IF you're using a desktop system, it really makes no sense to hibernate your computer. Hibernate is really best used on laptops.
I just turn off all power saving features and set my monitor to turn off after 10 minutes.
Sleep saves data to memory and then switches to minimal power mode. The disadvantage is a 5 second delay while Vista manages the switch back to normal power mode. In the event of a power failure you would lose any unsaved data which is stored in RAM.
Hibernation stores a user's unsaved data, including information about open programs, to a special file called hiberfil.sys. This means that your data is safe even if you switch of the mains and take out the battery. When the machine restarts, it loads the data stored in hiberfil.sys and thus returns the machine to the precise state when you set it to hibernate. Incidentally, hiberfil.sys is a hidden file, which is always found in the root of the c: drive.
Hybrid Sleep, it gives you the speed of Sleep, combined with the resilience of Hibernation. If all goes well then your machine comes out of Hybrid Sleep in less than 5 seconds, if all goes badly, then it takes relatively ages for the desktop to return, but at least you can recover your unsaved data from hiberfil.sys.
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