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MacBook Question about Boot Time

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by TonyPSchaefer, Sep 22, 2009.

  1. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I posted this on the Apple Forum and have 76 views but no replies.
    Apple - Support - Discussions - Slower startup; Could it be one/some of ...

    My wife has noticed that boot-up time on her MacBook is longer than it used to be. At first I thought this was just her perception but I timed it at one minute from push-of-button to Finder-bar-on-top.

    I went into Console to see if perhaps there are some logged error message. What I found was a list of errors:

    +----+----+----+

    9/19/09 10:12:21 AM com.apple.loginwindow33 Shutdown NOW!
    9/19/09 10:12:21 AM com.apple.loginwindow33 System shutdown time has arrived##
    9/19/09 10:13:26 AM com.apple.launchctl.System[2] BootCacheControl: could not open /var/db/BootCache.playlist: No such file or directory
    9/19/09 10:13:26 AM com.apple.launchctl.System[2] BootCacheControl: could not unlink playlist /var/db/BootCache.playlist: Unknown error: -1
    9/19/09 10:13:27 AM com.apple.launchctl.System[2] launchctl: Please convert the following to launchd: /etc/mach_init.d/dashboardadvisoryd.plist
    9/19/09 10:13:27 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.blued) Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
    9/19/09 10:13:27 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.RemoteDesktop.PrivilegeProxy) Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
    9/19/09 10:13:27 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.usbmuxd) Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
    9/19/09 10:13:27 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (org.cups.cupsd) Unknown key: SHAuthorizationRight
    9/19/09 10:13:27 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (org.ntp.ntpd) Unknown key: SHAuthorizationRight
    9/19/09 10:13:27 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (org.x.privileged_startx) Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
    9/19/09 10:14:02 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.UserEventAgent-LoginWindow75) Exited: Terminated
    9/19/09 10:14:02 AM com.apple.launchd69
    9/19/09 10:14:02 AM com.apple.launchd69 (org.x.startx) Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
    9/19/09 10:14:28 AM quicklookd95 QL ERROR 'Creating thumbnail' timed out for '<QLThumbnailRequest /Users/<user>/Documents/23921-Fotografico-1.pps>'
    (com.apple.AirPortBaseStationAgent) Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
    +----+----+----+

    The sequence starts at 13:26 and (barring errors) is moving rather briskly until 14:02 and another gap until 14:28.
    - Am I reading this incorrectly or is it halting twice during bootup?
    - Am I seeing these gaps because Console only displays errors and there are hundreds of successes I'm not seeing?
    - Is a one minute bootup sequence normal?
     
    #1 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 22, 2009
  2. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    I'd be happy to test mine at home... i personally never pay much attention to the boot times at home, as they're always a lot less than here at work, where it can easily take 5 minutes from power button to start menu (Stupid Windows!).

    From my experience in software development, you may be reading too much into the console output. In many cases, the information displayed can be completely arbitrary, whatever the developer thought should be displayed. It's possible there were just long sections with no output, it's possible it's only logging errors, it's possible it's waiting for some piece of hardware to respond, and that piece of hardware is taking forever (possibly because it's been damaged somehow over time).

    Hell, even with the system i'm working on, there are times when i go into the logs and say "why the hell isn't something being printed here?" or "Why they hell would they print that?".
     
    #2 eagle33199, Sep 22, 2009
  3. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Not being nasty or mean, but why does she boot the MacBook? I almost never reboot my MacBook Pro (or the Powerbook I had before), I just put it to sleep by closing the lid and then wake it the same way.

    I hardly ever reboot, but I don't think one minute is out of the question. You might be able to speed it up by reinstalling or upgrading the OS and doing a clean reinstall so that it isn't spending time looking for some of the items reported in the Console display.
     
    #3 dogfriend, Sep 22, 2009
  4. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    Another option, if you feel confident in your abilities, is to do some manual modification of the boot files... remove some of the stuff it can't find to avoid those errors. Of course, back everything up and be prepared to do a clean install if you screw something up - dealing with the boot process, screwing something up could mean you can't even start OSX anymore.
     
    #4 eagle33199, Sep 22, 2009
  5. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Thanks for the replies so far.

    The laptop was a Christmas present this past year. It's less than a year old so I'm hoping age isn't an issue. I check for software updates occasionally and install them when they come.

    Dogfriend, do you have any concern on battery depletion with the computer in sleep mode? DO you have it plugged in all the time? I've noticed that the light on in the front is on when it's asleep. I'm not trying to split hairs; just trying to be able to provide her hard facts from actual users and their experiences.

    Eagle, if it were a PC I wouldn't hesitate to modify. If it were my computer I wouldn't hesitate to modify. Since it's her Mac, I'm saving that until the very last option.

    One thing I did leave out was specs:
    RAMM: 4GB 667MHz DDR2 onboard. On average, 3 is free when I check.
    HDD: 120GB drive; 80GB free
    CPU: 2.1GHz Nothing unusual. Rather calm.
     
    #5 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 22, 2009
  6. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I've never done a rigorous test, but the battery will last for a few days in sleep mode - we usually take the laptop(s) with us when we go somewhere in the motorhome and may not use it for a few days.

    I do tend to keep it plugged it whenever possible, I believe that Apple recommends "exercising" the battery every so often by running on battery until you get the warning that you are on reserve, then plugging in to recharge.
     
    #6 dogfriend, Sep 22, 2009
  7. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    What did Apple's help line say about it?


    You cheaped out and didn't get the three year warranty and support, right? :rolleyes:
     
    #7 hyo silver, Sep 22, 2009
  8. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    I have no idea if this carries over, but regards battery usage, my travel Linux netbook does use a noticeable amount of power in sleep mode. While at a lodge, I'll use sleep mode, because I plug it in every day. But between whiles I shut it down.
     
    #8 daniel, Sep 22, 2009
  9. Scummer

    Scummer Eh?

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    Sleep = uses more battery, because it keeps the memory in RAM and needs to power those RAM banks.
    Hibernation = uses less battery, because it writes the RAM onto the harddrive. Little slower recover time after the lid is opened again, because the RAM contents need to be read from the harddrive.

    But for less battery drain, I suggest hibernation after lid is closed to be enabled.

    The messages in your log point to some applications not being handled correctly by launchd. Maybe something has gone haywire and lost its configuration.

    Thomas
     
    #9 Scummer, Sep 22, 2009
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