HT3131 Operating MBP in closed clamshell mode with external display

I have a new MBP retina display. Trying to operate in a closed clamshell mode. I connect a USB keyboard and a wireless mouse. My external display is a Dell 2007FP display screen connected via a VGA adapter. Whenever I close the computer lid to operate in clamshell mode the screen goes to sleep/power save mode. Have tried various combinations of attaching keyboard and mouse first then screen, switching computer off on etc. The external display states there is "no signal coming from computer"...any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciate

Congratulations on taking one more step in becoming more self sufficient in tech stuff.
But I have to wonder why you spent so much on a Retina display only to have it cooking uselessly there.

Similar Messages

Macbook Pro Closed Clamshell FaceTime with external webcam?

Is this possible. I have an external monitor,keyboard, mouse etc and the twelvesouth bookarc set up so my macbook pro can be my desktop as well in closed clamshell mode. I miss out on being able to use facetime/skype etc because the monitor I use is a 30" LED that does not have a built in webcam. If i buy a high def webcam and attach it via USB, would facetime use it? Could this solve my problem?
Thanks,

I have pretty much the same setup, 15inch Macbook Pro 2.66Ghz i7 8gb-ram and 500gb HD - I'm running Lion 10.7.2 and I've got the Mac Bluetooth Keyboard and Magic Mouse with 20inch Mac Cinema Display (no built in isight) which I 've been using with the Macbook closed. I've tried an old Logitech Webcam I had laying around but that wouldn't work. I also have an iPad2 and iPhone 4S and I've used that WebCam App that allows me to use my idevices as wireless webcams which I was able to use with SKYPE (iPhone 4S).
So using the app "iWebcamera by dw-c" I was able to set my iPhone 4s and iPad2 as an external wireless webcam and successfully use SKYPE. I WAS NOT able to use the same method with Facetime or Photobooth, so I'd also be interested in knowing if I purchase a better/newer wired webcam if that would allow me to use FaceTime with my MacBook Pro Closed as well.
Hope this at least gets you half way there mcbzero - it's all I have at the moment.

Is it safe to use the MBP in closed clamshell mode?

I've connected my MBP to my LCD TV and started to use it as my desktop.
I'm deactivating the main display of the MBP by putting it into sleep mode and moving my mouse, so it wakes the computer up and shows image only in the TV, keeping the main display turned off.
I'm constantly monitoring the temperatures of the MBP with iStat Menus. It seems that the temperature is always the same, no matter if the main display lid is open or closed.
So, based on these 2 articles:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3131
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1778
Is it really safe to use the MBP with the display lid closed?
If I decide to run a heavy load application (like a game) and the MBP starts to get warm, would it damage the display, because it is too close to the body of the MBP?

Yes it's perfectly safe and designed to be used that way, 90% of the time this one's used in a similar configuration. The only time the fans come on 100% is when I watch Flash-based items from YouTube or similar. I've never run it for any extended length of time with the fans at maximum I must admit but as long as the air flow is good there shouldn't be any problem.

Silverlight (Lovefilm / Netflix) MBP 13" Early 2011, Heating and Exhaust Problems, Clamshell mode with TB Display

Hi all
I was hoping if someone can help me out...
I have a:
Mac Book Pro 13" (Early 2011) (i5, Crucial 8GB RAM, 120 OWC 6G SSD)
Apple Thunderbolt Display
I run my MBP in clamshell mode always.
Whenever i run Netflix or Lovefilm video in full screen using either Firefox, Chrome or Safari. The Silverlight plug-in is hogging the CPU.
My exhaust (CPU fan) goes crazy, its soo loud its annoying while your trying to watch a movie on your Thunderbolt Display.
Temperature reaches: 83 Celsius
Fan (Exhaust): 5620 - 6200 RPM (immediately jumps from 2001 to 5620 / 6200)
If i watch a movie full screen on my 13" MBP with my Thunderbolt display disconnected:
Temperature reaches: 81 Celsius
Fan (Exhaust): 3198 RPM (it slowly crawls up form 1998 to 3193)
Now i changed my resolution on my Thunderbolt disply to 1420x720 and it helps with the fans going crazy, they slow down slightly...
I've tried a PRAM and SMC Reset, all my firmware is up to date.
My Macbook Pro is slightly raised at the back so air can flow through the vents.
My FANS are just going crazy!! something is ridicously heating up internally in my machine causing them to go mental.
You just cannot watch a movie on netflix or lovefilm on your thunderbolt display comfortably if your fans go beyound 2800RPM.
I even installed Windows 7 on Virtual Box and tried running lovefilm / silverlight and it did not help my problem.
PLEASE CAN SOMEONE HELP! how can i keep my fans below 2800 RPM while running silverlight?!?!

Flash like Silverlight are CPU heavy applications.
The MacBook Pro can be run in clamshell mode but only when not running extremely CPU intensive tasks
like what you are doing.
If you keep the mac book running this way for too long you might stress the materials and run into danger of getting thermal damages.
Chrome is actually in recent time getting very slow and I noticed in a comparision test that Firefox provides me up to 30 to 40% more free CPU time.
If running netflix I would suggest currently NOT using Chrome.
Windows 7 virtualized inside virtual box and then on top netflix is uhm a pretty bad idea because all those three things together are already CPU hogs.

Extended desktop mode with external display

I use my Macbook with an external display. Sometimes I need to use extended desktop mode and sometimes I don't need the extra desktop space and prefer to work only with my external display. My needs change as I work throughout the day and I'm getting tired of having to close the Macbook to put it to sleep and then wake it up without opening the lid to just have one display (the external one).
I'm wondering if anyone knows if there's a way to put the Macbook built-in display to sleep while continuing to work with the external display, without having to put the Macbook to sleep first. I'm thinking that there's got to be a way to do this (maybe there's a piece of software out there or some other work around?).

Thanks for your suggestion. That's actually a workaround I've used. The only problem is, the display isn't really put to sleep. The result: I still get an extended desktop and occasionally I "lose" my pointer. A bit annoying, but thus far the only solution I've come up with.

Trouble getting out sleep mode with external display

My 15" ALPB si connected in closed mode to a Viewsonic external monitor. When not used for a while, the Powerbook will of course get to sleep. But then there is no way to make it wake up again. Disconneting screen and other devices won't help. Only a restart will do, thereby losing all ongoing work. (BTW, never had this problem with a 12" ALPB also connected to the same type of display).
I know that by removing the monitor shutdown option in the energy saving preference panel it will dissapear. But I really need the display sleep option to work.
Someone experiencing this problem? Any solution?
Thanks. Mark

Thanks for your suggestion. That's actually a workaround I've used. The only problem is, the display isn't really put to sleep. The result: I still get an extended desktop and occasionally I "lose" my pointer. A bit annoying, but thus far the only solution I've come up with.

MBP in closed clamshell (display closed) mode with an external display

I want to use my Macbook Pro Unibody in closed clamshell (display closed) mode with an external display
And I want to know if, the heat will damage the lcd of m macbookpro.
I want to buy a holder
http://twelvesouth.com/products/bookarc/
but i still have doubts about it the temperature and the Screen.
Thanks..

Apple says closed clamshell mode is a valid way to operate a Mac notebook, so that should be assurance enough. I don't know where the notion comes from that non-operating LCD screens can be damaged by heat. It would take a lot of heat to do damage. Way more than can be supplied by the computer itself.

HDMI Closed Clamshell mode display wake crash with Mavericks.

Hi!
Macbook Pro 2.8 GHz Intel i7, 16GB DDR3 RAM, OS X 10.9.3
So, I am running a macbook pro with an external HD display through the HDMI out on the computer, and the comptuer itself running in closed clamshell mode. Sometimes when the display sleeps I can not wake it up again, to the extent that I have to unplug everything and do a hard reset of my macbook. If music is playing it begins to skip. The display attempts to turn back on but then the screen goes blank. This seems to only happen when the display sleeps, not the computer itself.
I was just wondering if a) Anyone else was having this problem and b) if Apple were aware of it?
I have done my research and I use closed clamshell mode properly (Restart my comptuer when plugging in to the monitor, sleep before disconnecting etc.) and so far I have not lost any data, however I am concerned that having to manually restart my computer 3-4 times a week may at some point severely affect a document I am working on, particularly with Apple's latest software such as Mavericks and Logic X seemingly being so volatile at the moment.
Any help you could provide would be much appreciated!
Thanks!

Hello bambambam8am,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
What troubleshooting have you done so far? Have you reset the SMC and PRAM? If not, follow the articles below for instructions:
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
About NVRAM and PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Take care,
Alex H.

Can no longer use an external display in closed clamshell mode

Hi,
I have this weird problem that just started couple days ago.
I own a MacBook Pro Early 2011 since March.
It's always hooked up to an external display and the MacBook Pro's LCD is turned off (closed clamshell mode).
Lately, if the MacBook Pro's LCD is turned off, the external display won't show anything.
But as soon as I open the lid, the external display will then mirror the MacBook Pro LCD.
If I close back the lid, the external display will get blank.
I also tried to change the display settings with no luck.
In other words, I can no longer use my external display with the MacBook Pro in closed clamshell mode.
I'm wondering if someone experienced this problem before. Thanks for help.

Hello sebastieng
Open both, your MBP connected to the external screen. Open Preferences click here on "Displays" and then make the external Window to the main window by dragging the bar (line?) on top of the laptop window to the external window, which makes the second window the main window.
If this does not help you may read this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3131
Hope this helps
marek

Distorted video on Acer monitor using closed clamshell mode

I have a 15" Mid-Late 2007 MacBook Pro that I'm using in closed-lid mode with an Acer AL1917w monitor (DVI connection). After upgrading the Mac to Mavericks (10.9.2), I can't get the Acer monitor to display a non-distorted image when the Mac goes into closed-lid mode. With mirroring turned on and the MacBook Pro open, I can set the preferences to the highest resolution and I get a perfect image on both the MBP screen and on the Acer.
However, when I close the display lid and the machine goes into closed-lid mode, the Acer monitor image changes to a slightly stretched, distorted image. This happens no matter what resolution I choose from the Displays preferences resolution choices.
Again, it worked fine under Mac OS 10.5, but this problem shows up under 10.9.

Hmm I can't think of any way to do that that doesn't involve wires and major mods (Drilling holes et al) .
How to use your Mac notebook computer in closed-clamshell (display closed) mode with an external display - Apple Suppor…

Clamshell Mode With 30" Apple Cinema HD Display

Hello,
How can I use my 17" MacBook Pro with my 30" Apple Cimema HD Display in clamshell mode (with lid closed). I can only use it in clamshell mode when the AC adapter is plugged in. When I try to wake the computer from battery, it turns on but then goes right back to sleep mode.
Thanks in advance,
Edwin

That's normal behaviour… clamshell mode will not work when your MBP is running without AC power.

Using macbookpro in clamshell mode with Ipod touch as mouse/keyboard

I have a 2G ipod Touch and a Macbook Pro laptop (purchased 12/2009). I recently connected my MBP to my Samsung LCD HD TV. I am able to get the picture to work correctly (mirrored the displays). But i was sitting on my couch wondering how to manipulate the screen without using the laptop keyboard/touch pad...Then i found out that the itouch has an APP called Air Mouse PRO and your itouch can be used as a keyboard/touchpad for your computer.
This works great, until i tried to close the lid and put my MBP in "clamshell mode" and the MBP will just go to sleep! there is no way of having the MBP be responsive to the itouch while in clamshell mode.
My question is, " is there a way to wake up the MBP while in clamshell mode?" remember that the connection i have with the itouch is infrared and it is unresponsive while in clamshell mode.

I really don't use Rowmote much any more. I turned my old MBP into a media center and control it with Remote Buddy and an Apple remote. While I can do the same thing with Rowmote, it's easier with Remote Buddy. You can't move the pointer around the screen with it, but it controls media applications amazingly well for using something with only six buttons. http://www.iospirit.com/products/remotebuddy/

MBP and target disk mode with PPC desktop

I am thinking about finally jumping to a MBP from a PowerBook.
One of the things I do a lot is hook up my PowerBook in target disk mode to interchange information with my PowerPC desktop.
Any problems with using a MBP in target disk mode with a PPC desktop? If so... what???
Thanks for any feedback, help, cautions.
-- Jim
Powerbook 15 1.67ghz High Res DDR2 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1.5gb ram, 80gb

We just took the plunge and our MBP is being shipped.
Did you let the Migration Assistant move your applications? I am thinking about whether it is a good idea to migrate Final Cut Studio and any other non-Universal apps, for example, from the PowerBook, then get the Universal upgrades? Or just get the Universal versions and install them?
thanks

Problem using clamshell mode with 2010 Macbook Pro

I'm trying to use my mid 2010 Macbook Pro in clamshell mode with my Sanyo TV as a monitor. I have an external keyboard and mouse and I keep it plugged in when trying to do this. I have tried with mirrored and seperate displays, both with the TV as secondary and primary display, and whenever I close the lid the TV suddenly says that the input resolution has changed and is out of the range of the TV. I have tried changing the resolution on both the TV and computer when both displays are active and it has made no difference. Is there a way to make this work or a way to keep the computer from changing the output resolution when I close the lid?

I have discovered that the issue is that the computer won't wake from sleep mode. I still have no idea what the problem is but it also occurs if I put the computer to sleep with the display open.

Closed clamshell mode on mba 13" - Keeps loggin out every 30 seconds

I'm trying to use my MBA 13" in Closed clamshell mode, connected to a 27" Thunderbolt Display
however it's not working-
Every 30 seconds or so, it locks the screen, and makes me log in again.
I have just reset my MBA to factory settings to see if that would fix it -
Same problem.
I also have a 13" MBPr - if i connect this to the same Thunderbolt display, I can operate it in closed clamshell mode no problem
Any idea what's causing the problem?

Oh..
And i "meet the criteria" for closed clamshell -
It's plugged in, external keyboard (bluetooth) and external mouse (bluetooth)

HT3131 Operating MBP in closed clamshell mode with external display

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for