more detailed information on system preferences "energy saver"

Thank you, baltwo, but the developer page is nor what I had in mind, and on cursory review doesn't seem to help with selecting which settings to make through settings/energy saver, much less address how the various settings interact with each other, with other hardware (particularly external HDs used for Time Machine), what has proven appropriate, compatible, or incompatible with each setting, what the default settings are, what the best settings are in various common situations, etc.

It should not be difficult for Apple to present 1) a matrix of setting combinations, what they are intended for, and when they have known unintended consequences; and 2) a list of unresolved issues which users have found.

A Mavericks user should not have to resort to developer documents (many of us aren't developers, don't use terminal, and aren't looking to make settings not readly available through system preferences) or manuals. Rather, since Apple has chosen to put five options in system preferences/energy saver, it has an obligation to provide non-trivial explanations of those options and where they are appropriate.

For example, right now I have only "power nap" selected. I had previously selected put hard disks to sleep when possible alone, with and without power nap, and in both cases my external LaCie 2big TM (Raid 1) was "improperly ejected" after sleep. That doesn't happen on power nap alone, at least for now. There is nothing in the Mavericks pages in support that I can find that explains this to me. (It does echo my old iMac 10.6.8 ejection problem which was resolved by never putting the computer to sleep - which was no real resolution.)

I did find interesting tidbits in the support pages, but don't know how they all fit together. For example, enable power nap allows different operations for a macbook and for a desktop; and under Mavericks the computer is never really unpowered unless the cord is unplugged. But these tidbits are not coordinated.

Apple used to have exquisite manuals, combining different levels of detail, but always amazingly comprehensive. While I can't expect Apple to return to such manuals, if the energy saver settings are important to the functioning of Mavericks and hardware, and to environmental responsibility, then I would prefer to see Apple make them easier to use in real situations. For example, how do I use the energy saving settings optimally to save energy when the computer is not in active use and yet enable it to do upgrades and self-maintenance when there is little other demand on it.

Do I simply check nothing in "energy saver," or have I happened to hit on the most sensible compromise (enable power nap only)?

Where is there a list of compatible or incompatible external HDs with the "put to sleep whenever possible" setting?

As to power nap, my question would be "what instructions does it give to HDs". As my last note indicates, checking only power nap does not seem to generate the "improperly ejected" message with regards to either my LaCie 2big thunderbolt TM set to Raid 1 or my WD MyPassport. But it appears that I get the message for the LaCie when I have checked "put hard drive to sleep whenever possible." Is this latter option incompatible with all external drives, all external drives running TM, all LaCies, or what?

My original question is where can I look to determine which options to select for my configuration.

"The settings do what they say they do." I suspect you realize that things are not that redundantly simple. First, the "energy saving" page does no say what combinations of the options do. Secondly, other support pages hint that what an option, such as "power nap", does is not necessarily the same for different types of computers running Mavericks. Third, nothing on the "energy saving" preferences page alerts to possible adverse consequences of any particular option.

At this point, a starting point would be to find out (a) whether "sleep whenever possible" is ever compatible with an external HD running Time Machine, or only with Apple's own external HDs and (b) whether "sleep whenever possible" offers a significant energy saving under Mavericks with hybrid storage.

Barney-15E:

Re 1/21 message:

I’m still not sure that it is helpful to say the settings “do what they say they do,”

Many Apple statements used to be clear, but things have gotten much more complex since the Apple II.

The first energy saver option, "put hard disks to sleep when possible," fails to describe, or give a link to a description of, when it is "possible.' it is not obvious. For example, if TM is running or, as in my case, Crashplan is running in the background, does the OS wait to put the hard disks (in my case a hybrid drive) to sleep?

The option also fails to describe "sleep." Looking down to "power nap," and what the computer does when set to that, one can deduce, infer, or reasonably guess - since "power nap" should be different for "sleep when possible" - that once the hard disk has been put to sleep under a "when possible" scenario, it cannot back up with TM or check for email, etc. But since in another obscure place, Apple tells us that an iMac is never completely asleep - it is not even fully powered off with the power button completely, only unplugging gets it completely off - it appears that under both options the "sleep" stops a hard disk from spinning but the OS and hard disk firmware are not shut down. That is what I had previously understood as "sleep." So, clearly, there are two different types/levels of "sleep" intended in the options. Wouldn't it be useful for an explanatory sentence to be added to the "when possible" option as one is given for the "nap"?

Furthermore, nothing in the energy saver options (imaged) indicates whether the two sleep options are compatible (what are the consequences of having both selected?) or that only one should be selected.

As to whether any of the numerous discussions about "improperly ejected" external HDs refer to "power nap" is something I will explore by raising the question on one of them. In the meantime, it seems to me that even if the persistent problem only involves those who set to sleep whenever possible, it is still a problem worth resolving. (Apple is said to be working on it.) Until then, I believe more information to allow intelligent use of the "energy saver" options would be welcome.

Re 1/22 message:

Although I think that as of now Apple doesn't own any HD manufacturers, it should have some interest in what HD manufacturers present as being Mavericks-compatible and in making sure that the OS, including parts easily set by users, such as the energy saver settings, works with the HDs at least when they are set up for TM. This is particularly true when the Apple Store sells the HD; and more so when the HD uses Thunderbolt, a connection predominantly, if not exclusively, Apple's. At any rate, I think the readily accessible Apple support pages (not those for developers), should make clear whether Apple is representing that the "power saver" sleep settings are compatible with any external HD, and if Apple can't supply details, it should at least offer a link to sites which can.

Finally, you note that your external drives "sleep fine" and "without incident." What settings do you use? Is this true under 10.9.2? Have you had an "improper ejection" at all using Mavericks?

For the moment, I have not elected either option. (PS - I have found that even with this setting, my old Iomega running USB2, if on, may have improperly ejected when I check in in the morning. I can imagine that its firmware, etc., did not anticipate changes in the last few years in OS, sleep settings, etc.) My cure for this is to shut that drive (an archive) off when I don't need to refer to it.