System Standby mode.

[Frank Rizzo]

I have an WinForm app that sits around doing nothing most of the time.
However, several times during the 24 hour period, based on a timer
event, it goes and does a couple of things (connects to a resource on
the net and updates local files).

Does the application work when the system is in Standby mode?
How about if the user has set the system not to go into Standby mode,
but the hard drive is set to go to sleep after 60 minutes? Will my
application wake up the hard drive by simply accessing it?

Thanks.

 

[Peter Duniho]

I have an WinForm app that sits around doing nothing most of the time.
However, several times during the 24 hour period, based on a timer
event, it goes and does a couple of things (connects to a resource on
the net and updates local files).

Does the application work when the system is in Standby mode?

No. When the computer is in Standby mode, the software is essentially
paused. The RAM is maintained, but power to many other components is
actually off, and the CPU isn't running your code.

How about if the user has set the system not to go into Standby mode,
but the hard drive is set to go to sleep after 60 minutes? Will my
application wake up the hard drive by simply accessing it?

It should, yes. With the OS still awake, it will automatically turn the
drive back on if any access to the drive is made.

Pete

 

[Frank Rizzo]

No. When the computer is in Standby mode, the software is essentially
paused. The RAM is maintained, but power to many other components is
actually off, and the CPU isn't running your code.


It should, yes. With the OS still awake, it will automatically turn the
drive back on if any access to the drive is made.

So in other words, a call to File.Exists(@"c:\windows\explorer.exe")
should return true when the hard drive is asleep?

 

[Peter Duniho]

So in other words, a call to File.Exists(@"c:\windows\explorer.exe")
should return true when the hard drive is asleep?

If the file exists, it will return true eventually, even if it's called
at a moment in time when the hard drive is asleep.

The specifics vary. If the information is cached, then making the call
won't even cause the drive to wake up. If it's not, then the OS will
force the drive awake; the call may take longer to return in that case,
since it has to wait for the drive to be ready.

There are ways of disabling a drive such that i/o on the drive will
fail. However, I'm pretty sure you can't disable the boot drive, and
even for non-boot drives, simply using power management to allow the
drive to sleep isn't going to do this.

Pete