Janet Mary 108

Q: cannot shut down my Macbook air

My Macbook Air will not shut down.

Text wrangler application will not quit, I tried force quit and nothing happens.

After attempted shut down I have problems re opening Safari.

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Dec 27, 2014 11:32 AM

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Q: cannot shut down my Macbook air

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  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Dec 29, 2014 9:45 AM in response to Janet Mary 108
    Community Specialists
    Dec 29, 2014 9:45 AM in response to Janet Mary 108

    Hi Janet Mary 108,

    Welcome to the Support Communities!  Is the Text Wranger application one of your startup items when you turn the computer on?  You may need to remove it from that list until you get the application to work properly.  Here are some things to try:

     

    OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? - Apple Support
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

    Starting up in Safe Mode

    Follow these steps to start up into Safe Mode.

    1. Be sure your Mac is shut down.
    2. Press the power button.
    3. Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be pressed as soon as possible after startup, but not before the startup sound.
    4. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

    After the Apple logo appears, it may take longer than usual to reach the login screen. This is because your computer is performing a directory check as part of Safe Mode.

     

    To leave Safe Mode, restart your computer without pressing any keys during startup.

     

    OS X Yosemite: Open items automatically when you log in
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18881

    Add or remove automatic items

    1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.

    2. Select the user, then click Login Items.

    3. Do one of the following:

      • Click Add  below the list on the right, select a document, or folder, then click Add. 

      • Select the name of the item you want to prevent from opening automatically, then click Remove  below the list on the right. 

      • If you don’t want an item’s windows to be visible after login, select Hide. 

        Note:    Hide does not apply to servers, which always appear in the Finder after login. 

     

    Temporarily prevent items from opening automatically when you log in

    If you see the login window, press the Shift key while you click the Log In button, then release the Shift key when you see the Dock

    If you don’t see the login window, restart your Mac, hold down the Shift key when you see the progress bar in the startup window, then release the Shift key after the desktop appears.

     

     

    Mac OS X: How to troubleshoot a software issue - Apple Support
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201516

     

     

    1. Start up in Safe Mode (Mac OS X v10.2 or later only). If the issue does not occur, there may be an issue with a startup item, login item, or kext file. Refer to this article for troubleshooting suggestions.

     

    1. Make sure you are using the latest version of the software. Check with the manufacturer if the product is published by a third party.
    2. If the issue only occurs while using a specific document, try creating a new document or replacing your document with a backup. Your document may be damaged. If possible, try testing with either a new file or a known-good file.
    3. Drag the application to the Trash and reinstall it if the issue persists. 

     

    I hope this information helps ....

     

    - Judy

  • by Janet Mary 108,

    Janet Mary 108 Janet Mary 108 Dec 29, 2014 10:28 AM in response to judysings
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 29, 2014 10:28 AM in response to judysings

    Hi there Judy,

     

    None of this solves the problem.

    The Textwrangler appication is not on the list as a start up item when the computer is turned on.

     

    I am unable to drag the Textwrangler application to the trash because my Mac thinks it is open.

     

    I am unable to shut down the Mac because the application Textwrangler will not force quit.

    I have had some e mail correspondence with the software developer who suggested I tried a couple of things none of which worked.

     

    I am using another download of Textwrangler which is located on my desktop. (It is essential to some work I do updating a couple of websites to be able to use this appilication) It is not possible to move the new download to the applications folder because of the problematic Textwrangler which is already there and appearing to be running.

     

    I am unable to ever restart or shut down my Mac due to this issue.

     

    Janet.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Dec 29, 2014 10:37 AM in response to Janet Mary 108
    Level 9 (73,524 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 29, 2014 10:37 AM in response to Janet Mary 108

    Have you tried shutting down the computer by using the power button?

  • by Janet Mary 108,

    Janet Mary 108 Janet Mary 108 Dec 29, 2014 10:48 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 29, 2014 10:48 AM in response to Eric Root

    Hi Eric,

     

    I have tried this and the computer will not shut down. 

     

    I closed all applications except the Textwrangler which will not shut down or force quit.

     

    Despite all applications being closed when I attempt to shut down by whatever method, and then re open any application, say Mail or Safari, for example, for the first appplication I try to open II get a dialogue box saying that application prevented shut down. I need to be very quick with the mouse to get to the cancel button in the dialogue box to be able to continue using the computer.

     

    To be honest I am baffled, although I am not hugely computer literate.

     

    Janet.

  • by judysings,Solvedanswer

    judysings judysings Dec 29, 2014 3:12 PM in response to Janet Mary 108
    Community Specialists
    Dec 29, 2014 3:12 PM in response to Janet Mary 108

    Hi Janet,

    This is certainly frustrating, but I have two more suggestions for you to try to clear stop the Text Wrangler application and force your computer to shut down.

    1) Use Activity Monitor to try to quit the Text Wranger application.  You can find it in the Applications > Utilities folder.  Select the Text Wranger application (Step 2) and then click on the X to quit the process.

    Activity Monitor: Quit a process
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5147

     

     

    Some processes use more memory or require a higher percentage of the computer’s processing time than others. If your computer seems to be working more slowly than usual, you can use Activity Monitor to quit a background process.

     

    1. Open Activity Monitor, in the Utilities folder in Launchpad.
    2. Select the process you want to quit.
    3. Click Quit Process.
    4. Do one of the following:
      • Click Quit. The process quits when it is safe to do so. If quitting the process could cause data loss or interfere with another application, the process doesn’t quit. This is the same as choosing File > Quit within an application.

      • Click Force Quit. The process quits immediately. If the process has open files, you may lose data. If the process is used by other applications or processes, those applications or processes could experience problems. To see if a process is used by another process, choose “All Processes, Hierarchically” from the Show pop-up menu in the toolbar

     

    Another option is to Shut Down the computer and remove the checkmark to reopen windows.

    OS X Yosemite: Log out, sleep, restart, and shut down
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18786

     

    Shut down

    Do any of the following:

    Click on the Apple logo in the upper-left corner of your screen and choose Shut Down.

    If you don’t want the app windows you currently have open to reopen when you restart your Mac and sign in, deselect “Reopen windows when logging back in.” 

    If your Mac won’t shut down, press and hold the power button for 5 seconds to force a shutdown.

    Important:    If you force a shutdown, you may lose unsaved changes in open documents. 

     

    The Mac is completely shut down when there is a black screen, no active power light, and no fan or drive noise.

    Important:    If you have a portable Mac, wait for it to shut down completely before closing the display. If you close the display while the Mac is shutting down, it may not shut down properly and may start up more slowly the next time you turn it on.

     

    I hope this does the trick!

    - Judy

  • by Janet Mary 108,

    Janet Mary 108 Janet Mary 108 Dec 29, 2014 6:40 PM in response to judysings
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 29, 2014 6:40 PM in response to judysings

    Hi Judy,

     

    Thank you, the second option of forcing a shutdown by holding the power button for several seconds solved the problem.

    The textwrangler application wasn't showing up in the activities monitor.

     

    Many thanks. Problem solved.

    Janet

  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Dec 30, 2014 1:34 PM in response to Janet Mary 108
    Community Specialists
    Dec 30, 2014 1:34 PM in response to Janet Mary 108

    Hi Janet,

    I'm glad you finally got the Text Wrangler application "wrangled"! :)

    Happy New Year!

    - Judy