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deadkennedy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 22, 2010
320
0
I'm thinking of a situation where I'd go and travel for 14 days or more, keep my MBP on to enable remote access and some scheduled tasks. How would that work, should I anticipate any problems? What's the difference if the lid is closed or open? Thanks.
 
I don't see any problems.

Mine is on most of the time and I've never had any issues with it.
 
No, it's not dangerous. It's only dangerous if you have a thunderstorm, you're not at home to switch it off, and your power brick gets fried by a power surge.

Closed or open shouldn't matter. I assume you'll be using Caffeine or something to keep it awake if you close the lid?
 
Mine is on 24/7

The only issue I can see is if you have an electric storm or something
Make sure you have a good surge protector

And if you are gone that long, have someone check on your place anyway
 
What about with the lid closed? Is there a danger of overheating? Are you guys using InsomniaX for that?

For storms, etc., I plan to get a pretty good surge protector.
 
What about with the lid closed? Is there a danger of overheating? Are you guys using InsomniaX for that?

For storms, etc., I plan to get a pretty good surge protector.

Airflow is independent of lid being closed or open, as the air comes out the back.

If you're going to be running the CPU flat out for days with the screen closed, the heat may do bad things to the LCD, but if you're just having it idling most of the time, it's perfectly safe.

Even if you're flat out with the CPU and GPU, it may not damage the screen, I don't know. I'd just be wary of it.

You will need an app such as InsomniaX or Caffeine. Caffeine is available in the Mac App store, although InsomniaX has more features.
 
Just like everyone says use a good surge protector is definitely key. Also a fresh restart every so often doesn't hurt.
 
You will need an app such as InsomniaX or Caffeine. Caffeine is available in the Mac App store, although InsomniaX has more features.


I'm in fact using both. Caffeine does not work with lid closed. InsomniaX seems to do the job and I'm keeping Caffeine on at the same time.


Restart and rest every now and then is a good idea. There won't be any CPU GPU heavy operations. Mostly I'll use it to deliver news in ebook format every morning through calibre. That means a cron job to start Calibre at 4AM, a cron job to shut down Calibre at 8AM.
 
Mine is on 24/7

The only issue I can see is if you have an electric storm or something
Make sure you have a good surge protector

And if you are gone that long, have someone check on your place anyway

If yours is on 24/7 don't you notice the battery percentage trickling down?

When i leave on lets say 24hours i observed the battery percentage went down by one percent and few days later went down again and this continues.

This is an expected behavior of leaving it on 24/7?
 
If yours is on 24/7 don't you notice the battery percentage trickling down?

When i leave on lets say 24hours i observed the battery percentage went down by one percent and few days later went down again and this continues.

This is an expected behavior of leaving it on 24/7?

Yes, because it's bad to charge the battery all the time, Apple laptops stop charging when it's full and connected to power.

Use it on battery occasionally! Every week would be good.
 
Airflow is independent of lid being closed or open, as the air comes out the back.

If you're going to be running the CPU flat out for days with the screen closed, the heat may do bad things to the LCD, but if you're just having it idling most of the time, it's perfectly safe.

Even if you're flat out with the CPU and GPU, it may not damage the screen, I don't know. I'd just be wary of it.

You will need an app such as InsomniaX or Caffeine. Caffeine is available in the Mac App store, although InsomniaX has more features.

Airflow is not necessarily independent of the lid. There are vents in the back and fans will push air through the back fine with the lid closed, however, one of the primary heat vents is through the keyboard and the MacBook Pro will run noticeably cooler with the lid open.
 
If yours is on 24/7 don't you notice the battery percentage trickling down?

When i leave on lets say 24hours i observed the battery percentage went down by one percent and few days later went down again and this continues.

This is an expected behavior of leaving it on 24/7?

This will happen if you stay plugged in all the time. It's because the batteries avoid short charge/discharge cycles to preserve battery life. Just unplug long enough to run your battery below 90% or so. When you plug back in it will charge back up to 100%.

Apple Support covers this here.
 
Airflow is not necessarily independent of the lid. There are vents in the back and fans will push air through the back fine with the lid closed, however, one of the primary heat vents is through the keyboard and the MacBook Pro will run noticeably cooler with the lid open.
There are no vents through the keyboard. There is a solid sheet under the keyboard, preventing any airflow. The intake and exhaust venting is in the back, near the hinge.
 
There are no vents through the keyboard. There is a solid sheet under the keyboard, preventing any airflow. The intake and exhaust venting is in the back, near the hinge.

On the pre-unibodies the air intake is under the keyboard, maybe the poster was referring to that?
 
On the pre-unibodies the air intake is under the keyboard, maybe the poster was referring to that?
No, the keyboard was never used for air intake or exhaust on a MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. All 3 models have always vented only in the back, by the hinge.
 
If yours is on 24/7 don't you notice the battery percentage trickling down?

When i leave on lets say 24hours i observed the battery percentage went down by one percent and few days later went down again and this continues.

This is an expected behavior of leaving it on 24/7?

Yes, because it's bad to charge the battery all the time, Apple laptops stop charging when it's full and connected to power.

Use it on battery occasionally! Every week would be good.

This is a replacement battery that I have had for over a year
I rarely use it on battery, but I do occasionally
Normally it is plugged in 24/7
I have run it down maybe 4 or 5 times total

0l.png
 
I usually always leave mine on too. The longest it's been running without so much as even a restart was something like 60 days. I've never had any issues.
 
Mine is either running or asleep...never off. As others have said, no issue with long term damage other than power-related and battery-related. Depending on how much you like your computer you should spend some big bucks on your power center...a Panamax or Monster power center like the one below is great for high-end electronics and it protects against a variety of electronic issues and can even offer voltage regulation which, while not necessary for the MBP, has advantages for most electronics. The nicer power centers will reduce the risk of electrical damage even further and many offer impressive fire protection, which is something you may want to look for given you will run electronics when you may not be home to see something going wrong.

http://www.panamax.com/Products/A-V-Components/M4300-PM.aspx#tab_spec
 
This is a replacement battery that I have had for over a year
I rarely use it on battery, but I do occasionally
Normally it is plugged in 24/7
I have run it down maybe 4 or 5 times total

0l.png

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

how is ur battery capacity thingy 104%!
i have had my MBP for a month and its at 93/94%.... i know it goes back up, but its never showing any signs (maybe this has to do with the possibility that i keep my MBP on sleep mode, etc?)
 
:eek::eek::eek::eek:

how is ur battery capacity thingy 104%!
i have had my MBP for a month and its at 93/94%.... i know it goes back up, but its never showing any signs (maybe this has to do with the possibility that i keep my MBP on sleep mode, etc?)

I know, I know; I'm jealous too.:(
 
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