MacBook Air shuts down and won’t restart

[John munro]

Shuts down when running on battery even though battery is better than 90% charged. Will not reboot unless plugged into charger. What’s going on? This has been happening for the last 3 OS upgrades. Currently on Mojave.

 

[honestone]

What exact Mac Book Air model do you have? I previously owned a mid 2013 13" (256 gig SSD) model, and since June, have owned a mid 2017 13" (256 gig SSD model), and have never had that issue. It does sound like, though, that the battery needs to be replaced, especially if you can use it like normal with the machine plugged in.

 

[John munro]

Model MacBook Air6.1, 250 GB SSD. Early 2014. I have checked the battery with 3 different apps and also had it checked at the dealer. All say OK. Note that it's fine on battery for an indeterminate period after being connected to power even for just a second or so.

 

[honestone]

It appears that my mid 2013 13" MacBook Air (252 gig SSD) I previously owned was "similar" to your model (according to this):

https://igotoffer.com/apple/macbook-air-6-1/

Given that you have had the battery checked out, unless there is another hardware issue (seems unlikely), then there is something "rogue" going on with software.

So, I'll ask my usual questions:

1. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, from a software perspective? You can actually do quite a lot of disk cleanup on your own, and there are some excellent products available (both free and commercial) that can help you with that.

2. Are you making backups to an external device? That task is so, so critical. If you are doing that, what software do you use for that task?

3. How much space is on your internal drive?

4. Did you check the site:

https://roaringapps.com/apps

to insure that all your third-party (ie, non-Apple) applications are compatible with the various versions of the Mac OS you have gone through?

Speaking of the previous versions of the Mac OS, what were they? Also, have you always done Mac OS upgrades "in place", ie, basically let the "newer" OS overwrite the old one? If that's the case, it might be wise to 1) check out that roaring apps site, 2) perform extensive dick cleanup/maintenance/repairs, and 3) do a backup. Also, make sure you have the latest, full installation file for Mojave, which is now at V10.14.1 (10.14.2 is in beta testing). Depending on how you have done your backups, the process for doing the clean, fresh, "virgin" installation of Mojave, then "migrating"/copying needed "things" from your backup will either be somewhat "easy", or some what arduous.

 

[John munro]

To answer your questions Honestone:
1 Yes - usually weekly or so
2 Yes - time machine hourly. I have been using Apple computers since 1977 so am aware of the critical nature of backing up.
3 158 GB free
4 I just had a look at the site and checked all my usual apps. Most have a ? for Mojave. BUT that all work fine with the same OS 10.14.1 on my MacBook Pro 15". (The MBA is my wife's.)
5 All the last version prior to 10.14 was Sierra. It was occurring with that version as well. I have done a clean installation of Mojave twice with no effect.

 

[honestone]

Hmm, you have a "little" less space free than I have. Also, please describe exactly how you did the 2 clean installations of Mojave.

And what methods/software do you use for disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs?

Finally, for that site, yes, sometimes the "?" entries are not necessarily "accurate". For example, I use Tech Tool Pro (to help with disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs), and even though there is a question mark regarding compatibility with High Sierra, after they released their High Sierra-compatible version last December, I "upgraded" (via a clean installation) of OS 10.13.2 (that version was out by then), then "migrated"/copied needed "things" from the most recent SuperDuper! backup I had at that time (I do my backups once a week), and Tech Tool Pro works flawlessly for me. Similarly, for the EMail software Thunderbird (which I use), there is a question mark for Mojave compatibility. Well, I have been testing Mojave and my applications on an external Samsung 860 EVO 500 gig SSD, and Thunderbird works fine (as does all the other third party software I use (except for Tech Tool Pro, which is currently being "modified"/tested with Mojave at Micromat, and that Mojave-compatible update will be released early next month (and just like the prior 2 years, I fully anticipate V10.14.2 of Mojave (currently in beta testing) will be out by then also)).

 

[John munro]

I run Techtool Pro (currently 10.1.1) and Cocktail (currently 12.0.2. These have served me well in the past. My lean installations have always followed the Apple recommendations.
We'll see if 10.14.2 changes anything. I doubt it.

 

[honestone]

I run Techtool Pro (currently 10.1.1) and Cocktail (currently 12.0.2. These have served me well in the past. My lean installations have always followed the Apple recommendations.
We'll see if 10.14.2 changes anything. I doubt it.

Those are 2 excellent products, although I am still on V9.6.3 of Tech Tool Pro (there was nothing beneficial for me in V10.x). Just waiting for the Mojave-compatible version to be released, which should be sometime early next month. OS 10.14.2 will (most likely) be out by then also.

Also, you know that Tech Tool Pro is not yet compatible with Mojave, right? You should not even try and use it with Mojave.

Not sure what you mean by "My lean installations have always followed the Apple recommendations", but here is what I do whenever I (finally) install a new version of the Mac OS:

1. Download the latest version of the new Mac OS file. Then, make a copy of it in another location.

2. Run Onyx to do disk cleanup/maintenance, and "limited" repairs.

3. Run Tech Tool Pro for more extensive disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs.

4. Run SuperDuper! to make the most recent backup.

5. Restart my Mac from that just completed SuperDuper! backup.

6. Run disk utility from there to Erase and format my internal SSD.

7. Navigate to that new Mac OS installer file I downloaded in 1 above, and perform a clean, fresh, "virgin" installation of that new Mac OS onto the internal SSD.

8. "Migrate"/copy needed "stuff" from that (just completed) SuperDuper! backup.

9. Restart my Mac.

That has always worked flawlessly for me.

 

[John munro]

Those are 2 excellent products, although I am still on V9.6.3 of Tech Tool Pro (there was nothing beneficial for me in V10.x). Just waiting for the Mojave-compatible version to be released, which should be sometime early next month. OS 10.14.2 will (most likely) be out by then also.

Also, you know that Tech Tool Pro is not yet compatible with Mojave, right? You should not even try and use it with Mojave.

Not sure what you mean by "My lean installations have always followed the Apple recommendations", but here is what I do whenever I (finally) install a new version of the Mac OS:

1. Download the latest version of the new Mac OS file. Then, make a copy of it in another location.

2. Run Onyx to do disk cleanup/maintenance, and "limited" repairs.

3. Run Tech Tool Pro for more extensive disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs.

4. Run SuperDuper! to make the most recent backup.

5. Restart my Mac from that just completed SuperDuper! backup.

6. Run disk utility from there to Erase and format my internal SSD.

7. Navigate to that new Mac OS installer file I downloaded in 1 above, and perform a clean, fresh, "virgin" installation of that new Mac OS onto the internal SSD.

8. "Migrate"/copy needed "stuff" from that (just completed) SuperDuper! backup.

9. Restart my Mac.

That has always worked flawlessly for me.

 

[John munro]

Ah! I missed the "C" in the word "Clean" - sorry. I have always used the reinstall function after doing full system maintenance, backup and erase pretty much as you describe. Then
I only migrate those files from backups that were fine before any problems date wise.

Thanks for all your time in commenting. I will continue to pursue the problem and will advise you when solved.

 

[honestone]

You're most welcome. Hope you get your battery issue resolved. Wonder if it is some "rogue" software that is draining the battery. It seems like you've done everything else.

 

[John munro]

But as I said it does it with the battery near fully charged. J

 

[honestone]

That's the baffling, perplexing part. Given that you had the battery checked out (and all is well), and that you do a clean installation, then the cause of the issue is difficult, at best, to pinpoint. I guess the other (hopefully not) possibility is that there something else wrong with your hardware.