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

ehdonhon wrote:

A workaround for this issue when using an external monitor only has been to close the MacBook, wake it with a USB device and monitor attached, and then re-open the lid.

This is the method that I used to play games on my external monitor. I re-opened the lid and continued using my laptop's keyboard for the game, so overheating is not an issue. I also have a USB mouse that was used to wake the computer. I'd very much like this "feature" returned. Or better yet, a monitor control similar to Windows 7. The more resources available, the better the game runs.

I used to do this as well. Just make sure you re-open the lid otherwise your laptop may overheat. In my scenario, the Macbook did overheat but instead of shutting down it throttled back the graphics performance and created a periodic drop in framerates, which of course is undesireable for games. Eventually I figured out the problem and opened up the lid and it worked perfectly.

Sent in a bug report as well; I realize it is working as they say they intend it to, but were they neglecting their own airflow and vram usage when they changed the clamshell applications? My santa rosa 2.4 heats up the screen with it closed watching just youtube in less than 15 minutes and there is only one exhaust fan on some macbooks

do you think it would do the trick?

its safe?

Ok, this is really an issue. I already sent a report, even though the website is not up-to-date with the new release of Lion. OS X Lion seems to be optimsed to work with one monitor (Mission Control, gestures, etc...).

Personally, I consider a waste of energy (power) and resources the fact of having the main laptop screen turned on while using an external monitor which in most of the cases is twice the size; it is non-sense.

OS X team must really come up with some solution since Apple claims to be the "greenest" laptop on the market.

From the hardware point of view, the laptop is not engineered to work with the lid closed, and that's something that anyone could notice.

Was the "Leopard Technique" of closing and opening the lid a reliability testing experiment of the conections between the laptop's monitor and the CPU? Come on!

mkedge : Well, getting a magnet close to sensitive hardware such as a hard drive is in no way recommended. Apple just has to fix this. Steve, are you listening? I mean, we pay twice the price of a PC for quality hardware and a wonderful OS that has only a few flaws. I think this is a major one, however. Please make Lion perfect by allowing it to control monitors individually.

We shouldn't have to use magnets -- no question. This is a pain and it should change.

However, putting a magnet at this spot isn't as dangerous as it seems. The Mac itself already has a magnet inside the case that is what puts the machine to sleep. If there is already a magnet there every time the machine is closed, then it can't be harmful (unless you use a way-too-powerful magent, but with a small refrigerator magnet, that is unlikely).

I'm not too concerned about my Macbook Pro overheating, but I too want this feature back, so I can open the lid and uncover the speakers. Here's what I submitted to http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html:

"When I open the lid to my MacBook Pro to un-muffle the speakers when listening to music, the built in screen turns on even though I have an external monitor connected.

"In Snow Leopard, this worked like a charm. I would connect the external monitor to the laptop while it was closed and wake it up, then I could open the lid a few inches to uncover the speakers, and the built in screen remained off. Now with Lion, I can't find a way to make the built in screen stay off. This is both a waste of energy and a major problem as I don't have the real estate on my desk to have the screen fully open. (The external monitor is on a stand about 4 inches over laptop.)

"This seems like a bug with the Lion upgrade. Will this great feature be re-introduced soon? Or is there a work around I'm unaware of?"

We'll see if they respond.

According to Apple support, the engineers say it's "expected behaviour" under Lion for the MBP's internal display to reactivate upon opening the lid, even if you want to use only your external display. A new version of the clamshell mode-related knowledgebase article (replacing HT3131) is due shortly confirming this.

This is despite:

- the obvious temperature-related benefits that were achievable (under Snow Leopard) by opening your MBP lid whilst continuing to output solely to an external display
- the waste of energy and inefficient use of graphics processing power in needlessly running two active screens (ie if running your MBP in clamshell mode would otherwise make it too hot and/or noisy)
- the negative longer-term impact on the battery and other components from running the MBP hotter than it needs to be.

If you would like to have the previous behaviour restored, please consider lobbying Apple to change how Lion handles clamshell mode. Options available to Apple include changing Lion's expected behaviour or adding a user-selectable option within System Preferences.

Feedback should be submitted here:

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

Ok, I do confirm that the magnet trick works. I'll use it for now. I'm still disappointed, however. On pre-Unibody MBP models, like mine, you have to put it on the Kensington lock hole. Works great. Be careful not to put a strong magnet over the left side of your MBP, as it is where the hard drive is located as you can see on this image : http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/mac/MacBookProPenryn/motherboard.jpg

Apple, again, please fix this. My next computer purchase depends on it.

The issue is escalated and am in discussions with seniors at apple. Standby for full tech inquiry and response by this weekend.

Continue to forward feedback but take heart that I will have an official statement ASAP.

harmonica01 wrote:

The issue is escalated and am in discussions with seniors at apple. Standby for full tech inquiry and response by this weekend.

Continue to forward feedback but take heart that I will have an official statement ASAP.

That's excellent! Sounds hopefull. Can't wait to hear back on this.

You don't have to close the lid entirely. If you flip down the screen, so it's about 5 centimeters open, then the screen will turn off. Given, this is not as good as completely open, it does however allow better airflow.

I tried the magnet trick and it worked as well, but only with a magnet-based wiper from a whiteboard on the left hand side. Whiteboard magnets seem to not work for me (or I can't find the sweet spot).

Seph

Just submitted a bug report for this as well. Very annoying!