In General you should at least restart your machine twice a week.
It is fine to use hibernation/sleep, it will use about the same power as turning a machine on and off once a day, if you turn a machine on and off multiple times a day you will likely use more.
To set up sleep and hibernation on a Windows PC, navigate to Power & Sleep settings (via Start > Settings > System > Power & Sleep) and adjust the sleep and hibernation timeouts.
You can also modify which actions (like closing the lid or pressing the power button) trigger sleep or hibernation.
Accessing Power & Sleep Settings:
Windows 11: Start > Settings > System > Power & Battery > Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts.
Windows 10: Start > Settings > System > Power & Sleep.
Modifying Sleep Settings:
Sleep Timeouts: Under "Sleep", you'll see options for "On battery" and "Plugged in". Choose the time after which the PC will go to sleep.
Screen Timeout: You can also adjust when the display turns off.
Enabling or Disabling Hibernation:
Hibernation Options:
To enable or disable hibernation, you may need to go back to the "Power & Sleep" settings or use additional power settings (accessed from "Additional power settings" under Power & Sleep).
Choose What the Power Buttons Do:
You can also set what actions (like closing the lid or pressing the power button) will trigger sleep or hibernation.
Hibernation in Windows 11:
Battery Saver: In Windows 11, you can also adjust hibernation settings under "Battery" in System Settings, specifically in the "Battery saver" section.
Advanced Power Settings:
For more granular control over power-saving options, you can access "Additional power settings" from the Power & Sleep settings.
Change Plan Settings:
You can change the current power plan settings, including "Put the computer to sleep" options".
Advanced Power Settings:
Within "Additional power settings", you can further customize sleep and hibernation behaviour, such as allowing wake timers or adjusting when the hard drive turns off.
Important Considerations:
Hibernate vs. Sleep:
Sleep puts the PC into a low-power state, while hibernation saves the current state to the hard drive and shuts down the PC.
BIOS settings that can affect sleep, hibernation and allow a powered-off or hibernating PC to be awoken by USB devices.
To enable wake-on-keyboard, to enable "USB Wake Support" in the BIOS settings. This allows your keyboard and other USB devices to wake the computer from sleep mode.
1. Enter the BIOS:
Restart your computer and repeatedly press the F2, ESC, DEL, F12 or other BIOS key as soon as you see the power light. This will take you to the BIOS setup screen.
2. Navigate to Power Management:
Once in the BIOS, you'll need to navigate to the "Power Management" section. Look for a section related to power settings or energy management.
3. Enable USB Wake Support:
Within the Power Management section, find the option labelled "USB Wake Support" or something similar (it may also be called "Wake on USB").
Enable this setting. You might need to click a checkbox or select "Enable".
4. Block Sleep Option:
If you have a "Block Sleep Option" or "Deep Sleep Control" (available on desktop computers), clear it to disable it. This ensures the computer can wake up from sleep mode.
5. Save Changes and Exit:
After making the necessary changes, save the BIOS settings and exit. This is usually done by selecting "Save & Exit" or pressing a key like F10.
The exact wording of the options in the BIOS may vary slightly depending on your specific BIOS version. However, the functionality should be similar.
If you still experience issues, you can also try updating the BIOS to the latest version (downloadable from Dell).
Ensure that your keyboard and mouse are connected via USB ports.
Some BIOS versions may have a separate setting for "Wake on USB Mouse". You can also try enabling that if it's available.