[dviant]

Recently got a 20" Cinema Display to use with my 15" 1ghz AlBook. Was doing a bunch of freelance stuff right when I got it so the 'book was plugged in clamshell mode and essentially functioned as a desktop for a few weeks. Now that things have died down, I've found myself disconnecting it from the display to go sit on the couch quite often lately.

Apple's documentation isn't exactly clear if it's OK to "hotswap" a Cinema Display. So far I've just been putting the PB to sleep when I connect/disconnect to the monitor (which is still plugged in to the electrical socket). Is that OK? What is the proper to way to connect/disconnect? Is there any risk of damaging anything the way I'm doing it?

[dviant]

Here's were some of my confusion stems from.

Found this in the Cinema Display User Guide under "Setting Up Your Display"...

Setting Up Your Display Follow the steps below to set up your display with Power Mac G4, Power Mac G5, or PowerBook computers with DVI ports. 1 Turn off your computer and leave it plugged into a grounded power outlet. 2 Remove any protective film from the display and power adapter. 3 Plug the DC power cord from the display into the display’s power adapter. The DC plug can be inserted into the power adapter either way. 4 Plug the AC cord into the display’s power adapter and into a grounded power outlet. 5 Connect the DVI, USB, and FireWire cables from the display to the corresponding ports on your computer. 6 Press the power button on your computer to turn it on. The display turns onautomatically when you turn on your computer.

But then this is the support article on running with Powerbook display closed...

Using your PowerBook G4 with the display closed If you use an external display or projector with any PowerBook G4 or PowerBook (FireWire), you can close the display and still use the computer. Here's how. (If you want to do the same thing with a Bluetooth USB mouse and keyboard, see this article.) Make sure the computer is plugged in to an outlet using the AC power adapter. 1 Close the PowerBook's display. The PowerBook will go to sleep. 2 Connect the external monitor. 3 Turn on the external monitor. 4 Connect an external Apple USB keyboard and mouse. The PowerBook will wake from sleep. If you have an Apple display that also has a USB cable, connecting this cable will also wake up the PowerBook.

[NosferaDrew]

I hotswap my 23" all the time between my G5 and my PC gaming machine.
Never had a problem.

[dviant]

So do you *really* hot swap em? With both the display and the G5/PC on? Or do you put them to sleep first?