apps cancelling shut down

stingrayj

Registered
NO idea how this is happening but when i try to shut down computer various apps are refusing to let Mac (imac 2.8ghz running 10.56) shut down, including quick time and firefox. Even though they are not actually open. When I go to force quite menu there are no 'not responding' apps there.

any clues?

I have to move mac to another room and don't want to just unplug

concerned...
 
try emtying your trash, or deleting anything you may have downloaded since turning it on, sometimes it the simplest ideas that work, sometimes the net or quicktime still secretly reference to a file just downloaded even if they are trashed or just viewed,
try it
 
thanks.

I think this might be related to an app called Spotify that I downloaded. I don't know how it happened but the Spotify folder had a copy of all the apps in my HD on it. Maybe I copied them by mistake ?

Apps are still in HD folder.

i have trashed spotify, but Mac still don't restart or shut down. Different apps keep cancelling shut down even though they are not open. Firefox etc.
 
If you are trying to shut down, open your Force Quit window, and quit each app (other than Finder), until your Mac shuts down. The apps don't have to 'stop responding' to hold up the shutdown process.
Keep in mind that closing an app's window does NOT usually quit the application that creates that window. If you see the application is open in the force quit window, then it's still open.
If you don't get anywhere with the force quit window, then open your Activity Monitor (in your Applications/Utilities folder), click on the drop-down to show All processes, then click on the header to sort by CPU. You'll likely see the process that's giving you difficulty near the top of the list.
You can also open your Console app. Look in the system log for messages that generate at about the time that you try to shut down.
 
thanks for your response Deltamac.

Ok I quit all apps fine. no need to force quit. then went into activity monitor to check, nothing open. then I try to restart and it tells me that activity monitor cancelled log off (or words to that effect). very strange...
 
I don't understand your response "nothing open" in Activity Monitor. I have ALL apps closed (quit), except for Activity Monitor, and I have about 45 processes that are open. Only about 6 are active, but that number would be fairly normal, and would increase significantly when other apps are opened.

What did you find out from the system logs in your Console?

I think that you could get some help by using an app that will clean your caches. OnyX is a good one to use. There's lots of other system maintenance utilities. There's a new one, too, called iTweax, which I have been using recently. Shouldn't harm your system, and may get you back to normal (whatever that is...)
Check that you still have sufficient free space on your hard drive - 15-20% free of your total space available should be fine.
Boot to your OS X installer DVD, and run Disk Utility from the menu. Select your hard drive, and click the Repair Disk button (different from Repair Disk Permissions).
Come back with your results...
 
" I have ALL apps closed (quit), except for Activity Monitor, and I have about 45 processes that are open"

that's what I meant.

I think this whole issue is related to a nasty new itunes bug

http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?t=242621


I think that you could get some help by using an app that will clean your caches.

ok will give this a spin

Check that you still have sufficient free space on your hard drive - 15-20% free of your total space available should be fine.

have tons of space
 
thanks for your input, much appreciated,

I cleared cache with Tweax (didn't want to mess around with all the other possiblities it can do) and was able to restart mac.

seems ok. itunes library still intact.

sd I still run disk utility? and how do I 'boot from DVD' exactly please?

and also cd you explain how on earth a copy of my HD's applications folder, ended up inside Spotify folder. Did my 7-year old move / copy it by mistake? Cd it be weird malware?
 
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I don't have a clue why Spotify would 'copy' all your apps to its own folder. Might be a type of app you should stay away from. It could also be an app that installed parts elsewhere on your system, and is still partially installed. There's a couple of decent apps that purport to remove software completely. Not usually needed on a Mac, but Spotify might be one of the nasty exceptions to that.

Boot to your DVD:
Find and insert disk #1 of the set of grey DVDs that came in the box with your new iMac.
Restart, holding the letter C. You can release the C when you see the spinning gear under the grey Apple
Your iMac will then continue to boot to that DVD.
At the screen where you can select the hard drive, choose Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
Click on your hard drive, from the list on the left side of that DU window. Then, click on the Repair Disk button (different from Repair Disk Permissions)
If you get a report of No Problems Found - you're OK. Quit and restart your system normally.
If Repairs are reported - run the same test again, until your get No Problems Found.
If problems are reported that DU cannot repair - try again for better results. If you get no change, and no repair, then you will need a more capable drive repair utility, such as DiskWarrior.
 
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