By default in Vista, Hibernate is not directly available. Sleep is a hybrid
of what you used to know as Standby (low power state, memory content
preserved) and Hibernate (memory content stored to disk, system powers
down.) Vista's sleep with copy the memory image to disk, then enter the low
power state, so that you can quickly resume. After a set time of
inactivity, the system will then power down, losing the memory state in RAM,
but be able to restart quickly from the hibernation condition.
If you want Sleep (as in Standby) and Hibernate as separately available
actions, you need to turn off "Allow Hybrid Sleep" in the advanced power
settings. You can configure this separately for on AC or on Battery
conditions.
Val
In Control Panel >> Power >> What to do when lid is closed, I
see three choices: DO NOTHING, SLEEP, and SHUT DOWN.
SLEEP seems to be 'Standby'.
My preference is that the unit would HIBERNATE when lid is
closed. Is that possible?