Alert Security Systems

[mhuculak]

I'm setting up my new 750i camera today for when I leave on vacation tomorrow. I was wondering if I should put my computer (which has the commander software installed and running) in SLEEP MODE or HIBERNATE MODE while I am away. I would like to record all the video captured to the hard drive on my computer since my micro SD card is only 2GB (I haven't purchased a bigger capacity card yet). I will be away for two weeks so I want to make sure I am able to record all motion from the camera during this period.

I am assuming that the SLEEP MODE will work and the HIBERNATE MODE may not. If anyone knows which is the best setting for the computer while I am away that would be great.

[SteveGB]

Hope the followiong helps. I am also looking through Google searches to see if LAN activity will waken the hard drive to have it record when motion is detected by your camera and the computer is asleep.  I lave set a password on my PC and use lock mode for my computer, but I do not believe that it goes into power saving mode when locked.  I you have your computer hidden then no need to lock.  I also have my computer and monitor cabled to my desk. 

Assuming you have a PC, here are the Microsoft definitions:

"What's the difference between sleep, hibernate, and hybrid sleep?   

Sleep is a power-saving state that allows a computer to quickly resume full-power operation (typically within several seconds) when you want to start working again. Putting your computer into the sleep state is like pausing a DVD player—the computer immediately stops what it’s doing and is ready to start again when you want to resume working.

Hibernation is a  power-saving state designed primarily for laptops.  While sleep puts your work and settings in memory and draws a small amount of power, hibernation puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk, and then turns off your computer.   Of all the power-saving states in Windows, hibernation uses the least amount of power. On a laptop, use hibernation when you know that you won't use your laptop for an extended period and won't have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time."

[Kiruban]

Hello mhuculak,

 To answer your question, you will not be able to enable either Sleep or Hibernate and hope your Alert Commander to function.  Regardless of which option you choose, it will shut down your computer and hard drive which will pretty much disable the capability of the Alert Commander functioning Properly. These are power saving options.

 You will have to have the Computer running while you are away for an extended period. Your ideal solution for this senario are the following :

 1, A bigger SDHC Card

 2, A dedicated Computer (Notebook, Desktop, Mini computer, Laptops)

 @ SteveGB,

 It is a nice concept of the Alert Commander respoding to network traffic and starting but, I doubt that it would work when a system is setup for WOL. It might or might not work and either way, Logitech does not support this so I won't be of too much assistance to you in regards.

 When you Lock a PC, you are correct that it does not enter a Power Saving mode. All the PC does is that it disables the screen and you need to enter a password to enter the PC.

 Any softwares that you have functioning will still function normally and perform the given duties. 

 Hope this helps.

[mhuculak]

Thanks for your quick responses, they are most helpful. I have in fact set up an independent laptop computer for recording the video traffic so I will most likely use the locking mode as suggested. The only issue is that the computer is borrowed and  I do not want to set up a password (it is running windows xp).

@Kirubuan

So if I just leave the computer on "as is" (with just the screen saver) and step away, will the recording still happen? In other words I will not put the computer into SLEEP, HIBERNATE or LOCK and I assume it should be ok.

I wonder how much power this would use over the two weeks I am gone. I will be turning down the heat in my house while I am away (we still have snow on the ground!!) so hopefully this will keep the laptop of overheating.

Thanks again!

[Kiruban · Accepted solution]

Hello mhuculak,

 Glad to know that you do infact have a dedicated Laptop Computer although you had to borrow it. Setting up a Lock is not hard. All you have to do is go to screen saver and set a password. If there is no activity for (x) amount of time the screen saver is triggered and gets locked. You will have to put a password to get into your Computer.

 To learn more about Windows ,Screen Savers and Passwords please visit the below link :

http://support.microsoft.com/

  As far as keeping the Laptop from overheating, I would recommend that you keep it in well ventilated place to allow maximum airflow. As long as the Computer is getting enough air flow and the fan inside is not working too hard, you should be fine. When it comes to Power consumption a lot of factors come into play (Processor speed, number of softwares running, etc)

Laptop's are not meant to be left on for a long time but, I have read posts and know other customer using "Wilife System" who have this kind of setup and it works.

 Hope this helps.

[UselessS]

Just FYI to add to the scenario...if you run Alert commander minimized it will copy the clips but not consume resources for the live feed.  If the screen is turned off, then very little power/heat would result from clip copying as well.

[mhuculak]

@Kiruban- Thanks for you help, I now have it working great!

@UselessS- Thanks for the extra tip in minimizing the energy consumption. I will try both of these.