MacBook Pro never shuts down properly

[Cannibal Shogun]

Every time I go to shut down my MacBook it begins the shutdown process, closes programs and all, then when it gets to the point that it should actually shut down the screen greys out and I get a message saying I need to shut down my Mac by holding the power button. This has happened every time I've shut it down in the last month at least.

I use it mainly as a media computer connected to my tv. I have the adobe production suite on it but rarely use it as the computer doesn't handle it well enough for heavy video work. Usually I'm just surfing the net and watching NetFlix. Generally it's always on, I just put it to sleep when not in use but occasionally I want to take it somewhere or it starts acting up so I shut it down and as I've stated this has happened every time for a while now.

Any ideas on what the problem is and how I can fix it?

Thanks.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

-Which exact model MacBook and version of Mac OS X are you running?

C

 

[Cannibal Shogun]

15 inch MacBook Pro2.2 GHz intel core i7
4gb 1333 MHz DDR3
OSX 10.7.4


Purchased December 2011


Sorry would have included in original post but the computer was off, posted from my iPad


Any insight you can provide is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Cory Cooper]

I would try these three things in this order:

Repair Disk Permissions
-In the Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities folder, double-click Disk Utility.
-Click once on Macintosh HD in the list on the left to highlight it.
-Click Repair Disk Permissions button.
-When done, close Disk Utility.

Reset SMC (from Apple's website)
-Shut down the computer.
-Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
-On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
-Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

Reset PRAM
-Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
-Turn on the computer.
-Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
-Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
-Release the keys.

Once the computer has started up completely, wait a minute or so, then try to power off. Let us know if the issue persists after this.

C

 

[Cannibal Shogun]

Thanks a lot. Very helpful info

Repairing the disk permissions seems to have worked, at least it shut down properly when I turned it off to try resetting the SMC.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Glad to hear it. Let us know if you still have the problem.

C