imac mid 2011 21.5 shutting down by itself

Question

Level 1

8 points

imac mid 2011 21.5 shutting down by itself

2 days ago my imac started to turn off by itself, and when it does so it will not turn back on for a few minutes. i have monitored the temps right before shut downs and it is in safe numbers, around 40-60 celcius, the shutdown cause says 0 when i look in the console. also tried resetting the smc or whatever its called and no luck, also tried plugging it in different places but same issue. ive done countless research and i cant seem to find a fix, im also out of warranty so i want to avoid bringing this sucker in. Is it that the power supply is going bad? please can anyone help me out

Posted on Aug 17, 2016 10:15 AM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

92,278 points

Aug 17, 2016 10:41 AM in response to Krumpinator

To properly reset the SMC, see > Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

(try that again a time or two)

Run the > Apple Hardware Test - Apple Support

Run > http://etrecheck.com/ and report the results.

What temp monitor are you using and what component(s) does it monitor...?

(post a screenshot of the read out)

FWIW I use > http://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control on my iMac and Mac Mini's.

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Answer 2

Allan Jones

Level 9

78,692 points

Aug 17, 2016 10:55 AM in response to Krumpinator

In spite of the temps you see reported, your symptoms sounds heat-related. Have you checked the air intakes on the bottom edge of the case. We have two iMacs with that case design and we must clean the dust from the vents every 4-5 months to maintain temperature control.

Have you run Apple Diagnostics to see if any fans or sensors are not working? Info here:

Using Apple Diagnostics - Apple Support

EDIT: Sorry, den.thed...got interrupted while composing and did not see your response.

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

92,278 points

Aug 17, 2016 2:20 PM in response to Krumpinator

I would use caution in speeding up the fans. All it will do is suck the dust bunnies deeper into it's innards.

FWIW, at this point I think that your girl friend should make an appointment with your local service provider ASAP and have it looked at. Mac desktops Service Answer Center - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Krumpinator Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 17, 2016 11:11 AM in response to den.thed

I Ran the more simple apple hardware test but nothing came up, I will have to try the extended one when I get home and I'm using istatspro to monitor, and yes to me it completely sounds like a overheating issue and I'll check the vents too. I've had it for 5 years and this is the first time I've ran in to the problem

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Answer 5

den.thed

Level 10

92,278 points

Aug 17, 2016 11:33 AM in response to Krumpinator

Shutdown, disconnect it from the power, lay it face down on a soft cloth and gently vacuum off the bottom intake area instead of blowing. Blowing will only drive the dust bunnies deeper into impossible places to get at. If it's really dusty, it might also be a good idea to remove the RAM cover and clean that area out.

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Answer 6

Krumpinator Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 17, 2016 1:18 PM in response to den.thed

here is the screenshot from istats https://gyazo.com/51196afc98b9630645fea52e1549959a

EtreCheck version: 3.0.1 (304)

Report generated 2016-08-17 13:15:53

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 2:01

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Computer is restarting

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac12,1

1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

12 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ

AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

WDC WD5000AAKS-402AA0 disk0 : (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

KrumpMac (disk0s2) / : 39.25 GB (18.80 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

BOOTCAMP (disk0s4) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP : 460.00 GB (181.72 GB free)

HL-DT-STDVDRW GA32N ()

USB Information: ⓘ

Astro Gaming Inc. ASTRO MixAmp Pro

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Card Reader

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

USB Keyboard

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] net.osrom.kext.Disabler (1.0.1 - 2016-08-16) [Support]

[not loaded] org.voodoo.driver.VoodooHDA (2.8.7 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-08-16) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 8 Apple tasks

[loaded] 160 Apple tasks

[running] 70 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 47 Apple tasks

[loaded] 161 Apple tasks

[running] 82 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist (2016-08-17)

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusnotifications.plist (2016-08-17)

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusstatus.plist (2016-08-17)

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist (2016-07-06)

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist (2016-07-06) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist (2016-08-17) [Support]

[loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist (2016-07-06) [Support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist (2016-07-06)

[running] net.exirion.ssdfanctrl.plist (2013-10-31)

User Login Items: ⓘ

iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-16)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-08-16)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

None

Time Machine: ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

36% mdworker(11)

32% TeamViewer_Desktop

16% WindowServer

8% Skype

8% kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

898 MB kernel_task

270 MB TeamViewer_Desktop

184 MB Skype

184 MB mdworker(11)

98 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

8.43 GB Free RAM

3.56 GB Used RAM (1.11 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Aug 17, 2016, 01:10:18 PM Self test - passed

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Answer 7

den.thed

Level 10

92,278 points

Aug 17, 2016 2:12 PM in response to Krumpinator

What did the air intakes look like and how did the cleaning go...?

I don't see anything that obvious in the stat screenshot except for the fan speeds. Is that something you just started doing or have you been running the speeds up for awhile? Because if you have or are, then it will cause dust to collect at even a faster rate.

Other than some moderate CPU usage by mdworker and TeamViewer, the EtraCheck report looks OK.

Although, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that had their drive partitioned with only 40GB for OS X and 460GB for Bootcamp. Which leads up to the next question, is it shutting down while in OS X, Windows or both...?

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Answer 8

Krumpinator Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 17, 2016 2:12 PM in response to den.thed

didnt get to clean, it is actually my gfs computer and i'm trying to help, she doesn't have a vacuum lol and she only could wipe the vents to clean anything on the outside, fan speed i changed today to see if i can stop it if it was a overheating issue but it still happened. and its happening on both sides the windows and mac

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