Leaving USB / devices plugged in to MBP

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

Leaving USB / devices plugged in to MBP

Can i leave my USB devices plugged into my MacBook Pro for, well, as long as I want, over a period of days.weeks.months etc?

Like do I have to unplugg them after using, o can i just leave them plugged in for the whole time that my macbook pro is just sitting in the home studio..

I have:

.MacBook Pro

.D-Link USB hub - which has my external HD always connected to it, + 2 MIDI keyboard, Maschine, (but i unplug these from the hub when not using anyway)
.Lexicon Alpha USB Audio Interface
. mini-displayport to DVI (going to my DELL monitor).

Can i leave these just plugged into my macbook after im finished in the studio, and then turn the MBP off, leaving them plugged in, and turning back on, etc..? I’m curious, as i always use these, so would like to know if it is safe.

Ta

2

Should be fine, although you may want to shut down your MBP rather than sleep, since sleep usually continues to power the USB ports.

3

Okay. Yeah I will just shut the macbook down when I’m finished. Is it okay to just turn the power off at the wall first, and then shut the macbook down, yes?

4

I NEVER unplug my USB equipment, except to change them.

USB ports wear, and connectivity can suffer.

5

This…^^

Also, there have been issues in OS X updates that have introduced USB problems when putting the Mac into sleep.
It has not recommended by NI to use sleep with audio devices in the past and recently there was an issue that was introduced by Apple. I see no reason not to restart the Mac.

6

Yeah, with NI/Traktor stuff this wont apply for me, as when I’ve finished with Traktor, ill always unplug and put away. This is just for when im on the studio side of things making music.

So, It’s all good then yeah?

Reason i ask, is that i have started getting sparks on the USB inputs of my MBP lately… Only with my Audio 10, and my USB hub, even my mini-displayport port, little gold sparks when i try to insert the USB… WTF is this? seems dangerous

7

Is your MBP power supply grounded?

8

I’m not sure what this means? It’s one of those eBay 25quid ones tho. Not an official Apple charger. How do i know i it is grounded or not?

9

The circular part where the plug latches onto the charger, the slot in the plug, and the longest pin on the plug should all be metal.

The cable on the right is grounded, the one on the left is not:

This is the ground point on the charger:

(slightly misleading since it points towards the plug which doesn’t have a ground connection)

10

I leave my Focusrite 2i2 always plugged and when I turn the notebook on I have to unplug it and then plug again, because if I don’t do it the sound will come like with 1/2 of the speed, is it normal??

11

Okay, so if I have a charge that has all of the above, the 3 sections in metal, THAT is grounded? And shouldn’t cause problems…?

Like I said, I’ve never have a proper apple charger, as my MacBook came with a fake one, and when that died, I realised the damn price of a new proper apple charger, £69!!! So I bought a £25 from eBay, 3 times now… So I should really just buy a proper one from apple.

Here’s a pic of the charger I’m currently using.

image.jpg
image.jpg1680×1260 194 KB

12

I think that it’s the grounding that actually CAUSES the hum, mate…

13

There are plenty of official Apple chargers on Ebay so you don’t need to pay full retail price. You should be using an 85W charger for your 15" MBP by the way, not a 60W (for 13").

14

Okay, how will I know weather a charger on eBay is apple official or not? They just all seem like knock-offs. And ah okay for starters I’ll make sure I get an 85w one then. And I’ll also make sure it looks like what you posted too..

15

It’s not a hum that in getting, it’s sparks when plugging in some of my USB devices. Tho some of the previous chargers I’ve had, have caused humming when my USB soundcard is plugged in.

I think ill just get a nice official apple charger right for my MacBook Pro, off eBay. I don’t want to be paying that full retail price for a damn charger lol.

16

This listing looks good, and the seller has a good rep score:

They don’t usually come with the extension cord/plug so you’ll need to buy one separately.

If you don’t want to ground the laptop you can use a standard figure-of-8 lead.

17

Great, cheers for that. I’ll keep an eye on those listings! Should i make sure to check on the description if the extension lead is grounded?

18

You could ask the seller to make sure, but any Apple extension lead should be grounded.

19

yes sparks are dangerous for your computer and your house. an official apple charger will fix that probably as it is designed specifically for their products. hope you get a decent priced one, good luck to you friend