Do you know the differences between Windows Stand By
and Hibernate? These two Windows XP shutdown options
often confuse people. These power saving options offer advantages, but
it’s important to know the differences when creating a power scheme
for your notebook or desktop.
When you click Turn Off Computer, Windows XP shows
4 options to shut down your computer.
- Stand By
- Turn Off
- Restart
- Hibernate
Most people understand Turn Off and
Restart as they’re frequently used. Where people get confused
is between Stand By and Hibernate. The main differences lie in power
consumption and data storage.
Windows Stand By Maintains a Fast State of Readiness
When you hear the term “stand by” you think of a resource that is
ready to go once called. The concept is similar in Windows. Your
computer returns to a state of readiness when you press a key or the
power button. The time it takes your PC to resume or shut down is
seconds.
Your machine recovers quickly as your data is stored in
RAM. The slower part is waking up the peripherals. Although
your machine is in “stand by” the power has been cut to items
such as your hard drive and monitor. You’re running your
machine in a very low power mode, but it is still on. This mode can be
useful if you’re on a notebook and need to conserve your battery while
you step away.
If you have a notebook, you wouldn’t want to keep your computer in
this state for more than several hours. The first issue is that even
though you’re in a low power consumption state, you’re still
using power. The bigger reason is once your power goes, so
does your data.
The big drawback to Stand By is you run the risk of losing
whatever data you were working on if the power goes out. As a
precaution, you might want to save the data before putting your
computer in this mode or use Hibernate.
Windows Hibernate Takes a Longer Term Approach
An option with a longer perspective is hibernate. Like Stand By,
you can recover your place. The big difference is that your PC
has shut down and is not pulling power. Another difference is
that your data is saved to your hard disk and not
RAM. This makes it a safer, but slower option for shut down and
resume.
Hibernate will save your desktop and open files to a special
Windows file called hiberfil.sys. This large file
usually resides in your root folder (c:\hiberfil.sys). The file size
closely matches how much RAM your PC has installed. If you have 2 gigs
of RAM on your notebook, you’re going to have to give up 2 gigs of
hard disk space. Note: You can delete the hiberfil.sys file only
if you disable hibernate.
When you press your power button, Windows will start and open the
files you were using. The process is not instantaneous as with Stand
By, but gets you to the same place. You may find this option is faster
than rebooting, as Windows doesn’t have to do things such as detecting
your hardware.
Where is the Hibernate Option?
Hibernate doesn’t show by default. Your manufacturer has to have
included the functionality and it needs to be enabled. Even then,
there is a trick to seeing this option. Usually, when you turn off
your computer you see the following dialog.
If you hold down your Shift key, you’ll see the
Stand By option changes to Hibernate.
If you still can’t see the option, you should check your
Power Options Properties in your Control Panel.
Creating a Windows XP Power Scheme
Most Windows XP systems allow you to set various power options.
This is ideal for notebook users who wish to conserve power after a
certain period of inactivity. It’s also useful for desktop owners who
wish to conserve power. As example, you might want to create a profile
that first puts your computer into Stand By mode and
then goes into Hibernate after another time.
To create a Power Profile in Windows XP,
1. From the Start menu, select
Control
Panel
2. Select Performance and Maintenance
3. Select Power Options.
Your system should display the Power Options Properties
dialog with various tabs. The number of tabs will vary based on your
manufacturer and if you have a
UPS. Notebook
systems have extra settings so you can set a scheme for when you’re
using direct power or batteries.
4. Click the Hibernate tab. Check the box if you
wish to enable this feature.
5. Click the Power Schemes tab.
6. Set your options to suit your needs.
If you’re on a
notebook, make sure that your hibernate time is less than your battery
time. Otherwise, your battery will drain before the option
can kick in.
7. Click OK.
We may be use to cheap and abundant energy, but there is little
need to keeping your computer fully powered. Microsoft and various
hardware vendors have improved the power management systems. The
bigger question is whether you should use Stand By, Hibernate or both.
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