Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

RooneyX · Jun 21, 2004, 07:39 PM

To be able to close my Powerbooks lid and let iTunes keep playing?

wataru · Jun 21, 2004, 08:17 PM

If you have an external monitor attached you could run it with the LCD disabled, but I don't know how. Try looking in the PowerBook forum.

Otherwise, no. Closing the lid will put it to sleep, and iTunes obviously can't run while the computer is asleep.

RooneyX · Jun 21, 2004, 08:26 PM

Originally posted by wataru:
If you have an external monitor attached you could run it with the LCD disabled, but I don't know how. Try looking in the PowerBook forum.

Otherwise, no. Closing the lid will put it to sleep, and iTunes obviously can't run while the computer is asleep.

No offense Wataru but both things you said is what you say to newbies, geezer. I said the word 'HACK' not 'Can I do this...'!!!!!!

TailsToo · Jun 21, 2004, 09:00 PM

There used to be a way back in the Classic OS to keep the computer running with the lid closed, but I can't find it in OS X.

Nai no Kami · Jun 21, 2004, 10:23 PM

In OS 9 there was an extension called insomnia, which prevented the computer to sleep. I believe it was in the software restore discs.
I really don't know of a method of doing that in OS X. Anyway, it could also be cool to turn the monitor off also, to save battery life... but, when I think of it, that would turn my iBook into the most expensive and bulky iPod ever.

RooneyX · Jun 21, 2004, 10:33 PM

Originally posted by Nai no Kami:
In OS 9 there was an extension called insomnia, which prevented the computer to sleep. I believe it was in the software restore discs.
I really don't know of a method of doing that in OS X. Anyway, it could also be cool to turn the monitor off also, to save battery life... but, when I think of it, that would turn my iBook into the most expensive and bulky iPod ever.

My first laptop ever was a crappy Acer PII-266 with a CDROM. But the good thing about it was that even if I turned the laptop off it had controls on the front to operate the CD to play music. Imagine being able to shut the lid of a Powerbook and then be able use some sort of USB controller or wireless controller to still able to interface with iTunes.

rstevens · Jun 21, 2004, 11:45 PM

i think the hack you're looking for is an iPod.

(speaking as someone who used to drive around in his car with an iBook before the iPod existed)

RooneyX · Jun 22, 2004, 12:07 AM

Originally posted by rstevens:
i think the hack you're looking for is an iPod.

(speaking as someone who used to drive around in his car with an iBook before the iPod existed)

Already have one. Bought the one of the first ever before it was in shops. Still use it going out or for my home stereo. But it's no good in the bedroom for example as the speakers are in the living room and I'm not wearing headphones to bed.

qnxde · Jun 22, 2004, 04:18 AM

There were hacks to do this (I think one was called sleepless) but it seems that with 10.3 apple has modified something to force a PMU shutdown after about 10 minutes with the lid closed, and nobody yet has worked a way around it.

kiskynet · Jun 22, 2004, 05:44 AM

Try having a dig around with pmset in the terminal. If you do 'pmset man' you get some stuff about power management settings which includes settings to do with the lid.

It also tells your where your com.apple.PowerManagement plist is which might let you do this.

GENERAL_SMILEY · Jun 22, 2004, 06:26 AM

Rooney... Rooney... Rooney!

RooneyX · Jun 22, 2004, 09:18 AM

Originally posted by GENERAL_SMILEY:
Rooney... Rooney... Rooney!

Stop that at once, Kato!

Vash · Jun 22, 2004, 11:39 AM

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17893

Hope it works, but be careful of heat problems. The powerbook can overheat when its lid is closed and its running.

RooneyX · Jun 22, 2004, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by Vash:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17893

Hope it works, but be careful of heat problems. The powerbook can overheat when its lid is closed and its running.

It's a bit buggy according to one user on that site.

tooki · Jun 22, 2004, 05:34 PM

Originally posted by Vash:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17893

Hope it works, but be careful of heat problems. The powerbook can overheat when its lid is closed and its running.

Balderdash. Apple fully supports running them with the lid closed -- they just require it to have a display connected.

The last PowerBook to rely on the lid being open for proper cooling was the Wallstreet, from 1998. ALL subsequent models support closed-lid operation.

tooki

Robo-X · Jun 22, 2004, 06:49 PM

You might want to try KisMAC which lets you close the lid without putting the computer to sleep.

//Rob

philzilla · Jun 22, 2004, 07:58 PM

Originally posted by RooneyX:
I'm not wearing headphones to bed.

the earplug headphones which come with the iPod are just fine for lying in bed. they stay in when you roll over, and you can lie on them comfortably. i'll be doing just that in about 10 minutes.

RooneyX · Jun 22, 2004, 08:49 PM

Originally posted by philzilla:
the earplug headphones which come with the iPod are just fine for lying in bed. they stay in when you roll over, and you can lie on them comfortably. i'll be doing just that in about 10 minutes.

I didn't make myself clear. I don't want to wear headphones in bed. Also, iPod ones are terrible. I've been through two sets and they both ended up crackling. They also fall out of my ears. I have a set of Bose headphones that clip behind the ears like glasses that I can really recommend though!

jasong · Jun 22, 2004, 09:32 PM

If you find something that lets you do this, I would be interested to hear how the sound quality of your powerbook speakers with the lid clamped shut on top of them rate compared to the iPods.

-- Jason

himself · Jun 22, 2004, 10:07 PM

I remember digging around in some .plist files, I noticed one setting that had to do with sleep on lid close... with a true/false string after it. I'll see if I can find that file for you. But, if you have a usb keyboard, plug it in. When you close the lid and your machine goes to sleep (or even before it goes to sleep), hit the spacebar to wake it up, and hit the spacebar again to start playing iTunes (assuming iTunes is running and in the foreground). I guess it should work...

Brass · Jun 22, 2004, 10:13 PM

Originally posted by jasong:
If you find something that lets you do this, I would be interested to hear how the sound quality of your powerbook speakers with the lid clamped shut on top of them rate compared to the iPods.

-- Jason

On my powerbook (12"), the speakers are not covered by the lid when closed at all. They are at the back of the powerbook (and in fact are more covered by the lid when open, but the sound probably bounces off the lid when open if anything).

MartiNZ · Jun 22, 2004, 10:28 PM

Originally posted by Brass:
On my powerbook (12"), the speakers are not covered by the lid when closed at all. They are at the back of the powerbook (and in fact are more covered by the lid when open, but the sound probably bounces off the lid when open if anything).

Yeah, well from what little I have heard of audio from a 12" Powerbook, I'd have to say I think that that is what makes it sound so much better than that from the iBook - bouncing of the lid / screen is obviously a good thing ... I just don't quite have the scientific ability to say exactly why

.

RooneyX · Jun 22, 2004, 11:00 PM

Originally posted by jasong:
If you find something that lets you do this, I would be interested to hear how the sound quality of your powerbook speakers with the lid clamped shut on top of them rate compared to the iPods.

-- Jason

I'm not being clear about my intentions and that's my fault I guess. I just need some ambient noise by the bedside, some Tibetan mantras for meditation. It doesn't have to be full blast wall to wall sound and having headphones in your ears is to disturbing for meditation, the sound is too close to your ear drum and you can't concentrate properly with ears stuffed with foam and plastic. I could leave the lid open and turn the brightness down full as I do now but it's just neater to keep it shut. In case I fall asleep I know I won't whack the screen with my arm at some point.

Krusty · Jun 22, 2004, 11:29 PM

Originally posted by RooneyX:
In case I fall asleep I know I won't whack the screen with my arm at some point.

So by this you are saying that you are prone to whacking in your sleep

RooneyX · Jun 22, 2004, 11:53 PM

Originally posted by Krusty:
So by this you are saying that you are prone to whacking in your sleep

Now that's a low blow! No pun intended.

Rickster · Jun 23, 2004, 12:48 AM

I don't think the external USB keyboard thing is supposed to work unless you also have an external display plugged in. You might be able to spoof that, though... some of the various types of VGA adapter dongles will cause a machine to think there's a display plugged into the other end even if there's not. Sometimes this is an unintentional side effect of a particular adapter. There are also adapters that do this on purpose -- they're sold as accessories to let you make older boxes into headless servers.

Some Guy [] · Jun 25, 2004, 06:52 AM

use the modified kernel that kismac installs if you want to let the powerbook keep running while the lid is closed, or download the latest 10.3.x kernel source (xnu) and patch it with the nosleep patch floating around somewhere.

i tried both methods last year and it seemed to still go to sleep after 10-20 mins of being closed. infact i think it was not even waking up, can't remember.

-justin