12-06-2009, 08:34 PM

Hi, all. Can anyone tell me if it is enough for me to close the lid on my macbook pro (which I believe puts the laptop in suspend mode) before I put it in its case and carry it around? Could this cause damage to the laptop, or will the laptop, being in suspend mode, park the hard drive heads so as to ensure no damage occurs when I put the laptop in my backpack and start walking?

Thanks in advance for any information.

12-06-2009, 08:49 PM

I've done just that for over a year with my MB, and I haven't had any problems. I even had it in my messenger bag and rode across campus on my bike.

12-06-2009, 08:49 PM

Closing the top lid of your MBP puts it into "sleep" mode which copies the current state to RAM and parks the HDD. (default) See the following LINK for a better explanation of the various sleep modes for your Mac.

I personally do not like to do that but there are many folks who post in this forum who do exactly that when moving about (changing classes and so forth) and report no problems.

Regards.

12-07-2009, 08:20 AM

The first time I ever closed my MBP was in preparation for a motorcycle trip from Denver to Seattle. I closed it up and put it in my new Incase case and stored that in my motorcycle pannier. When I got to my destination the first night (Heber City, Utah) the Mac would not start up. It had not shut down when I closed it up at home and ran the whole day stuck inside the case until it ran its battery completely down! Being the first time, I freaked out. But, I plugged it in the charger and within a few minutes it came right up. Moral: storing it in the sleep mode can't hurt if the darn thing can run all day (not in sleep mode) stuck inside the case.

Having said that, I now double check that it has actually gone to sleep before putting it in the case.

12-07-2009, 08:23 AM

Even if you have the laptop turned ON, it should not damage the drive if you move it. The sudden motion sensor will park the hard drive read heads if it detects sudden movement.

Eighter way you should be quite safe