troubleshooting/tutorials/security
11/16/2005, 1:45pm, EST
Wednesday, November 16th
New "Safe Sleep" mode on Mac laptops
Apple's latest PowerBooks added a new feature called "Safe Sleep"--similar to the "hibernate" feature on Windows laptops--that enables users to return to the system's previous state, even if the battery runs out or is removed. An online guide explains how to implement software feature on older iBooks and PowerBooks, allowing owners of older Mac laptops to take advantage of the feature (at their own risk). Regular sleep mode works by cutting power to components except for the machine's RAM. Because RAM uses so little electricity and has no moving parts, a machine can operate in sleep for a very long time. But if a battery runs out or is removed, the system's suspended state will be lost. The "Safe Sleep" technology works by recording the machine's RAM contents to the hard disk, which is not affected when power is lost. When the power source is returned, the content is transfered back to the RAM, and the user can resume where they left off.
Filed under: troubleshooting
, 
, 16
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
I found the same to be true on my (disappointedly).
Anyone remember the "Save RAM contents to Disk" checkbox in the Energy Saver control panel's advanced tab?
It was dimmed out for a while then completely removed in later versions of Mac OS 9.x
If this works on desktops (I've heard some), you can move your desktop without rebooting. This can be very useful.
Who doens't save their documents before sleeping their laptop? It's just a convenience for it not to forget what you were doing if it looses power.
A journaled filing system can't be corrupted so it's not a big deal.
Or do you have to choose what level of sleep you want ahead of time, like in Windows?