Can anyone please help? I have jut got a Dell Latitude C640 reconditioned. For some reason, standby does not work. When I click shut down, the standby option is greyed out. This is very irritating, because I don't always want to shut the whole thing down, but do want to save power. Can anyone help please?

Sally.

what operating system?

xp pro

something i picked up from the ms website..

Putting Your Computer on Standby or Hibernate

There are two basic options for putting your laptop to sleep when you're not actively using it, but don't want to completely shut it down—Standby or Hibernate. Standby is energy conserving, because your entire computer switches to a low-power state. Devices, such as the monitor and hard disks, turn off and your computer uses less power. It's easy to return to work, because Standby leaves applications and files open on your desktop. Standby is perfect when you're going to be taking a break because the cabin attendant just came by with what passes for lunch on airplanes these days, and you want to quickly pick up exactly where you left off. (Note that airlines often request that you completely turn off your computer during take off and landing. In Standby mode, your computer might appear to be turned off but it could automatically restart. So shut down your computer completely when it's not in use on an airplane.) Standby is not appropriate for long term use—on many laptops, overnight is probably pushing it on standby. And it has one important limitation—everything is in memory, not yet saved to the hard drive.

Hibernate mode writes an image of what you're currently working on to a special file on your hard drive, and then shuts your computer almost completely off. It takes a bit longer than Standby, since it needs to write to your hard drive. Hibernate also takes a bit longer to resume, since you must go through essentially the normal boot process, although in Windows XP your computer wakes faster from Hibernate than in previous versions of Windows. The advantage is that you can leave your laptop in Hibernate mode for days without any ill effect. When you start it back up, you'll see everything exactly as you left it. Hibernate is the perfect mode for shutting down for the night or even the weekend.

If you are using Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows XP Professional with Fast User Switching turned on, the Turn Off Computer menu will present the options to Stand By, Turn Off, or Restart your computer. To put your computer into Hibernate mode, click Start, and then click Turn off computer. Press and hold the Shift key. The label under the first button changes from Stand By to Hibernate. Click Hibernate.

full article

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02march25.mspx

Yes, that is how it should work. But for some reason, it doesn't. When I click on turn off computer, the standby mode is greyed out, and you can't click on it. Very strange. I can't put it into hibernate mode either. All I can do is switch it off.

do you know if the dell allows standby? ive heard of some features being disabled due to dell.. but wait for another reply to see if someone could help you even more.

XP Pro SP2?

Noting the reconditioning a common reason for this failure is a faulty or corrupted graphics driver.

First off look at your Device Manager | Display Adapter for any issues or errors.
Start/Run/ devmgmt.msc

Also I see a Host file issue in the drivers folder.

It's "host" file, 1K size, don't know what kind of file and how it get loaded, it's in Window/system32/drivers/etc folder.

That & other ideas here:

http://groups.google.com/group/micro...yed+out&qt_g=1

What is your graphics device? What Dell CD's do you have?

Yes I have got sp2.

I don't know anything about my graphics card. I do have a yellow exclamation mark, under video controller (vga compatible), whatever that is. Could that be anything to do with it?

I don't have any manuals or cd's from Dell.

I got rid of those exclamation marks, by reinstalling the driver for the thingy, whatever it was - vga thing. And now standby works fine!! Thank you VERY much for your help. I have set it to go into standby when I close my lid. Does that mean I can just close the lid whenever I want? Is it safe to do that? Without shutting things down first?

That should be fine.

Here is your manual:

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc..._documentation

& in general:

http://support.dell.com/support/topi...dhs&redirect=1

Power Management Modes
Standby Mode
Standby mode conserves power by turning off the display and the hard drive after a predetermined period of inactivity (a time-out). When the computer exits standby mode, it returns to the same operating state it was in before entering standby mode.

NOTICE: If your computer loses AC and battery power while in standby mode, it may lose data.

To enter standby mode:

In the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 operating system, click the Start button, click Shutdown, click Standby, and then click OK.


In Windows XP, click the Start button, click Turn off computer, and then click Stand by.

or

Depending on how you set the power management options on the Advanced tab in the Power Options Properties window, use one of the following methods:


Press the power button.


Close the display.


Press .


To exit standby mode, press the power button or open the display depending on how you set the options on the Advanced tab. You cannot make the computer exit standby mode by pressing a key or touching the touch pad.

Hibernate Mode
Hibernate mode conserves power by copying system data to a reserved area on the hard drive and then completely turning off the computer. When the computer exits hibernate mode, it returns to the same operating state it was in before entering hibernate mode.

NOTICE: You cannot remove devices or undock your computer while your computer is in hibernate mode.

Your computer enters hibernate mode if the battery charge level becomes critically low.

Depending on how you set the power management options on the Advanced tab in the Power Options Properties window, use one of the following methods to enter hibernate mode:

Press the power button.


Close the display.


Press the power management keyboard shortcut, .


NOTE: Some PC Cards may not operate correctly after the computer exits hibernate mode. Remove and reinsert the card, or simply restart (reboot) your computer.

To exit hibernate mode, press the power button. The computer may take a short time to exit hibernate mode. You cannot make the computer exit hibernate mode by pressing a key or touching the touch pad. For more information on hibernate mode, see the documentation that came with your operating system