A serializable object, formed by a device driver and containing characteristics (device state) of the device, is held by a device driver and made known to a data processing system's power manager. The power manager provides a device driver independent mechanism for saving device state by retrieving each device driver's object containing device state and storing the object in a location that provides for efficient and quick retrieval. The power manager, being aware of power levels for all devices on the system, may determine where, how and when to store objects retrieved from the device drivers for most efficient retrieval. Upon receiving an interrupt indicating the system should power up, the serializable objects are retrieved by the power manager and restored to each device driver.