Fig 1.0 Click on the START button to reveal the Start Menu
Fig 1.1 Click on the START button, hover over the Shutdown Options blank Menu Title and then Click on the SHUT DOWN menu-item
| TURN COMPUTER OFF CORRECTLY |
When you want to turn off the computer NEVER EVER turn it off by using its power button, normally located on the front of the computer or on the top of a laptop. And NEVER EVER turn off the computer by the electricity mains. Only turn off the computer with its power button or electricity mains when there is no other way to turn it off (i.e. because the computer froze/crashed). If you do turn off the computer by using its power button or electricity mains you risk damaging the computer.
To turn off the computer correctly you first need to click on the START button, which will reveal the Start Menu (Fig 1.1 below), and from there click on the SHUTDOWN button.
As Windows 7 shuts down the computer you will see two messages. Logging Off and then Shutting Down. Logging Off means it is disconnecting from the current
user account. In general Logging Off means to disconnect from something, such as a User Account or Internet Account. Logging On means the reverse; To
connect to something. For more information read the Log Off/On section. Once Windows 7 has logged you off (signed you out) it then saves your current
computer settings and personal (desktop) settings before actually turning off (shutting down) the computer.
If you turn off the computer by the electricity mains or power button (at anytime) you will in most cases lose your settings, which means Windows 7
might not be able to start up next time. Why? Because the settings Windows 7 saves are to do with important computer matters, such as your profile
(account information, password, desktop theme, hardware configuration and so on). Most things you do with your computer involves Windows 7 saving settings
for that action. So if you change the desktop theme from blue to green Windows 7 saves your changes in the desktop settings part of its system file.
If Windows 7 is saving some settings and you then turn off the computer by the electricity mains or power button, because you have finished using it and
are unaware that Windows 7 is saving your settings, those settings will probably be corrupt. Upon starting Windows 7 again everything could appear fine,
but the damage might show itself later. For example. If the computer was turned off whilst you were on the internet you might not have access to the
internet next time. Or if the computer was turned off whilst the desktop settings were being saved you might not have a desktop to look at next
time - Windows 7 might start up as normal (asking you for your password) but when it reaches the desktop stage it will not know what to display as it
knows nothing anymore about your desktop settings.
Fortunately with Windows 7 it saves your previous settings from the day before for example. So if you do have problems Windows 7 might be able to turn
the clock back and restore your computer settings. And power buttons on many computers these days also have a safety mechanism whereby they actually turn
off the computer correctly, allowing settings to be saved, instead of just powering off the computer. This is exactly what the Shut Down menu-item does.
It informs running software that you want to turn off the computer, so that each piece of running software then has a chance to save its settings before
closing itself.
There is no excuse for ignorance - Always turn off the computer by clicking on the START button and then on the SHUTDOWN button.
| STANDBY • HIBERNATE • SLEEP • SHUTDOWN • RESTART |
If you look at the SHUTDOWN button closely you should notice that it also has a Drop-Down Menu on the right-hand-side of it. Hovering over that drop-down menu, or clicking on it, will display a list of options (menu-items) that can be used to put the computer to Sleep (on Standby), Restart the computer and so on. Below is an explanation of those options.
STANDBY Mode
Standby Mode saves everything to Memory (as a big file) so that you can resume your session (work) from Memory, after using Standby, as long as the computer is still being powered by battery (laptop) or electricity. Basically, the big memory file is reloaded when the computer/laptop is brought out of standby mode. This is usually done by pressing the Standby button on your computer/laptop. Standby is a feature of the Sleep Mode (see below) and is therefore not listed on the SHUTDOWN drop-down menu.
HIBERNATION Mode
Hibernation Mode works in the same way as Standby Mode except that it saves your session (work) directly to the Hard Drive (as a big file) before
shutting down Windows 7 completely. This means you can resume your session, even after a power loss, when you switch the computer on again. Basically,
the big hard drive file, which contains your previous work, is reloaded.
Standby Mode is faster than Hibernation Mode because it utilizes the data transfer speed of Memory, instead of the slower Hard Drive speed.
SLEEP Mode
Sleep Mode acts as both Hibernation Mode and Standby Mode.
Sleep Mode saves your entire session (work), including all open documents, to both Memory and Hard Drive so that when you start the computer next time it
appears as you left it last time (before clicking on the Sleep button).
SHUTDOWN Mode
If you want your Hard Drive to live longer choose to shutdown completely only, by using the SHUTDOWN button, because no big file will be used. Better still, disable Hibernation altogether (for Advanced Users only). With this mode your work will not be saved, therefore you must manually save all of your work before closing down any opened programs and shutting down the computer completely.
RESTART Mode
Restart Mode is the same as Shutdown Mode except that the computer is started up again after the initial shutdown process. With this mode your work will not be saved, therefore you must manually save all of your work before closing down any opened programs and shutting down the computer completely.
| CHANGE THE OPTION ON THE SHUTDOWN BUTTON |
If you want to change the option on the SHUTDOWN button, to SLEEP for example, first click the right mouse button over an empty part of the Taskbar to bring up the Options menu. And from there, click the left mouse button on the PROPERTIES menu-item. This will then bring up the Taskbar And Start Menu Properties window (Fig 1.5).
When the Taskbar And Start Menu Properties window appears (above) it will display the TASKBAR Tab (window) settings by default (by normal behaviour), but to change the option on the shutdown button you need to be on the START MENU Tab (window), so click on the START MENU Tab to continue.
The POWER BUTTON ACTION drop-down menu is the first setting on the START MENU Tab. Simply click on it, to bring up its options, and then select an option (menu-item). In the above example I am selecting the SLEEP option. Doing so makes the APPLY button active.
The APPLY button is only of real use when you are changing one setting at a time for example whereby you need to see the effect(s) of that change
straight away, before then deciding whether or not to keep that change. In other words. Change a setting and APPLY it. Change a setting and APPLY it.
Click on the OK button when you are happy with the changes.
In this example though you are only changing one setting, that you wish to keep (apply). Therefore click on the OK button, instead, when you have selected
your preferred Power Button Action.
Clicking on the SLEEP button, previously the SHUTDOWN button, will now make the computer go to sleep instead of shutting down the computer. What this does is save your work (as a big memory/hibernation file), logs you off your user account and then puts the computer into Standby Mode. So on a laptop for example it will appear as though the laptop has shut down, when in fact it is only sleeping (standing by, waiting for you to reawaken it). When you reawaken the laptop, by pressing its off/on (standby mode) button, you will need to log back into your account whereby you will then see your programs and work intact (just as you left them before the sleep).
| CHANGE THE POWER BUTTON OPTION |
This next example is for Advanced Users only. It involves changing certain POWER Control Panel settings in order to make the physical POWER (Off/On)
button, on a laptop, act as a SHUTDOWN button.
By default (normal behaviour) clicking on the physical POWER (Off/On) button makes your laptop go to sleep. If you want to change this default behaviour
you need to go to the POWER OPTIONS Control Panel and change the advanced settings.
When you get to the Power Options window your current power option will have its radio (circle) button selected. In this example, the Balanced (Recommended) power option. On the far right-hand-side of the radio button is the text link CHANGE PLAN SETTINGS, which you need to click on in order to get to the EDIT PLAN SETTINGS window below.
Clicking on the CHANGE ADVANCED POWER SETTINGS text link, above, opens the POWER OPTIONS Advanced Settings window below. Scroll down the window until you reach the heading POWER BUTTONS AND LID. Then click on its + sign to expand it, revealing its subheadings LID CLOSE ACTION, POWER BUTTON ACTION and SLEEP BUTTON ACTION.
To change the action of the physical, laptop, POWER (Off/On) button you need to change the drop-down menu options on the settings called On Battery and Plugged In. When you have changed the settings simply APPLY them or OK them. After that, close the Power Options window (if need be) and then the Control Panel window.
After changing the POWER (Off/On) button, from a Sleep button to a Shutdown button, pressing it will shutdown the computer completely instead of putting it to sleep. If you want to put the computer to sleep only, from now on you will have to use the SLEEP menu-item (or SLEEP button) on the START Menu.
Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.
