sleep vs. shut down

hey guys, i just recently bought my first macintosh and my first laptop (a macbook) and i was wondering something. I had read somewhere that it is better to put it to sleep instead of shutting it down, something about the battery life was mentioned. Is this true? To me, it makes more sense that shutting it down would save the battery more than just putting it to sleep but i could very well be completely mistaken ><. Is it really better to just put my macbook to sleep instead of shutting down every time? Thanks!

It all comes down to a matter of personal preference that everyone must decide for themselves.
I never sleep OR shut down my Mac.
Please take a few minutes and search the forums as there are many, many threads on this very topic already. :black:

I never shutdown my desktop mac or my powerbook. For sure sleep your macbook because it will be so nice when you need to use it and BAM! you open the screen and she is ready to go in 3 seconds compared to your windows using friends who will take 2 minutes to boot up.
Putting the laptop to sleep uses VERY little battery life, you don't need to restart to keep performance at it's peak, enjoy the wonders of mac, never shut down or restart.

I just sleep my macbook, shutdowns are reserved for when I'm away on holiday or the battery's almost dry.

Aptmunich said:

I just sleep my macbook, shutdowns are reserved for when I'm away on holiday or the battery's almost dry.

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And even then, when the battery's low it goes into hibernation, which is still faster to boot than a restart

The most common hardware failure for any computer is a HD failure during start-up. Over time the platters have a difficult time spinning from a stop, but once they are spinning, they keep going). Since the HD stops spinning in sleep mode, it is the same as a shut-down in terms of "protecting" your hardware (the HD specifically). That is pretty much my only concern with sleep (and I still use it since a new Mac can so easily boot from a cloned USB/Firewire HD). On both my old Windows box and my new Mac, I typically only shut-down during thunder storms and extended periods of no use, but I never let my Windows box go into a sleep mode - it was on 99% of the time.

I agree with jc1350. Cars are much the same way. Once an engine gets going, you are fine. However, that initial startup is the most stressful time on physical parts. Hard drives are totally the most common failure, short of the exploading batteries and capacitors in some Macs! I keep my machine running, unless I'm going to be away from it for some type.

the only problem I have with sleep is if I disconnect my usb hard drive while in sleep it brings my MacBook out of sleep, so I have to make sure I open it then disconnect the drive then close the lid then move it.

I only ever sleep my imac or ibook other than for a specific reason, I find the little white light relaxing.

I usually leave mine on but when I will be away for 24+ hours I sleep it. Just so I don't have to deal with closing all my apps and logging off messenger and stuff =P

Me and my family have owned around 20 computers over the last few years. I ALWAYS shut down. Never ONCE have I had to replace the hard drive. My first ever machine is now 8 years old and is still going needing only a cmos battery.

I have built many many machines too (into the 100's easily). I have had to replace the hard drive in one machine after 5 days of building it because it was faulty. The first machine I built seven years ago still has all original parts and is still going strong.

I do think the theory on stress on parts is fully untested really, and in eight years I have found no basis of the theory.

Apart from that, the damage to the environment on leaving things on all the time or standby is, IMHO, much more detrimental.

I agree, with that. Personally the motor on the HDD would go through much more stress constantly running rather than being started up every once and a while. I run my machine for about 16-72 hours stretches and then switch it off for about 8 to 16 hours when not in use. Personally I feel that, that is the best method since it lets the parts rest while not running them for to long.

That said it is probably like Cancer if it's going to happen it will happen and no matter what you do it is inevitable and its just a luck of the draw weather you get a good drive or not.

BTW guys, dont forget that when you put your Machine to sleep it parks the heads and stops the platters from spinning so it is no different then turning the computer off when it comes to the hard drive... I dont see how putting it to sleep would do anything to the hard drive at all, positive or negative.

Is it OK to transport a Mac laptop and carry it around and whatnot while it is in sleep mode? I know that some electronic devices are not supposed to be moved around a lot when running.

atomheartmother said:

Is it OK to transport a Mac laptop and carry it around and whatnot while it is in sleep mode? I know that some electronic devices are not supposed to be moved around a lot when running.

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Sure. I do it all the time. In fact, that is the only time my Mac isn't up and running.

jc1350 said:

The most common hardware failure for any computer is a HD failure during start-up. Over time the platters have a difficult time spinning from a stop, but once they are spinning, they keep going). Since the HD stops spinning in sleep mode, it is the same as a shut-down in terms of "protecting" your hardware (the HD specifically).

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Hi everyone. I didn't want to start a new thread for my question so I did a search to see if my question has already been brought up. Sorry for bringing up an old thread.

First off, I'm a noob to Macs. Just made the switch a couple of days ago! I'm very happy with the switch so far. I've been having a good time learning about all the features and customizing the dock and features to my liking.

So my question isn't really related to sleep vs. shutdown but in regards to the post I am quoting, I just noticed yesterday that there is a sound coming from my Macbook. It sounds like a motor. If it were a humming sound, I wouldn't be asking this question but it is more of a whirring sound. The sound is constant so it's not like an old car that just sputters. It's very faint and I can't hear it unless I've got my ear right up to the unit. I shut down the Macbook while listening for the sound and it gradually died down as if something were spinning. I'm guessing it's the hard drive but I'm not sure.

Is that what I'm hearing? Thanks, in advance, for the help!