The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Disable Primary Display 13" 2011 MBP

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by kornchild2002, Apr 1, 2011.

  1. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    1,007
    Messages:
    1,925
    Likes Received:
    32
    Trophy Points:
    66
    I have my 2011 13" MBP hooked up to my 1080p HDTV via HDMI. Currently, I want it to be my primary display while turning off my MBP's built-in display so I can close the lid and not have to worry about it being on. I also have a "dock" for my MBP so I can sit it next to my HDTV in an organized manner. My issue is I don't know how to do this.

    I conducted a few searches and came across different results and none of them were really helpful. I can bring up the display options, drag the white "task" bar (I don't know what the OS X equivalent name for that is) over to my HDTV, and that become the primary display. However, closing the lid still causes my MBP to enter sleep mode. How can I disable that?

    I have had my "dock" for a few weeks now and it has kind of just sat there because I can't figure this out. Other online searches want me to enter the terminal to change some pretty deep settings and I really don't want to have to do that.
     
    kornchild2002, Apr 1, 2011
    #1
  2. doh123

    doh123 Without ME its just AWESO

    Reputations:
    996
    Messages:
    3,727
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    106
    a couple of options...

    1. Leave the screen "on" but just turn off the backlight...

    2. Have a mouse and keyboard hooked up, close the lid and let it go to sleep, then use the external keyboard/mouse to wake it back up, and it should see the external as the only monitor.
     
    doh123, Apr 1, 2011
    #2
  3. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    1,007
    Messages:
    1,925
    Likes Received:
    32
    Trophy Points:
    66
    OK, I will try that now. I forgot to mention that I have the Apple bluetooth keyboard and magic trackpad (my magic mouse is at work).
     
    kornchild2002, Apr 1, 2011
    #3
  4. Lieto

    Lieto Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    108
    Messages:
    896
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    31
    External mouse is what i use.
     
    Lieto, Apr 2, 2011
    #4
  5. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    1,007
    Messages:
    1,925
    Likes Received:
    32
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Thanks doh, it worked. I just had to close the lid and wake my MBP back up with either the bluetooth keyboard or magic trackpad. Now it is using only one display (the external one) instead of both. I never thought about waking the MBP back up after closing the lid. Instead I would just get pissed off that it would sleep and all the suggestions on the internet that I could find wanted me to essentially modify OS X.
     
    kornchild2002, Apr 2, 2011
    #5
  6. dr3w

    dr3w Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    69
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    dr3w, Apr 2, 2011
    #6