Installing, Configuring, and Upgrading Laptops
Power Management
BIOS ACPI
The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification defines common interfaces for hardware recognition, motherboard and device configuration, and power management.
ACPI is used for power management and is different than the previous APM BIOS model by putting the Operating System in charge of power management. Previously, APM had the BIOS control power management. ACPI also brought the power management features from laptop computers to desktops and servers, allowing desktops and servers to utilize low power modes where only the RAM is powered with the ability to quickly “wake up” on command.
Microsoft first supported ACPI in Windows 98 and continues to support it through current operating systems.
ACPI requires compliant hardware, so it cannot be applied to older systems.
Suspend, Hibernate, Standby
Sleep mode, or “standby”, is a mode in which your computer uses a little power to retain the information in memory. This requires the computer have some power in the battery or be plugged into an AC outlet. In hibernate mode, the contents of the memory are written to a special area on the hard disk and then recovered from the hard disk when the computer is woken up. Because it is writing the contents of the memory to the hard disk, it takes longer to recover from hibernation than from standby.
In Windows XP, you have an option to select Standby when you choose to shut down the computer.
In Windows Vista, you can set your computer to Sleep or Hibernate via the shutdown menu in the Start menu.
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