Does my imac go to sleep when screen goes dark?

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Im confused in what the difference is between when I click on sleep mode and when my energy saver preference has the screen reduce brightness and then go dark.Is this the same mode or is sleep mode different from the energy saver mode the computer goes into on its own?
 
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It is not the same sleep mode. If you make your brightness of your screen go all the way down the computer is not "sleeping" but after awhile with the brightness all the way down it will fall asleep.
 

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It all depends on your settings.

Because I use shared iTunes and other video libraries - a couple of my computers are set for the screen to turn off but the computer itself is set to never go to sleep.

Others are set for the screen after 15 minutes and the computer after 30.

That setting for the screen to reduce brightness before going to sleep was turned off within a month after getting my first notebook. That's got to be one of the most annoying things I've ever seen on a computer.
 
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My energy preferences are to put computer to sleep after 15 minutes and display sleep at 15 minutes(default settings)So can I assume this means my computer is going to sleep on its own and i dont have to choose sleep from the apple menue?
 

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My energy preferences are to put computer to sleep after 15 minutes and display sleep at 15 minutes(default settings)So can I assume this means my computer is going to sleep on its own and i dont have to choose sleep from the apple menue?

You are correct.
 
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It is not the same sleep mode. If you make your brightness of your screen go all the way down the computer is not "sleeping" but after awhile with the brightness all the way down it will fall asleep.
Not necessarily.
It all depends on your settings.
This.

Mine is set to never go to sleep. I just found that annoying. I set it to put the display to sleep only. Maybe I should re-think that. (?)
 
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Something different happens when imac goes to sleep on its own vs. choosing sleep option on apple menu.My magicjack phone stays on when imac goes to sleep on its own and remains with dialtone when I wake up imac.
My magicjack light goes off when i click sleep from apple menu and when i wake it up the magicjack light comes on but phone not usable with no dialtone until i unplug and replug magicjack into usb.
Perhaps something happens with usb ports when you choose sleep mode and they loose power vs. letting imac fall asleep on its own which keeps the ports powered up?
 

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Something different happens when imac goes to sleep on its own vs. choosing sleep option on apple menu.My magicjack phone stays on when imac goes to sleep on its own and remains with dialtone when I wake up imac.
My magicjack light goes off when i click sleep from apple menu and when i wake it up the magicjack light comes on but phone not usable with no dialtone until i unplug and replug magicjack into usb.
Perhaps something happens with usb ports when you choose sleep mode and they loose power vs. letting imac fall asleep on its own which keeps the ports powered up?

The MagicJack is preventing the machine from going to Sleep on its own. When you choose to sleep the machine, then you are overriding the MagicJack.
 
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where to set up SLEEP preferences

I've owned my iMac desktop for nearly a year and never put it to sleep. Yes, when I leave the room the screen goes dark until I return and use the keyboard...but that's not SLEEP, right? My machine is ON all the time.

So where do I set up SLEEP preferences? and why is this a good thing to do?
 
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Your system could be sleeping, it depends on your settings.

System Preferences > Energy Saver has all the bells and whistles.
 
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Your system could be sleeping, it depends on your settings.

System Preferences > Energy Saver has all the bells and whistles.

Ah, I found it, thanks. Both 'Computer' and 'Display' are already set to "Sleep" at 15 minutes.
 

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