mfefa
Level 1 (4 points)
Notebooks

Q: Macbook Air won't turn off or restart or log off

Hello. I'm having some problems with my macbook air. Everytime i try to turn it off, restart or log off he "frozen"... I can still move the cursor and the dock don't "go away".

Now the only solution for me it's to press and hold down the Power button for 10-15 seconds until it shuts down, but I think that isn't "safe" for the computer.

But anyways, what can i do to fix this problem? Does it have a solution or do i have to buy another computer?

 

Someone please help me. I only have this computer and I use it to everything, I need to fix it. I have this computer now for 2 or 3 years.

 

ps: The last time i tried to turn off the "finder" app got frozen. And sorry for my poor grammar, I'm not a native english speaker.

 

Here's the information about my mac:

 

Macbook Air (13-inch mid 2013)

OS X El Captain - version 10.11.5

1,3 ghz intel core i5

4gb 1600 mhz ddr3

graphics intel hd graphics 5000 1536 mb

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), Macbook Air mid 2013

Posted on Jun 27, 2016 8:50 PM

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mfefa

Q: Macbook Air won't turn off or restart or log off

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  • Helpful answers

  • by jameson.h,

    jameson.h jameson.h Jun 28, 2016 12:27 PM in response to mfefa
    Community Specialists
    Jun 28, 2016 12:27 PM in response to mfefa

    Hi mfefa.

     

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities. From your post, I see that your MacBook Air isn't able to shutdown, restart or log out of your user account as expected. I'm happy to provide you with some direction to resolve this.

     

    To start, let's make sure we have a current Time Machine backup of your MacBook Air's data. Here's an Apple knowledge base article with steps:

    Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac

     

    Once the backup is complete please force shutdown your MacBook Air, and follow these steps:

     

    1. Access Safe Mode. 

    Try safe mode if your Mac doesn‘t finish starting up

     

    2. Restart your MacBook Air while in Safe Mode.

    - If your MacBook Air restarts normally in Safe Mode, then allow the MacBook Air to boot to your desktop, and verify if the issue persists. If it does continue to step 3.

    - If your MacBook Air did not restart in as expected in Safe Mode. Continue to step 4.

    - If unable to access Safe Mode. Continue to step 4.

     

    3. Follow the "If an issue doesn't happen in safe mode" section in the article linked in step 1. If the issue persists after completing that step, then continue to step 4.

     

    4. Check if the issue occurs in a Test User.

    How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

    - If the issue also occurs in the Test User account, then continue to step 6.

    - If the issue does not occur in the Test User account, then continue to step 5.

     

    5. Since issue does not occur in the Test User account, it is specific to your user account and it is possible a third party app or process that is causing it. Please make sure  to quit all third party apps before shutting down your MacBook Air. If the issue still occurs, then continue to step 6.

     

    6. Reinstall OS X

    How to reinstall OS X on your Mac

     

    7. If the issue persists after reinstalling OS X, then follow the "Erase your drive and install OS X" section in the article linked in step 6. Be sure to check if the issue persists before restoring your data.

     

     

    Best regards.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 28, 2016 1:55 PM in response to mfefa
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Jun 28, 2016 1:55 PM in response to mfefa

    Outdated software for a Wacom tablet can prevent shutdown. If you no longer use the device, please remove the software. Otherwise, update it to the latest version from the manufacturer's website.

    After following the removal instructions linked above, you may also need to open the Users & Groups pane in System Preferences, select the Login Items tab, and delete any Wacom-related items. That's because the uninstaller is defective.

    Back up all data before making any changes.

  • by mfefa,

    mfefa mfefa Jul 8, 2016 7:30 AM in response to jameson.h
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 8, 2016 7:30 AM in response to jameson.h

    Thank you for your reply. I accessed safe mode and it worked, even if the screen kept "failing". But I didn't tried the other steps, I'm going to take to an apple store because I can't open Imovie, VLC doesn't work and when I try to open illustrator it says that I have to update the graphics driver, so I think it's a problem that's affecting the "video part" of the system... I don't know, I have no idea how to fix this.

    But, anyway, thank you for your support.

  • by mfefa,

    mfefa mfefa Jul 8, 2016 7:33 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 8, 2016 7:33 AM in response to Linc Davis

    I tried to open some of these apps but It doesn't work, It shuts down after I click on it. So I'm just going to take to the apple store and see what they can do, It's better for me to do this because I don't know what I can and can't delete.

    But thank you for your reply.