sleep, hibernate or shutdown?

ok, i want to know what the difference is between the three, and which one would be most suitable for my purpose.

i commute 4 hrs a day to and from work, every day. i have to change train lines a little over half-way, and usually i hibernate while i wait for my second train (never more than 10 min).

my question is whether sleep is a better option? and is shut down really for only longer periods? i normally take my battery out when i'm at work and just use the AC cable, can i hibernate/sleep without the battery installed on the trains?

 

you can hibernate without the battery but for sleep you need a power source

For the train you could use sleep no problem, it comes back faster

Shut down is for when the computer does not perform like it used too, about 1 time/week on Vista for my personal experiance

 

Sleep: System goes into a low power mode with applications are still in RAM so that you can restart immediately. This mode uses some power. If you remove the battery before plugging in the mains power you will lose the memory contents. It is OK for leaving a computer on a desk but I would never travel with a sleeping computer: Events may cause the computer to wake from sleep and then overheat in the bag.

Hibernate: The memory contents are dumped into a file on the hard disk and then the computer is turned off. It uses no power. The resume process may take around a minute (it depends on how much RAM you have) but you then have all the applications open where you left off.

Shutdown: Close all applications, close Windows, turn off computer. You will then need to go through the full boot and application process to restart.

I've had several problems with sleep over the years (eg drivers not waking up properly) and usually use hibernation. However, with 3GB RAM on board shutting down seems to take a minute or two. If you know that sleep is robust and gives no problem and it is only for a few minutes then you might want to use sleep while changing trains.

John

 

That's funny. For me, it's the other way around; I have more problems with hibernation than sleep.

 

I never use sleep or hibernation. Always shutdown...I guess it's because my start up time is fast. ;o

 

so what is your start up time then?

 

35-40 seconds

 

Hibernation is a tad faster. Gives the impression of an even faster system

 

I like sleep. Resume to a fully working desktop-5-7secs ish. Never had a problem using sleep, plus it seems to fix an annoying error with my 8600mGT card stuttering.

 

Hibernation boot speed depends what you have cache'd in your RAM and also RAM size which also relates to how many programs/process you had on before you hibernate

 

your best bet would be to use Hibernate because sleep uses power

 

with me vista SP1 when i put my laptop to sleep after a while maybe 10-15 min. it goes into hibernation . don't know if this is a SP1 thing.????????????

 

^ BlackLight, if you go into the Power menu in the Control Panel you can control whether your computer automatically Hibernates after so long or whether it doesn't. Each power plan you have on your computer can be set any way. For instance, you might want your laptop to go from sleep to hibernation when you are on battery power, but to stay in sleep mode if it is plugged in, and you can make that selection.


I have not traveled with my laptop yet, so I always leave it in sleep mode and shut it down every so often. My question is, how long is it safe to leave a computer in hibernation mode? Are there are any potential downfalls to extended hibernation? At what point, if any, is shutting down the recommended procedure? In my laptop's documentation, it made shutting down almost seem like a last resort.

 

With Vista there is a mode called Hybrid Sleep. It is a combination of Hibernate and Sleep. It creates a hibernate file then goes to sleep. If the power drops completely, as the machine powers back on it thinks it is coming back from hibernation.

Gary

 

I just use sleep. I actually can't remember the last time I rebooted. Hibernation takes to long to commence. I just like to press a button and shut the lid pick up and go. With hibernation you have to sit there and wait for it to hibernate before you move it.

 

Hibernation take way way too long for me. Sleep is the way to go. Then i'll reboot whenever I feel like it. Current uptime is 334 hours

 

Wowzers!