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How often do you restart macOS?
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I don't see the point. They use very little energy when not actively being used and it is much quicker to turn the screen back on and get working.
Restart on update and when system feels sluggish to clear possible memory leaks
Sleep when not using because why not. Only single key press. Save 7w, constant SSD write, but most importantly keep the fan from blowing dust into the mini constantly. I'm not looking forward to having to open that thing up to clean it
I never turn off the monitor because the monitor is a USB hub for peripherals, power usage difference between standby and off is 0.1w, and the off button is in a stupid place.
Sleep when not using because why not. Only single key press. Save 7w, constant SSD write, but most importantly keep the fan from blowing dust into the mini constantly. I'm not looking forward to having to open that thing up to clean it
I never turn off the monitor because the monitor is a USB hub for peripherals, power usage difference between standby and off is 0.1w, and the off button is in a stupid place.
As you use the system macOS will commit things to a RAM cache to speed up repeat actions. For example if you're browsing folders of images in the Finder the system will commit the thumbnails to a cache in RAM to more quickly bring up the thumbnails if you navigate back to that folder. The more folders you browse, the more RAM the Finder will consume storing thumbnails.
The key thing to keep in mind is that the cache will only grow to a certain point as available RAM allows it. If you launch a memory-intensive program and that RAM space is suddenly needed then the system will automatically purge those cached items from memory to free up memory. It will also purge its cache from memory if it just hasn't been used. Going back to the photo thumbnail example, if you don't go back to that folder for several hours then the system will those thumbnails from cache on its own and the Finder's memory footprint will shrink back down. Rebooting speeds this process up - everything held in memory cache gets purged on a fresh restart. There really isn't a value in doing this for that purpose though since, again the system will clear out its memory cache as needed based on need or if it hits the available RAM limit.
There used to be a time when certain apps installed deep level components or plugins/extensions into the system that required a restart for everything to properly activate. Today macOS is so heavily sandboxed that most apps can do what they need to do through user space daemons that can activate on the fly. This both makes the apps easier to uninstall, keeps apps separate from the core system, and creates a better user experience by moving system integration functions into higher level processes that don't require a reboot.
There is display sleep and then there is sleeping the computer. Display sleep occurs when the monitor shuts off after a period of time. That can be set by the OS.
Computer sleep is when the computer itself goes in to sleep mode, reducing power and becoming inactive while being awake just enough to wake up when you press a key or move the mouse (or trackpad). There is also a deeper sleep called hibernation which mainly PCs use but Macs can enter. That is an extended and even lower state of sleep for a computer that will remain on but will not be used for a long period. It uses even less power. Laptops Macs can enter that state when close to or after depleting their internal battery while already in sleep mode.
With display sleep as I mentioned above, Macs can sleep the monitor. But they remain on and drawing full power while the screen is off. That is how I use my MacPro and Mac Minis. Screensaver kicks in after 30 mins of non-use, displays sleep (switch off) after one hour. But the Mac remains on at full power.
You are simply turning the monitor off. Your Mac might eventually sleep on its own, but you'd have to check the settings to see how it's set.
Note, there are some Mac displays that by pressing the button will turn off AND cause the Mac to sleep. If you have one of those displays then doing this can also be controlled by the Settings app.
Oh…regardless of settings, you can force display sleep if you want (leaving the Mac on at full power) by pressing CMD+OPTN+Eject.
For Mojave and later I restart when it kernel panics (usually why) / crashes / an update or install forces me to.
For my High Sierra system - only if the power goes out. It's gone for 2+ years with no restarts required before.
For my High Sierra system - only if the power goes out. It's gone for 2+ years with no restarts required before.
I mainly restart when updates have been applied. Albeit, today, I did restart my Mac Mini. Browsing the internet seemed a tad bit slow, yet Speed Net was showing the speeds that I pay for...
A hot reboot (restart) may be cleaning up some caches and the sort,
a cold reboot (shut down and start up) is not good for any electronic device,
but still better than dropping those (LOL).
In general, I second those who leave it to update reboots.
;JOOP!
since 2001 when I home computed, every night I turn off the Mac Mini while the MBA gets that automatically.
I leave the iPad and MacBook Air 2010 (power button dnw)on all the time.
therefore, everyday since early 2001 I heard that Mac chime!
I leave the iPad and MacBook Air 2010 (power button dnw)on all the time.
therefore, everyday since early 2001 I heard that Mac chime!
more often on my M1 mac compared to my Intel macs. my maxed out M1 mba starts acting weird every now and then and either it reboots it self or I do it. Everything works as it should otherwise, but I can't help to feel that the M-plattform (or Sonoma) are a bit more sensitive to my sometimes quite taxing usage patterns (lots of browser tabs and lots of apps running)...
Every day. I shut it down each night. It wakes up too easily for slightest movement. I have the mouse and keyboard on a desk that moves. So the slightest movement kicks it back on. Which is annoying.
Ironic. I just had to restart my MacBook Air M1, because the webcam didn't work. Got a black picture.
Now after the restart it's working again.
The last time I restarted was today.
My screensaver on my MacPro is a clock (Fliqlo). So, sometimes I will intentionally bump the mouse so the screensaver eventually kicks in.
Thanks mate for the top info and tips.
Right now I simply close the lid on my laptop when I know I won't use it for some time. I thought this would put it into full sleep mode and not just the monitor.
Unfortunately, my Mac isn't my daily machine so ideally I want it to go into to full sleep mode after 30 minutes. How would I do this please?
If you are closing the lid on a laptop then the default should be to sleep. My explanation was based on the fact that you mentioned turning off your display. So, I assumed that you were using a desktop.
You can use a laptop in clamshell mode, which keeps it on when you shut the lid. But that's usually if you have a laptop connected to external monitors, a keyboard and a mouse (or trackpad, etc). To do that, you'd have had to specifically go in and change the settings so you'd know if you did that already.
Thanks again eyoungren. I checked my settings but for some reason couldn't find the sleep settings anywhere other than in Corners, where you have the option to sleep. Where can I find these settings?
I just want to make sure they're correct for when I close the lid.
Take a look here. My work M2 Mac is off right now so I had to Google it.
Sleep settings in Sonoma OS
I just did the hunt myself, which is how I found this thread. I think what you're looking for is actually with the Lock Screen settings. It's split into two setttings, neither of which contain the word "sleep": "Turn display off on xxx when inactive", where xxx is either "battery" or "power...
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