Chosen Solution

My daughter’s MacBook restarts if the lid is closed and then opened again i.e. it goes to sleep but will not wake normally but restarts by itself. Anyone had a similar problem and found a solution?

I found a very simple fix to the “restart after sleep” problem on the Apple user forum. My white 13inch Macbook 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Leopard 10.5.8 . would display a message something like, “A kernel panic has occurred and the only thing you can do is hold down the power button until the machine shut off.” ( paraphrased). This occurred after sleep whether by lid closing or software command. Here is what worked for me:

  1. In System Preferences, open Network preferences.


  2. Highlight “Ethernet” or “Built in Ethernet”.


  3. Click the Minus sign ( - ) (at the bottom of the window just above the unlocked lock icon) to delete the Ethernet configuration. 

4. Click the Plus sign ( + ) (at the bottom of the window just above the lock icon) then select “Ethernet” from the menu that appears. Then click “CREATE”. (a new Ethernet configuration is created in the left section of the window). Then click “APPLY” on the lower right side of the window. Close the window. 

5. Sleep the computer by closing the lid. Then wake it up. Then sleep it again. Then wake it up again. Everything should now work fine. 
 This worked perfectly for me the last time this happened. The previous time it happened, my son reinstalled the operating system and apps for me, which worked, but was probably overkill.

I’m going to try a recommended solution involving disabling Safe Sleep mode which a number of folks have pointed to as a possible culprit. There is an application that will do the job or you can disable in terminal mode. http://www.jinx.de/SmartSleep.html To disable safe sleep, run the two following commands in Terminal: $ sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0 $ sudo nvram “use-nvramrc?"=false When done, restart your computer. Now go delete the file /private var vm sleepimage” to free up some hard drive space. When you put your computer to sleep it, should happen in under five seconds; my MacBook now goes to sleep in two seconds.

I’ve had bad topcases that caused irregular behavior related to sleep mode and rebooting. If you have another topcase available to test it might be worthwhile. Also, Apple laptops go into sleep mode due to various magnets throughout making a connection with each other, and if those magnets in the screen and body of the computer are in the wrong place or are not present, this can also cause bizarre behavior (computer continually going into sleep mode and then waking up, etc.) Particularly there are two magnets in the screen frame I know of related to this, so if by chance your screen has been swapped out, it’s possible a magnet is missing.

how long is the computer asleep for? is it instant? usually an apple will restart automatically if there is a power failure. your computer could have a number of issues wrong with it. try putting it to sleep plugged in without the battery in it… see if it does it. also, try the usual… reset the PRAM by holding down +Option+P+R on reboot and hold it until the computer chimes, not once but three times. also, then when the computer is off, reset the firmware, by holding down the power button until the light flashes and the computer emits a long tone. If none of those issues fix it, you might have a problem with a dc board or logic board and need to get it replaced

Is it only when it sleeps by shutting the lid? Does it sleep ok when you choose Sleep from the Apple menu? How about if it’s booted to an external drive? That will help rule out software and point you more toward hardware.

There was a MacBook sleep/wake issue, that was corrected by an OS update. I’m not 100% sure which models, but it would definitely be an idea to ensure all possible updates are installed on your machine. If you would like more info on the update, let me know and I can research it for ya. I’ll save that effort for now though.

My macbook would have to restart after every sleep once i upgraded to Mavericks. I stopped it by prior to sending it to sleep, unplugging both my power cable and my thunderbolt/hdmi display. With Both unplugged it will wake up just fine. I know this is anecdotal, but it’s the only thing that worked vs a few fixes various forums recommended.

thank you so much , i did exactly what you mentioned and it works perfect now

Same problem with my macbook pro 2010 (mid) 15 when i wake my macbook pro from sleep (opening the lid) it restarts . this even happens some times when i am in middle of something(this not not waking from sleep) but rarely. Does anyone have the same problem ?

I’m on the Sierra OS now and don’t see Network Preferences in System Preferences. There’s “Network” but there is nothing to do with Ethernet or Built in Ethernet there.

Hi! Im on a macbook pro mid 13, and i have the same problem. From no where the screen stays black when it powers up from sleep mode, and i have to force shut it down like three times before it reboots and i can use it again. Alos, sometimes i have to disconect the charger and other cables and restart. After 10 minutes of restarting and trying it goes back to normal, and works perfectly fine. Untill i put it pack to sleep mode. I can then here the mac start sound (EVEN THO THE LID IS CLOSED DOWN??) and its restarting and acting wierd. Does anybody know what to do about this? I really think there is a easy solution, but i really cant how to find it right now… Thanx for anwsers. Cheers

Hi everybody, I have exact same issue with my MacBook Pro 2016, it seems that the problem comes from Power Nap. I switched it off on both battery and power adapter modes and it seems that the issue is gone now. You should try that ;) Ben

I have had this issue on my Mac Book Pro (MBP 5.3 mid 2009) running Mojave 10.14.6 (dosdude1 patch) several times and somehow solved using other methods. The newsest methood is by far the easiest! I have now solved it the same way i have solved issues with the computer not shutting down when initiating a shutdown. I noticed when in safe boot i was able to make the mac go to sleep without it shutting down, and by initiating the sleep mode through 3 possible ways it sort of “learned” and when booting up into my normal user account i had no issue anymore. Steps: Turn off the computerTurn on again and enter safe boot (hold down “left shift” on bootup until you see apple logo)once you a logged in you can start by initiating sleep mode by pressing alt + cmd + eject (or power button on newer macs)It should go into sleep mode, now wake it up and close the lid to initiate sleep mode the second way. wait for the sleep to initiate! It can take quite some time (maybe over 1min). On my mac i can check that the led starts to “breathe” when it sleeps. On newer macs i am not sure how to check if it sleeps, other than listening for the fans to stop spin.lastly wait for the mac to enter sleep mode itself (check energy saver and set the timer to standard settings or some timing that is realistic for your patience) Hopefully your mac went into sleep mode in all 3 scenarios inside safe boot. Now reboot and see if your mac wants to sleep when you are logged into to your everyday user account