Re: Windows 10 and 11 power state habits: shutdown, sleep or hibernate

On Fri, 1/23/2026 9:15 AM, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Windows 10 and 11 power state habits: shutdown, sleep or hibernate?
> 
> I am curious how people actually use Windows 10 and 11 at the end of the
> day. Different hardware and different habits lead to very different power
> state choices, so I would like to better understand what most users do.
> 
> This question came up in a technical discussion with Frank about how
> different usage models lead to different security choices. In my case,
> I am on older hardware, so some of my model choices are dictated by the
> age of the system. Others may have newer hardware that supports Modern
> Standby or more reliable wake behavior, which changes their routine.
> 
> If you are willing to share, which of the following options do you prefer on your Windows PC and why do you prefer it (e.g., SSD's boot really fast).
> 
> A. Full shutdown
>   i. You shut down every day.
>   ii. You shut down most days.
>   iii. You shut down only when needed.
> 
> B. Restart
>   i. You restart daily.
>   ii. You restart only for updates.
>   iii. You rarely restart.
> 
> C. Sleep
>   i. You use sleep every day.
>   ii. You use sleep most days.
>   iii. You never use sleep.
> 
> D. Hibernate
>   i. You use hibernate daily.
>   ii. You use hibernate occasionally.
>   iii. You never use hibernate.
> 
> E. Hybrid sleep
>   i. You use hybrid sleep.
>   ii. You do not use hybrid sleep.
>   iii. You are not sure if it is enabled.
> 
> F. Fast startup
>   i. Fast startup is enabled.
>   ii. Fast startup is disabled.
>   iii. You are not sure.
> 
> G. Wake credentials
>   i. You type a password or PIN when waking.
>   ii. You do not type a password or PIN when waking.
> 
> H. Lock screen only
>   i. You leave the system running and only lock it.
>   ii. You do not use this method.
> 
> I. Laptop lid behavior (if you use a laptop)
>   i. Closing the lid puts it to sleep.
>   ii. Closing the lid hibernates it.
>   iii. Closing the lid does nothing.
>   iv. You are not sure.
> 
> We can all benefit from each other if you can add additional details about your hardware age or why you prefer your current routine.
> nntpresult=Connection Closed Gracefully.

All machines, even VMs, are set the same.
Even my laptop is set this way.

    powercfg /h off
    pagefile = 1GB

All machines except the daily driver are off.
Nothing ever enters sleep state or hibernate state.

Nothing can Fast Startup, with no hiberfile.

Daily driver remains on, when RAMDrive is relatively full.
Daily Driver goes off, when RAMDrive is off.
And after I post this, machine is going off.
RAMDrive content right now is 200KB, and off she goes.

   Paul