In case of Power failure will there be less damage to hard disk if computer is on sleep mode

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mangalorecafe

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Sometimes when there is a power failure I have work to complete I end up working too long there is not enough time to shut down or hibernate.
hibernate takes really long. So the other day I hit sleep mode as it just kicks in very soon and I see the computer is almost like its shut down.
We have our power trip for 10 minutes so kicking in sleep mode keeps the computer running for more than 10 minutes.
But sometimes the power cut can go beyond 10 minutes. So I was wondering since the disks are not running at all in sleep mode will it be better to allow the computer to cold shut down when my UPS backup is exhausted?

Because once I put it in sleep mode then its impossible to wake the computer and shut it or hibernate it again as it drains the batter a lot.
So now I would rather shut down my PC or hibernate it as soon as power goes, but was looking if sleep mode is a safe option just in case my UPS battery runs out.

Sometimes when shutting down or hibernating if UPS battery runs I always get corrupted windows files which I have to repair.
 
Solution
Chicano
In sleep mode the hard drive is shutdown.. the data is saved to RAM. So Hard drive would not suffer any damage but the data in RAM would be lost.

In Hibernation data is saved to the hard drive in the C:\Hiberfil.sys file and the computer is completely powerded off... so, in case of power failure, data should be intact. If that's not the case, your UPS may be losing power to quickly for data to be safely saved. You may need to reduce the time before the computer hibernates to the shortest convenient time after you stop using the computer.

Your options in my opinion are to use hibernation and configure the program you're using... if possible, to save your data more frequently so the lost or corrupted data is minimal.


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Chicano

Chicano

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In sleep mode the hard drive is shutdown.. the data is saved to RAM. So Hard drive would not suffer any damage but the data in RAM would be lost.

In Hibernation data is saved to the hard drive in the C:\Hiberfil.sys file and the computer is completely powerded off... so, in case of power failure, data should be intact. If that's not the case, your UPS may be losing power to quickly for data to be safely saved. You may need to reduce the time before the computer hibernates to the shortest convenient time after you stop using the computer.

Your options in my opinion are to use hibernation and configure the program you're using... if possible, to save your data more frequently so the lost or corrupted data is minimal.


Windows Power Management
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/power-management
 
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Solution
Manish Tewari

Manish Tewari

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I totally get what you are referring to here - in one liner the answer is NO your HDD will be safe in sleep mode - however most dangerous are Power spikes - and you can blanket yourself with good quality PSU and UPS
 
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mangalorecafe

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Thank you. That is all I needed to know. I am only concerned about my hard disk. i am not worried about losing my programs as I save them.
My situation is such when power fails I have around 15 minutes backup on my UPS if I shut off my monitor.
generally its a trip in the mains. Power returns in 10 minutes
But sometimes it does not. When I am in the middle of work I need to save my work.
This takes time if it it takes more than 5 minutes then if I shut of my monitor it gives me less than 10 minutes.
So I try hibernating but since hibernating takes too much of power atleast in my PC it does not finish hibernating before by Battery dies.
This obviously causes more damage to my computer.
Shutting down is a tad bit faster than hibernation. But if the power comes back in 10 minutes then I wish I had hibernated.
Sorry let me get to the point.
So what I did once when I had to really do a lot of work I kept working till 8 minutes and when my UPS started beeping I hit sleep.
It went to sleep in less than a minute and then my UPS gave up.
This seems like the best option for me as I managed to finish and save my work in 8 minutes, but now I don't have enough juice in my UPS to either hibernate or shut down.
So sleep is the best option to save my hard disks.
I just was not sure if my harddisk would get damages as when I boot again it does tell me my windows did not shut down properly.
But when i sleep I noticed that I get no errors. But if the UPS fails when i am Hibernating it does corrupt the files and I have to use CHKDSK to repair them. Once even had to use Windows Repair.

So I guess this is the best option for me then Sleep. So I can drag working on my computer to the entire 8-10 minutes save my work and hit sleep as soon as the UPS starts beeping continuously which means I just have a minute or two.
Thanks for the reply

 
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mangalorecafe

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Thanks m8 You guessed it right I just want to be able to save my harddisk and be able to drag my work till the last 2 minutes are remaining in my UPS and then Hit Sleep.
But Since chicano also answered the question before you and mentioned that my hard disk won't get damaged I had to choose his as the solution
I am glad my hard disk are not getting damaged. I have not problem with spikes as such and my PSU is a good on even UPS is good it cuts off when there are those rare spikes.
I am getting a new APC BR1000G-IN I am sure that will be better than my Numeric. Which is now giving me only 2 minutes of back up. Until I get my new APC i have to hit sleep as soon as my power fails.
Also I need to set the shut down button to sleep instead of hibernate
Thaks again m8
 
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Chicano

Chicano

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If your computer is taking longer than the UPS allows for shutdown or hibernation, it may be taking longer than necessary.. but there are some tricks which consist in modifying a few registry values to shorten the time Windows takes to close services and applications before shutting down.. this should also apply for hibernation.

You may want to try and see if this works for you.

3 Ways To Speed Up The Windows 7 Shutdown Process
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-ways-speed-windows-7-shutdown-process/

And the reduced time your UPS is now allowing before shuting down must be caused by the battery which like any DC battery has a lifetime, so you can replace it and save yourself the price of a new UPS... You can probably find the battery specification at the UPS manufacturer website, of find it through a UPS battery finder.

https://www.google.com/search?q=UPS+battery+finders&gws_rd=cr&ei=LM2hVYqMIYuqogTytKPoBQ
https://www.cdw.com/content/products/finders/power/ups/replacement-batteries-finder-configurator.aspx





 
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Manish Tewari

Manish Tewari

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BR1000G-IN is a very good choice ....
 
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Chicano

Chicano

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Aug 29, 2011
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One more suggestion in case you're still around here... that's enabling the Hybrid Sleep mode in Control Panel / Power Options / active Power Plan. In hybrid sleep your active information is saved on RAM and also in the Hard Disk, so in case of power outages your information is not lost.

It's a combined state between Sleep and Hibernation but the computer comes back quickly as in Sleep Mode.

What's the difference between sleep, hibernate, and hybrid sleep?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/sleep-and-hibernation-frequently-asked-questions

 
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