Prevent sleep upon closing lid?

Question

Level 1

9 points

Prevent sleep upon closing lid?

This is very aggravating. I hope there's someone out there who'll be able to help.

I've been having a lot of sleep wake issues with my new macbook. Sometimes I get a black backlit blank screen and have to close and reopen a few times to get it to wake properly. Other times I have to restart it all together. When an external mose/keyboard/monitor is plugged in and I want to shut the lid it goes to sleep automatically (no known way to prevent this). Waking it back up with the external keyboard or mouse takes over 30 seconds to register!

Instead of having to deal with having to wake it up like this - is there a way to prevent it from sleeping automatically when the lid is closed? I know the keyboard can wake it after a lengthy, frustrating pause - but there has to be a way to stop the automatic sleep feature when the lid is being closed.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.5), Black / 2.2Ghz / 4Gb

Posted on Oct 9, 2008 2:00 AM

Reply

Answer 1

BOlle_NL

Level 1

25 points

Oct 9, 2008 4:27 AM in response to KelvinFL

It can be done, but this won't get to the root of your sleep/wake issues...

Anyway, check:
InsomniaX: http://osx.iusethis.com/app/insomniax
Sleepless: http://osx.iusethis.com/app/sleepless
Insomnia: http://binaervarianz.de/projekte/programmieren/meltmac/

Reply

Answer 2

Oct 9, 2008 5:44 AM in response to KelvinFL

Your mac might have configured not to wake with just lid open. Try pressing any key on the keyboard and see if it wakes up.

Also try:
1. Open Terminal
2. Type "pmset -g"

Make sure the "lidwake" is set to 1.

Set it to 1 by 'sudo pmset lidwake 1' if it's not already.

Ref: http://www.tuaw.com/2006/10/09/terminal-tip-keep-your-mac-portable-from-waking-w hen-the-lid-is

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 9, 2008 5:49 AM in response to Naresh Verma

On the other hand, it may simply be the "Black Screen" bug discussed here:
http://Discussions.Apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8180416#8180416

Reply

Answer 4

KelvinFL Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 9, 2008 9:53 PM in response to BOlle_NL

Hey BOlle_NL,

I tried InsomniaX and a similar app called Caffine. Yes they prevent the computer from going to sleep - but not when the lid is being closed. I'm not trying to keep the computer constantly awake (as could be configured from the energy prefs pane).

What I want it to do specifically is not go to sleep right when I shut the lid. I want to operate in clamshell mode without having to sleep it first.

Thanks for your suggestions though.

Reply

Answer 5

KelvinFL Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 9, 2008 9:55 PM in response to Gnarlodious

Gnarl,

I think that's what it is... I hope there's a fix for it, or that there'll be one soon. I'm just disappointed / dismayed.

I wish this was just a simple setting that could be set in system preferences... A check box that said 'Do not go to sleep upon lid closure.'

Reply

Answer 6

KelvinFL Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 9, 2008 10:02 PM in response to Naresh Verma

Naresh,

Thanks for the advice. The TUAW article was great... but it's not exactly the problem I'm having. The computer wakes up when the lid is opened, and I'm not trying to prevent that. Sometimes it doesn't wake up properly - but that's a bug (discussed below).

I just want to keep it awake when I shut the lid - so I can immediately switch to operating in clamshell mode.

Reply

Answer 7

kugap

Level 1

0 points

Oct 18, 2008 11:49 AM in response to KelvinFL

I agree, I think this is a simple feature to implement and should be part of the OS in the energy savings control panel. I am surprised that Apple didn't think of this given how advanced the rest of the operating system is. It is a disappointing oversight.

Reply