Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

utw-Mephisto · Dec 22, 2006, 12:12 PM

I want to connect my MacBook when i am home via HDMI to my 26" HD plus USB Mouse and Keyboard .. However, I have no need to have the laptop open all the time .. On default the laptop goes to sleep when I close the lid .... is there a way that only the screen shuts off instead of going to sleep completely ?

I cannot find the option anywhere ..

Sherman Homan · Dec 22, 2006, 12:17 PM

Part of the reason that it goes to sleep when the lid is closed is heat. If the hard drive, processor and ram are busy working they will generate enough to fry itself.

Don't try to defeat the default!

utw-Mephisto · Dec 22, 2006, 12:19 PM

Mmm.. makes sense ...

I am usually Windows Junky and there is something in Windows for that HAHA

Just bought my first Apple two days ago ... oh, and btw. : Already WANT a pro

SpaceMonkey · Dec 22, 2006, 12:50 PM

Here, read this: How to use your PowerBook G4, MacBook or MacBook Pro with the display closed and a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse It works if you use a USB mouse or keyboard, as well. You don't necessarily need Bluetooth.

utw-Mephisto · Dec 22, 2006, 01:00 PM

Thanks

So obviously not a heating issue ..

SpaceMonkey · Dec 22, 2006, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by utw-Mephisto

Thanks

So obviously not a heating issue ..

It was a heat issue with the iBooks: they vented their heat primarily through the keyboard. Not as much with the MacBooks.

Sherman Homan · Dec 22, 2006, 01:39 PM

I can not believe that article. I saw a burned out iBook that had crashed, the owner closed the lid and opened it the next morning. It never went to sleep. It ran all night, well, not all night. At some point it overheated, the hard drive locked up, the ram chips fried, never got the logic board to ever respond again. But, SpaceMonkey is on it, it must have just been an iBook problem.

I gotta tell ya, I wouldn't do it with a MacBook, even with that article!

iREZ · Dec 22, 2006, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by Sherman Homan

I gotta tell ya, I wouldn't do it with a MacBook, even with that article!

thats lame...

if apple says the macbook can support clamshell mode...then it could support clamshell mode. do you really think a person is putting their computer at risk by using it in an approved method?

msuper69 · Dec 25, 2006, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by Sherman Homan

I can not believe that article. I saw a burned out iBook that had crashed, the owner closed the lid and opened it the next morning. It never went to sleep. It ran all night, well, not all night. At some point it overheated, the hard drive locked up, the ram chips fried, never got the logic board to ever respond again. But, SpaceMonkey is on it, it must have just been an iBook problem.

I gotta tell ya, I wouldn't do it with a MacBook, even with that article!

The MacBook works just fine in close-lid mode. I've been using it like that since I got it back in June.

stefanicotine · Dec 25, 2006, 04:50 PM

The MacBooks dissipate heat through the bottom, so having the lid closed doesn't affect anything. The only thing it might affect is the life of your screen (by prolonging it

).

mduell · Dec 25, 2006, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by Sherman Homan

Part of the reason that it goes to sleep when the lid is closed is heat. If the hard drive, processor and ram are busy working they will generate enough to fry itself.

Don't try to defeat the default!

No, they won't. No (well, few) laptops are so poorly designed that they can't be operated with the lid closed. Apple's certainly can be operated with the lid closed.

Why they need a mouse plugged in and jiggled is a mystery.

stefanicotine · Dec 25, 2006, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

Why they need a mouse plugged in and jiggled is a mystery.

Why is that a mystery? It seems fair to assume that the majority of people who use their laptop in clamshell mode will use an external mouse and/or keyboard to operate it. How else will you use your MacBook? Supporting the minority of people who run their MacBooks as servers doesn't seem worth it.

CKr · Dec 25, 2006, 08:41 PM

The MacBook draws air in through the keyboard and when the lid is closed there is still a gap between the lid and MacBook for air to be drawn in. I get little heat off the top of my MacBook, where compared to my iBook the top is always warm.

acoustix · Dec 26, 2006, 12:52 AM

I would allow a little relief under the back of the bottom of the unit if you can ( I added some small adhesive rubber feet) The heat that can come off of there is significant.

mduell · Dec 26, 2006, 01:56 AM

Originally Posted by stefanicotine

Why is that a mystery? It seems fair to assume that the majority of people who use their laptop in clamshell mode will use an external mouse and/or keyboard to operate it. How else will you use your MacBook? Supporting the minority of people who run their MacBooks as servers doesn't seem worth it.

I'd like my laptop to stay awake when I close the lid; if I want it to go to sleep, I'll give the power button a tap before I close it. Often I'll have apps running that I don't want interrupted (encoding/downloads/etc), but I'm leaving the laptop alone so I close the lid to protect it.