Just wake my Mac Pro when it’s over
It may be asking too much to expect new Mac hardware that doesn’t exhibit any odd behavior, but hope springs eternal.
A few days ago a strange anomaly affecting many owners of the new Mac Pro models turned up on my machine. Waking the Mac Pro from sleep sometimes causes it to spontaneously reboot instead.
I know it’s not just me because the issue is a hot topic on several Mac Web sites including Accelerate Your Mac as well as Apple’s own support forums. The best solution anyone has come up with so far is to reset the System Management Controller (SMC). To do that you unplug everything from the Mac Pro, including the power cord, for at least 15 seconds, then reconnect everything.
I did not have the problem for the first few days I had my Mac Pro, but once it started it happened every time I woke the machine from sleep. Very annoying. I reset the SMC two days ago, which has fixed the problem for the time being.
I say that because others have reported the problem reappears a few days after an SMC reset, necessitating a repeat of the procedure. A few customers even have returned their Mac Pro to the Apple Store for a replacement, only to see the problem flare up on the new one. No one yet has determined a cause. Apple, as usual in cases like this, has kept silent.
The best chance for a solution from Apple may lie in the imminent update to Leopard, 10.5.2, which is rumored to contain many bug fixes and improvements. But that will only help if the problem is software related. If it’s a glitch in the machine’s hardware, a fix won’t be so easy. Apple may have a lot of disgruntled Mac Pro customers on its hands.
Apple might try to weasel out of fixing the problem by telling customers not to put their Mac Pros to sleep, but many Mac desktop owners leave their computers on 24/7. The advantage of sleep is never having to wait for the machine to boot. Mac Pro customers will not want to change their habits to accommodate faulty hardware.
Historically, Apple tends to ignore problems with new Mac models until they get so widely reported it is forced to take action. Though Apple does well in most areas of customer service, rectifying manufacturing blunders has long been a weak spot.
For now, I have my fingers crossed the 10.5.2 update will do the trick.
Comments
Add many Powermac G5 owners to the legions of crossed fingers for 10.5.2. Many of our post-Leopard Macs are freezing up when the computer wakes-from-sleep or boots. It only seems to happen about 10% of the time, which makes trouble shooting neigh impossible.
Posted by: CMF | January 31, 2008 1:59 PM
Maybe this widget might be of some use to you. Just check it out since I'm not sure it even works with your Mac Pro.
http://deepsleep.free.fr/deepsleep.pdf
I'd had a similar problem with my MacBook Pro, but eventually I did an Archive and Install and it cured my problem. This was long before I'd heard about the Deep Sleep widget.
Posted by: Constable Odo | January 31, 2008 7:16 PM
I have the same wake from sleep spontaneous restart issue with my 24-inch iMac.
Posted by: Partners in Grime | February 1, 2008 12:26 AM
Same problem here. Mac Pro (2008)
Posted by: Anonymous | February 7, 2008 7:24 PM
My imac sometimes does the same thing but 99% of the time it will take for-frickin-ever to awake -- i get the stupid annoying spinning pinwheel or beachball as it is often called...
and it has gotten worse as i have upgraded my way thru the bug-ridden 10.4.x -- which must have been thrown together by microsoft rejects and high school interns who failed all their computer classes because it's obvious the arrogant jerks at apple have gotten lazier and lazier and stupider and stupider. it's all about the 'look' not the speed or reliability -- just another greedy monopoly from another self-serving smug megalomaniac
Posted by: SprintSuks.com | February 28, 2008 10:25 AM
P.S. I've never seen a widget in the form of a PDF (above) -- the download link is actually http://deepsleep.free.fr/deepsleep.zip
but first you should read about it at the home page http://deepsleep.free.fr/ since it doesn't work on all makes/models.
And, you should be sure to use clamxav -- a free mac virus scanner
Posted by: Sprint Sucks | February 28, 2008 10:29 AM