Data loss in XP's Standby mode?

[DJ EndurancE]

I've got Windows XP Home running on a desktop, and I have a quick question regarding power loss:
(Please correct me if I have any of my facts wrong!)

I know that if there is a power failure (from wind storm, power lines down, etc) WHILE the computer is in hibernation, no session data is lost, since it has been saved to the HDD.

But what if there is a power failure while the computer is in STANDBY mode, with session data saved to the RAM -- will that data be lost?

 

[carnageX]

It'll be just like your computer when you're using it and the power goes out. So if you have open documents that you didn't have saved and the power goes out while in standby, yes, the data will be lost.

 

[KSoD]

Hibernation may write the data to the HDD but it is done so that only waking from hibernation will restore that data. You cant recover it with data recovery tools or anything like that cause hibernation is not a shut down method. It is a power saving feature. If power is lost then the data will be lost as well.

 

[DJ EndurancE]

Hibernation may write the data to the HDD but it is done so that only waking from hibernation will restore that data. You cant recover it with data recovery tools or anything like that cause hibernation is not a shut down method. It is a power saving feature. If power is lost then the data will be lost as well.

Not in my case -- I just tested with another PC using Windows 2000 Pro. I saved session data to hibernation, then pulled the plug. Waited 20 seconds and plugged in again, and woke it up from hibernation. Everything was just as I left it, including the UNSAVED text document I was working on. If this is the case in Win 2000, I'm assuming it is the same for XP.

Okay, I finally just broke down and tried unplugging the power with Win 2000 in standby. Yes, just like carnageX said, session data is lost and the system reboots on powerup.

...Thereby convincing me that hibernation is the wisest choice for safely saving session data!

 

[KSoD]

Windows 2000 is different. That is a Server based OS not a desktop based OS like XP, Vista and others. Server Based OS's will do this because they are servers. They have to have the data backed up at all times.

 

[DJ EndurancE]

Windows 2000 is different. That is a Server based OS not a desktop based OS like XP, Vista and others. Server Based OS's will do this because they are servers. They have to have the data backed up at all times.

I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything Mak, but I just now tried the same thing with XP (pulling the power while in hibernation). Same result as the Win 2000, no data loss whatsoever. It appears to me that when session data is written to the disk, it's ON the disk and nothing is taking it off -- unless of course you reboot the machine.