ibook in clamshell mode?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hi.



From what I understand, the ibook cannot be used closed with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse? It makes me regret ordering the ibook yesterday. I would have went with the Powerbook.



I did find a hack on the Internet, but I understand that the ibook needs to be open to cool? This seems to be a strange design. I have used notebooks closed for years.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    paulppaulp Posts: 67member
    Have a look at Screen Spanning Doctor:



    http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html



    It might be worth reading the disclaimer first but I've been using it with my iBook for ages now with no problems what so ever.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PaulP

    Have a look at Screen Spanning Doctor:



    http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html



    It might be worth reading the disclaimer first but I've been using it with my iBook for ages now with no problems what so ever.




    Hi. Do you use it for the screen spanning or for using clamshell? If you use it in clamshell mode for significant lengths of time, I would feel better about trying it.



    I really really appreciate your help!



    Also, is there a way I can monitor temperatures to know if the computer is getting too hot while in clamshell mode?



    Thanks again!
  • Reply 3 of 9
    republicrepublic Posts: 168member
    There is an application called Temperature Monitor for Macs, but I'm not sure if it was meant for a specific model. It should support your iBook, and it seems to be accurate enough with my iBook G4. Click here when you want to download it from VersionTracker.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    ibook911: Do a search! murbot and others explained previously that the spanning hack is not very reliable in clamshell mode. To make matters worse, you only get half the video memory in clamshell mode. (Even though the internal LCD is not used, the hack can't reassign its memory to the external display.) The developer of the hack has stated multiple times in his own forum (at the link above) that he does not know how to fix the clamshell mode for iBooks.



    Escher
  • Reply 5 of 9
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    I sure wish I had known I couldn't use clamshell before I ordered the ibook. I thought this patch would fix it, but I guess not.



    So, even if I didn't close the lid, the video memory would be divided, correct? How far can you close the lid before it goes into sleep?



    Thanks for the help.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    ericeasonericeason Posts: 118member
    I am not sure what this patch does, but if you set it to mirror the screen instead of extending the desktop, shouldn't you get full video performance?
  • Reply 7 of 9
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ericeason

    I am not sure what this patch does, but if you set it to mirror the screen instead of extending the desktop, shouldn't you get full video performance?



    That would make sense to me ericeason, but I don't know.



    Furthermore, what about that other patch out there that simply prevents the ibook from sleeping? You wouldn't have full-video performance then either?



    Unless every time you use an external monitor, you are losing video performance?
  • Reply 8 of 9
    paulppaulp Posts: 67member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ibook911

    Hi. Do you use it for the screen spanning or for using clamshell? If you use it in clamshell mode for significant lengths of time, I would feel better about trying it.



    I really really appreciate your help!



    Also, is there a way I can monitor temperatures to know if the computer is getting too hot while in clamshell mode?



    Thanks again!




    I use it almost exclusively in clamshell mode. I've got an older Apple 21" screen and set the resolution to 1280 x 1024 with a refresh rate of 85hz. I leave it plugged in like this for most of the day.



    Yes there's a little bit of slow down on video intensive stuff but on the whole quite useable.



    The cooling fan doesn't need to kick in as often as you might think either.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PaulP

    I use it almost exclusively in clamshell mode. I've got an older Apple 21" screen and set the resolution to 1280 x 1024 with a refresh rate of 85hz. I leave it plugged in like this for most of the day.



    Yes there's a little bit of slow down on video intensive stuff but on the whole quite useable.



    The cooling fan doesn't need to kick in as often as you might think either.




    Wow. That sounds great Paul. Thank you for the advice. Is it the same way even if I wasn't using it in clamshell? When you have an external monitor, is the video memory always divided?
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