What is the difference between these to terms?

Hibernate is suspend to disk. Windows copies the memory to disk, configures the computer to boot that image and turns the machine off. Sleep is suspend to memory. Windows keeps the cpu and memory active but at minimum power states.

Thanks "I needed that"jp

If the PC loses power while in sleep-mode, it will do a cold boot.If the PC loses power while in Hibernate-state, it will reboot from the hibernate file stored on disc. There are dis/advantages to both.

bnborg said: Sleep is suspend to memory. Windows keeps the cpu and memory active but at minimum power states. Cmnore said: If the PC loses power while in sleep-mode, it will do a cold boot.With due respect, you've both got that wrong. bnborg is getting mixed up with XP's "standby".Sleep (also called hybrid sleep) is a combination of the old standby and hibernate.When you invoke sleep, the memory contents are copied to disk, and then the machine is partially powered down, such that the memory stays powered (like the old standby).If the power is retained during the sleep period, the machine can start almost instantly as the data in memory is intact. This is like restarting from the old standby.If the power is lost during the sleep period, the machine reads the memory contents off the disk, which takes a little longer. This is like restarting from the old hibernate.So really, sleep is the best of both worlds.Sleep = standby + hibernateThack