Been leaving my MBA on for about 2 weeks. Bad?

[asenna]

I got a 2012 11" MBA in Dec and it is hooked up to a TBD. A couple of weeks ago I needed something to download overnight so I set the sleep timer to never and forgot about it since so my mac has been staying on overnight (whenever plugged into ac and tbd in clamshell mode) for a couple of weeks. The screen was set to turn off at the default times thats why I never noticed it wasn't going to sleep since the screen would be off when I got to it in the morning and needed me to click the mouse to turn on.

I have been running on battery every 2 days or so and it did go to sleep in those times that I am not using it as a desktop since the setting only applied to when the AC adapter was plugged in.

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by asenna

I got a 2012 11" MBA in Dec and it is hooked up to a TBD. A couple of weeks ago I needed something to download overnight so I set the sleep timer to never and forgot about it since so my mac has been staying on overnight (whenever plugged into ac and tbd in clamshell mode) for a couple of weeks. The screen was set to turn off at the default times thats why I never noticed it wasn't going to sleep since the screen would be off when I got to it in the morning and needed me to click the mouse to turn on.

I have been running on battery every 2 days or so and it did go to sleep in those times that I am not using it as a desktop since the setting only applied to when the AC adapter was plugged in.

It's fine to leave your MBA on for extended periods. Many leave their Macs on for months at a time, only sleeping instead of shutting down. As long as you're regularly running on battery power to keep it healthy, you'll be fine.

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy. The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ

[eric/]

Yeah you should be fine. I've been running mine for months and I mean MONTHS at a time, on battery, off battery, and I haven't had an issue.

[-jc]

It will be fine, I regularly do this. I always used to shutdown my old iMac (2006), but I got a new MBP this year and most the time its left running through the night if I need to keep my web server on, or its put into sleep mode. Just put your battery through a cycle at least once or twice a week though rather than running it off the mains all the time.

[glen e]

mines been on for 10 months....i turn it off about once a month when im overnight traveling ....100 pct batt

[wgnoyes]

Close the lid to sleep. Or shut it down entirely. Battery. AC. Mix it up. That's how it's supposed to be used. It'll be fine.

[asenna]

Awesome thanks! You guys seem to use your MBA similar to how I use mine. I keep it docked to my TBD but use it mobile every day or so. I had it stay on constantly while docked in clamshell mode to my TBD so that I can download some stuff. Do you guys find that Mountain Lion often ignores current active processes and will shut down even while its still doing something? This is what made me move the sleep timer to never.

Another thing is should I remove the keyboard cover when I am using it with my TBD is clamshell mode? I read somewhere that it might affect the airflow.

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by asenna

Do you guys find that Mountain Lion often ignores current active processes and will shut down even while its still doing something?

It shouldn't shut down or sleep if there are active apps running. It should if all the processes are idle.

Originally Posted by asenna

Another thing is should I remove the keyboard cover when I am using it with my TBD is clamshell mode? I read somewhere that it might affect the airflow.

No, there's no need. Heat radiates in all directions and dissipates through the aluminum body. While clamshell mode or using a keyboard covering slightly inhibits dissipation, it's not enough to cause problems or raise temps more than a few degrees, since the primary cooling is through the vents.

There has never been any air intake or exhaust vents through the keyboard on any Mac notebook. For all Mac notebooks except the MBP-Retina, both intake and exhaust has always been through the vents in the rear near the hinge. The new MBP-Retina has intake vents along the sides at the bottom and exhaust through the rear vents, near the hinge.
Learn about the fans in your Mac

Mac computers have air vents that allow heated air to exit. The vents are in the back of the computer on the MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro computers.

This arrangement allows for venting with the lid open or closed (for operating in clamshell mode). There is a solid panel under the keyboard, preventing any meaningful airflow.

[Beanoir]

Originally Posted by asenna

I got a 2012 11" MBA in Dec and it is hooked up to a TBD. A couple of weeks ago I needed something to download overnight so I set the sleep timer to never and forgot about it since so my mac has been staying on overnight (whenever plugged into ac and tbd in clamshell mode) for a couple of weeks. The screen was set to turn off at the default times thats why I never noticed it wasn't going to sleep since the screen would be off when I got to it in the morning and needed me to click the mouse to turn on.

I have been running on battery every 2 days or so and it did go to sleep in those times that I am not using it as a desktop since the setting only applied to when the AC adapter was plugged in.

I don't think i've turned mine off for over a year. Mainly run it on power rather than battery, and it's fine when i don't. I did the same with my 2010 MBA and that never seemed to suffer in the time that I had it.