Thread: Any Mac experts on PMU?

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300574

I called Apple and they told me to try this.... Mike, I want this to work IM DESPERATE to get my MAC MINI Running.. I was at work so I couldn't do much...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300574

Regards,
Juan

i doubt u can change the actual energy requirements for a piece of computing equipment. Perhaps a tiny bit, but not at all to keep the machine in sleep for the >3 hrs the testing has shown to give video errors. I dont messing with BIOS or root energy requirements is a good idea. If you want the mini to sleep while you dont drive, buy another battery. You spent $1000 on yer carputer, spend $100 more

actually the solution is to write a task to set up a sleep notifier, when sleep occurs set up a wakeup timer to go off in say 1 hour, at that time shutdown the mac.. if wakeup occurs before that, then cancel the shutdown timer.

a good mac programmer should be able to handle it.

a second battery dood, why are you against it? Solves the problem and gives you a ton more options when it comes to other hardware and audio stuff.

yer making something for driving home. Eating lunch for 30min and going back to work, within the 1hr time window. TO save 30s of startup time? Gimme a break.

sdashiki,

a second battery dood, why are you against it?

We certainly appreciate all of your positive contributions..., however, let's think about this a bit.

When you say "a second battery" do you mean a second +12V automotive battery? We have reported that, from what we can tell now, the Mac will not successfully recover from sleep if the sleep voltage is +12V. This renders a second battery useless from a voltage perspective. It COULD save the primary battery from unwanted discharge, but again, the voltage appears to be too low. What we have found is the sleep voltage needs to be +18.5V to effectively resume the Mac from sleep. As posted in another thread, we are continuing to test this.

IF by "second battery" you mean adding a series of batteries that adds up to +18V, then this MAY be an effective sleep power source. In fact, Martin M in California is trying this technique. The problem will be effectively and simply recharging this +18V battery system. You will need to come up with some sort of recharging mechanism.

If I missed your point, I apoligize. Please enlighten us.

No silly. I mean a second optima battery with isolator in the back.

And you have to wait for a 12V dc PSU being made for the mac mini. You seem to see the problem its having as dropping below 12v and not being able to startup again.

With a 2nd isolated battery it has a constant 12v.

Wasting time and money just to keep yer mac asleep is stupid. Get a PSU like an Opus when it comes, and get a 2nd battery and isolator.

how can a mac mini need 6.5V extra to wake from sleep when it operates at 12v? Or did I miss something...

sheesh... I give.

Dood im not flaming you but yer working on a problem that to me seems pointless to attempt. Why are you wanting to figure this out? What does it solve for you?

Keeping your carputer ready for action at a moments notice?

if so, a 2nd battery is a must. just for practicality; going on vacation it can sleep if you needed. 2nd battery makes sure all your stuff is going to be powered whenever it needs to be powered and not just when yer driving.

I mean WHY are you so interested in solving this problem, backasswards when my suggestion works 100% and needs not room for improvement.

Originally Posted by sdashiki

a second battery dood, why are you against it? Solves the problem and gives you a ton more options when it comes to other hardware and audio stuff.

^bump^

A second battery is probably the best option. All facts considered everyone is running their mac mini from a 12v car battery anyway with a power converter of some sort, no?

Just incase you don't know about using a second battery in a car let me give you the gist of it. Basically you end up with two batteries, one being the battery for the cars starter, ecu, and any other factory device, this is the primary battery. The secondary battery is isolated from the primary with a device know as a battery isolator(http://www.cardomain.com/item/LITS200 that is not the best one but it was the first one i could find). The rest of the equipment runs off that secondary batter, ie; mac mini; amps; head unit; foot massager; fog machine; play station; disco balls; etc etc.

Now the purpose of doing this is so that you can run your stereo and all that fun stuff with the car off and not worry about the primary battery going dead, ie not being able to start your car.

So armed with this piece of equipment the mini's power consumption in sleep has no effect on the primary battery, which is what you were worried about right?


To answer the first question, trying to minimize the mini's sleep power consumption is a fairly daunting task. All things considered, if it was easy to do it Apple would have done it from the get go. I am not saying it is impossible, but damn if someone can pull it off....

Originally Posted by vinthewrench

actually the solution is to write a task to set up a sleep notifier, when sleep occurs set up a wakeup timer to go off in say 1 hour, at that time shutdown the mac.. if wakeup occurs before that, then cancel the shutdown timer.

a good mac programmer should be able to handle it.

This is actually something the I will be incorporating into my project. Probably a relay style widget/phiget/midget what ever you want to call it :P that is hooked up to the ignition switched power.

I mean come on, 30s boot time is to long, in my opinion :P