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Where do you set the behavior for lid closing on a Powerbook?

My old PowerBook G3 actually froze when I put it to sleep a couple of times, also. Even though it wasn't metal, when I came back, it was extremely hot and took a good 40 minutes to cool back down. It seemed to happen whenever I closed the lid too soon after quiting AOL and I am just glad mine never incurred any damages because of it. This was with a relatively low power 400 MHz G3, so I'd hate to know what a 1.25 GHz G4 would do.
 
On topic

Once ago this thread was about running the machine with the lid closed.

The first "new generation" Apple notebooks (clamshell) had no fan and needed to breathe thru the keyboard, so they'll overheat if you run them with the lid closed. I think this is where that behaviour came from. What's more, if you close your notebook, and it keeps running because you accidently forgot to shut it down, it will drain the battery.

So what now? The warwalking people need an operational notebook in their backpack. They did it by patching the OS X kernel. So, it's possible, but not a recommended procedure.

Check out some wardriving /-chalking /-walking sites if you like.
 
Re: Now we know why the keyboards are now made of aluminum

Originally posted by silver6x
Now we know why the keyboards are now made of aluminum
Click to expand...

They are *NOT* made out of aluminum.. They are plastic keys painted with metal flake paint to look aluminum like the case...

What's in that picture could NEVER happen with the 12" Aluminum PowerBook. Underneath the keyboard of the 12" is solid aluminum.. Heat does not vent through the keyboard anymore.. it vents out the back via fan primarily. Course his looks like a Rev A or B TiBook.. Mine is a rev A AlBook (12"). That's probably why they don't simply put the keyboard over the electronics anymore (that and the keyboard is a very poor spill-catcher!.. what wiped out my iBook: Sprite through the keyboard into the main board).. oh well, it gave me a reason to buy the 12" Al Book.. it's sprite-proofed!
 
Unnecessary choice

If I could put my Windows laptop to sleep, and wake it up instantly (or around a second), then I would not miss the option to leave it running.
There are times when I might want it to keep running when I walk away (downloading something), but I could shut the lid 90% of the way.
There are problems with my Compaq when coming out of sleep, VPN connections don't reconnect and such.
So, if my laptop did not have those problems, I would probably be happy to have it go to sleep when I shut the lid.

Oh well, I guess I just need to get a PB :D
 
this is rediculous

what a rediculous thing to get so impassioned about. but... as long as the crap is flying... i'll add my two cents...

as one who recently switched from a Sony Vaio to a TiBook G4, this was the one feature that really kept pissing me off. i used to leave my Vaio on (but closed) through the night so that i could be left instant messages, run system checks, etc... while i was sleeping. the Starbucks example is also a good one. yes... all the downloads and iChats will autmoatically resume, but what if you don't want them to stop? when i'm in class at grad school (which has WiFi) and i'm IMing a friend and my professor walks by and i close my lid so he doesn't see what i'm doing, i don't want the conversation to be cut off. i don't want to be logged off at all. (the professor is old and not very smart.)

anyway, it was months of closing it without thinking and cutting people off in the middle of conversations before i got used to that damned feature. i say, make it an option. it's not a "bug" if it's an option. that way, we can all be happy!

(and, as many other laptop "switchers" have expressed the same complaint to me, perhaps Apple should look into making this a viable option in the future.)
 
You can just activate the reveal desktop mode in Exposé to hide your conversations when your prof walks by.

And when I said I would view it as a bug, it is because it is dangerous for PowerBooks to remain on when the lid is closed. Most PC laptops have fans that run all the time and various active cooling systems, whereas the PowerBook does not. If you try one of those hacks and leave your PowerBook running for about 15 minutes or so with the lid closed, I will guarantee you that you will either want to drop it like a hot potato or become worried that it will experience heat related damage. I realize it may be an annoyance when other laptops have that option, but the PowerBook isn't a Sony Vaio, it's a Macintosh PowerBook and it's just a different system. It's like buying a new car. Some cars, when the fuel gauge is on empty, you have a good 40 miles left, but on some cars when it is on empty, it really is empty. It isn't the fault of the car company that the gauge is different, it's just a different car. If it really bothers you, I understand your frustration, when I first switched, I was so frustrated with Apple and my PowerBook that I wanted to kick it and call up Apple to tell them why my old Compaq Presario laptop was better, but I eventually learned how and why things acted differently. If Apple allowed an option for the PowerBook to operate with the lid closed, would you then hold them responsible when there are large amounts of calls to AppleCare concerning their recently melted PowerBook?
 
What I don't understand is why people close the lid at night. Isn't that what the display sleep is for? As for the heat/cooling issues, the 15" AlBook main vent(s) are right at the hinge. Closing the lid without sleeping could possibly cause the hot air to collect underneath the screen, because its normal and natural route is blocked. An inside look at the 15" AlBook.
 
Yeah, it obstructs the rear slots a bit. Personally, I shut the screen to put it to sleep when I put it onto my desk at nights because my roommate and suitemates are the stereotypical college "Animal House" type and there are always tennis balls and **** flying around the room and I feel safer with the lid closed so the screen doesn't take a ball to the LCD and crack it. Not to mention that it just looks so slick when closed.
 
Heh, well, my roommates are much less rowdy. Mostly because they know if one of them breaks my PowerBook, they either buy me a new one, or give me their current laptop plus some $$$. Not bad considering one of my roommates has a 500 MHz TiBook. The other has a Vaio laptop though, and not one of the nicer new ones.
 
My roommate has an HP laptop that has problems booting up and crashing on sleep since he got it and my suitemates have a Dell laptop, a Gateway laptop, and a Compaq Presario desktop, so either way I'd be screwed if I took a deal like that. I just close my lid even at home out of habit. It's just one of those things, like putting the toilet lid down whenever I am finished. Maybe it's my slight OCD thing coming through. :p
 
I found an awesome screen saver on Version Tracker today called Euphoria, I recommend everyone try it out, I even set it as the Finder background a few times because it's so cool.
 
Originally posted by Counterfit
What I don't understand is why people close the lid at night. Isn't that what the display sleep is for? As for the heat/cooling issues, the 15" AlBook main vent(s) are right at the hinge. Closing the lid without sleeping could possibly cause the hot air to collect underneath the screen, because its normal and natural route is blocked. An inside look at the 15" AlBook.
Click to expand...

I close my PowerBook whenever it's not in use to keep dust from settling on the keys and screen...

There would not be a hot air collection underneath the screen if it stayed on..
A. Because if it was on, the fan would still be on.
B. Because the fan vents out the back, not out the keyboard.. I don't believe a single model sold today vents through the keyboard.
 
the keyword was "viable"

"If Apple allowed an option for the PowerBook to operate with the lid closed, would you then hold them responsible when there are large amounts of calls to AppleCare concerning their recently melted PowerBook?"

by saying "viable option," i meant that apple would have made it work as a part of a future design so that it wouldn't be a danger to the user or the machine.
 
PowerBook G5, I see your point, but apparently Apple thinks the practice is OK now (or else they wouldn't be advertising it). Also, are you certain PowerBooks don't have fans? I was suprised to find a fan in my iBook once I opened it up - it's not very loud at all.

LID CLOSED OPERATION-
IT'S ON THE JAGUAR FEATURE LIST!

Well, since you asked for it I had to dig it up. It's not on Apple's web site anymore (no kidding) but it is on the WaybackMachine internet archive

here's the url:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020903114639/http://www.apple.com/macosx/jaguar/morefeatures.html

Am I the only one who thinks Apple was trying to con us just a little?

Also, the idea that your computer would self-destruct when you close the lid, while it might be true, we should expect better from manufacturers - we shouldn't have to worry about a meltdown like that.
 
ok, i see it now...

i didn't claim that apple laptops won't work with the lid closed. i knew it's possible to operate the laptop via external keyboard/mouse. that is closed lid operation. it's a different definition than the windows, but it's still closed lid operation.

i don't know if the machine will break or not, as PBG5 is saying. it may or it may not. but since apple says closed lid operation, it shouldn't break.
 
Consider:

"No Sleep"

I found this to work when I'm listening to iTunes on the train, but want to keep my PB in my bag. Lid closed, sitting still, playing tunes.

[Whoops -- somehow went from p.1 to p.3 and missed the links (both) to NoSleep. Anyway, it works for me and is easy to turn on and off.]
 
Originally posted by Xapplimatic
I close my PowerBook whenever it's not in use to keep dust from settling on the keys and screen...

There would not be a hot air collection underneath the screen if it stayed on..
A. Because if it was on, the fan would still be on.
B. Because the fan vents out the back, not out the keyboard.. I don't believe a single model sold today vents through the keyboard.
Click to expand...
The vent comes out directly in front of the hinge. When the lid is closed, the hinge blocks the path of the hot air causing it to take a different route, either out the sides of the display or collecting underneath it, neither of which are the normal route. Also, the fan only turns on at 154° for the power supply, and 147° for the CPU, that's pretty darn hot.
 
Originally posted by Counterfit
The vent comes out directly in front of the hinge. When the lid is closed, the hinge blocks the path of the hot air causing it to take a different route, either out the sides of the display or collecting underneath it, neither of which are the normal route. Also, the fan only turns on at 154° for the power supply, and 147° for the CPU, that's pretty darn hot.
Click to expand...

where did you get those numbers? i remember running the cpu temp. monitor once and when i used iMovie to render heavily, it turned on even without reaching that high of temperature...
 
I never said the PowerBook doesn't have a fan. In fact, the new rev B model aluminum PowerBooks have two fans. I also know that Apple allows you to use the lid closed with it being powered on, but they also warn in the instruction manual and in various tech documents against this practice due to potential risk of damage to the system.
 
PBG5: could you point me to the docs you are talking about?

i'm curious how apple seems to be contradicting itself.

Apple PB Tecn page

in the PDF titled "Tech Overview" available on the right side of the page, on pg. 19, it describes the closed lid operation.

the description is so matter of fact that i'd not suspect it's causing any damage...
 
I tried looking up the owners manual for the aluminum 15" to post the section but it appears that it's not on Apple's support section yet. I don't have my manual with me since I'm home from school on break and I left all of my owners manuals in my dorm room. If anyone has theirs, look it up in the index or table of contents, there is a section where Apple cautions against lid closed operation of the PowerBook.
 
It's also worth noting - since no one's mentioned it so far - that in firewire target disk mode you can close the lid and the computer will stay on. No hacks necessary!

:)


What I need is for my iBook to recognize when an external display or TV set is connected and not go to sleep when I close the lid. That's so I can watch DVD's or get stoned and watch the itunes visualizer (just kidding).
I know there was a time when OS X wouldn't put the computer to sleep but it's hard to remember back that far and I'm not going to reinstall every update between 10.0.3 and 10.2 to find out. At that point I think it was a bug because if I recall correctly the monitor would stay lit (unless you put the brightness all the way down manually). Still, it gets me mad that Apple took this ability away as soon as they started advertising it. :confused:
 
Originally posted by AbeFroman
It's also worth noting - since no one's mentioned it so far - that in firewire target disk mode you can close the lid and the computer will stay on. No hacks necessary!
Click to expand...
That's probably because you won't get anywhere near the amount of heat in target disk mode as you will in normal usage.
 
Yea Counterfit that's true I bet. The hard drive only creates so much heat on its own and I doubt very much would come from the processor or the rest of the motherboard (if any) in firewire target disk mode. Cooling is the only real thing that should discourage someone from using lid-closed operation. Manufacturers really should be under more pressure to create cooler laptops. A decade from now laptops will either be cooler than they are now, or sealed in asbestos.
 
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