Many are still confused between these two Windows XP power saving modes. These power saving schemes can be useful, off course to save power and to keep your pc healthy. Which power saving mode should i use? To understand this, you should understand the difference between the two.
Standby mode: It can also be called as the sleep mode (nap mode), All the files are saved temporarily in the RAM. When u switch to standby mode the power to all the peripherals like Monitor, Hard disk and other devices is cut except RAM so your open files stay open. This way your computer is in a very low power mode and can be useful for Laptops to save battery while you are away.
Hibernate: All the files and applications that are open are saved as an image and the computer is turned off(pulling no power). when you switch your computer again all the files and desktop will be the way you left before hibernating. The image is saved to the hard disk, hence it is permanent. Only problem is it takes time to shutdown and resume, but a safer option.
By default windows saves all your open data in a special file called hiberfil.sys This large file usually resides in your root folder (C:\hiberfil.sys) The file size depends on the amount of RAM installed on your PC. If you have 1GB RAM, The file size allocated for hibernation will be around 1GB.
Almost all PC’s are configured and capable or hibernating. If you don’t see the Hibernate option in the Windows Shutdown screen, Hold the SHIFT key to toggle from Standby to Hibernate option.
