Can Apple Give a Straight Answer?

Amie

Amie

Mac Convert for Life
OK, I know this topic has been beaten to heck and overdone. BUT ... believe me, I've done extensive research and I STILL cannot find a straight answer.

The question (and please refrain from throwing large objects at me): Which is better for a new iBook G4--sleep or shut down? I know everyone has their own preference, but does anyone know what APPLE recommends? Every time I research it on Apple/Mac Web sites or ask any employee at the Apple store, I can't get a straight answer!

This iBook G4 is my first Mac laptop, and I want to take good care of it and do what's best to prolong its life, etc.

Please ... if there IS an answer out there, let me have it! :)
 
I remember reading on Apple's website that my computer (iMac G4) was built to use Sleep instead of Shut Down if you use it regularly. I guess it is the same thing for the iBook. I don't think shutting your iBook down everyday will damage it but there is a lot of time wasted waiting for it to boot every day.
 
Apple recommends shutting your computer completely down if not in use for an extended period of time -- around 6 to 8 hours.

Otherwise, let it sleep.

Can't remember where I read it or where I heard it, but I'm not gonna reiterate information that I do not believe to be true. Sorry, can't provide a link directly to an Apple document that specifies these times, but they're safe to go off of.

My desktop is only shut down during times of potential brown/blackouts, and sleeps for the rest of the time when not in use... mind you, I don't have deep sleep support either, so my fans spin constantly. Only the monitor turns off and the hard drives spin down in sleep mode -- been this way since 1999 and never had a single hardware problem (with the exception of one dead hard drive, but that's expected and has nothing to do with sleep).
 
If you let it sleep for more than five days or so without the power connected, you'll find it's shutdown (battery empty). But if that case isn't likely, sleep is the best thing since the original "cool-aid".
 
Sleep.

I have never shut down my iBook in over a year. (Restarted a few times for software updates, of course.)

There is no particular reason to shut down your laptop (or desktop for that matter) other than maintenance or avoiding lightning and that sort of thing.

Admittedly, this is my own position. I do not know Apple's official position.

We've got seven Macs here and NEVER shut any of them down. If somebody does recommend a full shut down, I'd like to know specifically why. I'm not convinced there's really any benefit.

There's nothing like pulling your laptop out of the case at a client meeting, lifting the lid and immediately being able to get to work. I think it's actually my favorite feature of the iBooks/Powerbooks.
 
my old teacher at media-school used to say that it was a biger strain on the harddrive booting up and shutting down than letting it constantly run. but i don't know if he knew what he was talking about.
i never shut down unless i plan to leave it for a week (so i will not have to plug it in the first thing i do when i get back). this way as much information as possible is stored in the RAM and the computer wont have to access the harddrive as often, and that is a good thing (tm).
 
If you sleep then your hard drive still spins down so there's probably not any more wear besides the fact that it doesn't have to load the OS if it's slept :eek:
 
The only real advantage of turning your Apple computer off (as opposed to sleep) is that the Memory usage is returned to default. This can be a good thing - as having applications open for a long time slowly consume the amount of memory available. And until that apllication is quit, that memory is locked and not available for other uses. Although, bare in mind, you can also return the memory usage by simply loging out - and then back in again.
 
Pg 10 of my emac User Guide

Put Your eMac to Sleep
If you will be away from your eMac for less than a few days, put the computer to sleep..... blah blah (mainly instructions on how to put it to sleep)

Shut Down Your eMac
If you will not use your eMac for more than a few days, shut it down.... blah blah (mainly instructions on how to shut it down)

Thuss, reccomendation from Apple :)
 
I think the consensus is to not shut down, unless your usage is over a few days. My Macs are never shut down, even my PB when I bring it from home to work. A restart is always a good idea ever so often. For windows people they are used to shutting down and restarting, while the Mac is best to leave running.
 
Even with Mac OS 9 and earlier, where restarts were necessary much more often, I always kept my PowerBooks and iBooks in a sleep state rather than shut them down. This *never* led to early retirement for any of the machines.
 
Thanks so much for all the replies, folks! It's nice to know what long-time Mac users have been doing. However, I *think* I found a definite answer. I know everyone has his/her own personal preference, but remember my original question was what not everyone else recommends but what *Apple* recommends (but I'm still very grateful to all of you who shared their thoughts with me on this!). Anyway, below is something that is copied and pasted straight from the Apple "iBook G4 Getting Started" manual:

Shutting Down Your iBook G4:
If you aren’t going to use your iBook G4 for a day or two, shut it down.

So, there's my answer: If I'm going to use my laptop throughout the day and know that I'm going to use it again the following day, I will sleep it. If I know that I'm going to bed and not going to use it at all the next day (or more), I will shut it down.
 
sirstaunch said:
Pg 10 of my emac User Guide

Put Your eMac to Sleep
If you will be away from your eMac for less than a few days, put the computer to sleep..... blah blah (mainly instructions on how to put it to sleep)

Shut Down Your eMac
If you will not use your eMac for more than a few days, shut it down.... blah blah (mainly instructions on how to shut it down)

Thuss, reccomendation from Apple :)
Click to expand...

Yep, exactly! Just found that out. Same thing from Apple in the iBook G4 User Guide (see previous post). I have an answer from Apple. Finally! Whoo + hoo.

(And for those of you who are wanting to hit me 'cause I didn't check my User Guide *before* I asked this question, I have a good reason for doing that: I ... misplaced my User Guide and then decided to see if I could find the guide online--which I did!--but that was *after* I'd already asked the question.) :D
 
We certainly don't mind. Other users' experience often can shed more light on certain subjects than what Apple's manuals say (and they often don't say much, anyway...). And if later a user has the same problem/question, he'll find the thread here on macosx.com, so that's good.

Btw.: If you let the iBook be connected to the power outlet, there's no need to shut it down, even if it's for two days or more.
I very much enjoy being able to keep the things I'm working on open at all times. If I had to boot the computer at the beginning of a new work day, I'd have to first think of what I was doing last, whereas my PowerBook _shows_ me, because the files are still open. That's a real timesaver, sometimes.
 
fryke said:
We certainly don't mind. Other users' experience often can shed more light on certain subjects than what Apple's manuals say (and they often don't say much, anyway...). And if later a user has the same problem/question, he'll find the thread here on macosx.com, so that's good.

Btw.: If you let the iBook be connected to the power outlet, there's no need to shut it down, even if it's for two days or more.
I very much enjoy being able to keep the things I'm working on open at all times. If I had to boot the computer at the beginning of a new work day, I'd have to first think of what I was doing last, whereas my PowerBook _shows_ me, because the files are still open. That's a real timesaver, sometimes.
Click to expand...

That's very true. However, when I'm finished working on my iBook, regardless of whether I choose shut down or sleep, I close all applications. Don't ask me why. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that I'm very anal about my computer. :D I don't like to leave any files or applications open, etc.; and I'm also a maintenance freak (I probably do more than what's necessary to maintain a healthy Mac).

Ah well ... could be worse. I could still be a PC user. :eek:
 
Amie said:
That's very true. However, when I'm finished working on my iBook, regardless of whether I choose shut down or sleep, I close all applications. Don't ask me why. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that I'm very anal about my computer. :D I don't like to leave any files or applications open, etc.; and I'm also a maintenance freak (I probably do more than what's necessary to maintain a healthy Mac).

Ah well ... could be worse. I could still be a PC user. :eek:
Click to expand...
Hey I do that to! We're glad you're not a PC user anymore ::love::.
 
That'll be habit, closing files when you don't want them. You just don't want to see them in the background so ya just automatically quit or close the document without thinking.

My Mother (72yr old) on her MacMini said it was taking a little time to shutdown eachday and I said, just put it to sleep. Now she is rapt, just nudge that mouse and everything lights up and she can continue playing Solitaire Til Dawn (expensive card deck LOL) and when she gets experimental goes into other apps etc

Like modern TV's, they go to standby rather then a complete switch off, it's so it's ready for the remote control to command it and lights up the screen quicker too.

How much power would sleep mode be burning? Couldn't imagine to much¿¿?
 
My machine at home is on 24/7 (except for severe storms and power outages - I have a battery UPS so I have the time to save what I am working on and shutting down)

My machine at work is shut down every evening. This is because we never know when a power outage will occur while gone. Previously, we have had some serious damage to machines when the power went back up.
 
Captain Code said:
If you sleep then your hard drive still spins down so there's probably not any more wear besides the fact that it doesn't have to load the OS if it's slept :eek:
Click to expand...


This is why I would like to see a hibernation option (as in Windows, its a shame OS X does not have this option yet). Store what is in RAM on the harddrive (OS and all programs) and then load it up in that exact state (without having to load all of the OS again, just the disk stored RAM state) when you turn the computer on again. Would this save time/disk usage? Is it efficient?
 
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