The main difference between hibernate and sleep is that hibernate saves the currently executing applications on to the hard disk or other nonvolatile storage, while sleep saves the currently executing applications in the memory or RAM.
The essential component of a computer system is the operating system. It works as the interface between the hardware and application programs. Furthermore, it handles functionalities such as memory and file management, security and many more. One popular operating system is Windows. It provides several options to save power when the user is not using the computer. Two of them include hibernate and sleep. In overall, the computer does not consume any power in hibernate mode, but in sleep mode, the computer uses a small amount of power.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Hibernate
-Definition, Functionality
2. What is Sleep
-Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between Hibernate and Sleep
-Comparison of key differences
Key Terms
Hibernate, Operating System, Sleep, Windows
What is Hibernate
Hibernate mode saves the documents and the applications in the hard disk. The hibernate mode is equivalent to turning off the computer. Therefore, in this mode, the computer does not consume any power. When the user provides power again to the computer, it will restart everything from where the user left off. Generally, hibernate takes longer to resume than sleep mode. User can select this mode if he is not planning to use the computer or the laptop for some time and if he does not want to close his documents.
What is Sleep
Similar to hibernate, sleep is also a power saving state. In this mode, the computer stops all the current actions and goes to a low power state. Furthermore, any open documents or applications are saved to the RAM or memory. However, in this mode, the computer is on and uses a very small amount of power. It cuts power to unneeded subsystems and places the RAM into a minimum power state, which is just sufficient to hold data. Due to the requirement of saving power, most laptops automatically enter this mode when the computer is running on batteries and when the lid is closed.
After making the computer go to sleep state, the user can continue with his tasks again quickly. In other words, the user can perform full power operations within a few seconds. In overall, the user can select this mode if he wants to stop working for a short period of time.
Difference Between Hibernate and Sleep
Definition
Hibernate is a mode in the computer that saves all computer operational data on the fixed disk before turning the computer off completely. In contrast, sleep is a mode in the computer that is roughly equivalent to pausing the state of the machine. Thus, this is the main difference between hibernate and sleep.
Power Consumption
In hibernate mode, the computer does not consume any power while in sleep mode, the computer consumes a small amount of power. Hence, this is an important difference between hibernate and sleep.
Synonyms
Moreover, hibernate is also called suspend to disk whereas sleep is also called stand by, suspend and suspend to RAM.
Usage
A user can select hibernate when he is not using the computer for a long period of time and without closing the currently running applications. On the other hand, the user can select sleep when he is not using the computer for a short period of time without closing the currently running applications.
Conclusion
There are various options available in operating systems such as Windows to save power when using computing devices such as PCs and laptops. Two of them are hibernate and sleep. The main difference between hibernate and sleep is that hibernate saves the currently executing applications on to the hard disk or other nonvolatile storage, while sleep saves the currently executing applications to the memory or RAM.
References:
1.“Sleep Mode.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2019, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1.”336373″ via Pixabay
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