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"Sometimes the resume fails and you have to reboot anyway."

Sleep mode has gotten a bad rap in the past because, "with Windows operating systems prior to Vista the 'resume from sleep' mode has not been that reliable," says Ken Bosley, Hewlett-Packard brand manager for consumer desktop PCs. When a computer goes into sleep mode, it shuts down everything but its random access memory (RAM), a group of memory cells (which represent bits of data) that retains short-term data for easy access, thus preserving the computer's last active state-the running software, used log-ons and other settings-so that the user does not have to reboot when active use resumes. (The latter uses more energy because desktop power supplies are less efficient and require a separate and often larger, power-hungry monitor.) It also varies based on the type of work being done: Complex calculations requiring intensive processing are more power hungry, whereas writing or Web browsing consume far less electricity. The amount of wattage drawn when the computer is on varies greatly depending on whether it is a laptop or a desktop PC. A PC that is "on" will either be actively processing information or sitting idle, depending on whether the user is typing a document, reading e-mail or has stepped away briefly. Your PC can be in only three states: on, sleep or off (also called standby)-each of which draws some level of electric current. If you want it to consume zero energy, you're going to have to unplug it. If you want your PC to consume as little energy as possible when not in use, shut it down. Sleep mode itself, once a pretty unreliable option-you never knew if you would be able to wake your PC without having to reboot it-has been vastly improved with newer operating systems. So your PC will likely slip into sleep mode anyway, even if you leave it on overnight.

They are also energy efficient: Such efficiency has reached the point where most PCs place themselves in sleep mode if they remain idle for a certain period of time. Rest easy, your computer is more likely to be damaged by a virus picked up from the Internet than by being turned off and on too much. How you end a computer session depends on how often you use the computer, your views on energy conservation (the amount of juice it uses while sitting idle), and what you have been told about how your decision will affect your investment's longevity: Will frequent starting and stopping cause its circuits to burn out sooner? But before you exit cyberspace, a decision must be made: Should you shut the machine down, place it into "sleep" mode or do nothing at all? You take a deep breath, rub your tired eyes and prepare to push away from your personal computer after a lengthy instant message exchange, video viewing or analysis of your monthly budget-maybe all three.