external display solo, sleep mode, firewire

[grrrz]

Trying to resolve my overheat (and mostly fan noise) issues when a secondary monitor is connected and particularly ableton live is running (goes straight to 85-90°C, fan full speed, really annoying noise when I need complete silence...)
I found that the problem occurs when the two monitors are working, not when only the internal or only the external are working. This is an overall ****** solution since I loose my second monitor wich was really useful, but one way or another there's a compromise to make. or sell it I'm not sure.
Anyway
I there a way to shut down the first monitor without having to close the lid and reopen it, and without going to sleep mode?
And also, on my old white macbook, the firewire power was on even when the computer was off, or in sleep mode, so my MOTU would stay on when shutting the system or sleeping it, and not elegantly not output a big peak to the speakers.
Now this stupid new macbook pro shuts everything that's connected to it when I shut it down or put it to sleep. So of course it causes trouble to every sound software connected to it, rendering the above solution to use one monitor more infuriating. Is there anyway to STILL power firewire/usb/ whatever when going to sleep mode or even shut down, that is of course if the mac is powered.
It's the i5 macbook pro.
This combination of things is really pissing me off specially a brand new machine this expensive.

 

[grrrz]

anyone?
I guess there's no solution?
(by the way didn't realise there was something wrong with the word shi*tty
crappy better? about ****ed up? or somewhat convoluted?) so pardon my french (yes I am french and I would have said: "c'est une solution merdique; à chier contre un mur")enough rant.

edit: yep fu*cked up didn't pass. but I can swear in french no problem. got work to do, bye.

 

[heisenberg123]

i seen a terminal command that lets you be in "clamshell mode" without having to close the lid, a search should find it.

There is also a "magnet trick" if you google for doing the same thing without terminal.

 

[grrrz]

can't find it, I only find the one that prevents the screen from powering on again if you open it in Lion. but I have SL.
will keep looking.

edit: I realise what I want is the standard Lion behavior, but with the ability to keep the lid open (you close the macbook, it switches off the screen without going to sleep, you open it, it remains off. Ideally not closing it is a plus. all windows machine can do that.). Would save me quite some time having to switch on and off soundcard and the softwares that go with it.
so a mix between the two:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3131
anyway for everyday use losing the macbook screen is much less annoying than hearing a turbine going on and off each time you hit play.

 

[grrrz]

for anyone interested I found this solution:
http://www.madrau.com/indexSRX4.html
It's a paid app (about 20$), but it can disable the main display without the hassle of going to sleep mode (and all the display options you can imagine missing from osX).
great little thing.