Mac keeps falling asleep, HELP ME, FINALS ARE ON MONDAY

Alright Tacoma world. I need your help really bad right now.
Last night my computer decided to act up. It is a macbook pro purchased in 2009. It cant stay awake and keeps falling asleep, even during boot up and shut down. I think I have recovered the files that I need to study (finals start monday) but I am desperate to get this fixed.
I think it is the battery. But even when the computer is plugged in it does this. When I do press the battery level button on the side of the computer it tries to come on but is dim and then goes out (it looks pretty pathetic).
What do you all think it is?
and if it is the battery, shouldn't having it plugged in still have it run?
Is there a way to tell the computer during boot up to bypass the battery and run directly off the charger so I can atleast use the damn thing and get the rest of my work off of it?

Thanks in advance! I freaking out here!

 

I honestly have no idea, but if you've recovered the files you need, can you just load them onto another device (phone, kindle, gf's computer, etc.)? If you can, then it might be a little less of an issue.
As for the battery, if the power cord is plugged in, you should be able to actually remove the battery and be fine. I haven't tried it on my new computer, but on my old one I could just not have the battery plugged in but have the power cord plugged in and it would run like normal. Of course, both of these are toshibas, not macs.
You might be able to talk to IT about this, but I don't know if they can help you with a personal computer that's having a problem unrelated to UCD.

 

I'm assuming Mac is the room mate? Tell him to wake up and help you study!! Dude sounds like a jerk!


trolololol

 

Not a computer guy but you could maybe check your time till sleep setting? It sounds more serious but you never know. Also there is an app you can download called Caffiene that will keep your computer "awake" any time you run the app. Good if you are studying or watching a movie and your screen keeps going dim.

 

Take the battery out. It should boot up without one if it is plugged in.

 

Alright, so I just tested removing the battery on my newer computer and it started up just fine.

It also might be a bad power cord. If that's the case then you could try a different cord.

 

Well I was able to sneak in an appointment with the on campus Mac genius guys... Self diagnostic on the computer said to check the battery. Well, we ooo the battery out and rebooted the computer and the problem persisted... So while the battery might need replacing soon, that wasn't the problem. The it guy said he'll run some diagnostic and narrow down what the problem might be. He said it could be some software hiccup or something causing the problem, or (worst case scenario) it is the logic board. I guess the logic board is pretty much all the important stuff in there (hard drive, graphics card, etc.) and is pretty much the most expensive part of the computer, about 2/3 the value of the machine.
So at this point ill wait to hear about it tomorrow. Should get a call in the afternoon. I was able to recover my school documents so I can study this weekend from a 10 year old backup computer... But still sucks.
I'm thinking if it is the logic board, ill probably just get a new computer... Which I would be getting in June anyway as a grad present. I just don't think my parents would enjoy a surprise $2500 purchase around the holiday season right now!
And before some of you ask, my warmth was up this past June

 

I would replace the board even if you're going to get a new computer. You can always sell it and a working machine will get more money than a broken one (unless you can't sell it for $200 even with it working).

 

Damn! Thank goodness you could get your school work

 

Ya.... It's sucks. At this point I'm just waiting for the phone call I should get tomorrow. After that ill know if it is a simple software fix, or whether ill have to go to my parents and let them decide between a $600 7-month fix, or an early $2500 new computer.
I am very blessed because my parents pay for everything related to education, including this stuff (unless of course It was my fault the computer crapped out or something). The deal is when I have kids I have to pay for all of their education. That's the deal and I'm sticking too it. And I know some day, 30 years from now I'm going to get a call from my kid that goes like this "dad my computer died. I need 5k" (inflation is a bitch!)
I was going to get a new computer for grad school in June when I graduate, so maybe they will just give me the computer early.... I just don't want to have to stress my parents out financially right now, especially with the holiday season here
I think what I may do is offer to make it less of a financial burden is split the cost, or buy a new computer now if it turns out I have to do that, and they can reimburse me once I graduate.
Who knows!!!! I may be stressing over nothing! Guess ill find out tomorrow!




Just seems a little silly to me to pay $600-700 for 7 months ya know? Parents chime in if you think I'm wrong! I'd love to get alternate opinions...

 

Well I got it back... Wasn't the logic board!!!! Something was messed up with the ram and causing the problem... Not knowing much about computers, I have know idea how it happened. Oh well, it's all fixed.
Worked out even well because for some reason 5gbs was on sale and cheaper than 4 that I used to have, so I gained an extra gig!
However, now whenever I close the lid, it doesn't go to sleep immediately, and when I open it up it doesn't automatically wake up... Any ideas?

 

My MBP does that to and it's 3 months old.

 

Nice! Glad it worked out and wasn't too expensive.
That sounds like a settings change maybe. Have you checked that?

 

i looked quickly but didnt want to waste too much time till after my monday finals

 

Sounds like a similar thing that was happening to a computer where I work. Basically, the monitor would go black, but the keyboard lighting would be on. It had to be restart it to get it to come back on. The problem ended up being the video card, which part of the logic board. The whole logic board had to be replaced. Hope your's turns out better.

 

mine behaves inconsistently with sleeping and shutting down....