Question about "Hibernate" vs "Standby"

[Albis]

I've heard it's not good to move your laptop around when it is in standby but some people say it is okay to do so with hibernate. Which one is better to use?

Hibernate seems to be really good to me so far b/c I can travel with it or walk to the library without having to restart up my laptop.

 

[jaykleg]

I know of no reason why you wouldn't be able to move a notebook around while it was in either standby or hibernation. However, the computer will continue to use a little power for keeping memory (and, depending upon the type of standby, some other components) live when in standby. If the system might be in standby long enough to drain the battery at this reduced use rate, then it's best to shut down or hibernate.

Some people remove batteries from notebooks when transporting them. Obviously, you don't want to remove the battery from a system that's in standby.

 

[Confused]

Hibernate writes the contents of RAM to the hard drive and turns off everything.

Standby turns off screen, hdd, cpu etc, but uses a tiny bit of power to keep the data in memory.


Standby starts up quicker, but if the power is disrupted, you need to start from scratch again. With hibernate, you can remove all power (including taking the battery out) and it will be fine 🙂


I think people say don't use standby as the small amount of electricity used to power the memory creates heat in the battery plus heat from the memory, so if you're putting it in a bag for a long time it's best to use hibernate.


Confused

 

[jaykleg]

Oh yeah, you're right about the heat, Confused. I had a Dell notebook that actually got very hot when placed in its bag while in standby. The cooling fan would even run! Not good.

 

[shortylickens]

Standby is nice for a desktop at home if you are trying to save on your electricity bill. Also good for big companies if they are trying to use less juice.