Q&A with Ubuntu contributor Mike Basinger

Question:

Please can you let me know if it is possible to put a desktop PC running Ubuntu into standby mode or hibernation as is possible with Windows? I recently installed Ubuntu 12.04 on my dad's PC because he was fed up with XP running so slowly. He is delighted at how quickly Ubuntu boots but misses being able to put the PC into standby so that it can wake with just a touch of a button.

When I reawaken his PC from standby, the PC powers back on but the screen is blank, and I end up having to power it off with the power button. I have read that this is something to do with Linux not being able to access AMD or Intel chipsets. Can you clarify if this is case and if indeed there is a way around this problem? His PC is a Medion with an AMD XP CPU.

Many thanks. Sean

Answer:

Fixing Suspend and Hibernate has plagued Ubuntu and other Linux distributions for many years. The amount of hardware supported by suspend and hibernate improves with every release of Ubuntu, so try to keep your Ubuntu up to date if possible.

One way you can help is to report a bug against the kernel on the hardware you are having troubles with. This will help the Ubuntu Kernel team see what type of hardware is still having problems: