APM is one of the two power management strategies used on current computers. It is mainly used with laptops for functions like suspend to disk, but it may also be responsible for switching off the computer after power down. APM relies on a correct working BIOS. If the BIOS is broken, APM may have only limited use or even prevent the computer from working. Therefore, it may be switched off with the parameter
Some very new computers may take more advantage from the newer ACPI.