[G4] Sleep = Coma a Software or Hardware Issue?

[Richard M. Kriss]

I have read the recent postings about the pulsing heartbeat light indicating
the Mac is sleeping.  I have not used the Apple 'Sleep' command for months
because it puts my G4-450 AGP into a hard coma .... defined as a prolonged
state of deep unconsciousness. I can put the G4 to sleep by using the
'Sleep' command under the Apple menu. The problem is the heartbeat thing
does not pulse and I cannot wake it up. The only way to wake it from the
deep coma 'sleep' is to restart.

I have no idea if this is a hardware or software issue.  Yes, I have the
latest firmware and I am using 10.3.6. I don't know if there is a fix for
this design defect so I just don't use the useless sleep.

The G4 is shut down at the end of each day.  Sometimes the shut down command
seems to work but I later find it has come back on and entered the deep coma
mode requiring a restart.

I am clueless on how to fix these issues and have just learned to live with
them.

Dick