Hibernate setup

[ranchhand]

Fer What It's Worth Dept: The latest Maximum PC/July edition has a good article on properly setting up the Hibernate feature on XP and Vista. I really haven't paid any attention, but thought I would set it up their way. and I really like it. Now my unit boots in 1/4 the normal time but in hibernate it sits dark and quiet, saving me $ and time. SO I set all the computers in my home network that way.

[handyguy]

Perhaps you are referring to this?:
XP Hibernate Option

Whenever you want to logoff, shut down or reboot your Windows XP machine you have only 3 choices
(1) Standby ONLY IF the ACPI/APM function is properly enabled BOTH in your motherboard's BIOS AND in

WinXP!
(2) Restart
(3) Shutdown.


To properly enable Hibernation in WinXP:

Start button -> Control Panel -> Power Options -> Hibernate tab -> check Enable hibernate support

box -> Apply/OK -> reboot.


NOTE: If the Hibernate tab is unavailable your computer does NOT support it!
For some reason Microsoft did NOT enable the 4th option:
(4) Hibernate, which should be available on power saving (ACPI) enabled PCs and laptops.
But you CAN bring it back: just hold the Shift key while the Shut down menu is displayed on your screen, and notice the Standby button being replaced by a new, fully functional Hibernate button, which can be clicked with the left button of your mouse.

If you release the Shift key, the Hibernate option will disappear once again, to be replaced by

Standby.
http://www.freepctech.com/pc/xp/xp00051.shtml

You can also find this information out easily at the desktop, push F1, put Hibernate in the box & read.

[ranchhand]

You are correct in what you say, but what I have experienced is that Hibernate S3 must be enabled in the BIOS, and then you will see it in XP. I already had Hibernate enabled in the video configuration but couldn't get the command from Start/Turn Off even with Shift held. After I enabled S3 AND USB mouse wake-up in BIOS I now have the Hibernate command when I hold Shift while the shutdown menu is showing. I couldn't before.

[redwudz]

Only one caveat, you should do a reboot on occasion as that resets everything. Once a week is usually enough. Hibernate and standby don't reset anything, so if you install new programs or make other major changes, it pays to reboot once in a while.

This from http://www.sharpened.net/helpcenter/answer.php?88

Question:
What is the difference between Hibernate and Standby in Windows XP?

Answer:
Hibernate and Standby are two different sleep options that Windows XP offers. Hibernate saves an image of your desktop, including all open windows and files. Then it powers down your computer just as if you had turned it off. When you turn your computer on again, your windows and files are open just as you left them.

Standby is a more traditional sleep mode, as it reduces the power your computer uses to almost nothing. When you select Standby, the power to your screen, hard drive, and peripheral devices is cut. However, the power to the computer's memory (RAM) is maintained so your open files stay open.

Hibernate also stores all your RAM info to hard drive, so you need the available space for that. Hibernate is also slower to start and stop as it has to read/write the info from/to the hard drive. Hibernate uses no power, Standby uses some power to keep the RAM alive, so not the best for a laptop running from battery.

[EddyH]

Glad to see people discovering / being told of / having this useful feature made available to them.

Winkey - U - Shift-H has become a common key sequence for me (and Win-U-S) instead of Win-U-U.
Mind you that's because I've been using a laptop the last year and a bit, often in situations where I need to fire it up into an already running copy of word, have ten minutes of typing something, then hit ctrl-S and hibernate it (whilst standing up to get off the train )
Long overdue as the 10-year-old stopgap I was using before it also featured a fully working version of the function, under Win95!

Doesn't always work right though, so I'd suggest just shutting PCs down properly unless you have some pressing reason to keep the session current constantly or always need it to load "quicker" (which if you time it, you may find it actually isn't sometimes - dumping 500mb of RAM to HD and then recovering it straight back seems to run on a par with "saving settings" and powering off, then booting and loading the windows login screen for mine).

[stiltman]

XP
powercfg /H on|off

Vista
powercfg -h on|off

For more commands use powercfg /?

BTW, the only way I could figure out how to turn it off in Vista was by command prompt using powercfg -h off

[EddyH]

for those unused to command lines under microsoft operating systems, those two lines do exactly the same thing and, i'd wager, are exactly the same program...

/H = /h = -H = -h

why do you need to turn the support off? just don't use it, instead.

[MOVIEGEEK]

My desktop takes over one minute to come out of hibernation while my laptop takes less than 10 seconds but it's the opposite for standby.
It's best to use hibernation for laptops because it uses no battery power,standby is best used on desktops because the CPU/PSU fan usually stays on.

[ViRaL1]

My desktop takes over one minute to come out of hibernation while my laptop takes less than 10 seconds but it's the opposite for standby.
It's best to use hibernation for laptops because it uses no battery power,standby is best used on desktops because the CPU/PSU fan usually stays on.

How much memory does each have and how many attached devices do you have on your desktop?

[redwudz]

Standby on my laptop is fairly quick. But I do have to move the mouse around a little to bring the display back up. Hibernate is fairly slow, probably because of the time it takes to read the info from my hard drive, plus the time it takes the display to come up. My laptop stays plugged in most all the time, so battery power is not a issue. I have it set for standby when the lid is closed, so it's very convenient.

Most of my newer desktops shut down all the fans, including the PS. But I do have them in STR (Suspend To RAM) mode in my BIOS settings. Outside of the blinking power light, they appear off. But I need to reboot to reset some of the progrms, so I don't use standby that often with the desktops.

[yoda313]

I use standby mostly on xp and vista pcs. I usually shutdown when I don't plan on using it a lot or if there is an update to install then I'll shutdown.

One odd thing to note about xp and vista shutdown - on my xp pc when its in standby the keyboard number lock button stays lit up when its in standby. When my vista pc is in standby the number lock button is not illumintated - by the way I always leave my num lock on so I know that is not the difference. Just a quirk of vista vs xp for any of those that migh have noticed that.

[MOVIEGEEK]

My desktop takes over one minute to come out of hibernation while my laptop takes less than 10 seconds but it's the opposite for standby.
It's best to use hibernation for laptops because it uses no battery power,standby is best used on desktops because the CPU/PSU fan usually stays on.

How much memory does each have and how many attached devices do you have on your desktop?

1GB on both and no attached drives.
It must have to do with the HDD because they have similar programs and OS installed.
Another odd thing I noticed about my laptop is the battery lasts longer in hibernation than when it's turned off.

[buttzilla]

If you leave your computer on in hibernation mode all night you are still using more electricity then if you shut it down.

[stiltman]

for those unused to command lines under microsoft operating systems, those two lines do exactly the same thing and, i'd wager, are exactly the same program...

/H = /h = -H = -h

why do you need to turn the support off? just don't use it, instead.

They're not the same version
XP 5.1.2600.2180
Vista 6.0.6000.16386

I shut it off because I don't use it and I don't want the hibernation file on my drive

[noki]

",,,If you leave your computer on in hibernation mode all night you are still using more electricity then if you shut it down.
,.,"

why would that be the case?? you are NOT consuming electricity in either case.

Standby yes, but not hibernation. maybe that's what you meant.