General Newbie Questions

[PP133]

Hey guys, I just got my Macbook Pro and have a few questions, mostly sleep related, hopefully you guys will have the answers

1. When I sleep the MBP, is it safe to put it in a case? I only ask because I noticed that there's a light below the latch that flutters, which makes me think it's not completely off.

2. When I sleep the MBP, moving the mouse wakes it up. That's pretty annoying. I am not using a mighty mouse or any other apple mouse, I'm using a targus USB optical mouse. Is there any setting to fix this? Up until now I've just been unplugging the mouse when I put the lappy to sleep. It works but it's kind of annoying, obviously.

3. Is there any way to make it so that the only way to wake the lappy is to push the power button? Assuming that I can put it in a case when I put it to sleep, I'm afraid that the latch might accidentally be pushed, opening the laptop and waking it from its slumber while still inside an enclosed case. This, I can only imagine, would be really, really bad.

4. Are the heat exhausts on the left/right of the KB? I'm not sure if those are speaker holes or exhaust or both. Just curious.

 

[juanster]

just go into system preferences and look around in energy or power something all the choices should be there I m not close to my computer so I can't really tell you exactly where it all is sorry bout that I m in bed on my touch LOL

 

[PP133]

just go into system preferences and look around in energy or power something all the choices should be there I m not close to my computer so I can't really tell you exactly where it all is sorry bout that I m in bed on my touch LOL

Having a touch myself, I very much appreciate the message you typed, knowing how long it must've taken you, haha. However, I've looked in the Energy Saver section of System Preferences and don't really see anything of value.

 

[Nugget]

1. When I sleep the MBP, is it safe to put it in a case? I only ask because I noticed that there's a light below the latch that flutters, which makes me think it's not completely off.

Completely safe.

4. Are the heat exhausts on the left/right of the KB? I'm not sure if those are speaker holes or exhaust or both. Just curious.

Those are speaker holes.

 

[CalBoy]

1. When I sleep the MBP, is it safe to put it in a case? I only ask because I noticed that there's a light below the latch that flutters, which makes me think it's not completely off.

Yes, it's perfectly safe. I do it all the time.
Your harddrive will not spin while its sleeping so you have nothing to worry about.

2. When I sleep the MBP, moving the mouse wakes it up. That's pretty annoying. I am not using a mighty mouse or any other apple mouse, I'm using a targus USB optical mouse. Is there any setting to fix this? Up until now I've just been unplugging the mouse when I put the lappy to sleep. It works but it's kind of annoying, obviously.

I'm guessing this is while you're at home at your desk right? Why does the mouse move so often where it's an issue? However, I find it odd that your mouse causes it to wake up. Are you pressing a button? When the computer sleeps, does the optical portion of the mouse (underneath you'll see a red beam when the computer is on) stay on, or is there no light coming from the mouse when the computer is asleep?

3. Is there any way to make it so that the only way to wake the lappy is to push the power button? Assuming that I can put it in a case when I put it to sleep, I'm afraid that the latch might accidentally be pushed, opening the laptop and waking it from its slumber while still inside an enclosed case. This, I can only imagine, would be really, really bad.

I don't believe you can do that (there could be a hack for it, but I don't know of one).
However, just because the lid is lifted out of the latch doesn't mean the computer will awaken. The lid must be a certain percentage "lifted" above the keyboard before the sensor will trigger it to wake up. If your mbp is in a bag, there won't be enough space for that to happen. It's never happened to me (the latch has never even been pressed in my case) so I wouldn't worry about it.

4. Are the heat exhausts on the left/right of the KB? I'm not sure if those are speaker holes or exhaust or both. Just curious.

On the surface next to the keyboard are the mbp's speakers. The vents are to the rear (close your mbp's lid and turn it around to see the vents in the back; you can't miss them).

 

[tMac85]

i love the innocents to this post. you are so fresh to apple. its nice to know that you are going to soon love your MBP and know all its in's and out's! Since everyone has already answered your questions, ill just say.. enjoy your macbook pro!

 

[PP133]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the replies!

1. Check, i can put it in a bag when its asleep.

2. Right now, i have the MBP sitting on our dining room table. If someone bumps into the table, the mouse moves, and the lappy wakes up. From what I've noticed, it goes back to sleep when it notices that it's still closed (i think). I see the apple light up and stay lit for about 10 seconds and then it turns off again. You know, I just bought this mouse, every other one of my mice have a light on underneath (a red light) but this is the first one that I've seen that doesn't have a light so I can't tell if the light's on when I sleep the laptop. That being said, after I make this post, i'll try one of my other mice and look to see if the mouse light stays on while the laptop's asleep.

3. Check, the laptop won't accidentally open in the case and even if the latch is pressed, it needs to be opened a certain amount to wake up.

4. Check, those are speaker holes, thx

Thx for the welcome, so far I totally love the MacOS...I've used almost all the different OSes and I think this one is by far the most beautiful

 

[CalBoy]

2. Right now, i have the MBP sitting on our dining room table. If someone bumps into the table, the mouse moves, and the lappy wakes up. From what I've noticed, it goes back to sleep when it notices that it's still closed (i think). I see the apple light up and stay lit for about 10 seconds and then it turns off again. You know, I just bought this mouse, every other one of my mice have a light on underneath (a red light) but this is the first one that I've seen that doesn't have a light so I can't tell if the light's on when I sleep the laptop. That being said, after I make this post, i'll try one of my other mice and look to see if the mouse light stays on while the laptop's asleep.

Hmmm...it occurs to me that the reason my mouse won't wake up the computer is because I plug it in through my external keyboard. That might be a possibility.

Otherwise, I don't know if there's a way to go around this. Aside from unplugging the mouse everytime (quite annoying I think), the only other thing I can think of is to move the whole setup to a less trafficked area.

 

[PP133]

So I just tried a different mouse, one that has a visible light when it's plugged in. What do you know, this mouse, the one with visible light, does NOT wake the lappy when it's moved. What the heck...it must be something with the laser on the other mouse. Well that's pretty annoying! That's two Targus mice that I've tried that wake the laptop upon movement. I guess I'll return this mouse and get something else.

 

[KingYaba]

Wake from sleep? Just unplug and plug a USB device and that will wake your machine right up.

 

[CalBoy]

So I just tried a different mouse, one that has a visible light when it's plugged in. What do you know, this mouse, the one with visible light, does NOT wake the lappy when it's moved. What the heck...it must be something with the laser on the other mouse. Well that's pretty annoying! That's two Targus mice that I've tried that wake the laptop upon movement. I guess I'll return this mouse and get something else.

Perhaps the laser was malfunctioning with that mouse. So I guess that solves that problem!

On a side note, that mouse might have had driver issues (some companies are stupid enough to use USB drivers for their mice). Perhaps it didn't know that you were putting to sleep. Either way, return that mouse. Most optical mice don't cause any problems with OS X without drivers (I've used Microsoft, Dell, and Logitech mice without any issues).

 

[PP133]

Perhaps the laser was malfunctioning with that mouse. So I guess that solves that problem!

On a side note, that mouse might have had driver issues (some companies are stupid enough to use USB drivers for their mice). Perhaps it didn't know that you were putting to sleep. Either way, return that mouse. Most optical mice don't cause any problems with OS X without drivers (I've used Microsoft, Dell, and Logitech mice without any issues).

Yeah, I'm going to return this mouse and try a MS or Logitech one. I chose the Targus because it has a retractable cord, which is really nice.

Wake from sleep? Just unplug and plug a USB device and that will wake your machine right up.

Lol, I'm trying to make it so it WON'T wake from sleep

The mouse I'm using, which I'm now going to return, wakes the laptop from sleep whenever it moves, which tends to happen if someone bumps into the table.

 

[CalBoy]

Yeah, I'm going to return this mouse and try a MS or Logitech one. I chose the Targus because it has a retractable cord, which is really nice.

If you're going to buy a new one, might I suggest Microsoft? I have a Logitech at the moment and I find it a tad less comfortable compared to my old Microsoft one.

We can fault Microsoft for having buggy software, but they sure know how to make comfortable and reliable mice!

 

[PP133]

If you're going to buy a new one, might I suggest Microsoft? I have a Logitech at the moment and I find it a tad less comfortable compared to my old Microsoft one.

We can fault Microsoft for having buggy software, but they sure know how to make comfortable and reliable mice!

Lol, yeah, I had a MS keyboard that was super durable. Thx for the recommendation. I'm looking through newegg right now to see if there's a MS mouse with good reviews that Fry's has in store. I gave the mouse I bought a bad review on newegg.

 

[PP133]

You know, I just noticed that when I hit the latch release on my MBP, it turns the screen on almost immediately. I didn't lift the screen up at all.

 

[CalBoy]

That is unusual. You didn't by any chance unplug a USB device or hit a button your mouse did you?

 

[PP133]

That is unusual. You didn't by any chance unplug a USB device or hit a button your mouse did you?

No. I had my usb mouse plugged in (not the one i was having problems with) but all I did was press the glowing latch button.

 

[CalBoy]

No. I had my usb mouse plugged in (not the one i was having problems with) but all I did was press the glowing latch button.

Very weird.

I hope you don't mind what I'm about to suggest, but I think some experimentation is in order.

Step 1: Put your mbp to sleep.

Step 2: Press the latch release but don't lift the lid.

Step 3: Note if you hear the optical drive scan for a disk (or if there is a disk inside, listen for whether or not it's spinning).

Step 4: See if the screen does light up again. If so, note for how long (again, without lifting the lid further).

If the display does light up again, I suggest you restart and repeat the experiment. If results don't improve, we'll go from there.

 

[PP133]

Very weird.

I hope you don't mind what I'm about to suggest, but I think some experimentation is in order.

Step 1: Put your mbp to sleep.

Step 2: Press the latch release but don't lift the lid.

Step 3: Note if you hear the optical drive scan for a disk (or if there is a disk inside, listen for whether or not it's spinning).

Step 4: See if the screen does light up again. If so, note for how long (again, without lifting the lid further).

If the display does light up again, I suggest you restart and repeat the experiment. If results don't improve, we'll go from there.

I don't mind at all! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me settle in

Ok, so I put the lappy to sleep by closing the lid. I waited about about ~15 seconds for the light to start pulsing. Once it began pulsing, I pushed the latch-release and the screen popped up about half an inch. The screen turned on and there was a sound, i guess the sound of the optical drive looking for a disk, for about a second. Then the screen turned off and the optical noise went away. The screen almost immediately turned back on and stayed on for about 10 seconds. Then the screen turned off. The latch light was on but was not pulsing. After about 20 seconds, the latch light began pulsing again. Once that happened, I opened the screen up all of the way and everything resumed as it should.

 

[CalBoy]

It occurs to me part of the problem might be caused by how you're sleeping your computer. Try it this way:

Go to in the top left corner, then go down to "Sleep" and then click that. Then close your lid.

Then repeat the observations as before.

 

[PP133]

It occurs to me part of the problem might be caused by how you're sleeping your computer. Try it this way:

Go to in the top left corner, then go down to "Sleep" and then click that. Then close your lid.

Then repeat the observations as before.

K, I've done it that way before, too, I just figured there wasn't a difference. This time was pretty much exactly like the last.

I put the lappy to sleep
I open the latch
Screen turns on and optical bay searches for disk for ~1 second
Screen turns off
Screen turns back on for 11 seconds
Screen turns off
Screen stays off and latch light is on for 43 seconds
Latch light begins to pulse

I guess if the latch button were to be pushed, somehow, in the case the laptop would go back to sleep after ~54 seconds and the screen wouldn't be on for more than ~12 seconds. That doesn't sound bad.

Also, I should mention that I am plugged into the wall right now. Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[CalBoy]

Also, I should mention that I am plugged into the wall right now. Not sure if that makes a difference.

That will only make a difference for the display and sleep timers.

I've got to be honest with you, I don't know what's going wrong.

I can tell you that the lag times for the display being bright and dim and bright again are OS X waiting for you to enter your password though. Not like that's any help.

However, like I said, I've never had it open in my bag before, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you really want to prevent anything from happening to your mbp, get a sleeve (I use one and then stick my mbp in my backpack). They fit snugly and there's no room to open the lid in a nicely fitting one.

 

[PP133]

Yeah, i'm not too concerned about it. I probably will pick up a sleeve along with my replacement mouse tomorrow afternoon. Once again, thx a bunch for helping me with my "issues"

Actually, I just thought of something - it may be nothing. You mentioned that the lag times for the display being light/dim were due to the OS waiting for you to input your password...I don't get prompted to enter my password. Should I be prompted for that?

Another thing, and maybe this doesn't matter either, but I'm running 10.4.11. Maybe you're on a different version that handles the whole "hood popup" differently?

 

[CalBoy]

Actually, I just thought of something - it may be nothing. You mentioned that the lag times for the display being light/dim were due to the OS waiting for you to input your password...I don't get prompted to enter my password. Should I be prompted for that?

Yes! That means you're experiencing what I like to call "Leopard-delay"

See, under Tiger, this never used to happen. However, with Leopard (it is still a fairly recent OS after all) there is the occasional bug that causes the password prompt to appear late (as in after a minute or more) or never. Usually the only recourse is for you to let it sleep and wake it up again.

It happens to me maybe once per week, but again, only when I lift the lid up past a certain point; never if I've just released the latch (that keeps my computer sleeping).

Another thing, and maybe this doesn't matter either, but I'm running 10.4.11. Maybe you're on a different version that handles the whole "hood popup" differently?

Well I guess that blows my previous theory out the window huh?

I'm not sure exactly, but it could be. IIRC, I had up to 10.4.10 running last on my mbp, so I've never experienced 10.4.11.