (stop-sign icon.) In the sheet that opens, click Force Quit. You’ll be prompted for your administrator password. The process will be relaunched immediately.


Step 6


Boot in safe mode and log in. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:


  • Be sure your Mac is shut down.
  • Press the power button.
  • Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
  • Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).


The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.


Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, you can’t boot in safe mode.


Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal. Don’t launch any applications at first. If sleep still doesn’t work properly, back up all data and reinstall the Mac OS. After that, if you still have the issue, make a “Genius” appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.


If sleep now works as expected, go on to the next step.


Step 7


Still in safe mode, launch the usual set of applications that are running when you have the problem, including your login items, one at a time, testing after each one. Some applications may not work; skip them. You might be able to identify the cause of the problem this way.


Step 8


If sleep is still working after you’ve launched all the usual applications, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and test again. If sleep still works, you’re done, at least for the moment.


If you still have the sleep issue after booting out of safe mode, post again.

4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 7, 2012 3:05 PM in response to Sean Keogh

Test after each of the following steps that you haven’t already tried:


Step 1


▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Power Adapter ▹ Wake for network access: uncheck. You may need to unlock the preference pane by clicking the lock icon in the lower left corner and entering your administrator password.


Step 2


▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Schedule… ▹ Start up or wake: uncheck


Step 3


▹ System Preferences ▹ Print & Scan ▹ Open Print Queue...

Check all printers for unfinished jobs. Deal with any you find.


Step 4


Disconnect all wired peripherals except keyboard, mouse or trackball, and monitor, if applicable.


Step 5


Launch the Activity Monitor application in any of the following ways:


☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)


☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.


☞ If you’re running Mac OS X 10.7 or later, open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Activity Monitor in the page that opens.


Select All Processes from the menu in the toolbar, if not already selected. Enter “powerd” (without the quotes) in the "Filter" text field. Select the powerd process and click the Quit Process button in the toobar (stop-sign icon.) In the sheet that opens, click Force Quit. You’ll be prompted for your administrator password. The process will be relaunched immediately.


Step 6


Boot in safe mode and log in. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:


  • Be sure your Mac is shut down.
  • Press the power button.
  • Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
  • Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).


The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.


Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, you can’t boot in safe mode.


Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal. Don’t launch any applications at first. If sleep still doesn’t work properly, back up all data and reinstall the Mac OS. After that, if you still have the issue, make a “Genius” appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.


If sleep now works as expected, go on to the next step.


Step 7


Still in safe mode, launch the usual set of applications that are running when you have the problem, including your login items, one at a time, testing after each one. Some applications may not work; skip them. You might be able to identify the cause of the problem this way.


Step 8


If sleep is still working after you’ve launched all the usual applications, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and test again. If sleep still works, you’re done, at least for the moment.


If you still have the sleep issue after booting out of safe mode, post again.

Oct 13, 2014 3:15 PM in response to Sean Keogh

First sorry for the spelling I am dyslex..


I am glade you got an answer.

Un-Happy I was not so luckey. I am typeing this on a friends computer because two days I shut the lid to my MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Cure 2 Duo (2008) but did not note that it was still doing things when I when out. When I came back 3 hours latter it would not wake up, it was VERY!!! HOT and sadley the fans had not turned on.. So it had burned it self out!!!.


This should not happen.


1) The chips (CPU/GPU) did not shut down when they got two hot (I don't know why this did not happen)

2) The Fans did not turn on to fast (I don't know why this happend as they where running)

3) The laptop keeped doing things with the ltd closed (it was not connected to any externel thing)


I was running > OS X 10.9.2


Steve

Macbook Pro overheating in sleep mode - possibly indexing?

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