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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > MBP having "wake up" issues

MBP having "wake up" issues
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kenja
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Nov 14, 2008, 03:10 PM
 
I have a problem with my 2006 vintage MacBook Pro. I hook up an external monitor at work and leave the lid closed on the machine. When I plug the monitor in and the power, it wakes from sleep. The login screen is displayed for 30 seconds or so, but if I get distracted, the login screen then disappears leaving only the black screen and my mouse cursor. I can't figure out how to get the login box to come back up.

Once that happens, I then need to unplug the machine from the monitor and the power. Then I go through a ritual of trying to get the machine to sleep by opening and closing the lid until it finally sleeps. Then I plug it back into the monitor and power and wake it again.

I don't know why the login box is disappearing, but it is very annoying. Does anyone know how to fix this? Is there a hot key or something that I'm not aware of, or a setting that changes how long the login box is displayed?
     
ibook_steve
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Nov 14, 2008, 05:28 PM
 
If you are trying to normally work in closed lid mode, follow the steps in the sticky at the top of this forum. You should be attaching the mouse, keyboard, and monitor while the machine is awake, then closing the lid to put the machine to sleep. Then wake the machine using the keyboard or mouse.

Steve
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kenja  (op)
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Nov 14, 2008, 05:44 PM
 
I use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, so there's no attaching them. I often work on my machine at home as a laptop and then plug it into the monitor at work in the morning with the lid closed. It always wakes okay, the keyboard and mouse both work, and the display settings seem to be correct. The problem is when I don't immediately log in, the login window disappears and it just shows my mouse cursor.
     
0157988944
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Nov 15, 2008, 12:42 AM
 
you've tried hitting the keyboard/ moving the mouse when it disappears? because the login window is a little finicky about instantly returning if you require a password on wake.
     
kenja  (op)
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Nov 15, 2008, 01:12 AM
 
Yes, I can move the mouse cursor all around the screen to no avail. The keyboard also does not seem to do anything. I've tried banging keys and hitting all the function keys to see if anything worked. Nada.
     
Simon
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Nov 15, 2008, 06:36 AM
 
Are you talking about the login window or the screen saver password?

If it's the former, why do you do it that way? Why log out before going to work?
     
shrugs*
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Nov 15, 2008, 12:43 PM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
Are you talking about the login window or the screen saver password?

If it's the former, why do you do it that way? Why log out before going to work?
Sounds like the login/unlock screen after coming out of sleep.

My Macbook does the same thing.... alot. I haven't found a solid procedure (it's a shitshoot most days), but normally I'll pull the power and wait the few seconds until it goes back to sleep, then open the lid, plug in the power, and close it again.

Amazingly annoying, I'd say I waste a good 5-20minutes a week doing this.
Macbook Pro + Sawtooth
     
kenja  (op)
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Nov 17, 2008, 01:02 PM
 
Yeah, that's exactly the problem. I just had to go through three sleep/wake cycles this morning to get the damn computer to work on my monitor. Sometimes it shows the login and I immediately type in my password, but then the screen goes black anyway.

I'm glad to hear that it isn't just my computer since that means there is hope that a solution may exist out there.
     
kenja  (op)
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Nov 17, 2008, 01:06 PM
 
I have my computer set to require a password after sleep. It doesn't log me out, it just requires a password. It's a basic security precaution to prevent unauthorized folks from browsing my computer if they get their hands on it. Aside from this annoying problem, I'd recommend others do the same.
     
Simon
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Nov 17, 2008, 04:56 PM
 
Does typing your password even when you can't see the dialog work to get it to wake up properly?
     
kenja  (op)
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Nov 17, 2008, 06:59 PM
 
No, unfortunately it doesn't take any keyboard input. It makes the keystroke "boing" sounds that indicates that you're not supposed to be pressing keys.
     
Simon
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Nov 18, 2008, 03:28 AM
 
Have you tried hitting tab to move the invisible cursor to the invisible password entry field?
     
kenja  (op)
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Nov 18, 2008, 12:57 PM
 
I'll try that next time. I'm starting to wonder if the problem is also related to the way I sleep the computer. Sometimes my machine takes a little while to sleep and I've noticed that I sometimes unplug it from the monitor and power before it is fully asleep. This week, I'm going to wait until it is fully passed out before I do anything and see if that helps.
     
zl9600
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Nov 19, 2008, 01:47 PM
 
It's totally annoying, including the forced unplugging of my external display and the plugging back in, which just should not have to be done, ever. Why you can't just control the external display or dual display mode and change it without having to manually unplug the display from the machine is beyond me.

I have had this black screen thing and what I"ve found is that I enter my unlock immediately and it doesn't go to this mode. However, my laptop brightness has somehow been reset to near black.

I think this has a lot to do with the NVIDIA issue--I can't tell you how many times I"ve waken my machine to a disco light flashing of colors, on and off, uncontrollably. I'm just waiting to send it in to Apple.
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are
missing.
     
kenja  (op)
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Nov 27, 2008, 12:37 AM
 
I've found that I have two separate issues. The first issue is the disappearing login box. I haven't figured out how to address that one and it is quite annoying.

The second issue seems to be related to how I sleep the machine. If I unplug the machine from the monitor before it is totally asleep, then when it wakes up, it goes to sleep immediately after logging in. Same level of annoyance, but at least I know how to prevent that now. My MBP is taking a looong time to sleep lately, too. Bordering on, dare I say it, Windows XP hibernate long. I end up pacing back and forth for a few minutes waiting for the LED to start fading in and out and that seems to solve some of my problems.
     
Simon
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Nov 27, 2008, 04:17 AM
 
If it takes a long time to go to sleep that's usually caused by SafeSleep. If you have a lot of RAM and a lot of stuff stored in RAM it can take up to 40 s for SafeSleep to write all that out to disk. If you want old-fashioned immediate sleep you need to disable SafeSleep. That means you can't swap batteries w/o turning your Mac off though.

You can disable SafeSleep and regain the lost disk space by opening the Terminal (located in Applications/Utilities) and entering the following command:
code:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0

then pressing return.
You can then select "Go to Folder" under the "Go" menu in the Finder, and enter: /private/var/vm then press return, and drag the file sleepimage to the Trash.
In order to re-enable SafeSleep, use the command:
code:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3

in the Terminal.
     
ibook_steve
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Nov 27, 2008, 02:34 PM
 
Better yet, try SmartSleep:

http://www.jinx.de/SmartSleep.html

You can decide when and how you either sleep or hibernate without messing with the terminal. It's a great little app.

Steve
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shrugs*
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Nov 30, 2008, 12:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
If it takes a long time to go to sleep that's usually caused by SafeSleep. If you have a lot of RAM and a lot of stuff stored in RAM it can take up to 40 s for SafeSleep to write all that out to disk. If you want old-fashioned immediate sleep you need to disable SafeSleep. That means you can't swap batteries w/o turning your Mac off though.

You can disable SafeSleep and regain the lost disk space by opening the Terminal (located in Applications/Utilities) and entering the following command:
code:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0

then pressing return.
You can then select "Go to Folder" under the "Go" menu in the Finder, and enter: /private/var/vm then press return, and drag the file sleepimage to the Trash.
In order to re-enable SafeSleep, use the command:
code:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3

in the Terminal.

Ah hah! I *thought* my Macbook had better nap-time manners before I installed my new hard drive-- now I remember changing this with my old setup and not doing it with my current setup. Thanks
Macbook Pro + Sawtooth
     
   
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