Macbook Insomnia – Keep your Macbook awake when the lid is closed
Stop your Macbook from sleeping when you close the lid
I recently ran into a problem with my Macbook Pro. I wanted to have the lid closed but have my mac still on and my programs running. Why would I want this? Well if I’m in the middle of a chat, or want to keep a download running while I sleep or move to another room, then I don’t want my computer to sleep when I close the lid, of course!
Cue the aptly named program, Insomnia. Once installed, a new icon will appear at the top of the screen where you can enable and disable Insomnia (see screenshot). Enabling it means that when you close your lid, your computer is still running.This means you can have music playing with the lid closed, run downloads overnight or close the lid if you’re watching a video on a secondary screen.
Note that there are warnings saying that on some Macbooks this may infact cause overheating, though I’ve found mine doesn’t heat up very much (2009 Macbook).