What is the diference between "Standby,Suspend & Hi

[michaelj]

Please could someone explain what the differences are between the above three modes.

One concern I have is whether it can damage the hard drive if the laptop is transported without shutting down completely. I typically go on journeys lasting 1hr, traveling between appointments.

It is always nice to simply close the lid at the end of one appointment and then open it at the next, and have the laptop ready to go within seconds.

It shows how much I know that I need to ask you guys if closing the lid means putting the laptop in "Standby" mode?
Mike

[johnson]

About closing the lid, you have the option of your TP do to do nothing, put it in standby, or hibernate. To get to this option, go to Start > Control Panel > Power Options > Advanced. It should be in the Battery MaxiMiser wizard also.


From Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/te ... by1127.asp

Hibernation is just short of a complete shutdown. When a PC goes into hibernation, Windows saves your desktop state with all open files and documents before powering down your computer. You don’t need to save and close each document before you put your PC into hibernation. To start working again, simply press the power button and logon normally. Your computer starts more quickly because it skips steps such as cache cleanup. When Windows brings your PC out of hibernation, you'll find your documents and files open on your desktop exactly as you left them.

Hibernate is a fast way to save your work when you want to go home at night. The next morning, you can resume exactly where you left off. You can leave applications running, documents open, and browser pages open. They are available for you to start working when you log on. Without hibernation, when you restart the computer, it could take several minutes to reopen all your applications, documents, and pages, not to mention remembering what you had open last time you were working.

Standby does not automatically save your data like Hibernation before powering down your PC. You should save your documents before putting the computer on Standby. From a user’s point of view, Standby can be compared to a screensaver that starts after 5 minutes or so. The difference is that screensavers don’t reduce noise or save energy. A screensaver doesn’t extend battery life on your laptop—Standby does.

Waking a computer from Standby is much quicker than turning on and logging onto a computer that has been shut down. On a desktop PC, Standby provides the closest thing to OnNow, a feature that can make your PC turn on as quickly as your TV. How quickly your system powers down into Standby mode is up to you. You can set those times in the Windows Control Panel, under Power Options.

Another advantage of Standby is quieter operation on your laptop or desktop. For example, if your PC is idle for a period while you answer a phone call, Standby can reduce noise by turning off cooling fans and spinning drives, but it keeps your PC at the ready for you to continue working, unlike Hibernation which puts your PC into a deeper sleep that takes longer to wake from.

[glgermain]

I think standby and suspend are the same. The screen goes off but the computer is still on, and your setup is saved in memory. I'm not sure whether the hard drive is parked or not. I use standby when I want to save some battery power or screen burn for a few minutes while I'm not using the computer.

If I'm going to transport the computer, I use hibernate, which copies everything in ram to the hard disk and shuts off the computer completely. It hibernates and wakes up a lot faster than shutdown and restart. Hibernate works great on my T23.

[Elhabash]

Standby / Suspend does not dump the memory on the harddrive, but the harddrive is safe, since it parks the head every time it is not in use. It won't be used when in standby, so it's safe for transporting. If you keep tha computer off for just a few hours and don't mind the minimal energy drain, Suspend is nice.

My Comp sets to standby when I close the lid, so I can resume whatever I did after getting in the train very quickly. If I know I won't turn on the computer in the next few hours, I hibernate, and after gaming I shut down to "clean up" the memory and temp folders.