I left a 2012 Mac mini on for 10 years as a plex server , plan to do the same with m2
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Do you leave your Mini on at night?
- Thread starter Saberon2014
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If I had the i7 I would still be using the 2012
This time around I made sure to get the m2 pro so I don’t have to upgrade for a long time
My 2012 quad-core Mini has been relegated to the role of a fileserver now, it runs 24/7. A few years ago, it was my primary Mac and I shut it down at the end of the day.
2014 Mini is a media server, it runs 24/7. A 4tb USB hard drive with my media failed twice after about 3 years continuous use so I now have it on a 4tb USB SSD.
2018 Mini is my primary Mac now, it also gets heavy use with Windows 10 in Parallels and I often need to leave it running overnight while exporting hundreds of gb of GIS data. Aside from that, I shut it down every night.
2014 Mini is a media server, it runs 24/7. A 4tb USB hard drive with my media failed twice after about 3 years continuous use so I now have it on a 4tb USB SSD.
2018 Mini is my primary Mac now, it also gets heavy use with Windows 10 in Parallels and I often need to leave it running overnight while exporting hundreds of gb of GIS data. Aside from that, I shut it down every night.
So 100 or 1000 or 100,000 people are doing the ‘wrong’ thing.
Mac Mini fan never turns off. It’s always sucking in dust. Leaving the Mini in Sleep mode ‘forever’ is a good way to fill it full of dirt.
Mac Mini fan never turns off. It’s always sucking in dust. Leaving the Mini in Sleep mode ‘forever’ is a good way to fill it full of dirt.
No, I leave mine on 24/7 without sleeping as there was some issue with Wake on LAN a while back. I should perhaps try it again.
As I’m usually selling my stuff and buy new as soon as Apple Care runs out, the dirt is someone else’s problem.
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well I did not do my Ram upgrade to 32GB till after a few years of continuous use and it was clean as a whistle. The air intake is underneath and I think that helps.
Same here. Upgraded an old 2012 Mini that my father has running as an Apple-TV stand in running 24/7 for 9 years. It had a bit of dust in it but I have seen worse in Windows desktops running for less than a year.
I just converted a file from mkv to mp4 and I think I killed a polar bear as a result.
The fan in my mini Late 2012 stops when it goes to sleep. I've just checked that it does. That can explain why there isn't much dust in it when I clean it every six months.
Used to run a mini 2009 as iTunes and Elgato Server so let it sleep, and power up on demand.
2018 ram headless as just iTunes
just left them on 24/7 and let Apple TV wake it up on demand.
after moving to studio then use a terramaster nas for hdhomerun and Plex instead.
when replace the studio then suspect will replace with a mini pro and May just leave on
2018 ram headless as just iTunes
just left them on 24/7 and let Apple TV wake it up on demand.
after moving to studio then use a terramaster nas for hdhomerun and Plex instead.
when replace the studio then suspect will replace with a mini pro and May just leave on
Still using my 2010 as my main computer. It goes to sleep by itself and as someone else said, the heat isn't wasted in winter.
I have an iMac rather than a Mini, but my answer is "it depends".
I've developed a bit of a habit of going to bed early and doing some work on my laptop, accessing files in a shared folder on my iMac. So, when I do that, I leave the iMac on. When I don't do that, I put it to sleep. It's about 50/50.
There don't seem to be any adverse effects to doing it one way or the other.
I've developed a bit of a habit of going to bed early and doing some work on my laptop, accessing files in a shared folder on my iMac. So, when I do that, I leave the iMac on. When I don't do that, I put it to sleep. It's about 50/50.
There don't seem to be any adverse effects to doing it one way or the other.
If I know I'm not going to use it for a day or two I'll shut it down. If I'm likely to use it tomorrow I'll let it sleep.
Sleeping means my music playlist keeps its place. And since it's winter the extra 2 watts is not wasted either. The heat pump pulls 7 amps at 240 V, not counting the inside or outside fans. A mini is unnoticeable.
I don't understand people who don't regularly clean out their computers. What is the hangup with cleaning? Do you never clean your car or house either? Would you sell either in a filthy state?
Likewise......
Though not for my first Mac Mini, the 2005 original, which I turned off every night. Where I lived at the time the mains supply was unreliable and, at the end of the line there was great variation in voltage. The power supply was working hard, and eventually failed after about 4 years..... not long after a huge power surge that saw the whole of The South of Thailand loose power for hours. That killed the UPS I had at the time.
The early 2009 Mac Mini replacement was left on mostly 24/7, until I replaced that with an M1 Mac Mini late 2022.
The only time the 2009 Mini was off was for the occasional reboot (when required), power cuts several times a year, when moving back to my home country, and when I was going to be away for more than a few days, as suggested in the handbook that came with the 2005 original.
The power supply to my neighbourhood in Thailand was upgraded in 2009, so it was more stable. In addition I got a new UPS with automatic voltage regulation (AVR), and I earthed the power supply my apartment and installed three pin sockets.
Time was that switching off desktop computers overnight was advised. Probably still true for regular desktops. Not so for the likes of the Mac Mini, which uses only a little power at idle, and practically none when in sleep mode. More recent iterations use even less power and longevity of the electronics is enhanced by leaving them powered up most of the time.
Since the M1 boots super fast anyway, I turn mine off when I’m done using it.
That does mean that sometimes it gets only 10 minutes of use, though, because my M1 MBA (base) is my daily driver and the mini is for more involved tasks that require more memory.
That does mean that sometimes it gets only 10 minutes of use, though, because my M1 MBA (base) is my daily driver and the mini is for more involved tasks that require more memory.
Think harder then. You know we’re in a Mac forum here right? The average user can’t open most Apple computers. The 27“ iMacs were in part glued shut, as are the 24” iMacs.
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I shut mine down every evening since I switch off the power strip with the Mini and Studio Display.
Since I also use the Studio Display for my company MacBook Pro, I assume the Mini would not take it to well if I unplug the Studio Display while it‘s sleeping as the window handling in macOS is particularly bad at handling changes in connected displays. This is one reason I bought the Mini to replace a MacBook Air in the first place, since macOS always resets all window sizes when switching between external and internal displays. Obviously Apple can‘t figure out to remember window sizes and position on a „per display“ basis.
Since I also use the Studio Display for my company MacBook Pro, I assume the Mini would not take it to well if I unplug the Studio Display while it‘s sleeping as the window handling in macOS is particularly bad at handling changes in connected displays. This is one reason I bought the Mini to replace a MacBook Air in the first place, since macOS always resets all window sizes when switching between external and internal displays. Obviously Apple can‘t figure out to remember window sizes and position on a „per display“ basis.
Yeah. Think of how much power would be saved if MacRumors shut down for good. People could stop using resources to post here.