Computers Won't Shut Down After Connecting To Server

According to our specific requirements:

• Keep old Mac Pro Server running, which cannot receive Sierra or further updates.
• Use network accounts.
• Do not use iCloud.

... we need to stuck at El Capitan and the problem above including the proposed solution: "Use AFP for network folder access." conflicts to profile manager use and Linc Davis' recipe (link above).

Because only stopping at shutdown looks to be a less problem than all others resulting from AFP use, I decided to investigate more on that problem and I think I happily got the reason and solution:

• Problem of hang-up at shutdown is a file system unmount problem.
• Although we defined to use SMB network user folders and at tests we never added any AFP network file service, the investigation reveled that:
  • SMB file systems have been successfully dismounted.
  • Not any mount-point has been occupied, but shutdown prevention still occurred.
  • Additional command "umount -A" issued from some parallel running administrator account told that something at "/dev" has been unmounted. This has been done during tests after network user had logged off.
  • We could reduce the effects of the somehow global "umount -A" by using "umount -A -t afp"!!!
• Finally we received a well operating and well down shutting system by adding "umount -A -t afp" to the "logout-fix.sh" found at: network home user lead to damaged keychains - still no fix since Mavericks.

It seems that there is a OS bug regarding use or not use of AFP and the above is a workaround.

Beware using it, if you have to use AFP based network connections additionally to SMB network user home folders. In this case the unspecific command above will dismount all of them likely including those at parallel active accounts of the same machine.

But for most of use the time of network users logout is a save time for doing so.

It looks like the issue still persists under High Sierra (I upgraded both client - Macbook - and server - MacMini).

This is extremely annoying as AFP is getting deprecated for sharing APFS content (see "File Sharing "section

on https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207828).

SMB has been reactivated during the High Sierra upgrade, I had to witness my Macbook not being able to shutdown,

prior to deactivate, again, SMB file sharing.

This issue has been found at our machines at latest El Capitan version 10.11.6, too.

Changing to AFP based network user folders helps!

There is a contradiction to the otherwise pretty good help recipe by Linc Davis at: Re: Network user's home folder can't be accessed on El capitan but it's ok on Yosemite, because he recommends SMB based folders.

Hello everyone,

Just to report the same issue with both my Macbook Air & Macbook Pro (both under MacOS Sierra).

When I connect to my Mac Mini (also under MacOS Sierra) through SMB share (activated along with AFP under Sharing settings): they cannot be properly shutdown (need to force it with a 10 seconds press on the Power button).

I still need the SMB sharing activated though (for Infuse media center to work).

Bye

I have found one way to get it to shutdown properly but it's a hassle. It is to disconnect the users in the server app. They will then shutdown correctly. I don't care to do that though since it shouldn't still be an issue.

it's funny but this only happens on my 2012 27" iMacs. the 21" iMacs and Macbook Airs have no problem shutting down. It's very frustrating for certain!! I'm half tempted to go back to Mountain Lion. I'm just afraid that I will lose compatibility with notes and reminders.

The problem has been solved for us. Even the 27" Macs can successfully shutdown. The server (meaning the computer serving the files, not the app) upgraded to High Sierra (10.13.2) and the shares have been changed to APFS. The 27" iMacs are still on Sierra. You can tell the server does not hold on to them near as tightly as it did before. They can log off without taking forever (and usually unsuccessfully in Sierra).

The other plus is how quickly the Finder shows the files even when there are 1000's in a folder on the server. A negative is if you are running High Sierra client to a Sierra Server is Indesign CS6 will have a lock on the files it opened for up to 5 minutes after closing them out.

There are other issues such has searching a share in Finder then clicking a file in the results will restart Finder immediately. This happens on all of my Sierra computers connected to the High Sierra server. The High Sierra clients, though, do not crash Finder on the search. I filed a bug report for this issue.

One thing I believe to be a problem is File Sharing has been removed from the Server app. You had more granular control then you do in sharing in settings. You also have much more control of users/groups in Server.app. Luckily it's still there, unlike FTP. I've had to buy an FTP server from the app store since it was removed.

We tried to use the above solution at second machine, but with no success, sorry!

With "sudo lsof" it revealed that some processes have open files dedicated to the already logged out network user: gssd (security related!!!), cfprefsd and disunited. The last two appear lately at process viewer, too, even for the case above after the logout-fix have done the job.

I just saw this. I have been having the same problem with my 27" iMac. I have 5 other macs running the same OS but they shutdown fine and they are all connected to a Mac Mini Server with 10.11.2.

Most things run well. The computer runs fine but every once in a while it will also have Finder do it's lock up and no matter how you try and restart it, you end up having to restart the Mac.

Back to the shutdown problem, Tonight I was getting ready to shutdown and made sure that all programs were closed, check. Then I thought, "maybe if I disconnect the network drives first it will shutdown." That appears to be it. It could not disconnect the network drive. It gave an error stating that I would have to force dismount and I had to click to force it. I did but all it did was...nothing. The buttons went gray like it was trying but it could not disconnect.

After about 5 minutes I then logged out, thinking it may have disconnected but didn't clear the screen. It logged out and then I clicked shutdown and it did the same thing with the spinning shutdown logo.

There is obviously a problem with the SMB because I am using it too. Some must be okay because my other macs are all connecting using SMB. Apple says we don't have much of a choice as they are pretty much forcing people to smb. Using SMB certainly does make browsing folders with lots of files much faster than AFP.

I didn't try to zap the PRAM (I did the SMC). I should try that next.

File transfers I don't notice as being faster only the time it takes for all the files to show up in Finder Window. I don't notice anything else though other than the only way you can use tags is to have the newest version of SMB on the Yosemite or higher server.

This morning when I booted up, I decided to zap my PRAM. After using my computer all day I shutdown and it actually shutdown. I didn't change anything else and was still using SMB.

Just wanted to update.

Still won't shutdown. I'm wondering if I have software that's installed that may not be quite compatible.

I wish you hadn't "given up" so quickly. I've been having this problem for many months now, and have reported it to Apple last year. I have an open bug filed (#23684301) which as of today is still open! I do hope Apple is working on a fix. I updated to 10.11.5 today on my 2 Macs and sadly this bug still exists. You should not have to downgrade to AFP in order to use such a basic function as file sharing between 2 Macs.

I encourage you to file your own bug report at bugreport.apple.com - the more people who report it the better. And Apple does not monitor these forums so we are just talking to each other here.