I agree with you that is good practice and I try to follow it except in the case of my mouse and my sleeping PowerBook 3400. However, in all my years of using Macs I've never had this happen even when forgetting to shutdown. Anyone else ever burned out an ADB port by not shutting down prior to connecting something?
-tom
I haven't, but it is definitely possible. Eric's advice is good advice to follow!
ADB (as well as the other Mac peripheral connections) are designed so that the ground shield makes contact before the rest of the pins. That's supposed to help minimize risk of damage to the circuit, but it's not foolproof.
On desktop Macs, the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) remains powered even while the Mac is sleeping. That explains why desktops can be woken up by tapping any key on the keyboard, etc. Swapping ADB devices while the Mac is sleeping can be especially dangerous, since the bus is still hot.
PowerBooks, because of their power-conscious design, shut off power to the ADB port while sleeping. They reset the port when they wake up, and handle any devices that are connected. (That explains why a mouse plugged into a sleeping PowerBook will function normally when the 'Book wakes up, but doesn't work right if the same is done on a desktop.) The line that the Mac uses for soft power remains active, but there is no complete circuit to draw power off it. But this is why a PowerBook can also be woken from sleep by using an external keyboard - pressing the power key on the keyboard connects the soft power line to ground, and powers up the sleeping 'Book. Of course, that only works on PowerBooks that support soft power. Is that all of them?
Peace, Drew --
Author of ClassicStumbler email: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> web: <http://www.alksoft.com/>
Visit the PowerBook 5300 FAQ! <http://www.alksoft.com/5300_FAQ/>
-- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
