I am not absolutely certain, but I believe that "stand by" just puts your monitor into a sleep state. "Hibernate" saves an image of your memory et al. to the hard drive. When you come out of hibernation, the boot process is much faster than a cold boot, and you come out to where you were when you left. Dean Kukral ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon Totty" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 2:26 PM Subject: Re: [PCSOFT] Hibernation What is the difference between "Hibernate" and "Stand By"? Are they just two names for the same thing? I am using Windows XP Professional and I use Stand By all the time with no ill effects. My current desk top computer has no apparent hibernation mode, but I have seen it as an option on some machines. Does it vary by OS? Gordon Totty "Hold No Punches.." Rode brings you great shareware/freeware programs with his honest opinions in this weekly column. http://freepctech.com/rode "Hold No Punches.." Rode brings you great shareware/freeware programs with his honest opinions in this weekly column. http://freepctech.com/rode