While in a notebook bag will my 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro overheat in sleep mode.
Not if it stays asleep. If it wakes up and stays awake in the bag, or if it never actually goes to sleep and you put it into the bag without realizing it's still awake, it could overheat.
Nope. Mac is quiesced, processor shut down, with just the RAM being kept alive with a trickle of current from the battery.
Just make sure it IS asleep. White pilot light up front MUST be pulsing. Otherwise you will have a very hot Mac and a very dead battery. Some processes may impede system sleep; the screen goes dark but the rest keeps going, hence verifying the pulsing pilot.
Will MacBook Pro overheating in sleep mode while in bag
