Having trouble powering up my iMac

[Bob M.]

Hi all,

I have an iMac late 2009, running Sierra 10.12.6 and I've been having trouble starting it up after I power it down. I usually power down about twice a week on average.

As you all know, there is a power up button on the left side, on the back of the iMac which I hold until I hear that familiar Mac power up chord/sound. Now, lately it's taken a while for that sound to appear and the startup sequence to begin, usually about 2 or 3 minutes, which seems kinda long. Today it was over 5 minutes. After a while of non-response from my iMac, I unplugged the iMac from the AC source (the wall) and I unattached and re-attached the power cord to the iMac. Then I reapplied the AC (wall electricity) but it still took another 3 minutes but eventually the machine came on. Has anyone else experienced such startup problems and if so, how did you resolve them?

I'm thinking maybe my power up switch (button) is old and worn out but there is of course a great chance that something much more complex is going on. I'm thinking of disassembling my iMac so I can have access to the power on switch and trying to clean it with silicone electronics contact cleaner. Of course, that would only be of help if it was a simple matter of dirty switch or, better stated, dirty contacts inside that switch.

Any help would be appreciated and yes, I know, it's probably time for a new computer.

Thanks,

Bob M.

P.S. I hope I've posted this in the right sub-forum, as it seems like a hardware issue.

 

[toMACsh]

How have you been "powering down"?

 

[Bob M.]

Well, when I know I'm done using my computer and I want to power down, I close all files I'm working on first, then close all the open applications, like Safari, Mail, iTunes, etc. Then I go to the Apple Menu and select Shut Down. I usually shut down about twice a week.

Bob M.

 

[pigoo3]

As you all know, there is a power up button on the left side, on the back of the iMac which I hold until I hear that familiar Mac power up chord/sound.

I don't know how many seconds or milli-seconds this usually takes (in the past)...but pushing & holding the power button is not always a great idea...since pushing and holding the power button can sometimes tell Apple devices to do something different. All that needs to be done is to push the power button once...then immediately let go (don't hold).

2nd thought. I know some users will disagree...but I think the vast majority of users don't power down their computers...they simply put them to sleep. Then there is no need to push the power button almost ever...and sleeping the computer also results in much faster startup time (time till the user can use the computer).

And if a user almost never needs to push the power button...then there's almost a zero chance the power button will ever wear out.

As to the specific issue at hand...my guess's at this point would be:

- hard drive dying
- hard drive near full
- hard drive needs some maintenance
- iMac power supply could be failing

This is a "laundry list" of many possibilities...we can narrow this down as more info is received & different troubleshooting steps are attempted.

- Nick

 

[ferrarr]

Other things to try;

Safe mode, Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support.
NVRAM reset, Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support.
SMC reset, How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support.
Recovery Mode > Disk Utility > First Aid, on the disk and the partition.

They each have distinct advantages, that's why I listed them all.

 

[krs]

This topic interests me because I see the slow power up on my 2012 Mini as well ever since I moved to ElCapitan.

With the previous Minis and older software, the Apple logo would show on the screen pretty much immediately after I hit the power button - now there is nothing for about 30 seconds or so.
Haven't actually timed it, but every time that happens I think the Mac won't start up - except it does if I wait.

I just shut the Mac down if I need to move it or if some installation requires it. That happens maybe verytwo or three weeks.
Shut down is done via the Apple menu; I don't shut down any applications manually - only if they don't do it automatically during the Mac shut down. Microsoft apps seem to be the wirst for that.
Power up I just momentarily push the power button.
Hard drive was just tested last week using DriveDX - all looks good with that.

So I don't really have a real problem right now, but I'm always a bit nervous when I need to boot up and nothing happens immediately.
Maybe that's just the new hardware/software - would be nice if somebody can comment on their experience with that.

 

[IWT]

I agree with Admin pigoo3 in post #4.

With every iMac I've ever had, I use the following settings found under System Preferences > Energy Saver:



Obviously, you can choose your own "Turn Display Off After" time. Then the iMac goes into sleep mode.

Instead of "Shut Down" twice a week, make it every two weeks and select "Restart" via the Apple icon  in the top left Menu Bar; not Shut Down.

I only Shut Down if I'm going on holiday. That should solve your problem.

Ian

 

[pm-r]

Other things to try;

I'd reinforce doing Bob's suggestions post #5.

PS: Don't press and hold the On/Off button unless attempting on doing a force restart.
PPS: I'll mention making sure there is a current backup as well, that HDD is well past its prime at 10 years of age now.


EDIT:
I forgot to mention to disable any "anti-virus" or "mac maintenance" or "mackeeper" application type stuff.

And also, how full is the hard drive??? 50GB available is starting to get on the small size.



- Patrick
======

 

[krs]

I agree with Admin pigoo3 in post #4.

With every iMac I've ever had, I use the following settings found under System Preferences > Energy Saver:

View attachment 30301
Instead of "Shut Down" twice a week, make it every two weeks and select "Restart" via the Apple icon  in the top left Menu Bar; not Shut Down.

I only Shut Down if I'm going on holiday. That should solve your problem.

Ian

That sounds more like a "work-around" than an actual solution.

We don't even know why the OIP shuts down the iMac twice a week.

"Restart" is fine if one wants to boot up again right away, but when one shuts down it's usually for a longer time - at least for me.

It still shouldn't take the Mac that long to start to boot up after a shut down - I find the delay I get even long and it's only 30 seconds to a minute.
I would find a 3 to 5 minute delay before I see anything happening really intolerable.
It seems something built into the hardware and/or software now.

 

[krs]

I'd reinforce doing Bob's suggestions post #5.

PS: Don't press and hold the On/Off button unless attempting on doing a force restart.
PPS: I'll mention making sure there is a current backup as well, that HDD is well past its prime at 10 years of age now.

Gee, and I thought at 10 years a HDD is just getting broken in.;D

But seriously, one thing that I would suggest is to boot up from a, hopefully newer, external drive, ie the back up, to see if the time for the boot to start is just as long.
And yes - just push the On/Off button momentarily, but firmly.

 

[Bob M.]

Well, first off, thanks for all the suggestions and especially the 'on point' responses.

I didn't know that the start up button was to be pressed only once and briefly and then let go of. I will start doing that from now on.

I appreciate pigoo3 four (4) suggested possibilities to my problem but I can say that my hard drive is less than 10% full (I'm not a power user). The other three things are certainly possibilities.

Apparently, no one has said that I've got a sticky or bad switch (power up button). I thought not. It seemed too easy a solution to this problem.

ferrarr suggested several types of resets. I've done most of these fairly recently but for other issues I've had. But I'll possibly revisit these remedies.

Most of the comments have centered on why I shut down my computer so often. Well, I've had issues with some nefarious types trying to get into my computer and harvest information. So, I started turning off wi-fi when I'm done for the day and shutting down the computer and sometimes even un-plugging my computer from its AC source. I figured this might deter them and they might go elsewhere where things are an easier go for them. I think I've removed all financial info from my machine so now, all they'll be able to retrieve are the latest baseball scores. I think, in the recent past, I noticed my computer coming on (at least the screen did) all by itself about 3am in the morning a couple of different times. I thought someone else might be trying to access my computer so some changes and or countermeasures seemed appropriate. I am the only user for this iMac computer.

I'll try IWT's good suggestion of using Restart as opposed to Shut Down.

I'll try these new suggestions and thank you for your responses,

Bob M.

 

[krs]

Well, I've had issues with some nefarious types trying to get into my computer and harvest information

If you are worried about that and if you only use WiFi to connect to the net, then turning off WiFi when you don't need it should be all that you require.

On that note - someone trying to get into your Mac - have you set up your Mac firewall to "Stealth" mode?
That's what I have

 

[pm-r]

Apparently, no one has said that I've got a sticky or bad switch (power up button). I thought not. It seemed too easy a solution to this problem.

BTW: Some models of the early life-saver style iMacs certainly had some sticky power bottons and I guess it could happed with an odd iMac, and the use of sandpaper and/or Dremel type tool and some miserable disassembly was required to make the button hole bigger..

But it seems Apple fixed that problem and then transferred the problem to some of their recent keyboards and sticky keys.

And yes, there's always a chance that somebody with some super sugary Sticky Fingers left a sugar sticky residue behind that could cause the power switch to stick.

PS: As for the iMac "waking" in the middle of the night, double check System Preferences > Energy Saver that the "Wake for network access" is not checked.



- Patrick
======

 

[Bob M.]

I've read of firewalls but no idea what stealth mode is; probably time to haul out the textbooks. I guess I've always relied (probably too long) on the notion that Macs don't get viruses and all that sort of stuff. Of course, that's all changing all the time. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to try to get into my computer (there's practically nothing in it) but I guess I still shouldn't make it too easy for that to happen.

I doubt my problem is a sticky button or mis-aligned switch in its hole. I work in audio electronics and am familiar with these type of switch malfunctions which is not the case here on my iMac.

Thanks,

Bob M.

 

[pigoo3]

I think, in the recent past, I noticed my computer coming on (at least the screen did) all by itself about 3am in the morning a couple of different times.

Depending on how long ago you saw this...and depending on what OS version is or was running...this very well could have been due to automatic Apple maintenance scripts running. These Apple maintenance scripts by default were scheduled to run between 3:15am & 5:30am (depending on the maintenance script running). Thus this could explain the "computer coming on" situation.

I think starting with macOS Sierra in 2016...some new "self cleaning" features were added to the macOS...and this either reduced or completely eliminated the periodic maintenance scripts.

- Nick

 

[krs]

I've read of firewalls but no idea what stealth mode is; probably time to haul out the textbooks.
Bob M.

Stealth mode basically makes your Mac "invisible" to the internet if someone is just scanning IP addresses and looking for open ports on your computer to access it.
It came to mind when you mentioned that your Mac occasionally turns on by itself, however, it's pretty unlikely that somebody is doing that but it doesn't hurt to turn stealth mode on.
That way if some one scans IP addresses, your Mac will not respond is "stealth" is activated thus making your Mac essentially "invisible".

"Stealth is rurned on in the Firewall preferences under Firewall options.
There is a brief description there what it does.

 

[pm-r]

See:
Use stealth mode to keep your Mac more secure - Apple Support


- Patrick
======

 

[pm-r]

See:
How to Enable Stealth Mode Firewall in Mac OS X
How to Enable Stealth Mode in Mac OS X Firewall for Added Security
or
Use stealth mode to keep your Mac more secure - Apple Support


- Patrick
======

 

[krs]

See:
How to Enable Stealth Mode Firewall in Mac OS X
How to Enable Stealth Mode in Mac OS X Firewall for Added Security

This article also mentions that one might run into network problems with stealth mode activated. I have read this before.

But I have had stealth mode activated for as long as I can remember - never had any network issues because of it.
I suppose if I needed to log into my Mac remotely this might be a problem.
Can anyone shed a bit more light on this, ie what problems could one encounter?
Any internet activity I do, web browsing, FTP transfer, torrenting, email communications - all works fine.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Hi all,

I have an iMac late 2009, running Sierra 10.12.6 and I've been having trouble starting it up after I power it down.

That symptom is typical of an old desktop Macintosh with a dead or dying PRAM battery. The PRAM (paramater RAM) battery is typically good for 5 to 7 years. Yours is well overdue to be replaced.

The good news is that a new PRAM battery is really cheap, you can get them for two for $1 at any Dollar Tree store or for a bit more at a Walmart jewelry counter. It is commonly known as a
Panasonic CR2032.

The bad news is that on your model of iMac, while it isn't exactly hard to replace the PRAM battery, it is a bit involved. See:

iMac Intel 27" EMC 2309 and 2374 Teardown - iFixit
(step 21)