Can I run a Defrag and close the laptop lid? Or will my computer not defrag when it is in sleep mode? If not, can I turn of the monitor of my laptop when it's not in sleep mode, like, 0 brightness?
6 Answers
The computer won't defrag in sleep mode.
You can set your computer to not go to sleep mode when closing the lid, but I wouldn't recommend that for your use. In fact, I'm not really fond about letting a laptop work when closed, for heat issues, on the monitor.
You can set in the Power Options, in Control Panel, the fact that your monitor will turn off after a few minutes. It will answer to your "0 brightness" wish.
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I would also be careful about having the laptop not sleep / do work while the lid is closed, as it is more likely that you would pick the laptop up and move it while the HDD is in motion and potentially do some damage.– SamAug 19, 2009 at 13:47
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Even worse, you can put it to your backpack while being on, thinking it's sleeping... (yes, did that)– GnoupiAug 19, 2009 at 14:17
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1@Gnoupi - I do that all the time (laptop working while closed in a backpack, while being carried around from home to work, and back). Never had any problems.– RookAug 19, 2009 at 14:28
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@Idigas : I have a gaming laptop, even 5 minutes with closing air access would be enough to trigger the auto-poweroff, due to temperature. But even if not that extreme, I had a Latitude D800 which was cutting when completely closed in a bag for a quarter of hour. Bottom line, it can work, but it's far from recommended.– GnoupiAug 19, 2009 at 15:20
The computer will not defrag when it is in sleep mode or hibernation.
You should be able to adjust your power settings, though, for it not to sleep when the lid is closed.
It cannot defrag while in either sleep, or standby mode. It can however do anything with its lid closed, since you can tell it to stay "awake" while the id is closed.
If you're using XP (not sure if it's changed in Vista) you can set up a scheduled task at a time when it is asleep. To have a scheduled task wake the computer you have to choose "Advanced Settings" and check a "Wake Computer" box. I use my netbook as my alarm by scheduling ForWhomTheBellTolls.mp3 to run in the mornings, very convenient. Be sure to harden your OS before using Scheduled Tasks (install all Service Packs and Security Updates).
Then you can get this utility 'http://www.gammadyne.com/cmdline.htm#sleep' and schedule it to put it back to sleep after it's done (when idle).
As long as the computer isn't set to sleep or hibernate when it's closed then it will do whatever you want.
The best option for you would be to simply automate defrag. Get Diskeeper09 or any other good defragmentation software and set it to defrag in background mode. It gets the job done even as you use your PC. There is no need to defrag manually or schedule tasks.
