When the computer is not needed for a while, you will choose “Shutdown”, “Mixed Shutdown”, “Sleep”, “Sleep” or “Mixed Sleep”. According to a survey conducted by Microsoft for Windows 7 users, 57% of desktop users and 45% of laptop users would choose to turn off their computers instead of putting them into sleep mode.
Note: The above images from Microsoft investigation.
In this regard, we will introduce each option one by one to find the best choice for you. However, since each option has its own characteristics, we have analyzed it in two cases. In addition, I will answer some of the most worried questions.
First, if you want to enter a new session after launch:
1. Select “Shutdown&
If you select "Shutdown", the system will notify the applications that are still running, notify them to save the data. And settings. After that, the user session of each logged in user will be closed and the service will be closed. The system then notifies the device and closes the system session, saving the pending data. Finally, the system sends a signal through the ACPI interface to shut down the computer.
“Shutdown” is more energy efficient, and the shutdown speed is very fast. After startup, you will enter a new session. In addition, if you need to change the hardware device or the system is faulty, it is generally recommended to use shutdown to avoid errors.
2. (Best) Select "Mixed Shutdown"
If you select “Mixed Shutdown”, the system will close all user sessions as “Shutdown”, but the system will not shut down anymore. The kernel session, but to sleep it. Since it is only necessary to read the hibernation file and re-initialize the driver at startup, the startup speed is much faster than selecting "Shutdown". “Mixed Shutdown” is more energy efficient and faster to start. It should be noted that this is a new feature added to Windows 8, which replaces the shutdown by default.
Second, if you want to enter the working state after starting:
1. Select “sleep”
If you select “sleep", then most of the devices will be shut down. At this time, generally only the memory is still powered up to maintain the memory data. Sometimes, in order to wake up from other methods, the network card, USB interface, etc. will be powered on. After waking up, the user can quickly enter the working state.
2. Select “Hibernate
If you select “Hibernate>, the system will save the system state and memory contents to a file on disk (hiberfil.sys) before shutting down the computer. The file will be re-read and the contents will be restored to memory during recovery. With the sleep mechanism, users can not only get into the working state faster, but also completely avoid power consumption during shutdown.
3. (Best) Select “Hybrid Sleep
If you choose “mix sleep”, the system will save the system state and memory data to disk on the basis of sleep. This is enabled by default on desktop computers. When you wake up your computer, if the computer's power is not cut, you can quickly enter the working state; if the power has been cut off, you can read the hibernation file on the disk, restore the working state, and your session content will not be lost.
For computers that use batteries or have uninterruptible power supplies, it is more common to sleep by default and to sleep when the battery is low.
Third, troubleshooting
1. What is "new conversation"
The new state is a state that the user chooses to "turn off" and then start the system again. The user can open the required software to enter the working state, but it takes a long time. The startup speed is just the time it takes to get into a new session.
2. What is "work status”?
Work status is a state in which the user can start working immediately. If you are browsing some web pages, then the working status may be to open a browser, music player, instant messaging software, and so on. The speed of entering the working state is the time required to enter the working state.
3. What is the power consumption during sleep? Will the components be worn out?
As mentioned above, the system generally shuts down other devices during sleep, only powering up the memory to maintain data. This situation consumes very little power (about 7.5W or so), and because the component is at rest, its losses are not too large and can be neglected.