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Question

Mac Pro constantly wakes from sleep.

May 16, 2012 4:50PM PDT

My Mac Pro running Snow Leopard (10.6.Cool keeps waking after being put to sleep using key command, roughly every 30m. It is a "full" wake - i.e. monitor on, fans blowing, etc. and will not put itself to sleep again

It's connected to my LAN via a router and to a printer (switched off).

I don't like the idea of the power consumption and HD wear this will be causing. Any ideas?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Something is causing it
May 16, 2012 11:22PM PDT

Something is causing it, and often times I find it is things like virus scanners or some program designed to do regular activities. That is where I would start. Any program that you leave running for long periods of time is suspect and should be evaluated thoroughly for this sort of thing.

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Answer
Run your hardware test disc.......
May 18, 2012 12:39PM PDT

This can sometimes be attributed to a RAM module that is going bad. Run the hardware test disc that came with
your machine & let it perform the full test. It can take a while depending on how much RAM is installed, but this will at least determine if it is indeed the problem.

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Answer
Thanks both
May 18, 2012 11:38PM PDT

Yes, I've done a hardware test and looked for suspect software that may be doing routine activities but no luck as yet. Thanks for the replies though!

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Answer
Wireless connections can be the culprit
May 19, 2012 2:19AM PDT

If you have peripherals or other devices connected to your Mac Pro via Bluetooth or WiFi, and those devices are on at times when the computer is not, there is the possibility that these devices are waking your Mac. I had this issue once with my Mac, and discovered that one of my printers was the culprit. I wasn't thinking of turning off the printer because we share it in the house, and just because I wasn't using it didn't mean that someone else didn't need it. I discovered that, when I turned that printer off, my Mac stopped waking unexpectedly.

Check around. You may find some BT or WiFi connection is nudging your Mac Pro into wakefulness.