Extended shutdown for Mac

[bladerunner714]

My Macs get substantial, daily use and are both current with their updates running Big Sur 11.5.1. They serve as an electronic filing cabinet for virtually all of my important records and are used for financial management, news and information, correspondence and entertainment. The workload is divided about 2/3 to the Mac Mini on my desk and 1/3 to a Macbook used in my recliner. The scheme provides the convenience of conducting the digital portion of my life from either my desk or my recliner as well as the backup security of complete redundancy should either system fail.

The recovery from a recent surgery has left me unable to work at my desk for a period of at least two months. Confined to the recliner, I’ve invoked the backup aspect of my scheme, relying entirely on my Macbook and shut down the Mac Mini until I can return to my desk.

It seems to have worked so well that I wonder if I haven’t overlooked something. Are there any cautions for which I should be alert when restarting my Mac Mini after its extended shut down?

 

[toMACsh]

Well, I've never left my Mini idle for two months, but almost two weeks a few times.
I've never had any problems after that long. I can't imagine anything going wrong related to such a "layoff" for two years even. Two months is certainly not long enough to make any software obsolete.

 

[bladerunner714]

toMACsh: Thanks for sharing your experience; it's good to know you didn't have any problems. Abundantly cautious, I plan to make the application of any updates a priority when I first return to the Mini.

 

[southchatham]

I've had computers sit off for years. As long as you pull the plug leave it off as long as you want.

 

[bladerunner714]

southchatham: Thanks, I hadn't thought of that.

 

[pm-r]

I've had computers sit off for years. As long as you pull the plug leave it off as long as you want.

It has always been my understanding if one is going to leave a Mac turned off for a long periods of time to keep it plugged into power. Otherwise the PRAM battery can lose its charge, and the Mac may not even boot the next time it is required.

Maybe things have changed with later Mac models but I sure wouldn't take the chance of pulling the Power plug. Maybe Google has a better answer for you...

And I sure hope you recover soon from your surgery ordeals.


- Patrick
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[bladerunner714]

pm-r: Thanks for your thoughts and good wishes. Most of what I could find about leaving the power connected had to with the risk of power surges. But it seems to me that risk is the same whether the Mac is used every day or not. Also, my Mac Mini and everything connected to it are plugged in to a CyberPower surge protected UPS so it gets good clean power. Absent a compelling reason to unplug it, my intuition is to leave it plugged in.

 

[badshoehabit]

The recovery from a recent surgery has left me unable to work at my desk for a period of at least two months. Confined to the recliner, I’ve invoked the backup aspect of my scheme, relying entirely on my Macbook and shut down the Mac Mini until I can return to my desk.

It seems to have worked so well that I wonder if I haven’t overlooked something.

Time Machine back up to an external drive as insurance?

 

[bladerunner714]

badshoehabit: Thanks for your thought. Actually, yes. Each of the two Macs has its own Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner backups to external SSDs.

 

[badshoehabit]

Then you can go relax and get well soon.

 

[bladerunner714]

badshoehabit: Thanks for the kind thought. Will do my best at both.

 

[pm-r]

Actually, yes. Each of the two Macs has its own Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner backups to external SSDs.
...
Also, my Mac Mini and everything connected to it are plugged in to a CyberPower surge protected UPS so it gets good clean power.

That is a great plan, and good Extra Protection using the CyberPower surge protected UPS and especially having the CCC clone, that is hopefully Bootable and has been tested, but I dare say that using solid-state drives for a backup tends to be on the excessive expensive overkill side.

Then you can go relax and get well soon.

+1.


- Patrick
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[chscag]

but I dare say that using solid-state drives for a backup tends to be on the excessive expensive overkill side.

They're getting much less expensive, but still a premium purchase. I use Samsung T5 drives for my CCC backups and a spinner for Time Machine.

The nice thing about using a fast SSD for CCC or SuperDuper backups is that they boot up almost as fast as the internal drive. And if your internal drive is a spinner, the external SSD boot will be faster.