Should we use the Sleep/Stand By mode? (1 Viewer)

[Joseph S]

Macs don't hibernate they get some "Deep Sleep" it has been around since at least my Dual G4 running OS 9 bought in 2000. Some PCI cards won't support it, but if it works... Silence and easy awakening just like "Sleep." Though my new Mac mini boots in less time than it takes my PC to Hibernate.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

You know, it's a shame that in 2006 we are still
talking about things like hibernation.

I remember 4-5 years ago I was reading about a
new chip Motorola was working on that would enable
computers to boot up instantly.

In fact, I shouldn't be using the words "boot up,"
because this chip that takes a flash picture of your
system before shutdown would result in a "instant on"
at power-up.

How many of us have dreamed of hitting the power
button and BAM!...computer is on and ready to go!

That technology was promised years ago to be ready
by today. It's sort of odd that there has been no
talk of such a memory chip being available.

What happened Motorola?

 

[Francois Caron]

What happened? Probably lack of demand and/or interest. Although the technology does exist for instant-boot, you need to factor in the costs of re-engineering the computer, adding in the necessary support software and drivers to all operating systems, manufacturing, distribution, marketing...

If today's computer can boot up in under two minutes, and if their owners leave it on all the time afterwards, the need for instant-boot kinds diminishes.

By any chance is your computer connected to the car's engine computer?

 

[JasonWW]

There are solid state harddrives that can boot very quick, but the RAM needed is so expensive. I've seen small ones for around $2000, but there's no way they are going to be cost effective any time soon.

There are OBDII adapters that can interface the PC with a cars computer, but I don't use one. I don't have much use for it.

 

[Chris Bardon]

I've had problems in the past with hibernating desktops, so I just leave mine on all the time. The monitor gets turned off when I'm not using it, but otherwise the computer is probably just on and waiting. The monitor is the largest power draw, so to just keep the fans etc on can't cost that much, can it?



You're right, I DO miss the Commodore 64

 

[JasonWW]

Yea, but you still had to wait for the 5 1/4" floppy to load. Or else you had to wait for the tape cassette. Still, I liked that game Jumpman.

 

[MarkHastings]

Interesting read. I've always wondered if I was doing the right thing. I used to turn off my PC all the time, but I finally used the power save.

I don't put my PC to sleep, I just walk away and let the power settings take effect - I have it set to turn the monitor off after 15 minutes, then I have the hard discs turn off after about half an hour.

Does that sound effective enough? It only takes about 5-10 seconds to spin back up once I move the mouse, which is prefect for running into my computer room to check email.

I use the computer quickly in the morning, then I'm on almost every night, and I never leave stuff open, so I don't need any sort of hibernation. Does it sound like I'm using things ok?

 

[Ken Chan]

If it ain't broke....

Do the fans turn off? When the computer is asleep, it should be inaudible. Otherwise, what's the point? At least for me.

 

[JasonWW]

MarkHastings, it sounds like you are using a less intensive form of sleep which sounds like S1. The CPU and fans are still running. There's nothing wrong with that. Any of the suspend or standby modes S1-S3 should ideally be used with a UPS just in case the power goes out you won't loose data. In a sense the PC is still on and running so sudden power failure is still a problem and can corrupt files. I'm using an UPS on my home PC so I'm not really worried about using S1-S3, but since it doesn't turn the fans off I don't really care for it. Maybe a newer mobo with fan control settings in the BIOS would turn them off, but not mine. So I started using S4 (hibernation). It takes longer for it to turn off, but it comes back on quicker, plus it saves any folders, documents or webpages that were on the desktop. It's great if your in the middle of multitasking a lot of things. You can leave and come right back to were you were. You can't do that with a regular shutdown and bootup.

 

[MarkHastings]

I'm not worried about data loss because I close everything out when I leave my computer.

I just noticed that I also have "System Standby" set to 3 hours for when I go to work (and at night), but from your response, that still leaves the fans on?

 

[JasonWW]

You should worry about data loss. Having the power go off suddenly can corrupt the Operating Sysytem. XP has copies of critical files in case they get damamged, but still you could end up having to reinstall the OS if the damage is severe enough. Everyone should use a UPS if possible. It will properly shut down the system if your not there to do it. At least I think it can. The UPS uses a USB or serial connector to communicate, but since standby basically doesn't allow the computer to continue working it may not be able to communicate. Hmmm, I'll have to look into that.

When I set my home PC to "System Standby" the fans stay on. I think it may vary from one PC to the other though. Just set the time to 1 minute and then wait and see what it does.

 

[Todd H]

I use sleep on my Intel iMac all the time. So far I've had no problems. Should I be worried? I always make sure to close any program before I sleep.

 

[JasonWW]

Do you close the OS? That's the data that matters.

Anytime a PC is using power to maintain data such as in sleep, standby, S1, S2 or S3 and that power is suddenly removed, the OS as well as data can be corrupted. That's just the basic nature of the thing no matter what type or brand of computer is being used. PC's are designed to be shut down properly. Data in RAM is written to the HDD and everything is saved and remembered for the next session. Windows 2000 and especially XP are getting better at not being corrupted due to power loss. XP with the HDD formatted in NTFS is the best bet to prevent data loss due to power outage, but you should still get a UPS. There's been a few times that I was working on the computer and the power went out. The house got dark, but the PC kept right on working. I then shut it down properly. They will also protect you from brownouts. That can really screw with you and even damage your hardware.

All in all, I prefer to use hibernation (S4) as it allows me to turn the PC completely off. I don't have to worry about the power going off and doing any harm to my OS. Having to do a fresh install sucks.

My brother doesn't use a UPS and he's had the power go out on his system a few times. He eventually got corruption to the OS (XP) which caused blue screens. So far I haven't had that problem.

 

[MarkHastings]

I'll try hibernation mode and see what happens.

Do you guys manual put it into this mode? or do you use the idle setting and have it go into that mode after a certain amount of time?

I ask because, when it does go into that mode, should I be around to make sure nothing bad happens? or is it fine to let it do it's thing while I'm not near it?

 

[JasonWW]

On XP, I'm not sure if it can be set to go into hibernation at a later time. Why would you need it too? I just click Start/Turn Off Computer and when the little window opens I hold down the shift key. You will see that the Standby option then changes to Hibernation. I then click it and the PC turns off.