How to Disable Sleep Mode in Vista

Although it saves power, you may not be happy with your computer taking a snooze.

Windows Vista offers a power-saving sleep mode that activates automatically after a period of time. Sleep mode will terminate power to most components of your computer while keeping your programs running in memory. Although only a few short seconds are required to resume the system, chat programs and other applications that require a constant Internet connection will become disconnected when the system sleeps.

Instructions

1. Click the Start button on your task bar, and type "Power Options" in the search menu.

2. Click to open the Power Options dialog, and press Change Plan Settings for the selected profile. The profile you currently use will have the radio button next to its name filled.

3. Click on the drop-down menu next to the Put the Computer to Sleep label. Select Never and press the Save Changes button to apply your customizations. Your computer will no longer enter sleep mode.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a longer period of time if you wish to keep the power-saving functionality but find the default setting too quick.

References

• Microsoft: Turn off a computer
• PCReview: Vista Power Options