# Is laptop sleep mode safe for transporting?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 8, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537 "2015-03-08T16:52:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537/21 "2015-03-12T16:39:10Z")

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Right – not only is there no harm shutting down, it’s a bit safer. Not much, but a bit.

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**Author:** ![nizzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@nizzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nizzle)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537/22 "2015-03-12T17:39:24Z")

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I always shut my laptop down when I go home and put it in my bag, just in case and it hasn’t failed me yet

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**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537/23 "2015-03-12T19:49:33Z")

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> [@nizzle](#):
>
> I always shut my laptop down when I go home and put it in my bag, just in case and it hasn’t failed me yet

Better safe than sorry I suppose.

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537/24 "2015-03-13T01:07:56Z")

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It takes about two minutes to start up – I think I can stand the wait. 😉

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537/25 "2015-03-13T01:11:07Z")

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Why not just turn it off and be sure? Does it take hours to reboot?

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-laptop-sleep-mode-safe-for-transporting/714537/26 "2015-03-14T05:57:05Z")

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I haven’t done this since around 2004-2005, but I used to carry my laptop in a backpack case. I found that leaving the computer in sleep mode would result in the computer being very warm when I pulled it out of the bag–the same thing that would happen if I just left it on. As much as I know about computers now, I still don’t know why that would happen–all the heat producing stuff should have been turned off. It would be like a phone on standby getting warm in your pocket.

I that is no longer an issue.

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