I've a question about computers and the sleep mode. I usually put both my iMac and MacBook to sleep when they're not in use. The MacBook is left plugged into the charger and is, most of the time, connected to an external monitor. Occasionally I run the laptop's battery down and then recharge it to supposedly improve battery life. About the only time either computer is shut down is when a restart is needed for some reason or they will be left a long time, like a day or more, without being used. Is this an acceptable practice?
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#497455 - 03/01/1010:23 PMRe: To sleep or not
[Re: drjohn]
carp
Dino's are Babe magnets
Registered: 04/19/02
Posts: 25817
Loc: Hawaii
I go for about a month in sleep mode , before I have to reboot the iMac .
First notice is when the screen sorta has this white wash look - after rebooting the screen is back to normal slightly darker and more contrast in colors .
I think and maybe Reboot can add .
Since I only have 1 gig of ram , over a period of time , like in 30 days , sorta gets filled or used up ? ? I dunno . But rebooting fixes it every time .
#497488 - 03/02/1006:23 AMRe: To sleep or not
[Re: John Rougeux]
MacBozo
Nut Dood
Registered: 04/20/02
Posts: 15623
Loc: Pinellas Park, Florida
Both of mine immediately reconnect on wake. My wife's to the wireless router and mine to the AP Express (mine is wired to the router for internet - the Express is only for streaming iTunes to the stereo).
#497617 - 03/02/1009:31 PMRe: To sleep or not
[Re: John Rougeux]
carp
Dino's are Babe magnets
Registered: 04/19/02
Posts: 25817
Loc: Hawaii
Originally Posted By: John Rougeux
I only let the monitor go to sleep. I don't do the computer because when I did that before I think it lost the internet connection.
Humm just checked
Only my monitor is set to sleep - computer never . I did shut down a few times over night and re-started the iMac the next day and never had a problem of loss internet connection .
One time while the monitor was sleeping and I was in bed watching late night TV - I noticed the green camera light on , kinda creeped me out .
Anyway Is there an advantage for putting to sleep the computer ? beyond the obvious power savings or is it that much of a difference ?
#497843 - 03/04/1006:43 PMRe: To sleep or not
[Re: NucleusG4]
carp
Dino's are Babe magnets
Registered: 04/19/02
Posts: 25817
Loc: Hawaii
Originally Posted By: NucleusG4
I'm asleep during activity... just ask my wife.
I know thats what she told me last night just kidding
Mine is set to sleep as well after no activity , I figured the Mac is on idle , so sorta not using much energy , like some others , kinda afraid of a complete shut down .
As for the Mac , I thought when you shut down then the PRAM Battery kicks in , or thats for maybe when you unplug the Mac ?
Right. For desktops and towers when it's plugged in and turned off there is a trickle voltage put out by the power supply to hold PRAM settings. When it's unplugged or the power strip is turned off the backup battery takes over.
On laptops if the charger is plugged in, or the main battery is in and has any kind of charge it will use that to hold PRAM. If the power supply is unplugged and the main battery is out of the machine, or if it's discharged to the point that the battery shuts itself off to prevent total discharge (total discharge is bad for Lithium batteries) then the PRAM battery takes over.
No power source on any computer = PRAM battery time.
Most Mac laptops have backup batteries, except iBooks.
#499412 - 03/13/1004:37 PMRe: To sleep or not
[Re: drjohn]
dreed2
Unregistered
I keep the Activity Monitor on my dock and occasionally check the amount of free RAM on the pie chart. When the green slice of the pie gets really low, I reboot. Otherwise, I just sleep it. Using lots of Adobe apps will eat up the free RAM, as will leaving Safari open for long periods of time (there is STILL a memory leak in Safari, after all these years!).
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