In some embodiments, the invention involves efficiently boot and resume a machine from a low power state. In at least one embodiment, the present invention saves the processor state(s) in a buffer that allows fast access upon a resume from sleep mode. When a sleep (S3 mode) is initiated in a platform, processor state context is saved in a system reserved buffer that does not allow access to the operating system. The firmware (EFI) has access to the buffer and upon a resume, the processor context(s) are restored from a fast buffer. Other embodiments are described and claimed.