Technology Sony Vaio Hiberation Problem

[Winged Scapula]

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When I joined my current practice, they had already purchased me a Sony Vaio with Windows Vista.

Although I use a Mac at home, I am familiar with Windows products but I seem to have an issue with this laptop.

We use wireless in the office and I take the laptop from room to room. I find that if I am not using the keyboard for awhile or if I partially close the screen (say for ease of carrying), the screen goes black on me and no amount of pressing on the keyboard or start button will allow me to get back to the windows I've had open (and the data I've entered).

Is there some "trick" I'm missing because all I've found to do is to restart, which of course gives me the passive aggressive notice that Windows was shut down improperly (which makes the problem even more frustrating since it seems to blame me for the problem).

Finally, what is the usual battery life on these things? I keep it plugged in when I'm in the office (ie, not with patients) but I don't dare take it into a room for a long consult lest the battery die on me. Seems a bit underpowered to me if it cannot survive an hour's discussion.

TIA...

 

[TMP-SMX]

Turn down the brightness, indexing, and the eye candy. You will get much better battery life.

Plus, for the hibernating issue and perhaps the battery life too have you updated everything in windows update?

By the way, what are you pressing to wake it up from hibernate?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Turn down the brightness, indexing, and the eye candy. You will get much better battery life.

I don't have much eye candy except the wallpaper but I suppose I could turn down the brightness.

Plus, for the hibernating issue and perhaps the battery life too have you updated everything in windows update?

Yep.

By the way, what are you pressing to wake it up from hibernate?

I've tried enter, spacebar, the touch pad, etc. What am I supposed to be hitting when it goes in auto hibernate? None of my previous Windows products (nor the current desk top I have at home) do this...they wake up when I touch the keyboard or the mouse.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Did you try the power button? That's what does it on my fiancée's HP and Acer.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Did you try the power button? That's what does it on my fiancée's HP and Acer.

I experimented with it today...I think I wasn't hitting the power button hard enough (being afraid to turn it off).

So...duh. Thanks.😛

EDIT...this does not work if I halfway close the screen. No matter of light or heavy touching of the power button can restore the screen.

 

[physics junkie]

You can always change your settings so that your laptop never hibernates. Chances are your battery is defective and needs to be replaced if it can't last an hour.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Do these have some function that if you close the screen half-way they turn off?

I can pretty much close my Mac without it shutting down, at least not immediately.

I suspected the battery was bad...what is the usual time these last? My Mac seems to last much longer.

 

[physics junkie]

Do these have some function that if you close the screen half-way they turn off?

I can pretty much close my Mac without it shutting down, at least not immediately.

I suspected the battery was bad...what is the usual time these last? My Mac seems to last much longer.

What's your laptop's model number? I'll look up the battery life for ya. Or you can get me your battery's model number.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Suggestion: disable the "sleep when I close the lid"

Control Panel -> Power Options -> look at the left hand navigation panel

As for battery life, that really depends on the model and size of the Vaio. Sony tends to keep batteries smaller on their larger laptops. So, if you have a large Vaio, battery life will be very short.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Suggestion: disable the "sleep when I close the lid"

Control Panel -> Power Options -> look at the left hand navigation panel

Thanks I'll try that tomorrow.

As for battery life, that really depends on the model and size of the Vaio. Sony tends to keep batteries smaller on their larger laptops. So, if you have a large Vaio, battery life will be very short.

Yeah, its one of the 15.4 screens.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Here's another useful utility that can help you gauge battery use. Modern laptops adjust CPU speeds to save battery life.

http://users.rcn.com/tmtalpey/BattStat/


This also provides a nice graphical representation of your battery drainage patterns and can also test your battery status.

Final point - if you ever purchase a refurbished laptop, the battery is often NOT reliable. Refurbished laptops often come with used batteries that have a very short lifespan. Hence, no warranty is ever offered for batteries on refurbished laptops. Lithium Ion batteries have a finite lifespan and you can check their "health" by using certain utilities like the one described above.

 

[XoQo]

Here's how i have my windows laptop set:


-close lid or power button --> standby (aka sleep)
-battery low or dying --> hibernate


the rationale is this:


standby (in theory) is a mode where you can basically awaken from in <15 seconds. hibernate is ~45 secs to a minute or two depending on how much memory you have on the machine.



one suggestion I have is to install service pack 1 onto your vista installation (if the practice has an IT guy to do it, ask them) or have a techie you know install for you if you don't have the time to mess with it. SP1 fixes a lot of random bugs in the Vista operating system. Granted, you may be experiencing jus power management being a little too gung ho or just a worn battery, but it potentially could be a known issue with that particular vaio model and vista just not clicking.


best of luck