network connections and sleep vs hibernate for laptop

This is most common with wireless connections. You didn’t mention what kind of network interface you’re using, but if its drivers don’t handle the resume state properly, the result could be a dropped or stuck network connection. Drivers are software installed in Windows itself that act as the interface between Windows and the hardware, often managing communication between Windows and corresponding BIOS/UEFI components. Waking up from standby requires each piece of hardware to re-initialize, and that’s in part the job of the drivers for that hardware. Installation is typically a download which you then run, or copy to something you then boot from. Your first step should be to check with your computer’s manufacturer - Dell, in your case - for an updated BIOS or UEFI for your machine. Problems with standby were very common in older laptops as the BIOS on many computers didn’t handle every standby scenario properly. It also plays an important role in power management. It acts as an interface between Windows and that hardware. Your computer’s BIOS - or UEFI, in more modern machines - is the software “built in” to your computer’s hardware. When you resume from standby, the hardware is turned back on, and then needs to not only be re-initialized, but restored to the exact same state it was in before standby.Īs I said, there are two common causes. Most hardware, other than RAM, is turned off to conserve power. When you put a computer into standby, software is not unloaded, but left in RAM memory. If you have other machines or networked printers on your local network, this machine probably can’t connect to them either, at least not until you reboot. What you’re seeing is simply a lost network connection.Īs you say, the computer cannot connect to the internet - at all - so web pages can’t be retrieved the browser error is the result. While I suppose they have to some degree, a dozen years later, this scenario remains fairly common. One would hope things have improved since then. You will be able to see the settings under Power Options > Advanced settings.This is an update of an article originally published nearly twelve years ago. Hybrid sleep is typically turned on by default on desktop computers and off by default on laptops. When hybrid sleep is turned on, putting your computer into sleep automatically puts your computer into hybrid sleep. That way, if a power failure occurs, Windows can restore your work from your hard disk. Hybrid sleep is a combination of sleep and hibernate it puts any open documents and programs in memory and on your hard disk and then puts your computer into a low-power state so that you can quickly resume your work. Hybrid sleep is designed primarily for desktop computers. On a laptop, use hibernation when you know that you won’t use your laptop for an extended period and won’t have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time. Of all the power-saving states in Windows, hibernation uses the least amount of power. While sleep puts your work and settings in memory and draws a small amount of power, hibernation puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk and then turns off your computer. Hibernation is a power-saving state designed primarily for laptops. You can read about the different System Sleep States here. Putting your computer into the sleep state is like pausing a DVD player the computer immediately stops what it’s doing and is ready to start again when you want to resume working. Sleep is a power-saving state that allows a computer to quickly resume full-power operation (typically within several seconds) when you want to start working again. Hybrid sleep is designed primarily for desktop computers and is a combination of sleep and hibernate.

Hibernation is a power-saving state designed primarily for laptops.

Sleep is a power-saving state that allows a computer to quickly resume full-power operation.

The difference between Sleep, Hybrid Sleep & Hibernation in Windows 11/10 in short is:

In this article, we will see the difference between these terms. Many of us are not familiar with the exact difference between the various power-saving modes in a Windows 11/10 computer like Sleep, Hibernation or Hybrid Sleep.

Network connections and sleep vs hibernate for laptop