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by pmontra 1898 days ago
I don't use Windows so I didn't know what Modern Standby is. I googled this page https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/dev...

TLDR: "enables the system to stay connected to the network while in a low power mode" [...] "with the added benefit of allowing value-added software activities to run periodically" [...] "When a system service or background task requires network access, Windows automatically transitions the networking device to an active mode" [...] "longer active intervals occur for a variety of reasons, for example, processing incoming email or downloading critical Windows updates."

Details about what can temporarily activate Windows in Modern Standby at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/dev...

Don't you have a way to disable it and go back to what Microsoft calls Traditional Sleep?

3 comments

> Don't you have a way to disable it and go back to what Microsoft calls Traditional Sleep?

Yes, on some laptops, such as Lenovo, you can switch from "Windows" to "Linux" sleep mode in BIOS (yes, they are really named after the OS).

Here's the rub: you have to reinstall Windows. There used to be registry edit you could do but that seems to no longer work. At least it didn't for me.

On ThinkPads it can be disabled in BIOS.
> Don't you have a way to disable it and go back to what Microsoft calls Traditional Sleep?

No OP, but most of Dell's current lineup no longer has support for any other modes in the firmware. So no, I can't disable it.

What happens if you install Linux? Does it stay in traditional sleep because there is no software in the OS to temporarily awake the computer?
The new Dell laptops only support "modern sleep". Linux doesn't support this very well, so while things look to go to sleep (eg, screens turn off) the system is still on, just idling. Since Linux doesn't have all the hardware support that Dell's drivers for Windows might, not all hardware devices are put into a low power mode.

So often what happens is nothing: the battery often drains completely overnight and it's guaranteed to be dead on Monday morning if I let it "sleep" on Friday.