My MacBook seems to be an insomniac (won't sleep)

As of several days ago, my MacBook refuses to go to sleep either automatically or manually. I have taken the following troubleshooting measures to no effect:

  • Reset PRAM
  • Rest SMC
  • Boot in SafeMode
  • Verified that the lid sensor was working (my MacBooks's status light responds when it's closed)

Anyone have any ideas would could be causing my MacBook's incompetence? I'm on 10.7.2 btw.

UPDATE: I found the solution to the problem: I had unnecessary sharing services enabled despite not using them for weeks. Turning these off fixed the problem :)


Solution 1:

I found my answer here.

To sum up:

  • Open a terminal
  • Run "pmset -g assertions"
  • Check the output if there is any process preventing the system from sleeping.

In my and apparently many people's cases, it was actually an unused printer driver that seems to be in "in use" state. I deleted that printer driver (not all of them!) and my system now goes to sleep peacefully after closing the lid (even on power).

Lion seems to keep the system awake if the power is connected and there are any services or devices shared to others.

Btw, I am still getting that sound assertion failure when the system goes to sleep.

Solution 2:

Unnecessary sharing services might interrupt the sleep process. Turning these off fixed the problem :)