Back to Contents PagePower ManagementPower management helps you reduce the electricity consumption of your computer by regulating power supply to the various components. The system setupand the operating system allow you to configure when the power supply to certain components should be reduced or cut off.Some common power-saving states in Microsoft Windows are:Sleep — Sleep is a power-saving state that allows a computer to quickly resume full-power operation (typically within several seconds) when youwant to start working again. Putting your computer into the sleep state is like pausing a DVD player; the computer immediately stops what it is doingand is ready to start again when you want to resume working.Hibernation — Hibernation is a power-saving state designed primarily for laptops. While sleep puts your work and settings in memory and draws asmall amount of power, hibernation puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk, and then turns off your computer. Of all the power-saving states in Windows, hibernation uses the least amount of power. On a laptop, use hibernation when you know that you won't use your laptop foran extended period and won't have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time.Hybrid sleep — Hybrid sleep is designed primarily for desktop computers. Hybrid sleep is a combination of sleep and hibernate it puts any opendocuments and programs in memory and on your hard disk, and then puts your computer into a low-power state so that you can quickly resume yourwork. That way, if a power failure occurs, Windows can restore your work from your hard disk. When hybrid sleep is turned on, putting your computerinto sleep automatically puts your computer into hybrid sleep. Hybrid sleep is typically turned on by default on desktop computers.Related InformationConfiguring the Power Settings in Windows 7Dell QuicksetBack to Contents Page
