Blackout

Also, one odd thing. Is my router's ethernet light for the port im using for the computer supposed to be off until i turn on my computer again?

Just turned on my computer. But I have noticed a slight increase in boot time but I'll just take that as a coincidence.

Also Im going to be away from home soon. Should I leave the computer on or put it to sleep? Also, if a computer is in sleep and the power is cut off, what would happen?

When you don't use it, turn it off. Sleep is the same as running when there is a power failure.

Mate this is helpful for you: Power Plan Settings - Change

Toward the bottom is a list of sleep/hibernate states that you can choose from depending upon preference. Also, it describes what they do.

If you leave a computer on anymore, it should have no problem during blackouts. It is generally accepted as 'not good' for it, but it is very unlikely to do any real damage. Even MS Office will auto-save documents if a blackout occurs. I recommend using hibernate or sleep to keep a computer from using a lot of power during times away. Also, your BIOS is at the perfect setting, as others have said, when it comes to keeping your computer off during a blackout.

Surge protectors are good, and don't really need to be turned off. The whole point of owning one is so that surges are negated.

Cheers

But if hybrid sleep is on, wouldn't the computer not lose data if a power failure occurs because my work would be saved in both RAM and HDD right? Also, is hybrid sleep on by default? And how come a laptop could hibernate when the battery is low? Wouldn't the laptop lose battery before it charges if you don't remember to plug it in on time? Or do laptops hibernate differently to prevent hardware damage?
Edit: Never mind I bet i dont have hybrid sleep on since I don't have hibernate on. But how come the read/write light is on right before sleeping?

Computer0304 said:

But if hybrid sleep is on, wouldn't the computer not lose data if a power failure occurs because my work would be saved in both RAM and HDD right? Also, is hybrid sleep on by default? And how come a laptop could hibernate when the battery is low? Wouldn't the laptop lose battery before it charges if you don't remember to plug it in on time? Or do laptops hibernate differently to prevent hardware damage?

Right. And yes, hybrid is on by default.

A laptop will hybrid sleep. It has some juice before it dies. If it gets too low, it will turn on automatically, and then promptly shut down. Different laptops may do different things, but I believe this is the common behavior. This will usually give you enough time to plug your computer in.

It will warn you if it is getting low on power. If you are away, it's default setting is to sleep when you are not using it to save power. That is why you shouldn't keep the laptop from sleeping if you are away via the settings.

whs said:

When you don't use it, turn it off. Sleep is the same as running when there is a power failure.

I meant that I turned off the power not the protection.

DustSailor said:

Computer0304 said:

But if hybrid sleep is on, wouldn't the computer not lose data if a power failure occurs because my work would be saved in both RAM and HDD right? Also, is hybrid sleep on by default? And how come a laptop could hibernate when the battery is low? Wouldn't the laptop lose battery before it charges if you don't remember to plug it in on time? Or do laptops hibernate differently to prevent hardware damage?

Right. And yes, hybrid is on by default.

A laptop will hybrid sleep. It has some juice before it dies. If it gets too low, it will turn on automatically, and then promptly shut down. Different laptops may do different things, but I believe this is the common behavior. This will usually give you enough time to plug your computer in.

It will warn you if it is getting low on power. If you are away, it's default setting is to sleep when you are not using it to save power. That is why you shouldn't keep the laptop from sleeping if you are away via the settings.

But how come hibernate is not on by default? Doen't hybrid sleep need hibernate to be on?

When I am not using my systems. I turn them completely off. And I have a remote switch (from Home Depot) that is on my outlet from where all my gear is being fed with electricity. That switch is on mu desk and allows me to cut all power remotely. Example:

Heath Zenith Wireless Switch Outlet-BL-6136-WH at The Home Depot