Power Management of Permanent Storage in Mobile Computers Written Preliminary Examination Part Ii

Mobile 1 computer usage is increasing rapidly and laptops now come equipped with the latest microprocessors, color displays, large disks and other energy-intensive devices. Unfortunately, the batteries that power all this portability are lagging behind in their ability to meet these increasing power requirements. As a result mobile computers suuer from short battery life and require frequent recharging. Three subsystems|the display, permanent storage and microprocessor|account for over 90% of the total power usage in a mobile computer. In this paper, we will focus on the storage subsystem, which can consume up to 30% of total system power. We will look at several methods of optimizing permanent storage on mobile computers to reduce power consumption and extend battery life while maintaining current performance levels. 1 In this paper, the term mobile computer is used for the current generation of laptop/notebook computers as well as future portables that will include wireless communication devices.