System still "asleep" after waking from sleep mode

[Horsa]

I recently upgraded my machine (see side panel for details) with an SSD system drive and a clean install of El Capitan.

Everything has been running very well, day to day - but recently I have had couple of occasions where something odd has happened. This is how it goes...

I put the machine into Sleep mode and leave it for a while.

When I bring it out of Sleep, I log into the OS and all looks normal ...until I try to launch an app. Any app. When I do this, I get an error message box saying "The application (name of app) cannot be opened." with an error code of 36.

Interestingly, I can visually access files on my storage drive that I had open just before I put the machine to sleep (no doubt because they're still hanging around in memory), but any action that requires the launching of an app results in the error message - and, if I persist in trying, the perpetual spinny beachball appears. If I try to shut down the machine from the onscreen Apple logo menu, nothing happens.

The only way out of the problem is to do a hard shutdown (long press on the power button) and then restart the machine, at which it boots into the OS normally and all works fine. Last time it happened, I did an SMC reset just to be on the safe side, although it doesn't appear to be necessary.

Based on the behaviour I'm seeing, I get the impression that on the rare occasions when this fault occurs (it's only happened twice so far), what's happening is that the machine can't access the contents of the SSD system drive (a brand new 240Gig Crucial BX500 with masses of free space).

The SSD is mounted on an OWC expansion card in slot 2.

Provided this remains a rare occurrence, I'm not over-bothered. If it starts to become a frequent thing, though, I'll have cause to worry.

Anybody else experienced a similar issue? If so, did you manage to find a solution?

Cheers,
Ken

 

[ferrarr]

That's an interesting issue. Have you tried to use Force Quit and then use it to Relaunch Finder? Have you tried just to log out, and log back in again?

Maybe, if/when it happens again, try safe mode, Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support

 

[MacInWin]

Does this help? How to Fix Error Code 36 in Mac OS X Finder

 

[ferrarr]

Also, NVRAM deals with startup volume selection, Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support.

 

[Horsa]

Thanks for your suggestions, guys.

ferrarr - I remember the first time it happened, I tried Force Quitting the finder, after which I couldn't get Finder to re-launch! I haven't done a PRAM reset on it yet, but will keep it in mind as an option. I have just rebooted into recovery mode and did First Aid on the SSD with Disk Utility - gave it a clean bill of health, which is reassuring.

MacInWin - that Error 36 page is interesting. It's intriguing that I'm getting it when trying to launch apps off the system drive rather than copy files across anywhere.

Wild speculation here, but I'm wondering whether maybe - just maybe - the OWC controller card is failing to "wake up" from Sleep mode, thus preventing access to the SSD's contents? Pretty well impossible to test for that idea, though!

 

[MacInWin]

Finder should restart when you quit it. I don't use Force Quit, I use the terminal command to kill it, at which point it immediately restarts.

As for the error 36, when you launch an app, it is really a folder in which there are lots of files needed for execution of that app. (You can see these files by right clicking on the app, then Show Package Contents.) So the error 36 is pertinent if the issue is that the system cannot open those critical files and get them into memory so the app can run. There may even be parts that have to be moved to cache. So launching an app does trigger files being moved. And if that function doesn't work, error 36.

As for the OWC card, you can give them a call/chat to discuss the situation. I more suspect the SSD has a "sleep" function to save power that is not responding to the system wake up call. But it could be the combination of the card and SSD. OWC should be able to help you some with it.

 

[ferrarr]

It's hard to identify intermittent issues. Sometimes when you try multiple fixes, it's hard to identify which one fixed the issue.

Finder should restart when you quit it.

How do you quit Finder?

 

[MacInWin]

There are several ways, all of which should lead to an immediate restart: 4 Ways to Restart the Mac Finder – The Mac Observer

If it is NOT restarting there is something squirrelly in your system that may need a reinstall of the OS.

EDIT: Actually the Terminal method they give in that article is incorrect. The proper Terminal command is simply:

killall Finder

It will immediately quit (your desktop will clear) and restart (the icons on the desktop will reappear).

 

[ferrarr]

It will immediately quit (your desktop will clear) and restart (the icons on the desktop will reappear).

Which is exactly what the Force Quit > Finder > Relaunch does. Just saying.

 

[MacInWin]

Which is exactly what the Force Quit > Finder > Relaunch does. Just saying.

??? Of course, all four methods accomplish the same thing. Terminal is just more aggressive as it bypasses the GUI altogether. Did I say that it didn't work the same?