why is my Mac not sleeping?

This is always due to a process keeping the system awake, but determining which is the challenge.

• A first simple step is to create a new, temporary user account. Log out of yours and log into the temporary one. Determine if it sleeps then.
• Whenever you suspect a problem related to power, including sleep, an SMC reset is also recommended.
• Energy Saver "Wake for network access" may prevent sleep, but unchecking it will reduce the ability to remotely access your Mac over a network. A normally functioning Mac will sleep according to Energy Saver, but wake for network access, after which it will return to sleep according to the settings in Energy Saver.
• Unfinished print jobs will prevent sleep. If a print job is queued, but you turned your printer off, the Mac will stay awake forever waiting for the printer to return.
• Check your Sharing preferences for anything that could permit an active network connection.
• Safari pages that refresh themselves are very common. This will prevent sleep.
• Frequently checking for new mail will prevent sleep.
• iTunes and iPhoto sharing will prevent sleep.
• Active Bluetooth devices will prevent sleep.
• Active USB devices will prevent sleep.
• Using Time Machine over a network can prevent sleep.
• There are plenty of third party utilities designed to prevent sleep. One may not have been completely uninstalled.
• Quit the process with the name powerd in Activity Monitor. It will re-launch on its own.
• Any number of "anti-virus" utilities can prevent sleep along with other miseries. Get rid of them.

Mac OS X: Why your Mac might not sleep or stay in sleep mode: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1776

Good luck!

I am not certain what google is doing but I'll bet the problem is Smith Micro a/k/a "Spring Cleaning Deluxe". $49 that could have been spent on a good dinner instead of the junk that it is. Uninstall it.

I have a similar problem, posting here so I don't have to clutter the forum with another thread.

My MacBook with 10.7.3 does not sleep. I would manually select the sleep option, close the cover, or use automatic sleep timer via Energy Saver, none of the above works. I created a new account to see if it sleeps and it remain awake after I repeated all of the options. What else can I do?

Hi Cyberium_neo

It is actually a good idea to start another thread, since this one is "answered" not many people will bother to read it any longer.

The first and most obvious thing to do is update your system to OS X 10.7.4. Since you are running 10.7.3 you may have missed a number of recommended updates. Run Software Update by selecting it under the  menu.

As far as diagnosing sleep issues goes make sure you read the above steps, repeated here in case I added anything since then:

This is always due to a process keeping the system awake, but determining which is the challenge.

• A first simple step is to create a new, temporary user account. Log out of yours and log into the temporary one. Determine if it sleeps then. If it does then you have a login item that is preventing sleep. System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items.
• Whenever you suspect a problem related to power, including sleep, an SMC reset is also recommended.
• Energy Saver "Wake for network access" will prevent sleep, but unchecking it will prevent the ability to remotely access a sleeping Mac over a network. A normally functioning Mac will sleep according to Energy Saver, but will wake for network access, after which it will return to sleep according to the settings in Energy Saver.
• Unfinished print jobs will prevent sleep. If a print job is queued, but if the printer is off or the connection to it is lost, the Mac will stay awake forever waiting for the printer to return.
• Check your Sharing preferences for anything that could permit an active network connection.
• Safari pages that periodically refresh themselves are very common. This will prevent sleep.
• Frequent checking for new mail may prevent sleep.
• iTunes and iPhoto sharing will prevent sleep.
• Active Bluetooth devices will prevent sleep.
• Active USB devices will prevent sleep.
• Using Time Machine over a network can prevent sleep.
• There are plenty of third party utilities designed to prevent sleep. One may not have been completely uninstalled.
• Quit the process with the name powerd in Activity Monitor. It will re-launch on its own.
• Any number of "anti-virus" utilities can prevent sleep along with other miseries. Get rid of them.

Mac OS X: Why your Mac might not sleep or stay in sleep mode: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1776

Good luck!

John, I am having an iMac sleep problem with iPhoto Photo Stream activated. Is there any solution to this problem because I really like Photo Stream but want my iMac to sleep when I'm not here...can you help me out?

Thx Robb