Sleep mode vs full shut down on a laptop

This has been asked before, but I did not see anything that really answered the question...

Is it ok to use sleep mode often & only do a full shut down every so often?

I know that with my laptop it pretty much shuts down (meaning I not worried about the heat.) It just makes it easier to open up the lid & go soon as it is ready. It also is MUCH simpler to close the lid (I have it set to go to sleep when I close lid) when I want to go to bed instead of clicking shut down & waiting for it to go through it's paces before I can close lid.

So, I am wondering, after going through a malware issue (already taken care of) if it's even "safe" to use the sleep mode. I think it is since each time I do & wake the computer up, my internet needs to reconnect. (Which only takes moments.)

I sure would appreciate some opinions on this. Thanks. :cool

 

Hello,
It is not a problem to put it into sleep mode(standby) when you are not using it so yeah you can put it in sleep mode at nights too I'm sure it won't cause any problems or you could shut it down because it only takes a few mins to boot up and this wouldn't be an issue.

Dacads

 

(First, I'm hoping by adding to this topic so much later than the original, that it will still be viewed & hopefully answered as if it's a new question / topic.)

My question now is still about "Sleep Mode"... but different then the one I asked below.

Is it typical for a battery to loose over 12% of it's power, while in sleep mode for only about 4 to 5 hours & about 25% in about 8 hours? Is the battery starting to go bad... or is there "that much" going on while it's in sleep mode? (Sure hope that makes sense.)

Also, I have Avast & there's an option I can schedule it to start a scan, even if it's in sleep mode. (Meaning it wakes up.) 1st, is that actually possible... while the lid is closed, which I have it prompted to go into sleep mode.

Would it "awake" my computer enough that I would need the fan not blocked, to keep from over heating?

I ask that because while I have it "awake" / on... I use a laptop cooler / fan. & When I put my computer into sleep mode, I unplug the fan.

I just need to know if I should / need to unblock the internal fan when I put the laptop into sleep mode... on the days I know the virus scan will be doing it's thing while the computer "sleeps".

Thirdly (3)... If that's true that Avast wakes the computer up to do it's scheduled scan... do you recommend it??? ... If so, then I would set it so that my sounds muted so as not to wake me (or my hubby).

I have another question, not related to this topic... so, I'll go ask it in another forum.

Thanks... you all have been so helpful in the past... & I have referred you to several friends & family :cool

 

Yep, sounds perfectly reasonable to me, that means around 20 hours operation time while unplugged, that's pretty good!

Avast can "wake" your laptop to do scans, even if the lid is down.

If you want a virus free pc, then yes, i do recommend letting Avast run the scans.

If your laptop is on, on full power or just sleep, the fan should always have a clear intake, with no obstructions, leaving it on a flat solid surface should be sufficient. Overheating can kill pc's extremely quickyl, and i'm sure you wouldnt want that!

 

Um... maybe if I never took it out of sleep mode... that's what I meant. (Is that what you mean too?)

Yes, I do have it run a scan in active mode / when I'm awake, (& can plug it in when the battery is low). Just was wondering if it's worth it to let it do the scan from sleep mode... but am worried the battery would not last... because, it's hard for me to get an hour worth of unplugged activeness... (I usually unplug it at night & don't plug it in the next day, when I'm using the computer, until I get the prompt to do so.)

Yeah, I know about that... I use a laptop cooling fan, because I can't stand when I'm trying to type & the computer gets a bit warm... & because of that, I wonder if I were to have Avast do scans while I sleep... if the computer would run it's internal fan... make sense? Thanks for your help. :cool

 

Yep

If during the night is the only time you can do a scan then yeh, why dont you plug the laptop in overnight so that it is fully charged for the next day?

The laptop will not let itself overheat, but as said, if it is restricted then there could be some problems. It's good that you use the netbook cooler, but the laptop should be fine without it overnight, unless you live in a very hot location.

 

Hi,
I have a laptop (MacBook) which goes to sleep every time I close the lid -
I also have one (an Acer with Windows XP) which once managed not to go to sleep while in a bag... I am very carefull abot the XP box now. As for the Mac, I have not looked how much power it uses when asleep, but will check and post the results. Thing is I hardly ever shut the OsX down - it goes to sleep when I close the lid.
It would also seem that your battery is on it's last legs. Standard NiMH packs are only good for 300-500 recharges.

Virus scan - I would tell the thing to disable all the software and go into as deep a sleep as it can when I close the lid.

 

I would NOT recommend disabling Anti Virus for ANY length of time!

Could cause some problems, in sleep or not.

Just cos macs don't get many viruses, unfortunatly PC's do but AV is the best to live with them.

 

Leaving your computer in sleep mode is o.k. but I would recommend at least once a week doing a full shut down and restart.

If you decide to use hibernate, even more so as the hibernation file in Windows 7, if you are using it, can build up to over a gig easily and slow you way down.

 

I have checked the MacBook 5,1( it is one year old.) The battery power went down from 64% to 56% in 8 hours. I think this is a rather dismal result... I wonder what is this rating for Acer timeline or some newer netbooks and whether you could try this sleep mode with linux.
Anybody wants to post their results? I truly think 8% or 25% of battery power gone while sleeping for 8 hours is a very bad result.

On an interesting note, I remember shutting OsX down in January when I installed an NTFS driver. This was part of the install procedure.

 

I think that is very good power consumption.

Why don't you just turn it off?

 

I sort of do... by closing the lid.

 

sort of, maybe.

But i mean completely powering down from within the OS.

 

My 2 cents.
I tell all my customers a laptop will cook itself to death given half a chance. The acer in the bag is common, If you don't witness the computer going into standby then don't ever assume it did.
Disabling the AV's wake feature, is not the same as disabling the AV. It just means it will do scans while you're using the computer. If you can live with that, thats what I would do. I hate my systems doing anything I don't specifically tell them to do. It save CPU cycles, and generally keeps the computer running faster.
The laptop cooler is a wonderful thing, good job.
The battery running down is completely normal, and even if the AV starts, runs and the battery dies, it won't cause any problems, the AV will just have to start over. However a laptops fan going to high speed (Scanning is intensive use of the system) might wake up your husband.
On a curious note, is the laptop a toshiba, or a gateway? Both have dismal battery life and running the internal fan makes it even worse. 1 hr of run time, for most standard laptops is pretty bad. If you are using the cool pad on battery, you're making it worse. Running one or two additional fans off the battery isn't helping your cause.

 

I know - but that takes an extra step - have to move the mouse over apple menu, click, then click on the shutdown menu item, then wait 10s for the box to shut down and then close the lid. Puts me to sleep just writing this down.

The other option: just close the lid...
Has not failed me on an apple computer - yet.

 

Quite honestly, if you "can't be bothered" shutting down your pc properly, then why are you complaining about battery life?

 

That made me lol! LOLLOLLOLLOLLOLL

Why don't you just shutdown your PC?

 

LOL

I think i went a bit OTT, i'm sorry Woj, it was late, and i was a bit grumpy :-D

 

I simply don't have 10s to waste every time I leave the computer, which is there for my convenience -> not the other way around. The "sleep mode" is just a work-around. At 1% battery life per hour - it is a failure. How would you like your car to use a tank of gas because 4 days ago you forgot to lock the door?

Then there is a fact that operating systems take "half a day" to boot-up. - speaks volumes about the folks that made them - they are simply wrong for what they need to do. The era of IBM mainframes is over folks...