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djbetterly

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 4, 2005
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Is it possible to run a macbook pro headless with no monitor attached? I was curious if one of those display emulators they use with mac mini's would work on a mac book pro? Any ideas?
 
You want to run it like this?
rpm4L9p.jpg

Just be aware of the wifi band when you dismount the screen.
 
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Actually we want the screen, but we need for it to run with the lid closed and have access via remote desktop.
 
Hmm I am not sure how it would work with a rMBP in clamshell mode without a screen physical connected. haven't used display emulators.
but it should be doable, i would guess that is just going about it as you would with a headless mac mini
 
Yep, I use one to filter spam email with SpamSieve, run an AirPrint server and cache downloads.

I use InsomniaX to stop it sleeping when the lid shuts (though the backlight does go off), SMCFanControl to keep the fans at a higher RPM as I'm not really sure what running it with the lid shuts does to the ventilation, and then just run what I want it to do.

Also have it connected to Ethernet so the internet doesn't drop if there's a power cut or something. I have to restart it about once a month as it gets a bit funny, but if you leave it alone it tends to be fine. I control it via sharing its screen over my local network, though it also works via Back to My Mac on other networks.
 
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I use InsomniaX to stop it sleeping when the lid shuts (though the backlight does go off), SMCFanControl to keep the fans at a higher RPM as I'm not really sure what running it with the lid shuts does to the ventilation, and then just run what I want it to do.

I'm looking to do something like that with my MBP. What settings do you recommend for SMCFanControl? Not too familiar with how high I should have the fans running or how low I should keep the temp.

Thanks!
 
I'm looking to do something like that with my MBP. What settings do you recommend for SMCFanControl? Not too familiar with how high I should have the fans running or how low I should keep the temp.

Thanks!
I'm no expert, theoretically OS X should make sure the fans are high enough to prevent overheating but I'm no physicist and I'm not sure how clamshell mode affects ventilation as I'm sure it wasn't designed to be used with the lid shut.

I just leave the fans on full with SMCFanControl and haven't had any problems, in fact I've just checked via screen sharing and this Mac has been up for 59 days without a restart.
 
I'm no expert, theoretically OS X should make sure the fans are high enough to prevent overheating but I'm no physicist and I'm not sure how clamshell mode affects ventilation as I'm sure it wasn't designed to be used with the lid shut.

I just leave the fans on full with SMCFanControl and haven't had any problems, in fact I've just checked via screen sharing and this Mac has been up for 59 days without a restart.

I'll give it a go. I'm not too worried about overheating/damage since I've stopped using that laptop, but I thought I'd put it to some use.
 
I'll give it a go. I'm not too worried about overheating/damage since I've stopped using that laptop, but I thought I'd put it to some use.

Could you report if you have tried it? i am planning the same thing.
 
You want to run it like this?
rpm4L9p.jpg

Just be aware of the wifi band when you dismount the screen.

Hi Schranke, Any chance you could give me a brief rundown on this setup. I would like to do the same.
I see you still have the black hinge on it?? do you still need to have the cables attached inside for this to work? Not much info out there on this. Thanks!
 
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Hi Schranke, Any chance you could give me a brief rundown on this setup. I would like to do the same.
I see you still have the black hinge on it?? do you still need to have the cables attached inside for this to work? Not much info out there on this. Thanks!

I would love to know how to do this too, thanks
Paul
 
Folks,
I want to turn my 15" MBP 2017 into a headless beast like this and connect to external monitors. I will use it as an external monitor. Is it possible at all?

Many thanks!
 
You want to run it like this?

Just be aware of the wifi band when you dismount the screen.

Any tuts on how to do that? Do you still have the screen connector attached to the board? I broke my 2015 13" screen and want to turn it into a desktop machine with proper cooling.
 
Any tuts on how to do that? Do you still have the screen connector attached to the board? I broke my 2015 13" screen and want to turn it into a desktop machine with proper cooling.
Hey, no I do not have the screen connector attached to the board, if you do that it will try to use the "native" display instead of looking for a HDMI out signal.
The reason the black think still is attached is due to the wifi antennas being located there.
Ifixit did a teardown of one of the retina screens (15" 2012 model) and at step 5 you seethe wifi antennas, you of course still want to save them.

As for how to do this, take the screen off and start dismantle it until you have the wifi antennas off. From here on you just measure how much of the top clamshell you need so that you still can have the bottom part to attach to the Mac. Then take a Dremel or something else suitable to cut the screen to the size.

Do not do this if you screen is working!

A tip before cutting is stripping it down until you only have the aluminium shell, makes it easier and you won't have to deal with a ton of fragments from the display assembly.
 
Hey, no I do not have the screen connector attached to the board, if you do that it will try to use the "native" display instead of looking for a HDMI out signal.
The reason the black think still is attached is due to the wifi antennas being located there.
Ifixit did a teardown of one of the retina screens (15" 2012 model) and at step 5 you seethe wifi antennas, you of course still want to save them.

As for how to do this, take the screen off and start dismantle it until you have the wifi antennas off. From here on you just measure how much of the top clamshell you need so that you still can have the bottom part to attach to the Mac. Then take a Dremel or something else suitable to cut the screen to the size.

Do not do this if you screen is working!

A tip before cutting is stripping it down until you only have the aluminium shell, makes it easier and you won't have to deal with a ton of fragments from the display assembly.

Thank you so much for the help!

So basically the MBP will automatically connect to the external monitor via HDMI if it can't find the native display?

My screen is broken, so i always use it with external monitor as a desktop.
 
Thank you so much for the help!

So basically the MBP will automatically connect to the external monitor via HDMI if it can't find the native display?

My screen is broken, so i always use it with external monitor as a desktop.
No problem.

Yes the MBP will connect to the external monitor via HDMI when no native display is present. When mine broke the big problem was to start it up as the screen was still connected so the signal would automatically go to the broken display. Tried to disconnect the display one the motherboard and since then it always went straight to external display.

That was what lead be to decide to completely take off the screen.
 
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