mikestan56

Q: iMac shuts down randomly for no apparent reason

In late August of this year, after the plug came out of the back of my iMac when I was attempting to adjust the angle of the screen while the computer was on, the computer began shutting off for no reason while on. I took the iMac to the Apple Store in El Paseo, in Palm Desert. They replaced the 3 TB fusion hard drive saying that there had been a history of problems with this. I received the iMac back and shortly thereafter began to shut down once again for no reason. I brought it back to the Apple Store and they deleted some software and removed some software that were automatically engaging at startup. The iMac began to shut down for no reason once again. I brought it back in and they ran a full diagnostic test and could not find any problems. It worked for a while and then began to shut down for no reason again. I brought it back in to the Apple Store in this time I was advised that there are going to run more extensive hardware testing, running it through longer cycles etc. They could not find the problem and suggested that it was likely an effect of peripherals I had connected to the iMac. I disconnected all the peripherals from the iMac and began testing them one by one over time. The iMac still shut down for no reason at random times. I ran the computer with no peripherals connected at all, and it still shut down for no reason. I have run Apple diagnostics and it found no trouble. I have run malware detection software and it found some things that were then deleted. I did this very early before I even brought to the Apple Store. I ran antivirus scans, full scans on the iMac and it found no infection. I also ran fan control software to see if the iMac was overheating and even with the fans at the full rpm setting, the iMac still shut down at random times. I used a rocket air blower that I used to remove dust from my camera lens to try to blow through the back vent and the bottom screen vents to free that of any buildup of dust, and it still shut down for no reason. What could possibly be the issue with this machine after all the testing and interventions that have been done?


Late 2012 iMac - Quad Core Core i7- 16GB, 3TB Fusion Drive

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), Mac (27-inch, Late 2012) 3.4 GHz

Posted on Nov 3, 2015 3:55 PM

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Q: iMac shuts down randomly for no apparent reason

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  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Nov 23, 2015 2:14 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 7 (32,024 points)
    iPad
    Nov 23, 2015 2:14 PM in response to John Galt

    Well, I don't know how cheap OWC is as it has happened with three different externals of theirs: one brand new Elite Pro Mini, a year old Mini, and a regular size Elite Pro 2 TB. Using their power supplies and an APC UPS. I've had a logic board replaced some years back because two of the USB ports stopped functioning; if the iMac won't even respond with a regular USB keyboard and mouse plugged into those ports (showing the log in screen, but being unable to input the password), then I'm blaming the logic board for now........

     

    I just bought this in January as a refurb (purposely so I could run my movie software using Mavericks as it is not supported with Yosemite or El Capitan).

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 23, 2015 5:07 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 23, 2015 5:07 PM in response to John Galt

    Thank you John, I am sorry for the log length data. I tried to edit the post but could not find how to do so. I thought I just copied the segment of the log report related to the shutdown, jeesh! I will unplug my external drive, now that I have backed up my system. I am thinking of trading the iMac in on a used Powermac if I end up with a logic board issue. I left it on all day today and it did not shut down. I did a first aid repair on the drive just in case it got messed up by all the shutdowns and left it running by accident. I did not run any programs and it stayed on. So there seems to be something about running a number of apps at once.  Maybe it is overheating and my fan system is not working properly after all that third party fan control software I had been trying. Here is also an interesting point, I think. Whenever it has an unexpected shutdown, I cannot restart it by pressing the power button. I have to first, unplug it, wait 30 seconds, and plug back in, wait 5 seconds and then press the power button and it will start up. I have to reset the smc every time it has an unplanned shutdown...

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 23, 2015 8:38 PM in response to mikestan56
    Level 8 (49,085 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 8:38 PM in response to mikestan56

    Does the iMac run without interruption as long as the external drive is not connected?

     

    An inoperative fan can be diagnosed using Apple Hardware Test. I believe Apple didn't find anything wrong with them though.

     

    Whenever it has an unexpected shutdown, I cannot restart it by pressing the power button. I have to first, unplug it, wait 30 seconds, and plug back in, wait 5 seconds and then press the power button and it will start up.


    Those symptoms remain consistent with a defective power supply, but a defective SMC is also possible.

     

    No worries about the length of the log file; I just wanted to make sure any personal information was removed. The site Hosts took care of that.

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 24, 2015 7:19 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 7:19 AM in response to John Galt

    Interestingly the external drive was connected all day when the computer stayed on. Last night, it shut down on me when I was working on uploading my photos to Chrome.

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 24, 2015 8:45 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 8:45 AM in response to John Galt

    I am wondering as well about a program called MacKeeper. I installed this a year ago and then  heard many bad things about it. I uninstalled it, but that is when my computer seemed to have more problems including the shutdowns. Is there any possibility of some kind of malware or viral sabotage that is resulting in these shutdowns? If it is the power supply that would be a good, and relatively inexpensive fix for this problem.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Nov 24, 2015 8:49 AM in response to mikestan56
    Level 7 (32,024 points)
    iPad
    Nov 24, 2015 8:49 AM in response to mikestan56

    If I may interject: it's a very, very good thing that you got rid of MacKeeper; who knows what system components it deleted or messed up. Are you sure you uninstalled it according to their instructions/uninstaller to make sure nothing at all remains?

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 24, 2015 9:00 AM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 9:00 AM in response to babowa

    I googled instructions for how to get rid of it. I think I followed it correctly, instead of just trashing it.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 24, 2015 9:03 AM in response to mikestan56
    Level 8 (49,085 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 24, 2015 9:03 AM in response to mikestan56

    MacKeeper is very capable of corrupting a system. That's all those programs do. MacKeeper isn't even the worst example any more. The aggregate cost to Mac users in terms of lost time and productivity alone must be incalculable, to say nothing of the irretrievable data loss that can result from the use of ill-conceived "cleaning" garbage. All those programs are scams.

     

    Merely uninstalling it, even if you did that completely correctly, is insufficient to reverse that corruption.

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 24, 2015 11:55 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 11:55 AM in response to John Galt

    I lost a whole series of photos I took at Yosemite in the fall of last year. Many other photos were corrupted. Now, I have a new hard drive and have had OS X reinstalled a couple of times. Would the Mackeeper corruption still be present? How would I reverse this overall corruption? Can I save my photo and video files and just start over with a new computer?

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 24, 2015 12:11 PM in response to mikestan56
    Level 8 (49,085 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 24, 2015 12:11 PM in response to mikestan56

    One of MacKeeper's endearing features is its ability to delete original photographs in your Photos or iPhoto Library. That is just one example of its irreversibly destructive actions. As I wrote MacKeeper is only one example.

     

    How would I reverse this overall corruption?

     

    You cannot. There is no way to undo that, other than to restore your iPhoto Library from a backup created prior to the onset of corruption. Reinstalling OS X will have no effect, other than to restored corrupted operating system components themselves. It does not remove any third party modifications.

     

    Can I save my photo and video files and just start over with a new computer?

     

    Yes. You can save the present state of your Mac's storage by using Time Machine: Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support.

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 24, 2015 12:44 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 12:44 PM in response to John Galt

    I have researched and found out quite a bit about the MacKeeper fiasco. I have filed a claim in the class action suit against Zeobit to at least get my purchase price back, although what I have lost is much more valuable than that. I have found instructions for how to go into several areas of my computer to remove MacKeeper files. I wonder if that corruption is directly related to my shutdown issue, intriguing as the shutdowns also started shortly after my attempt to uninstall MacKeeper. My computer was running slower and that is why I bought it in the first place. Since uninstalling, I have also noticed that my browser takes a very long time to connect to the web page I am trying to access and often times it will time out before I even get there. This never used to happen with such frequency. I wonder if all these issues are tied together?

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 24, 2015 12:57 PM in response to mikestan56
    Level 8 (49,085 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 24, 2015 12:57 PM in response to mikestan56

    It is simply not possible to determine all the effects that can result from having used MacKeeper of any other similarly categorized "cleaning" utility. For Macs that have been affected by their use, the only action I can comfortably recommend is to erase the Mac completely. It's what I do after evaluating them in an effort to diagnose other people's Mac problems.

     

    If — and only if — they were merely installed and not actually used, uninstalling them is simple. It sounds as though you actually used MacKeeper though.

     

    I'd still be surprised if MacKeeper is cause of the random shutdowns.

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 24, 2015 8:04 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 8:04 PM in response to John Galt

    I Wonder if when I went to adjust my iMac screen angle and accidentally pulled the plug out of the back of the computer while it was on , that that some how damaged the power supply

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 24, 2015 8:12 PM in response to mikestan56
    Level 8 (49,085 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 24, 2015 8:12 PM in response to mikestan56

    That is what I suspected from the beginning, but Apple wasn't able to reproduce it.

  • by mikestan56,

    mikestan56 mikestan56 Nov 25, 2015 12:08 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 12:08 PM in response to John Galt
    27 iMac (2012) crashes and requires smc reset to turn on

    I just found this post topic in another discussion thread. There are many Apple customers who have experienced the exact same problem as me. Now this is appearing to take on a larger picture, of some kind of inherent flaw in the machine for this model iMac. I was scanning through some of the posts on this thread this morning and was stunned to see how similar it was to what I'm experiencing. Similar machine, similarly equipped, 3.4 GHz core i7, 16 GB RAM, 3 TB fusion drive 27 inch iMac. I'm wondering who I talk with now from Apple to see about a recall for this unit. Many other customers complained of the nearly $3000 they spent on this machine just to have this happen after an average of two years. I have sent some messages on product feedback to try to get their attention on this. I'm wondering if I should call one of their reps on the phone to discuss the issue. It must certainly be on their radar.

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