Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Put your PC to sleep

The key to using Sleep or Hibernate is to set one of them up as the default action to take when your PC would otherwise be shut down.

Now, regardless of your settings, you can choose to sleep your PC-or for that matter, shut down, restart, or log off-at any time by clicking the tiny arrow next to the Shut down button in your Start menu.

You can also change the function of the Shut down button itself by rightclicking the button and selecting Properties. From the Power button action list, choose either Switch user, Log off, Lock, Restart, Sleep, or Shut down.

But why stop there? You can also change what happens when you press the physical power button on your PC or close the lid. Open the Power Options page in Control Panel, and click the Change plan settings link next to the currently selected plan. Next, click the Change advanced power settings link to open the Advanced Settings window, and then expand the Power buttons and lid branch. If necessary, click the Change settings that are currently unavailable link.

The options and choices vary depending on your PC's capabilities, but in most cases, you should see at least Power button action, which refers to your PC's physical power switch, and Sleep button action (whether or not your keyboard or PC has a formal Sleep button, which looks like a crescent moon), and Lid close action if you're using a laptop.

At most, you'll see four choices under each option: Do nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, and Shut down. The Hibernate option only appears if hibernation is turned on, as described in the previous section. And if you don't see the Sleep option, your BIOS or video driver may not support it. Finally, the Do nothing option is particularly useful for those with a tower case on the floor that is frequently visited by a puppy or toddler.

Power Options' Advanced settings window lets you choose whether your PC goes to sleep or shuts down when you press the power button or close the lid.

Next, scroll up just a bit and expand the Sleep branch. Here, you can use the Sleep after and Hibernate after options to have your PC automatically put itself to sleep after a certain period of inactivity. Think of these settings as a more ecologically friendly-but less entertaining-alternative to the screen saver.

Want to temporarily override the Sleep setting? Use the Caffeine tool, available at http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/, to keep your PC awake by simulating a keypress every 59 seconds.

Time to wake up

While in Standby, Sleep, or Hibernate mode, your PC waits for you to hit the power button-or optionally press a key or move the mouse-at which point it powers up and resumes your previous Windows session.

All sorts of devices can be used to wake your PC when it's asleep, such as your keyboard, some kinds of mice, network adapters, and modems. But first, you need to turn on a setting in Windows. Open Device Manager, and expand the branch containing the device (e.g., Keyboards). Double-click your device, choose the Power Management tab, turn on the Allow this device to wake the computer option, and click OK.

Next, put your PC to sleep and test it out. If you've just enabled wake-up for your keyboard, press the Space bar. Or, if you want to wake up the PC with your mouse, give it a nudge.

If that doesn't do it, you'll need to dive into your BIOS setup screen. Look for a Power or APM Configuration category, in which you'll find settings like these:

Power Button Mode
This option lets you choose whether your power switch shuts down your PC or puts it to sleep. Depending on your BIOS, the setting you choose here may or may not be overridden by the similar setting in the Windows Control Panel.

Power On By External Modems
This is also known as "Wake On Ring" (WOR); if you have an internal modem in a PCI or PCIE slot, you can use this feature to call your PC with a telephone to wake it up. (Despite the name, this feature won't work with serial port or USB modems.)

Power On By PCI/PCIE Devices
Turn on this option to use the "Wake On LAN" (WOL) feature, which lets you send a wake-up signal to your PC from another PC on your local network. Some motherboards also require that you install a jumper or use a specific type of network card, so check your PC's documentation for details.

Power On By PS/2 Keyboard or Mouse
Turn this on if you have an old-style keyboard or mouse that has a round connector. Most PCs should wake up from newer USB keyboards or mice regardless of this setting.

Restore on AC Power Loss
This option lets you decide what happens after you've cut power to your PC. Set this option to Always On if you want to turn on your PC with a switch on an external power strip.

As you might've expected, some experimentation may be required at this stage. When you wake up your PC, Windows may require a password before it resumes your previous session. To turn this off, return to the Advanced Settings window, expand the Additional settings branch, and set the Require a password on wakeup option to No.