How to Manage your PC Power Consumption

If you are a notebook computer user, you may know the frustration of running out of battery power, sometimes, at critical moments. However, knowing how to set a proper power management is not just about extending battery life of your laptop. Configuring power management also can reduce electrical usage on your laptop and desktop computer as well. And it can lower your electric bill and save environment.

Why some users do not turn off their computers for long, even during the nights? The reasons can be different. Some people prefer to keep unfinished tasks in the same order - they leave documents and programs opened. Others prefer to start working immediately. Some users consider PC rebooting as a waste of time - often MS-Windows start-up process takes too much time. The last issue may be resolved in the future with faster computers, Solid-State Disks, and optimized operating systems. Nevertheless, it is good to have some options not to shut down computers completely in order to be able quickly to resume working.

What options do we have these days to balance power consumption and working convenience? Except screen saver mode that does not save too much energy with new types of LCD screens, there are other power saving options - “Stand By” and “Hibernate”. These two options allow users harmonically combine the convenience of smooth work and energy saving. These are also ways to prolong your notebook battery life. What are the differences between Standby and Hibernate? How to activate these modes and choose their settings correctly?

“Stand By” means that PC is ready to go once called. Your computer returns to a state of readiness when you press a key or move the mouse. It only takes a few seconds to resume a computer from Standby. Computer recovers quickly because data are stored in RAM. It is a low power consumption mode. However, energy saving is moderate because power has been cut only to hard drive and monitor. This power saving option is good for a short-term while you take short breaks. Another disadvantage is that power disappearance in this mode can cause your data loss.

Hibernate is similar to Standby and it also enables recovering your working space. It is a good state for a long-term to save energy because it allows reducing power consumption of your PC to a few watts. In this mode, data are saved to your hard disk (not RAM). So that in case of power interruption, your data are protected. On the other hand, it takes longer to recover from hibernation when you need to use your computer again.

MS Windows operating systems allow you to set various power options. These options make it easy to conserve power after a certain period of inactivity. You may create a few profiles that first switch automatically your computer into Standby mode and then after a while into Hibernate mode if no activity. To create a Power Profile in Windows XP, go to “Start“ menu, “Control Panel“, then “Power Options“. First, if you are going to use Hibernate mode, you need to activate it. Go to Hibernate tab-page and check box “Enable hibernation”. This will create a special file called “hiberfil.sys” where the data from RAM and other info will be saved.

Notebooks have extra settings relating to using battery. Also on notebook computers, you can significantly extend the battery life by setting the “When I close the lid on my portable computer” option to “Stand by” (“Advanced” tab). Note, you can switch also anytime to Standby or Hibernate mode manually. Go to “Start”, and then “Turn Off Computer”. You should see dialog with “Stand by” button. If you press and keep the Shift key, “Stand by” button changes to “Hibernate”. But do not forget, in order to see and use Hibernate option, it needs to be enabled - Hibernate does not show by default.


© Alec Smith. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.