# Imac wakes back up 1 to 3 times when I "sleep" it



## tharring (Mar 2, 2010)

hi thanks in advance.
when i try to put my Imac to sleep by briefly touching the off button in the back it usually wakes back up after a short period, maybe ten seconds. then i push the button again and usually in ten seconds or so it wakes back up, this usually happens once more and finally it goes to sleep. i am using mac's 'time machine' backup system. the external hard drive seems reluctant to shut down during this period. i'd be happy with a solution that involved disabling the backup system but am afraid to shut off the external hard drive for fear of disrupting the backup process.
thanks much, tomh


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## Yankee Rose (Jul 14, 1999)

Hi tharring - welcome to TSG.

This issue can be caused by a connected USB device connected to the Mac.. Cannon scanners and HP printers/scanners are notorious for this. Try disconnecting all devices except the mouse & keyboard. See if the issue still occurs. If not, add one USB device at a time back and see if you can find the one causing the problem.

Hope that helps!


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## tharring (Mar 2, 2010)

thanks, Yankee Rose. it does help a lot to know that this is a common problem and not peculiar to my system. i haven't performed the diagnostics yet--will let you know. it would be difficult to overstate my gratitude for your impressive expertise without which i'd be pretty much at the mercy of my machine. tom h


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

This happens to me if I sleep my iMac before I switch my Magic Mouse off. My solution is to switch the mouse off first, then sleep the Mac. Do you have any Bluetooth devices connected to your Mac?


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## tharring (Mar 2, 2010)

thanks namenotfound. that's useful information that i can act on. i do have an external hard drive, a midiman midi/usb device, an ipod, a printer scanner, a digital tape recorder... i suspect time machine or the WD hard drive's software. haven't had time yet to do tests.
thanks much, tom h


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