Is Maintenance during Sleep or Hibernation possible?

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I’ve wondered for a long time whether a computer will be able to preform scheduled maintenance tasks (i.e, Defrag or Backup) while the computer is in Sleep Mode or Hibernation. Will the task “wake up” the computer or will the computer just not perform the task? Thanks for any help or tips.
Mike Rapp

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If the apps that will do those tasks do not do not allow you to choose an option to have the computer wake up from sleep, you can use the Task Scheduler to do that. Waking up from hibernation is said to be possible, with apps such as WakeUpOnStandBy.

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So if Disk Defrag task is scheduled every Wen. at 1:00 AM (default setting) and the laptop lid is closed, and in sleep mode, then disk fragmentation will not take place. Sort of makes this tasks worthless, as we all close the lids on our laptops when not in use.

Why would windows use a default scheduled task on a laptop for 1:00 AM, when at that time, most users will have the laptop in sleep mode (lid closed) during the scheduled task?

Or is it possible the windows task scheduler opens the lid wakes the computer, defrags your hard drive, closes the lid and puts it back to sleep :confused:

Thoughts?

Thanks
Larry
Window 7 64 HP Laptop

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That depends on the settings for the task. It may be set to wake up the PC.

Joe

--Joe

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Wake Up is probably what’s happening, it just seems confusing as one would think, that when the lid is closed, nothing can happen. How would I know? There is no defrag history that I can find.

Side Note: For laptops, could waking an unattended laptop, and running disk defrag be an overheating safety issue? Will task scheduler wake up a laptop on battery power if not plugged in?

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The lid being closed doesn’t mean the computer needs to be in a shutdown state. If you use Task Scheduler, there will be a log of the times it has run.

It could, indeed, happen for a laptop, that it would be awaken from sleep while inside a computer bag, for example, where heating could be an issue. If you have scheduled tasks, you’d better be careful. I believe you can configure defragmentation not to occur when on battery power, but I guess it can depend on the app use for defragmentation. I am not sure the native Windows defragmenter supports this behavior.

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Generally if a scheduled task cannot be accomplished due to PC not being active, then when the PC is manually awakened the task will start.

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I don’t have Windows 7 so I can’t check how I did it but last July I was able to set some I believe power options so that the computer wouldn’t shut off when closing the laptop lid
— As stated scheduled maintenance items will run if set up properly in Task Scheduler
—— The computer I worked on did have Hibernation mode
On why programs are usually set to run at night by default even though a computer is normally shut down
— Some of my friends wonder about that, most of them also have their computers shut down during the day when they are off to work but then wonder why scheduled items do run and/or scan when they start their computer back up
— So now they are trying to do their computer work in the middle of scheduled programs doing their job
— So demanding that their computer has instant capability for them can be an issue but that’s the computer world
— I know trying save electricity costs are behind their reasoning and/or why does the computer need to run at night but again it’s a users choice on how to balance proper maintenance & protection on their computer vs the users needs of how they use their computers
— Personally I allow my computer to run overnight so that maintenance including malware programs to run and scan overnight.
— That’s an owner’s choice.
— If preferred programs can be scheduled during the day and in many cases will run upon startup

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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It is useful to run certain things at night, such as Windows and anti-virus updates, anti-virus scanning, defragging, backing up the computer, etc. The electricity you will save by powering down at night is negligible, but the time you’ll save by running these tasks at night is enormous.

I don’t shut my computer down very often. If you shut down every night, then power up every morning, you will have continual cool downs / heat ups. The stuff in your computer is made of different types of materials, which contract and expand differently as the temperature changes. By cooling down / heating up often, you are putting unnecessary stress on your computer.

It is useful to restart Windows sometimes, in order to refresh settings, temp files, clean the memory, etc. But a Windows restart doesn’t require that you power down for any length of time.

The only time I power down for an extended period of time is if I go out of town for a few days.

The above applies to desktop computers. With laptops, you have to consider battery issues, but that’s for another discussion.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I always set my laptop so that shutting the lid has no effect on anything, except perhaps turning off the monitor. I prefer to tell it to shut down or go into sleep mode when I want those things to occur.

If you’ll set your laptop this way, none of your automated tasks will ever have a problem when you shut the lid on your laptop.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I power down every night and have done so for years without any hardware issues. I do my backups and av scans while idle or while I continue to work including a weekly image backup. Windows 7 and 8 will automatically do defrags so i never manually start it.

Also, the need to periodically reboot Windows has diminished considerably with Vista, windows 7, and Windows 8. XP will benefit with periodic reboots.

Do what ever is comfortable for you.

Jerry

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(Discussing Laptops and Scheduled Tasks)

Makes me wonder why the Windows 7 DEFAULT way of handling scheduled tasks is in the middle of the night, and the DEFAULT result of closing the lid is to enter sleep mode. Seems counter intuitive and unsafe. Easily changed, sure, but perhaps some type of notice should be issued that your laptop will be awaken from sleep mode, in the middle of the night, to say, defrag your hard drive, thus creating a possible safety hazard (over heating)

However given all that, I’m not 100% positive the scheduled task is actually occurring, as the defrag task contains no history of every performing that scheduled task. Yet it seems like it may, as my hard drive never seems to be fragmented, so perhaps the scheduled task is actually waking up my laptop at 1:00 am, defragging my hard drive and putting the laptop back to sleep, and I suppose that’s OK. But still in all, it may not be wise to have scheduled tasks, unattended, on a laptop, in the middle of the night. Just seems unsafe, especially if it’s not cooled properly.

But I’m fairly certain that on a laptop, the default scheduled task will not occur if the laptop is not plugged in to an electrical outlet, so battery only, will cancel that task, but it may still be worth while to have a look at the way your current laptop is setup to handle scheduled tasks. :rolleyes:
Larry

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Just had a completely different thought :^_^:

The default windows setup is: laptop lid closed…sleep mode
The default windows scheduled task is: 1:00 AM with laptop in sleep mode.

This makes sense because….drum roll…

A windows laptop in sleep mode will perform scheduled tasks without waking the laptop

Also for the default scheduled tasks to work, the laptop needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet. The default scheduled task will not work in battery only mode.

Windows sleep mode allows for sheduled tasks to take place in the background. This is why windows set up task scheduler/ laptop lid closed as the defualt parameter. Since the scheduled task takes place while in sleep mode, saftey is not comprimised.

Am I correct :confused: Not 100% sure, if I am, do I win anything?
Larry

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Larry:

I don’t believe you’re correct in assuming that Windows will perform scheduled tasks while in sleep mode. The idea of “sleep mode” is that there’s no activity going on; everything is “frozen” just as it was when sleep mode began, so as to allow a very quick startup to that point.

You’re right; it does seem counter-intuitive that the laptop would go into sleep mode when you shut the lid, except when you consider that one of the main things Microsoft tries to achieve with their products is that their products hold your hand and automatically do as much as possible for you. And everything shutting down when you close the lid, and then starting back up right where you left off when you open the lid, fits that methodology.

If you think about it, that would probably be a good thing much of the time. But it’s not what I want, and it’s not the way I set up computers for other people, because sometimes it causes issues, such as when you have an external monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and you want to keep the laptop lid closed while you work.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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You are probably correct Jim, and there goes by award. So a scheduled task wakes a computer, even if the lid is closed, performs the task, and puts the computer back to sleep. Sounds like this girl I once knew…she would…ahh…never mind.

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Computers do not perform any tasks at all in sleep or hibernation. The computer can be wakened to perform tasks and even taken to sleep mode again, once they are done, even with the lid closed, sleep means nothing will be done other than remaining in that low energy state.

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So glad I found this conversation; I hope it’s not too late to continue it…

I want my laptop to do a backup overnight. Can’t do it with the lid closed. Very simply: Nothing happens.

This is a Windows 8 laptop with UEFI. In Power Options, the computer is allowed to wakeup to perform tasks, and all combinations of what to when the lid is closed were tried. I even created a scheduled task to purposely wake the computer in time to start the backup. The computer doesn’t care. When the lid is down, it will not run the very same backup that runs on schedule when the lid is up.

I don’t know where to begin: Is this a hardware issue or a software issue? A Windows issue or an application issue? Advice gratefully appreciated.

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So glad I found this conversation; I hope it’s not too late to continue it…

I want my laptop to do a backup overnight. Can’t do it with the lid closed. Very simply: Nothing happens.

This is a Windows 8 laptop with UEFI. In Power Options, the computer is allowed to wakeup to perform tasks, and all combinations of what to when the lid is closed were tried. I even created a scheduled task to purposely wake the computer in time to start the backup. The computer doesn’t care. When the lid is down, it will not run the very same backup that runs on schedule when the lid is up.

I don’t know where to begin: Is this a hardware issue or a software issue? A Windows issue or an application issue? Advice gratefully appreciated.

I don’t know for sure, but it sounds like an “enhancement” that Microsoft decided to put into Windows 8. I know that for Windows 7 and prior, you could set the power options to do “nothing” when you shut the lid. That’s how I always set up Windows.

If Microsoft thinks that making Safe Mode all but impossible to get to is a good thing, then I wouldn’t be surprised to find that they have also eliminated the “nothing” option for when the lid is shut.

http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//152036-Finding-Safe-Mode-in-Windows-8-isn-t-easy

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I don’t know for sure, but it sounds like an “enhancement” that Microsoft decided to put into Windows 8. I know that for Windows 7 and prior, you could set the power options to do “nothing” when you shut the lid. That’s how I always set up Windows.

People in this thread don’t want nothing. They want sleep generally with a wake-up call occasionally.

If Microsoft thinks that making Safe Mode all but impossible to get to is a good thing, then I wouldn’t be surprised to find that they have also eliminated the “nothing” option for when the lid is shut.

They haven’t:

33320-DoNothing

Bruce

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Friends: Not being able to wake the computer with the lid down is definitely a problem; I’ve read about it in several user forums of different OEMs.

But in my particular case, I’m embarrassed to say that I had forgotten to ‘enable’ wake timers in Power Options. I did that (enabled wake timers) yesterday evening and my backup did run overnight.

In other circumstances, there seems to be an issue with the hardware interface to the operating system, so when the lid is closed it sends different messages to the OS, depending on the implementation. This might turn out to be an OEM issue.

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In all honesty, I have never tried to wake up the computer with the lid down. I had it working with the lid down, but I don’t run scheduled tasks on my laptop, so I can’t say it is possible. As laptops work with the lid down, I inferred they would wake from sleep with the lid down. I will test it, though.

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Thank you.

I have not yet had a chance to check Task Scheduler for error messages. If there are errors in connection with my scheduled task, I’ll report back.

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