MacBook-Type Instant On & Instant WiFi - Any Win7 Machines able to do this?

Hi everyone,

This may not be anything new for Mac users, but I'm really missing true instant on capabilities on my Windows notebooks. Currently using (mainly) a Thinkpad X200, which *is* instant-on from standby (i.e. the desktop is pretty much there when I open it), but takes between 5 and 30 seconds (depending on the network and, apparently, its mood) to connect to WiFi. When opening and closing the device a lot over the course of the day, this gets annoying, and I tend to hesitate before closing the laptop, instead just leaving it running until I need it again.

What I'm looking for: Macbook Air: Instant On - YouTube

Open the device, and as soon as the screen is on, WiFi is connected and ready to go... screen on, click a link, bam, page is loaded.


The only videos of this type I've found for Windows machines mostly don't show how fast WiFi connects...

Are Ultrabooks similarly fast in this regard? Or maybe it's just a matter of swapping out the WiFi card... currently using an Intel 5100AGN.


I'd appreciate any thoughts on the matter

 

My laptop with Windows 7 connects to the Wifi instantly after resuming from sleep.

 

The Vaio FZ from your signature? Which WiFi card is installed? Are there any Sony-customized power optimization drivers?

 

Yeah, it's the Vaio FZ with the Intel 4965 AGN Wifi card. The Wifi card driver is the latest version available from Intel, and there are no custom power settings.

 

All my machines do... but I don't use any of that OEM crap. Pure Windows 7 with Windows managing the network connections is the best. No slowdowns with software suites and all that extraneous mess. Matter of fact, pretty much immediately after I open my Vostro's lid it's ready to go... same with the Vaio. I have the Intel Wireless 1030 in the Vostro and Atheros AR9285 in the Vaio, and not a single issue with either.

 

My HP dv6-6b21he with the Intel Wireless N 1030 comes up immediately as well. It's the first new laptop in my house in over three years, and also the first that I've had that reconnects immediately from sleep. This is with the OEM software too.

 

A word of warning, on some laptops you can only use a few WLAN cards that's on a whitelist in the BIOS.
Thinkpads and HP's proffesional line works like this, although I can't say if it's like this on your model.
There are workarounds, like using a modded BIOS, or flashing the WLAN card with another firmware.

 

Macs aren't "instant on." If you actually shut down a Mac, it will take some time to boot - the boot process may be quicker than Windows, but on a rotational HDD, it's marginal. The difference is that Macs generally don't shut down/hiberante. I beleive they use a different sleep standard, that's all.

 

As said before, pretty much any SSD-equipped modern (i.e. Sandy Bridge) notebook with hardware in the same class as the Air will resume and be responsive immediately in Windows, especially if you're not using third-party wireless managers (though some can actually speed it up further by keeping the LAN connection up even if the rest of the machine is asleep). Such a notebook with a decent SSD and short BIOS will also boot Windows 7 faster than the Air boots OS X.