One of the best features that was introduced along with Windows XP was the Hibernation Mode. It becam an instant hit with millions of users who switched from shutting down PC’s to using the Hibernating mode. The best benefit of this is that the PC starts within a few seconds and so many people MISTAKE that it is a replecant to Shut Down.

Even I did the same and the following are the consequences:

I was introduced to this hibernation about 4 yrs back. I just loved it and very soon shutdown was replaced by hibernation. I never used to shut down PC (it used to happen sometimes automatically) as electricity would be cut. But after some months, the time to come out of hibernation started increasing and the games I played started lagging, PC used to get hanged quite often. I asked in a few forums and all the fingers pionted towards hibernation. Then, it became worser and worser and a day came when I had to format my PC and reinstall my Windows.

Now, coming to the point, here is the difference between the 3:

Stand By : Stand By puts the computer in the low power state so that you can quickly return to your work which you had left half completed. It just puts your computer in a low power state. A device, scheduled task or any movement in the PC may wake it up unexpectedly.

Hibernate : Hibernating saves your work to your HDD in a temp location so that you can resume your work from the point where you left it. There is proof that always hibernating the PC causes it to lag and at the end, you will be the one to suffer.

Shut Down : Shut down is like complete hibernation. Though it takes time to start again, it is the safest. A PC has to be successfully shut down atleast 0nce in 2 days so that all the processes are ended properly and your PC gets a complete nap. The difference between hibernation and shut down is the same as the difference between a nap and a sound sleep.

Hence, my suggestion is that you follow th following table :

Between 1-6 hours – Use Stand By

Between 6-24 hours – Use Hibernate

More than 24 hours – Use Shut Down