Solved Blackout

[Computer0304]

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?

 

[Computer0304]

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

 

[Computer0304]

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?

 

[whs]

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

 

[DustSailor]

Mate this is helpful for you: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/778-power-plan-settings-change.html

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

 

[Computer0304]

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?

 

[DustSailor]

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.

 

[Computer0304]

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.

 

[Computer0304]

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?

 

[whs]

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

 

[DustSailor]

Hybrid sleep is on by default. It's description is in that tutorial, the link of which I posted.

When I am not using my systems. I turn them completely off.

Considered 'best practice'.

MS recommends only shutting down when you will not be using your computer for long periods of time, such as longer than a day or so. I think the same thing, so I use sleep (not hybrid sleep) for my laptop.

 

[Computer0304]

Ok but i still don't know why hibernate is on for me since the turtorial says that hibernate needs to be on too. I'll mark this solved and check later when I get home.

 

[whs]

What is so difficult about shutting everything off when the PC is not in use. Why make a rocket science out of it.

 

[DustSailor]

Ok but i still don't know why hibernate is on for me since the turtorial says that hibernate needs to be on too. I'll mark this solved and check later when I get home.

Because Hybrid uses Hibernate AND Sleep (same time). You can also choose Hibernate Or Sleep. So Hybrid, Hibernate, or sleep are all viable options.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Sleep-and-hibernation-frequently-asked-questions

 

[DustSailor]

According to the article, it recommends hibernate (not hybrid sleep) for laptops. I prefer normal sleep. I think it is faster in resuming from an inactive state. I do not like hibernate because it isn't helpful for the way I do things, but it may be for someone else.

Basically, hybrid sleep and normal sleep use a very small amount of power, but hibernate uses no power.

If a computer gets shut off accidentally, hybrid sleep or hibernate will have open documents saved to the disk, but normal sleep would lose all opened documents (except the ones the program saved automatically, which you can then restore). I use normal sleep because it is fast resuming, and I save everything before sleeping.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I never use sleep. I have hibernate activated on my desktop because my UPS needs it to "shut down" my computer without the loss of any work in progress when there is a power outage. I normally shut down my computer and kill the power switch on the PSU when I'm going to be gone more than a day. Otherwise, the computer is on 24/7.

 

[Computer0304]

What is so difficult about shutting everything off when the PC is not in use. Why make a rocket science out of it.

I was just wondering.

 

[Layback Bear]

What is so difficult about shutting everything off when the PC is not in use. Why make a rocket science out of it.

Todays computers boot in just a few seconds. In my mind their is really no need for Sleep or Hibernation.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

What is so difficult about shutting everything off when the PC is not in use. Why make a rocket science out of it.

Todays computers boot in just a few seconds. In my mind their is really no need for Sleep or Hibernation.

Then there is my desktop. It takes longer to boot because it also has to boot up a pokey BIOS for the HBA card. I don't worry about it (much) since I run the machine 24/7.