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Sleep or shutdown?
- Thread starter mifka
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dubhe
macrumors 65816
Sleep obviously has the advantage of being able to restore to where you left it in a matter of seconds rather than rebooting. It will consume a little power but no big deal.
I only reboot when I notice things slowing a bit, or after a software install/update, works out to be every few weeks.
I only reboot when I notice things slowing a bit, or after a software install/update, works out to be every few weeks.
richard.mac
macrumors 603
whilst on the topic of sleeping. is it bad to always sleep a computer? one of the RAM slots in my MacBook Pro died a while ago and as RAM is powered while sleeping im thinking its bad for the RAM sticks? i shut it down when away for a while by mostly just sleep it.
No, you're not alone. I shut mine down after I've checked my e-mail and before heading to work. My previous MacBook woke up on one or two nights. I guess it must have had a nightmare😀
After work, I power mine up, use it, put it to sleep. In the morning, I check my e-mail and then shut it down.
Sleep vs. Shutdown: the choice is the owner's to make. There's no right or wrong answer.
rpaloalto
macrumors 6502a
Putting your mac to sleep when possible will prolong the macs life. It uses very minimal power while in sleep mode.
Every time you restart your mac their is a huge surge of power that flows through your whole mac. Especially putting strain on your power supply.
I only shut down my mac when I know I will be away for a day or more.
Or after major updates or installs. However, I heard it is a good idea to do a restart every week or so. To flush it out, and have a fresh system log or something like that.
Every time you restart your mac their is a huge surge of power that flows through your whole mac. Especially putting strain on your power supply.
I only shut down my mac when I know I will be away for a day or more.
Or after major updates or installs. However, I heard it is a good idea to do a restart every week or so. To flush it out, and have a fresh system log or something like that.
kjs862
macrumors 65816
I put my imac to sleep at night and wake it up during the day. On the weekend I don't use it so I shut it down.
My powermac G5 I never put it to sleep and I never shut it down. I like to run parrael computing projects on it when I'm not on it. I'll just restart it like once a month to keep thing running snappy.
My mbp I usually just shut it down when I'm done using it.
My powermac G5 I never put it to sleep and I never shut it down. I like to run parrael computing projects on it when I'm not on it. I'll just restart it like once a month to keep thing running snappy.
My mbp I usually just shut it down when I'm done using it.
0098386
Suspended
I normally just close my Powerbooks lid, but always shutdown my iMac. I've found the iMac to be a little troublesome when it comes to power - even though it's off (and no power schedule is active) it will turn itself on at random times. So I normally shut down+unplug. Takes a while to get all my apps open again and back into the swing of things though.
SnowLeopard2008
macrumors 604
I use my MB as a desktop machine, so it's always sleep or just dim the screen + external monitor. I restart if I need to, such as if a software update hits me.
eRondeau
macrumors 65816
My iBook G4 is celebrating its 5th birthday this week and it has almost never been shut off. Whenever I'm not using it, it is left in sleep mode. It is only shut-off for software upgrades (Panther -> Tiger -> Leopard), required OS updates, battery changes, and long-distance travel. It has been absolutely problem-free the entire time. 
1rottenapple
macrumors 603
richard.mac
macrumors 603
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the RAM is still powered when the Mac is in sleep mode, until the battery level gets to a certain point. Then it saves everything to disk, and then proceeds to do the Windows equivalent of hibernation.
dubhe
macrumors 65816
I don't know, but I do know that it writes to disc when it sleeps, that is why it can take an age to sleep (light pulsing) when I close my laptop after a long period of 'uptime'.
richard.mac
macrumors 603
yes RAM is powered in normal sleep mode. that is how it resumes to your open applications when woken up.
since the PowerBooks RAM contents is written to disk as soon as it sleeps. so when the battery dies you can plug it in and resume from hibernation when pressing the power button.
i use the old sleep mode "mode 0" which does not write the RAM contents to disk http://www.macworld.com/article/53471/2006/10/sleepmode.html.
Is it ok to sleep your MBP when moving it around??
Is it ok to sleep my MBP if it's always moving...in my car, in my backpack all day long? Or is it advisable to shutdown in this case?
Is it ok to sleep my MBP if it's always moving...in my car, in my backpack all day long? Or is it advisable to shutdown in this case?
eRondeau
macrumors 65816
When a Mac is asleep its HD drive is stopped and its read/write heads are parked. There is only a bare minimum amount of power being delivered to maintain RAM contents. Nothing mechanical is happening. It is your personal choice. My personal choice is to Sleep it, and I've been Sleeping my iBook for five years without a single problem. Just make sure it is well protected and padded; I'd worry more about cosmetic damage to the case than I would about the electronics inside.
