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ndtechie05 · Jul 11, 2006, 04:48 PM

Hey guys is there a shortcut on the external keyboard that will allow me to turn on the MB with the lid closed? I have it as my main computer now hooked up to my 21" Gateway with the mouse and keyboard attached to it. Thanks.

Hi I'm Ben · Jul 11, 2006, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by ndtechie05

Hey guys is there a shortcut on the external keyboard that will allow me to turn on the MB with the lid closed? I have it as my main computer now hooked up to my 21" Gateway with the mouse and keyboard attached to it. Thanks.

press the space bar on your keyboard. Or hold down the Front Row button on your remote.

chabig · Jul 11, 2006, 07:52 PM

Usually you can wake a sleeping Mac by hitting any key on the keyboard, or by simply clicking the mouse button.

Chris

olePigeon · Jul 11, 2006, 08:17 PM

Make sure you have the power adapter, monitor, and keyboard all connected. You have to have those 3 before it'll work closed.

Hi I'm Ben · Jul 11, 2006, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Make sure you have the power adapter, monitor, and keyboard all connected. You have to have those 3 before it'll work closed.

No.

Holding down the front row button on your remote with only the monitor plugged in will work just fine. I do it running my MacBook with Synergy all the time.

sieb · Jul 12, 2006, 12:03 AM

I think he wants to turn the machine ON, not wake it from sleep. AFAIK, just hitting the keyboard won't turn it on, unless perhaps you have one of the G3 keyboards with the power button on it.

ndtechie05 · Jul 12, 2006, 02:26 AM

Originally Posted by sieb

I think he wants to turn the machine ON, not wake it from sleep. AFAIK, just hitting the keyboard won't turn it on, unless perhaps you have one of the G3 keyboards with the power button on it.

that is what i want to do. im using the black pro keyboard

harrisjamieh · Jul 12, 2006, 02:59 AM

Why would you shut down your MacBook as opposed to sleeping it??

Simon · Jul 12, 2006, 03:11 AM

Hitting the space bar won't boot your Book no matter what. It might wake it, but it won't start it.

If you want to wake your Book from sleep, I'd get used to hitting a key like shift (num lock, caps lock, ctrl, option, cmd work too though) rather than space because you don't want to use a key that could perform an immediate action you can't necessarily anticipate.

IIRC, since Apple stopped making G3 Macs (or did the first G4 PowerMacs still have the feature?) no Mac has supported booting over USB. Apple's keyboards don't have a start button either anymore. What I normally do is open the lid, press the button and close the lid again immediately. That's not at all elegant, but it allows me to boot in closed-lid mode nevertheless.

chabig · Jul 12, 2006, 07:54 AM

ndtechie...you're not supposed to shut down your MacBook. Just put it to sleep or let it sleep all by itself. I've had iBook and Powerbooks for the past 5 years and the only time I ever shut one down was to replace the hard drive.

Chris

harrisjamieh · Jul 12, 2006, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by chabig

ndtechie...you're not supposed to shut down your MacBook. Just put it to sleep or let it sleep all by itself. I've had iBook and Powerbooks for the past 5 years and the only time I ever shut one down was to replace the hard drive.

Chris

I wouldn't quite say 'you're not supposed to shut down' - that will give people the impression that shutting down the system is bad for it - this is not true. It is just that sleeping the machine is more convinient

pheonixash · Jul 12, 2006, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by chabig

ndtechie...you're not supposed to shut down your MacBook. Just put it to sleep or let it sleep all by itself. I've had iBook and Powerbooks for the past 5 years and the only time I ever shut one down was to replace the hard drive.

Chris

You're not supposed is a little misleading. I shut down my MacBook every 2-3 days cause I don't intend to use it for the next 15-20 hours, and I see no point in simply draining the battery or keeping it plugged in and reducing battery life!

chabig · Jul 12, 2006, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

I wouldn't quite say 'you're not supposed to shut down' - that will give people the impression that shutting down the system is bad for it - this is not true. It is just that sleeping the machine is more convinient

OK. Let's say that Apple designed the machine so that it is never required to be shut down. I think Apple never intends you to shut it down either. Of course it is not bad for the system.

Chris

chabig · Jul 12, 2006, 08:06 AM

Originally Posted by pheonixash

...I see no point in simply draining the battery or keeping it plugged in and reducing battery life!

I have seen no evidence that keeping the machine plugged in reduces battery life. My Powerbook is 18 months old and the batter lasts as long as when it was new.

pheonixash · Jul 12, 2006, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by chabig

I have seen no evidence that keeping the machine plugged in reduces battery life. My Powerbook is 18 months old and the batter lasts as long as when it was new.

Go to system profile and check the battery full charge capacity. And check it again in 2 weeks. You'll see it reduced, which is your evidence.

sieb · Jul 12, 2006, 10:53 AM

A battery will loose charge after every cycle, its just how they are.

Also, if your laptop is already asleep, plugging in the power cord (after the keyboard and monitor) will wake it into clamshell mode. I do this everyday after I get home from work.

jstw · Jul 12, 2006, 11:03 AM

I want to get a macbook, but i would like to be able to start some downloads in the morning before work, close my macbook and not having it sleep, can sleep be disabled?

Hi I'm Ben · Jul 12, 2006, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by jstw

I want to get a macbook, but i would like to be able to start some downloads in the morning before work, close my macbook and not having it sleep, can sleep be disabled?

You might be looking for this SleepLess:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10564

Dillon-K · Jul 13, 2006, 03:43 AM

This question is a little bit out of place in this thread, but if I'm not mistaken at the Apple store one of the BlackBooks had been set so when you closed the lid the screen turned off, but it didn't sleep... while I've been doing that for years with PC laptops, I'm not sure how to do it on OS X or if you need 3rd party software (ugh!). so while it doesn't bug me that it may sleep for a certain point of inactivity while the lid is closed, I like being able to just close my laptop for a few minutes and come back to it...

sieb · Jul 13, 2006, 07:58 AM

Follow the link above.

Chips G · Jul 13, 2006, 08:51 AM

Is it bad for the MacBook to run while the screen is closed? Would it prevent some of the heat from escaping through the keyboard?

Simon · Jul 13, 2006, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by Chris Gilpin

Is it bad for the MacBook to run while the screen is closed? Would it prevent some of the heat from escaping through the keyboard?

Closed-lid mode is something Apple advertises as a feature so I doubt it will do any harm. I've been using PowerBooks, my MB and MBP in closed-lid mode for hours and have never experienced any problems. If you're worried you can open the lid one you've set up and everything else (external KB, mouse, monitor). The internal screen will stay off until you remove the external screen or chose 'Detect Displays'.

sieb · Jul 13, 2006, 11:27 AM

I've only seen a 1-3 degree difference on my Blackbook.

pyrite · Jul 14, 2006, 02:47 AM

Originally Posted by Chris Gilpin

Is it bad for the MacBook to run while the screen is closed? Would it prevent some of the heat from escaping through the keyboard?

hi chris, i'd be cautious with it depending on your model.. particularly for long periods of time. i've read articles on a couple of powerbooks that critically overheated because they failed to sleep automatically when their lids were closed (recent.. pretty sure it was a G4 1.5GHZ 12"). mac laptops generally dissipate a LOT of their heat through the keyboard as you suggested. one i've heard of actually melted its own keyboard, peeled its own paint and destroyed its own screen from this failure to auto-sleep. i dont know if this is an issue with the macbook, but based on history i wouldnt trust it for extended periods.

harrisjamieh · Jul 14, 2006, 03:09 AM

Originally Posted by pyrite

hi chris, i'd be cautious with it depending on your model.. particularly for long periods of time. i've read articles on a couple of powerbooks that critically overheated because they failed to sleep automatically when their lids were closed (recent.. pretty sure it was a G4 1.5GHZ 12"). mac laptops generally dissipate a LOT of their heat through the keyboard as you suggested. one i've heard of actually melted its own keyboard, peeled its own paint and destroyed its own screen from this failure to auto-sleep. i dont know if this is an issue with the macbook, but based on history i wouldnt trust it for extended periods.

Perhaps this is true - but its probably due to a fault in some of those machines stopping them from sleeping, then the owner not realising and shoving it in a case - which would very likely damage the computer.

If the OP just wants to use the laptop in lid closed mode normally, then this is fine - it must be fine, as Apple adverstises the feature. Even in the unlikely event of a 'meltdown', you should be able to go into Apple and say 'hey, you told me I could do this' blah blah blah...