Hey guys,

I just started to use a Dell XPS 430 DESKTOP, that I purchased over 1.5 years ago (don't ask). The machine is a beast compared to my old 8 year old Dell, and I feel like I can pretty much run a million programs without a problem.

I've always kept my machines on 24/7, and never turned them off. If I remember on my old machine it never went to "sleep" it was always on.

This computer is currently set on the "Dell Recommended" power option:

Turn off display: 30 minutes
Put computer to sleep: 1 hour

During the week I don't use my computer until at night, and on the weekends pretty much on and off throughout the day.

When the computer is sleeping, the LED light on the power button is blinking, is that normal?

Also, when I turn the computer back on (push the button) it seems like the whole computer is turning back on, and then it resumes windows. I'm just wondering if this is putting more wear and tear on the machine. I'm not sure which components are turning on/off, but it's definitely pretty noticeable sound wise. I also just noticed after 1080 minutes (18 hours) the computer goes into "Hibernation" mode, when I looked in the advanced settings.

Is this the best power setting? Should I customize it more? I usually use the computer for a few hours at a time, but then it may sit for 10+ hours. On the weekend it's on and off, but weekdays it's just using for a few hours at night.

Thanks,

Brad

 

The power blinking signifies sleep mode. Hibernation is never recommended, besides wear and tear on your hard drive and ram, it is pointless.

I don't like to keep my computers on, but if I do, I will allow a full reboot at least once a week. It cleanses memory and remove overrun services/processes.

As long as you have good ventilation, you can keep your computer on indefinitely without a problem.

The sound you are hearing is your computer trying to stay cool and a hard drive waking.

 

It's really up to you.

Sleep = turns off computer components, stores computer state in RAM. This will work fine as long as the computer has power available. If you unplug or cut power it will lose this and be considered an improper shutdown.

Hibernate = stores computer state in hard drive and shuts down. Turning it back on resumes the state. Power can be interrupted without ill effects.

By default hybrid sleep (both of these concepts in one) is enabled by default on desktops.

More FAQs: http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/w...sked-questions

 

FYI in Windows 8 hybrid sleep is now default on laptops too. Default is Sleep after 30 and then hibernate after 180min.

I think that's because Windows 8 starts so much faster to boot after a hibernate or a shut down.

 

Home systems, are only on when I need to use them... period. No sense in wasting power in my view. At work computers are left on 24/7. Not my power bill.

 

I hibernate my laptop all the time and never even had an issue. Spinning up and powering down the HDD causes the most wear, not reading and writing data. If you have a laptop it is BY FAR better to hibernate the machine than it is to put it to sleep and stuff it in a confined space like a backpack.

Windows Vista/7/8 hibernation is actually quite solid and works just fine. The only time hibernation and sleep don't work as they should is if you got some crappy drivers..... or have told windows not to put something to sleep......again due to crappy drivers