1. A method for responding to a network event by a computing device, the method comprising: re-instantiating a firmware environment that includes one or more firmware functions available at pre-boot time, when transitioning the computing device from a first higher power consumption state to a second lower power consumption state; receiving a network event by the firmware environment while the computing device is in the second lower power consumption state; determining, by the firmware environment, independent of an operating system (OS) of the computing device, while remaining in the second lower power consumption state, whether the network event can be handled without returning the entire computing device to the first higher power consumption state; and causing the network event to be handled independent of the OS and without returning the entire computing device to the first higher power consumption state, by the firmware environment, when the firmware environment determines that the network event can be so handled; wherein causing the network event to be handled independent of the OS includes returning, by the firmware environment, one or more hardware components used to handle the network event to the first higher power consumption state, and on completion of the handling of the network event, retrieving, by the firmware environment, input/output (I/O) data previously collected and saved by a filter driver of the computing device during a transition, by the OS, of one or more hardware components to the second low power consumption state, the I/O data associated with a manner in which the OS returns the one or more hardware components to the second lower power consumption state and returning, by the firmware environment, independent of the OS, the one or more hardware components to the second lower power consumption state utilizing the I/O data.