Comments on: Turn off Macbook Pro Display When Using External Display

By: Konrad

Konrad — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:55:59 +0000

Hey just letting people know that i searched for a way to put one display to sleep while using the my 42″ LCD as my display for watching movies and the only way i could do it was by using this method.

But I just downloaded the latest VLC player update 1.1 and it seems that they have integrated automatically turning off the inactive display, which would be my iMac display when im watching movies.

I stumbled upon this by chance which is pretty handy,

hope this helps people.

By: mike

mike — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:44:06 +0000

thanks for the attempt but if you’re not using front row for whatever you’re watching this is pretty useless, eh?

also, pierre’s solution works, but what if you don’t have a usb keyboard and mouse and/or don’t want your fan blazing when watching a movie or are otherwise worried about heat issues?

after reading this the following simple fix occurred to me: just turn the brightness all the way down until your built-in lcd goes blank; the brightness controls don’t affect external displays.

By: samer

samer — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:16:01 +0000

thanks for the help worked beautifully!

By: Ed’s Blog » Turning off Macbook screen when displaying through TV using a DVI adapter

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:33:29 +0000

[...] Link to detailed explanation. [...]

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:08:29 +0000

It is VERY easy to get the main monitor to turn back on. You disconnect the external display or just turn it off.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:15:32 +0000

How do you get the MacBook pro’s monitor to turn BACK on after shutting it down as described above. The only thing I’ve been able to do is turn it off and restart.

By: Pierre Bernard

Pierre Bernard — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:47:23 +0000

You may use your MacBook Pro with the lid closed by following theses instructions:

1. Plug in power supply
2. Close lid and wait for machine to sleep
3. Attach external display
4. Use a USB keyboard to wake you may. Other USB devices may work too.

BTW, this is not a hack but a documented feature of the MacBook Pro. Ample cooling is provided by the rear vent.

Best,
Pierre Bernard
Houdah Software s.à r.l.

By: Arnav

Arnav — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:54:03 +0000

Just throwing this (somewhat related) question out there - would appreciate feedback. Can you choose when to disable/enable an LCD display (e.g., a projector?). Sometimes when giving a presentation, I have a few minutes during which I like to make some edits after everything is connected.

I could do this with my PC (choose which display I want to make active) but don’t know how to do it with the Mac.

Thanks.

By: Hot MacBook Pro Temperature « Mac OS X Leopard & Tiger Dual Boot

Hot MacBook Pro Temperature « Mac OS X Leopard & Tiger Dual Boot — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:55:10 +0000

[...] This post was due to a comments discussion on how to turn off the macbook pro display when using an external display for Front Row. [...]

By: deckard

deckard — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:40:18 +0000

I’ve read on various forums that it is in fact a heat dissipation issue.

Considering how much heat my MacBook Pro (Santa Rosa model) produces… I’d have to say, it might be a good idea to force sleep when the lid is closed. Maybe a solution would be to increase fan speed when the lid is closed…

As an aside I use SMC Fan Control to boost my default fan speed to keep the internal temperature around 50C or below. Otherwise it would be hovering around 55-60C; A little hot for my taste.