Macbook won't shut down

[Yorkiebar]

I have a MacBook running OSX version 10.5.8

I recently tried to install an update (I don't know what, but it was an official Mac one), after which everything went wrong.

My MacBook now refuses to shut down unless I do it by pressing down on the power button. When I do it via the menu, I just end up with the little wheel icon (the black & white one with lines, not the coloured one), spinning on my desktop - all the folders dissappear, but the desktop background stays & the little wheel just spins away endlessly ...

Two other things have also gone wrong, which I think may be related:

1) Spotlight will no-longer work, and hangs when I try to use it. I can't quit it using Force Quit or the Activity Monitor. However, even when I try to shut down without having used Spotlight, I still can't, so I don't think this is causing the problem.

2) The dictionary on my Dashboard no-longer works. It just says whatever word "could not be found".

It is quite a long trip to my nearest Genius Bar, so I thought I would try on here, first. I am a complete novice so far as computers go, so would need very specific instructions about what to do .

 

[Kaveman]

You don't need to go to an Apple Genius Bar you should be able to find an Apple Service Centre close by.

I'd start by trying ensuring your important files are backed up!!!

Obviously check how much free space is on the drive. Get Info on the drive icon. 1/4 - 1/3 free is a good minimum on the smaller drives.

Then do a fix permissions, in Disk Utility. This is a long shot.

If your MacBook is old, which you imply, I'd guess the Hard drive may be failing. Ensure you have a backup!

 

[Yorkiebar]

Oh no! I am right in the middle of writing-up my doctoral thesis, and have no money for a new computer, so this could not have happened at a worse possible time! Sigh. It is pretty old, I guess

Well, thank-you anyway for your advice. Everything is backed-up (on an external hard-drive & on-line), so I will be okay if it does suddenly die on me.

I clicked on the HD icon & got this:

Capacity: 74.21GB
Available: 35.33GB
Used: 38.8GB

Would it be worth deleting some stuff?

One other question: do you think, given the current situation, it would be better NOT to shutdown the computer & just put it to sleep when I'm not using it, or will that not make any difference?

Thanks again

 

[Kaveman]

No need to remove more files, that Free Space looks good.

I wouldn't shut the computer down if you are in the middle of an important job. Just keep it running.

While we can look at the specific problems, I'm concerned there are others that are not showing there heads. A wonky update is a hard thing to fix remotely.

 

[karazelle]

Hi,

I would do a backup of your important documents, then go download the latest MacOS X Combi update and try to run that.

Reapplying the combo updates often fix weird update introduced bugs.
The 10.5.8 combo update is here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL866

Then run Disk Utility and Repair Permissions, then run the Apple Updater (Apple menu -> Updates) and see if any remains, as many times as it takes until it says there are no more. It may say that on the first try, if so its fine already.