LS BIOS Setup

Question

I've just installed a new hard drive and WinXp on my Latitude LS.  Everything's working fine, but I had two setup questions:   1.  What is the appropriate Boot Method to select in Setup:  PXE, RPL, Netware, or TCP/IP?   2.  Since I'm running WinXp, I didn't have to run the S2D utility (which apparently doesn't work on an LS, anyway).  But Setup nonetheless gives me the opportunity to Suspend to Disk or Suspend to RAM.  Which should I select?  When installing WinXp, I also declined the option to create a separate partition.  Will I still be able to save data from open files when losing battery power, set up as described above?   Thanks!

chapmasj · Answer

1. (Boot method). That depends on the configuration of the network you are booting over. Contact your Network admin people (given that your are on some sort of corporate network). I suspect the choice of protocol is neither here nor there for you as I doubt you really boot from the network anyway.

2. (Suspend type). It really depends on what you need/do. If you wish to suspend infrequently but do so for long periods (and are running mainly on batteries ), then suspend to disk may be best, otherwise I'd suggest trying suspend to ram first to see if it suits your needs. What "setup" are you referring to?

peteholmes · Answer

1.  This LS Latitude is just for home use; it's not part of any network (although I may set up a home wireless network later this year to share a broadband modem and a printer).  I guess that's why it doesn't seem to matter which Boot Method I select in the BIOS Setup.  After all, everything seems to be working fine.  But do you know what those options mean (PXE, RPL, etc.)?   2.  I'll experiment with the other two BIOS settings (Suspend to RAM, Suspend to Disk) and see what happens.  This is likely to happen infrequently, when I'm on the road and don't have a spare battery or car adapter.  These two options occur in the BIOS Setup.  However, when I was installing Windows Xp for the first time, there was also an initial setup option to create a separate partition, or just install the O/S on the single partition hard drive.  (I opted against creating the separate partition, and Xp proceeded to format the hard drive.)  Is WinXp 'smart' enough to save data from open files when a battery dies regardless how the BIOS suspend options are set, and regardless how WinXp was installed?   I know just enough to be dangerous.  I probably need a good article on this whole laptop suspend issue to get the bigger picture, if you can recommend one.  Thanks for taking the time to answer; I hope the questions were framed half-way coherently.

leduke30 · Answer

If you are using W-XP, I would pick Suspend to RAM since you have to pick one. Then under Windows, Setup Hibernation and set it to go to hibernation instead of suspend after whatever time period you deem best. Hibernation Setup is in Control Panel/Power Options. If you pick Suspend to Disk, you will get an error message on every boot about the missing Suspend to Disk Partition

chapmasj · Answer

Even when/if you set up a home network it is unlikely that you will need to worry about these protcols since they are used for booting the machine from a server over a (usually) LAN network. Their main use would be to support a diskless client machine (a rare thing in the PC world) or to support the installation of an OS from a server over the network (which is pretty uncommon too).

Answering your point about the OS saving files when entering suspend mode (either to disk or RAM), the answer is no, it does not save the files (as in writing the contents back to the original file on the disk). You would be wise to make sure any files are saved (if not closed) before entering either suspend mode.

Suspend is really only intended to be a power saving feature. That it can be used to also save time by avoiding the need to shutdown and reboot between usage sessions is a bonus (it is quite reliable under W2K and XP, but with Win 9x it was somewhat hit and miss - sometimes the machine would fail to wake up properly thus needing a power reset and hence any file contents not previously saved. Relying on it (suspend) to preserve the contents of open files (e.g. word documents, spreadsheets, etc.) is foolhardy and sooner or later will end in tears.

Message Edited by chapmasj on 02-03-2005 03:49 PM

peteholmes · Answer

Thanks--I really appreciate your time and help!

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LS BIOS Setup

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