Intel Mac Mini soft power?

15 posts / 0 new
Last post
Offline
Last seen: 7 years 1 month ago
Joined: Feb 23 2005 - 05:27
Posts: 233
Intel Mac Mini soft power?

So, how do you turn one of these beasties on without actually touching the case? Does the included remote work for power? The reason I ask is that I'm planning on using an intel mac mini in my revised macinbeast (remember the g3 all in one with the lcd/frontpanel usb/firewire and g4 ibook) It's got plenty of space for the power brick and if possible, I'd fit it into the cd tray, otherwise it'll go inside the space where the monitor isn't. I'd hate to have to crack the case to rig up a power switch (I've got one that I built for the old beast to turn on both machines simulataneously, but I hate to have to resort to putting a hole the case of a new mini)

Any Ideas?

Offline
Last seen: 7 years 1 month ago
Joined: Feb 23 2005 - 05:27
Posts: 233
hello? Anybody even hazard a

hello? Anybody even hazard a guess? I miss keyboard power buttons. Heck, on the pc side of things, it's pretty common to be able to turn on a computer with a mouse click, or a space bar. I've even got a machine that lets me type a password to turn on the computer through both usb and ps2. Anything similar available on macs?

Offline
Last seen: 7 years 1 month ago
Joined: Feb 23 2005 - 05:27
Posts: 233
bumpety bump.

bumpety bump.

moros's picture
Offline
Last seen: 12 years 3 months ago
Joined: Jan 21 2005 - 08:16
Posts: 65
the last machine to have soft

the last machine to have soft power from the keyboard was the blue and white G3, it was removed from later macines to make the USB more standards compliant. The only way that I know of would therefore be to rig up a switch, the remote doesn't work to turn it on.

protocol6v's picture
Offline
Last seen: 13 years 9 months ago
Joined: Apr 21 2006 - 20:58
Posts: 339
I think the Yikes! G4 had it

I think the Yikes! G4 had it to.

Offline
Last seen: 7 years 1 month ago
Joined: Feb 23 2005 - 05:27
Posts: 233
Yeah, it would make sense for

Yeah, it would make sense for the Yikes! to have soft power, it was just a B&W after all.

What I was saying though, there's NO other option to turn this thing on? That makes the PRIMARY function of a remote control useless, doesn't it?

eeun's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 year 1 day ago
Joined: Dec 19 2003 - 17:34
Posts: 1895
Never off

Apple's attitude seems to be that these machines are to be left on all the time. A quick Google hasn't provided me with anything but uninformed banter as to sleep vs. shutdown power consumption & hardware longevity.

I have seen This (about half-way down) as a way of accessing the power button when a Mini is re-cased.

protocol6v's picture
Offline
Last seen: 13 years 9 months ago
Joined: Apr 21 2006 - 20:58
Posts: 339
I just tryied a B/W keyboard

I just tryied a B/W keyboard with my sawtooth and it powers it on fine.

Offline
Last seen: 7 years 1 month ago
Joined: Feb 23 2005 - 05:27
Posts: 233
Thanks for the check, eeun, I

Thanks for the check, eeun, I spent a long time trying to figure this one out, which is a trick given I've not bought the beast yet. My gut tells me there has to be a way. Anybody familiar with the new EFI stuff yet? Like I said, many bioses allow keyboard on, and since this tech was developed for pc's to replace the bios, maybe there's a way to set it in EFI.
bb

dankephoto's picture
Offline
Last seen: 9 months 1 week ago
Joined: Dec 20 2003 - 10:38
Posts: 1899
FYI, QuickSilver does KB power-on

Just another data point . . .

dan k

Offline
Last seen: 7 years 1 month ago
Joined: Feb 23 2005 - 05:27
Posts: 233
Ok, roundup dv imac yes

Ok,
roundup

dv imac yes

ibook g4 no

ibook dual usb no

clamshell ?

any other g4's?

dankephoto's picture
Offline
Last seen: 9 months 1 week ago
Joined: Dec 20 2003 - 10:38
Posts: 1899
more data . . .

as just tested:

400MHz DV iMac - yes, 600MHz iMac - no
400/500 TiBook - yes, DVI TiBook - no
iBooks of all flavors - no

dan k

Offline
Last seen: 1 year 3 months ago
Joined: Dec 20 2003 - 10:38
Posts: 69
I haven't had a chance to sit

I haven't had a chance to sit down with the EFI docs (my newest Intel stuff is at least a year old) but I'd imagine that it at least supports wake-on-LAN.

moosemanmoo's picture
Offline
Last seen: 9 years 3 months ago
Joined: Aug 17 2004 - 15:24
Posts: 686
When I had my Lombard hooked

When I had my Lombard hooked up to my Rev B iMac's keyboard because I shipped the keyboard off to be replaced, the keyboard's power button didn't turn on the computer. Of course, this is all from memory, and I don't have that keyboard with me.

eeun's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 year 1 day ago
Joined: Dec 19 2003 - 17:34
Posts: 1895
Unless it's already known whe

Unless it's already known whether USB power is controllable through EFI, perhaps one starting point would be to see if the Mini supplies 5V to USB when powered off.

Log in or register to post comments