Poll to all Mac Mini owners, does it wake up easily or set up to never sleep?

To all Mac Mini owners:

Hi, I am a happy owner of a new mac mini (2.3 Ghz Intel Core i5, Mac OS X 10.7.3) which I received the day before yesterday. I have installed all the applications from a Time Machine back up, and put all my data in it already (since yesterday I am using it to work -fastest uploading and application installation ever with time machine!).
I am totally thrilled with how fast it works, and how awesome it looks, but there is one thing I am not happy about, which is its difficulty waking up from either a light (few minutes) or sound (all night) sleep, I posted a thread about this here: http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os...always-without-ever-sleeping.html#post1387061

Yesterday I turned off the sleep options deselecting in System Preferences ->Energy Saver "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible", and setting to never the "Computer Sleep" and "Display Sleep", and this works well as a screen saver comes when I am not using it, and to start using it I just move the wireless mouse and can get right on to working.

I am just wondering how many of you mac mini users have it set up like this (to never sleep)? Do you turn it off each night since it doesn't sleep during the day?

Anybody with a mac mini that does wake up easily from any sleep? How do you wake it up?

Is there any configuration that can be done to wake it up from hard disk sleep in less time than it takes to turn it on?

If you can participate in the poll I would greatly appreciated. I am trying to figure out if the fact that its hard to wake my mac mini is a reason to return it and ask for an exchange, or if all of them are like this.

Also please, if your mac mini DOES wake up easily, can you take a minute to write which operating system you have installed, and how do you wake it up? Thank you very much!!

Ummm I click the mouse button, and it wakes up. It's running 10.7.3 currently.


That said, I'm not using bluetooth devices. If you have a USB mouse handy, plug it in.. let it sleep and see if that wakes it up easier.

tamaras82 said:

I am just wondering how many of you mac mini users have it set up like this (to never sleep)? Mine is set to never sleep. Do you turn it off each night since it doesn't sleep during the day? Nope.

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Mine is hooked up to my TV. The only time the TV is used as a monitor is when I am using it to play DVD's, access Hulu or whatever video source. I usually access it via Apple Screen sharing if I am adding content to iTunes for Apple TV. The monitor ie: TV is never really on in the traditional sense. It mostly sits there serving up Time Machine and iTunes unless I'm using it for something like iMovie or Handbrake which my MBA is not optimized as well for.

When I first got my Mini, I kept the default power configuration. It came with Lion installed with only 2 GB of ram. I noticed that if I had ANYTHING left running i.e. Chrome, mail, it would either take forever to wakeup or never wake up requiring a hard power cycle.

Since then, I have applied all of the upgrade releases and upgraded to 8 GB of ram. Since upgrading, I have had NO problems waking up from sleep mode. I suspect my problem was related to ram starvation. Currently though, I do not sleep my mini, it is on all the time.

Bill

My Mini acts only as a media center. I used to sleep with, waking it with the Apple remote. Never had any issues waking the Mini, but it runs Plex, and I've had issues with that not working after waking. Now I just leaving it running 24/7 unless I'm on vacation.

Thank you all for your answers!

I have modified the settings of my Mac Mini back to being able to sleep, selecting "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible", and the "Computer Sleep" and "Display Sleep" to 15 minutes, because thanks to another member's (Alcomx4) comment that his father's mac mini with the same specs as mine does wake up with a wired mouse, I tried and mine DOES wake up by clicking on a plugged-in Apple wired mouse (model M5769), or a non-Apple wired mouse (Steren COM-525)! I am delighted!

I still use my Apple wireless mouse (Model A1197) to work, as it is so much better than the others, but I keep the wired one handy to plug it in (I don't have it plugged in all the time as it wastes one of my USB spaces ) and click it to wake up my Mac mini after it falls asleep.

I'm happier this way as I wasn't really comfortable not letting it sleep, nor with turning it off every night, because the Mac mini manual says:
"Putting Your Mac mini to Sleep or Shutting It Down
When you finish working with your Mac mini, you can put it to sleep or shut it down.

Putting your Mac mini to sleep
If you will be away from your Mac mini for less than a few days, put it to sleep instead of shutting it down. When your Mac mini is in sleep, you can quickly wake it up and bypass the startup process.

Note: Sleep isn't recommended for Mac mini server, because the server can't provide services while it's in sleep.

To put your mac mini to sleep, do one of the following:
Choose Apple () > Sleep from the menu bar.
Press the power button on the back of your Mac mini.
Choose Apple () > System Preferences, click Energy Saver, and set a sleep timer.
Hold down the Play/Pause button on the optional Apple Remote for 3 seconds.

To wake your Mac mini, press any key on the keyboard, or any button on the optional Apple Remote. When your Mac mini wakes from sleep, your applications, documents, and computer settings are exactly as you left them.

Shutting Down Your Mac mini
If you won't be using your Mac mini for more than a few days, shut it down. Choose Apple () > Shut Down. To turn your Mac mini on again, press the power button."

NOTICE: Shut down your Mac mini before moving it. Moving your Mac mini while the hard disc is spinning can damage the hard disc, causing loss of data or the inability to start up from the hard disk."

bboggess said:

When I first got my Mini, I kept the default power configuration. It came with Lion installed with only 2 GB of ram. I noticed that if I had ANYTHING left running i.e. Chrome, mail, it would either take forever to wakeup or never wake up requiring a hard power cycle.
Since then, I have applied all of the upgrade releases and upgraded to 8 GB of ram. Since upgrading, I have had NO problems waking up from sleep mode. I suspect my problem was related to ram starvation. Currently though, I do not sleep my mini, it is on all the time.
Bill

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Thank you Bill for your comment, I have read that Lion likes more than only 2GB to work really well, so I bought some extra and am waiting for it to arrive. Can't wait as it will be even faster! Yay!! (I bought this one: OWC 1333DDR3S08S 8.0GB (2x4.0GB Kit) PC3-10600 DDR3... in stock at OWC so far the products I have bought from them are outstanding. I will let you know when I install it!)

I have paired my Apple Remote to my Mac mini and now I can wake it up pressing any button on the remote, and don't need to plug the wired mouse! This is so much better! I love having my Mac mini sleep when I am not using it, and waking it up easily is HEAVEN!!
;P

tamaras82 said:

I have paired my Apple Remote to my Mac mini and now I can wake it up pressing any button on the remote, and don't need to plug the wired mouse! This is so much better! I love having my Mac mini sleep when I am not using it, and waking it up easily is HEAVEN!!
;P

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Worked once if I woke it up immediately after it went to sleep, but after 30 minute sleeping it would not wake up with the Apple Remote (tried with all the buttons, one at a time, quickly first and then keeping them pressed for over 3 seconds. Didn't work so I had to wake it up with the wired mouse).
Anyone know why this would be?