How do I tell Lion to disable the LCD screen even when the lid is open?

Apple Product Feedback http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Macval: I don't mean to quibble over semantics, but "clamshell mode" is generally used to refer to using the MBP with its display closed, not open. So if you write to Apple requesting a way to turn the built-in display off in Lion when it's open and an external display is in use, your request will be clearer if you don't mention clamshell mode at all.

Chenga, do you know if this works on a Mid-2009 MBP 13? That's what I have, and it doesn't seem to work. If I close the lid on my MBP when it's turned off, how am I supposed to turn it back on? Thanks 🙂

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Update: I answered my own question. For those who haven't figured it out, after pressing the power button to turn the MBP on, quickly close the lid and voila...OS X startup screen appears on the external display.

Dear Apple Engineering Management Who Loves to Change Things;

Please restore the LONG STANDING behavior of lid open, internal screen off after invoking "clamshell" or "lid-closed" mode to send video to an external screen. This has the added benefit of improved wifi reception and cooler operation.

Thank you.

ps In spite of some of the REALLY annoying changes (Finder sidebar re-ordering, this clamshell issue, etc..) I really am trying to like Lion...

chenga.8 wrote:

Here's the command to make your laptop behave like it did Pre-Lion (courtesy of my friend):

sudo nvram boot-args="iog=0x0"

Works perfectly for me. If it screws up your system, just zap the PRAM next boot (cmd-opt-p-r) and you'll be back to the default Lion state. Or if you can still get into terminal, this command will get you back to Lion's default state as well:

sudo nvram -d boot-args

Enjoy!

Did this, which worked, but something odd has happened. The power indicator light on my pre-unibody MacBook Pro (built into the lid button) no longer lights up when the computer is up and running. It comes on briefly when the computer first boots up, but fades out within a second or 2. It also works as normal, fadeing in and out, when the computer is asleep. But the rest of the time it is off, which is not normal.

I zapped PRAM and also tried the Terminal command to return things to default, and although the behaviour with an external monitor is back to default Lion, the power light is still off.

It's not that I desperately need a power indicator light, but I'm concerned that this has somehow messed up my machine, so I would very much like to figure out what has happened and fix it. Any input would be appreciated.

MacVal: the light you refer to as a power light is actually the sleep light. Its normal, as-designed behavior is as follows:

OFF [NOT ON] when the computer is running and the display is active.

ON STEADILY when the computer is running but the display is asleep.

ON, PULSING when the computer is asleep.

OFF when the computer is shut down or has run out of power during sleep (see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1757 for info about Safe Sleep).

This behavior has been the same for all Powerbooks, iBooks, Macbooks and Macbook Pros for ten years or longer.

eww wrote:

MacVal: the light you refer to as a power light is actually the sleep light. Its normal, as-designed behavior is as follows:

OFF [NOT ON] when the computer is running and the display is active.

ON STEADILY when the computer is running but the display is asleep.

ON, PULSING when the computer is asleep.

OFF when the computer is shut down or has run out of power during sleep (see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1757 for info about Safe Sleep).

This behavior has been the same for all Powerbooks, iBooks, Macbooks and Macbook Pros for ten years or longer.

Oh my God... this is one of those "DUH!!!" moments. I really did know that, but apparently I'm not getting enough sleep. Sorry for the stupid question...

Hello Jonathan UK & Group,

Clearly Apple needs to be listening to this board, and it does not appear they are doing so -- Jonathan has been trying to resolve this issue for almost 8 months now to no avail.

I just went all in with the top-end MBA, and am stunned that 10.7 will not let me manually change primary monitors. While many have requested that Apple revert to the 10.6 clamshell behavior, I think the issue is much more fundamental: OSX is simply missing some basic laptop functionality that is completely defacto in Windows, and has been for years.

In a business environment, one constantly goes from laptop-alone, to laptop driving external desktop display, to laptop driving LCD projector, etc. Amazingly, the guy in Redmonnd nailed this in Windows 7: pressing "Start-P" in ANY part of the O/S brings up a simple little four-choice menu: 1) Internal Display Only; 2) Mirror; 3) Extend; and 4) External Display Only. I hate to say it, but brilliant.

It would be OK if 10.7 had a less elegant way to handle this. I would annoying but acceptable if the manual control to make these changes was difficult and time-consuming. But for OSX to simply NOT HAVE this capability is totally unacceptable.

People putting magnets on the side of the Mac laptops to trick the O/S into working the way they want? Steve Jobs is rolling over in his grave...

If ANYONE finds a fix, please share.

Apple, if you are listenting, please patch this ASAP. I went through torture to convince my employer that I could ditch the Windows laptop and go with a MacBook Air. Putting a fridge magnet on it to switch displays is going to make me look really stupid.

Hello,

My macbook is making a lot of noise through the fan when I use it in clamshell mode. Main purpose of the macbook is to make music so having the extra noise is terrible. I am unhappy with my upgrade with Lion and would like to have the "open lid with screen off" option reinstated.

thanks much!

Hi,

the command: sudo nvram boot-args="iog=0x0"

doesn't work on my MacBook Pro Early 2010 running the new OS X Lion version 10.7.3 (and yes, I restarted after entering the above command).

Maybe it's because of the latest update to version 10.7.3? Does anybody know if it still works there?

Thanks!

@NervousTitan

same here....have a macbook (white, unibody) hooked to my TV screen and dont need the int. display but occasionaly the trackpad to navigate in finder or whatever...

everytime i open the mac the display goes on...annyoing...

tried the Terminal Cmd in 10.7.2 and didnt work for me...

there is some errant behaviour too (anyone else?) where the TV shuts of the screen (energy saving after 'screen saver' ends and computer tells display to shut off..) and afterwards the MB display will not activate and the TV screen stays black as well and so i end up having no display and have to force-shut-down (press powerbutton 'till the machine is off)

submitted sveral FEDDBACK Requests re: this issue....lets see what 10.8 (seriously!!??) will bring in summer....

Here's what I submitted to the feedback page. I'm going to try the NVRAM workaround now. Thanks to everyone who participated in finding and verifying the workaround.

Feedback:

In previous versions of OS X I could use just an external monitor with the laptop open. There are multiple benefits of this, primarily increased wifi reception and better cooling/slower fan speeds.

With the laptop closed I get a spotty connection to my wireless network, but with it open it's solid. And I'm not far from my access point, just about 30 feet.

Also, it's very distracting to have the fans speed up to increase cooling when using voice chat software (ie. Skype). The extra noise makes talking very difficult. With the laptop screen open the fans don't need to run at such a high speed and they're not audible over the built-in microphone.

With previous versions of OS X I was able to:

a) close my laptop screen with an external monitor, mouse and keyboard attached

b) wake the laptop by hitting the keyboard

c) open the laptop screen and keep the external monitor as the only active monitor

However, as soon as I open the laptop screen in Lion the laptop display reactivates making it much more difficult to use the external display. I found a workaround on your forum that involves putting a refrigerator magnet just below the left speaker to fool the laptop into thinking the monitor is closed when it's actually open. This is a ridiculous workaround for one of the most expensive laptops on the market.

I request that you fix this problem by either reverting to the previous behavior or adding a preference that allows the previous behavior. Overall, I'm not really pleased with Lion. In guess I understand the removal of Rosetta, even though that *****. This change in behavior is even more ridiculous. How is this an improvement at all?

Thank you for your attention.

Workaround thread:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3190417

Just wanted to add my voice to this in case aApple are listening (well, reading...)

My laptop stand makes closing the lid impractical. But I'd still like to be able to disable the internal monitor.

hey robbmaster, would you like to add feedback to apple - officicially they dont check here -though it would be dumb not to (:

here's the feedback link...

previous post by biggR wrote up a nice text...you can use that as well (:

(copyright anyone?)

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

Didn't work on my machine (MBP 5,3 Boot ROM MBP53.00AC.B03, 10.7.3). Still looking for a workaround better than that magnet trick (work computer, not home). This whole experience has frosted me so much that when I ordered a new computer for home use the other day, I went with a high-end HP rather than a Mac. I've got 3 MBPs and 2 iPhone 4s at home, and it's not 4 MBPs because of this Lion bug.