Thinking about it, it's kind of amazing how many devices we put to sleep in 2026 instead of powering them down. In all likelihood, your smartphone and tablet are on 24/7, along with any smart speakers or TVs. Even smartwatches and VR headsets are expected to stay on to some degree when we're not wearing them, if just to fetch software updates and be ready to go at a moment's notice. Back in the 1990s, you would've been called crazy for keeping your TV or Discman on.
The same goes for computers. When I was growing up, putting a PC to sleep wasn't even an option for the longest time, yet now it's de facto behavior for many users — it's even baked into laptops as an automatic function when you close the lid. What exactly happens when you put a PC to sleep, though? What keeps going, and what stops? Is it problematic to never shut down? There are answers, some of which could be very important to the health and functionality of your machine.
What's the difference between putting a PC to sleep and shutting down?
Going beyond the surface details
The most obvious difference is that whereas shutting down stops Windows completely, putting it to sleep leaves it in a ready state. Apps are not only left in RAM, but in the exact state you had them. When I wake up my work PC, for instance, Chrome resumes its previous window placement with all my tabs up, and apps like Slack and Spotify…