Difference Between Standby & Hibernate

Repa
Site Admin
User is Online



Joined: 26 Nov 2006
Posts: 1843
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:40 pm Post subject: What is the difference between Standby and Hibernate? · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sheila asked some questions about printing from webpages and about the difference in Standby and Hibernate. Thought I would share this with everyone in case others might have similar questions:


Sheila wrote:
Yesterday when I read your reply to my questions in the Computer Forum. I printed them out. . Well rolling my eyes might not be the best smiley for this one. Anyway it kept printing the pages and I kept stopping it or trying. I finally got it to stop.

The best way to print something out from one of the posts without getting all of the other posts on the webpage too is to copy what you want from the post of interest, paste it into a Word document, and print the Word document.

I do have one question about stand by with my computer. I don't think it's always good to shut down and restart everyday? My thoughts, I think it's harder on the hard drive but not sure? I'm a little confused as the difference between standby and hibernation. I remember at one time after a period of time my friend had this configured to go into I think standby but I'm not sure how to do this or if I should.

Sheila, there are differing opinions about whether or not to turn your computer off. I do, others don't.

The difference between Standby and Hibernation is as follows:

Standby: The Standby feature turns off the monitor and hard disks to reduce battery power consumption. When you bring the computer out of standby, your desktop appears exactly as you left it. You might want to save your work before putting your computer on standby. While on standby, information in computer memory is not saved on your hard disk. If there is an interruption in power, information in memory is lost.

Hibernation: The Hibernate feature turns off your monitor and hard disk, saves everything in memory on disk, and turns off the computer. When you restart the computer, your desktop is restored exactly as you left it.


_________________
Repa


Older than dirt!

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

novice57
Site Admin
User is Offline



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 390
Location: Nebraska

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:52 pm Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is one minor glitch with the hibernate feature in XP. Occasionally, the files that are copied back to memory are not erased from the hard drive. This creates a file that is equal in size to the system RAM that can't be reused because of timestamp differences. If you find your hard drive space being used at an unusually fast rate you might check into the size of the hiberfil,sys file. If it contains any data while the computer is running it should be deleted. The system will produce another when it goes into hibernate again. This should also be looked at if the system doesn't recover properly from hibernation. The problem isn't critical and won't interfere with your system operation beyond eating up space and causing a slow recovery from hibernation, so don't refrain from using the feature because of it. Just be aware of the fix and use it if necessary.
_________________
"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before."

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sheila
Moderator
User is Offline



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 2591


Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:56 pm Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks again Repa....

Its something that goes through my mind at time so I ask. What do you other do? Or which way do you think is the best. I sometimes get nagged that my computer is on. ....


_________________

"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” ...
"Henry Drummond"

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email · WWW



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rike
Site Admin
User is Offline



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 864
Location: WA, AZ

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:40 am Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sheila, here is what I do usually: I turn my computer on whenever I first get to it during the day. I then leave it on for the rest of the day since I will be in and out. When I go to bed at night, I turn it off.
Sometimes I will leave it on at night to do a virus or adware check, but most of those are scheduled during times when I'm on the computer.
I think you can do whatever suits you best.

Rike
_________________
Rike


"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once."
John Archibald Wheeler -

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email · WWW



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Repa
Site Admin
User is Online



Joined: 26 Nov 2006
Posts: 1843
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:20 am Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I do what Rike does, Sheila. The computer is on from the time I wake up until I go to bed. It's really up to you what you want to do.

The argument for leaving your computer on all the time is that turning it on and off somehow stresses the computer's components. But, if that were true, then machines would be failing all the time, but they aren't. You don't leave your TV or radio on 24hrs per day, do you? The agrument for turning it off is economical - perhaps as much as $200 per year in savings on your electric bill.

You can read a number of articles on this subject by googling the following phrase:

"should I turn my computer off or leave it on"
_________________
Repa


Older than dirt!

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sheila
Moderator
User is Offline



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 2591


Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:07 pm Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Everyone for your input.

Keith....I must have been writing my post when you posted so I didn't notice it until now.

Rike and Repa...Thank you both as well...

My concerns about shuting down each time I leave my computer seems unnecessary if I'm going to use it in an hour or two. Also the last two times I needed a repair it was my hard drive so this got me thinking about Standby or Hibernation instead of shutting it down each time I leave it for a couple of hours.

Rike...You got me thinking about the scheduled scans. If in hibernation or standby will the scans start as scheduled? You and Repa didn't mention which you use when not on the computer. Now I have to figure our how to set this up or which one I should use?

Thanks Everyone, I have some reading to do...
_________________

"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” ...
"Henry Drummond"

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email · WWW



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Repa
Site Admin
User is Online



Joined: 26 Nov 2006
Posts: 1843
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:03 pm Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sheila, I use neither Standby or Hibernate. I leave my computer on all day long and turn it off when I go to bed. In either case - Standby or Hibernate - your hard drive is shut off. If you put it in hibernate, it is almost the same as just shutting down. If you decide to use either, it is basically for conservation of power and getting back to the same screen you had as when you left it. You definitely do not want to be turning your computer off and on every few hours. Either leave it on until you go to bed, or let it go into Standby when you leave it for awhile - your choice.

If you want to put it in standby or hibernate, right-click on your desktop and choose Properties from the popup menu that appears. Choose the Screen Saver tab. Near the bottom right of the Display Properties window will be a Power button. Select that button and it will bring up a Power Options display from which you can chose to set your system to Standby or Hibernate.
_________________
Repa


Older than dirt!

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

novice57
Site Admin
User is Offline



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 390
Location: Nebraska

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:10 pm Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you schedule scans or other tasks in the wee hours, as I do, then your system will attempt to do a lot of things at once when you wake it up. As soon as the scanning apps wake up and see what time it is they realize that they are late for work they go about a mad dash to catch up. This can result in a locked system if two apps are accessing the core files while they are being loaded back into memory. Even worse is to set the utilities to skip missed scans. No one ever gets back to do updates and scans that have been missed and a missed critical update to a virus engine could result in disaster.

I would change the schedule to reflect the new hours of operation to avoid any conflicts. Most of these can be working while you are eating lunch or fixing dinner. Also, resist the temptation to use the system while any scanning or defrag is processing.
_________________
"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before."

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

janewm
Moderator
User is Offline



Joined: 01 Dec 2006
Posts: 1377
Location: Florida

Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:11 am Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith,

That is interesting to know about the hibernation mode. I'll bet not many people know. Of course I will be careful now. I used hibernation occassionally (Spelling) but won't with this new (refurbished?) hard drive.

Jane
_________________

"If you cannot find the Truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?" Dogen



Back to top · Profile · PM · Email · WWW · MSN



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sheila
Moderator
User is Offline



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 2591


Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:43 am Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith,

Thanks for the info.
What about leaving the computer on and using the screen saver. If I have a scheduled task for my anti virus and the screen saver goes on is that alright?

Repa...thank you too as well.

I'm still deciding what to do. Today I set up for Standby, but I'm still thinking about which is the best way. I don't mind the nagging and these answers helped with that.

Thanks again,
_________________

"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” ...
"Henry Drummond"

Back to top · Profile · PM · Email · WWW



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

novice57
Site Admin
User is Offline



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 390
Location: Nebraska

Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:55 am Post subject: · Quote · Edit · Delete · IP


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modern monitors don't have the burn in problem that plagued older ones. The screensaver is mostly an entertainment feature now. It doesn't save any power, as the monitor is still working and warmed up. Monitor standby is a good economy measure and will allow you to cut back the major energy consumer of the system. The main board and it's components won't use much more energy than a small light bulb when not in use. I have a clear side case with a few "cold" lights inside to let me see the components without removing the side and this makes a very good nightlite for any nocturnal navigation through the house.

My network backup and all update functions are scheduled at night. This creates a problem if I were to shut down the different systems when I retire. I may not need the entire network to be up, but the schedule configuration would be a nightmare.

If one is feeling guilty about the power usage, I suggest that you volunteer your idle system time and resources to research facilities that can safely network your system into their "super computer". The network only uses your system after it has been idle for a set number of minutes and immediately disconnects when it senses local processes that ask for processor time. You decide how much drive space that you want to dedicate to the project and there is never an issue with compatibility. The networks use Unix or Linux and can't even see the NTFS files on your system.

The wasted resources and bandwidth available in this country could be the needed factor in curing cancer, or any other number of ills that face our society. I remember when I lived in a small community that had it's own phone system and used a T1 connection to Ma Bell's backbone. I now have more bandwidth and computing resources than that for my home network that is largely wasted through both the day and night. I hope that this can be utilized for some good.