Puzzled about laptop power schemes settings...

Hi, All,

I am using a Dell Inspiron 5150 laptop, 3.06GHz HT, 1.25G RAM, WinXP.

I have only rarely used my laptop on battery power, and then for short
periods of time, so I have never paid attention to the Power Management
settings.

I have always had my power scheme set to "Maximum Performance" (Dell's
version of "Minimal Power Management"), with no problems.

I will be needing to use my laptop on battery power fairly frequently in the
near future, so I am trying to learn a bit about the Power Management
settings, so I can choose (or configure) the best scheme for me.

I do understand the various settings and options available under the Power
Options Properties, including the integral control of the SpeedStep processor
settings. The default settings for each of the available "schemes" basically
seem logical, BUT...

I have noticed one thing that has me really confused:

I was comparing the default settings for "Running on batteries" for the
various schemes, and all but one of the themes available for my machine shows
a shorter time set to enter "System standby" than for "Turn off hard disks"!

For instance, on my machine the default values for Battery operation are:

Under the "Maximum Performance" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 15 min. and
Standby is set to 5 min.
Under the "Portable/Laptop" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 30 min. and
Standby is set to 25 min.
Under the "Home/Office Desk" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 10 min. and
Standby is set to 5 min.
Under the "Minimum Power Management" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 15 min.
and Standby is set to 5 min.


I THOUGHT I understood what the standby function was all about. Now I'm not
so sure!

What has me confused is: WHY set the time to enter standby SHORTER than the
time to simply stop the disk?

It seems logical to me that the sequence should be display off, then disk
off, then standby, then hibernate. BUT all but one of the ten factory default
power schemes for battery operation on my laptop are set so that the standby
time is SHORTER than the disk off time!

My questions:

1) Why should the system be set to enter standby sooner than turning off the
disk?

2) Shouldn't the system turn off the hard drive automatically upon entering
standby mode?

3) Under what circumstances would the standby mode be bypassed in favor of
simply turning off the disk?

Thanks for any comments or advice. I realy want to understand this!

Ken

"KenB" <KenB RemoveThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0A582AE1-5381-4514-B764-987981ECC70D@microsoft.com...
> Hi, All,
>
> I am using a Dell Inspiron 5150 laptop, 3.06GHz HT, 1.25G RAM, WinXP.
>
> I have noticed one thing that has me really confused:
>
> I was comparing the default settings for "Running on batteries" for the
> various schemes, and all but one of the themes available for my machine
> shows
> a shorter time set to enter "System standby" than for "Turn off hard
> disks"!
>
> For instance, on my machine the default values for Battery operation are:
>
> Under the "Maximum Performance" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 15 min. and
> Standby is set to 5 min.
> Under the "Portable/Laptop" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 30 min. and
> Standby is set to 25 min.
> Under the "Home/Office Desk" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 10 min. and
> Standby is set to 5 min.
> Under the "Minimum Power Management" scheme, Turn off HD is set to 15 min.
> and Standby is set to 5 min.
>

I believe you understand it better than whoever srt up the defaults.

>
> My questions:
>
> 1) Why should the system be set to enter standby sooner than turning off
> the
> disk?

It shouldn't.

>
> 2) Shouldn't the system turn off the hard drive automatically upon
> entering
> standby mode?

It does.

>
> 3) Under what circumstances would the standby mode be bypassed in favor of
> simply turning off the disk?

None.

>
> Thanks for any comments or advice. I realy want to understand this!
>
> Ken

Create your own custom settings based upon your intended usage.

For example, my default settings for "Home/Office Desk" are:
Turn off monitor after 5 minutes.
Turn off HD after 10 minutes.
Go to Standby after 5 minutes.

This also makes no sense to me, but then I never use it. I'm always line
powered. If the power fails and is off for at least a few minutes, I shut
the laptop down and go make a cocktail.

- Arnie