windows/laptop question

[daveh0]

i've got a laptop running vista that i store a bunch of photos and music on. it connects wirelessly to the rest of my network..

i can get to its shared drives and remote desktop to it (which is what i'm going for) BUT only when it is fliped open. i guess it must hibernate or log off or something when i close it. how can i change the setings so that i can access that machine all the time, regardless of how long it has been idol for?

[Patonb]

Eek Vista, I've not used it yet, But in XP it was in power options...

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/d48c9f1d-2e69-4e6d-b949-5c4df1b0b9f91033.mspx

[Chaptcheex]

It's pretty much the same as xp but they changed it to make it more confusing.

right click on the desktop
>personalize(because nobody unerstood what "settings" meant)
>powersettings(it's a whole sentence like: "I would like to choose an option that could be stated in a simple phrase like 'power settings'.")
>"I would like to see what options are available to me when I close the lid of my microsoft OS laptop"

Choose "nothing" and ok yourself out of there.

[Patonb]

It's pretty much the same as xp but they changed it to make it more confusing.

right click on the desktop
>personalize(because nobody unerstood what "settings" meant)
>powersettings(it's a whole sentence like: "I would like to choose an option that could be stated in a simple phrase like 'power settings'.")
>"I would like to see what options are available to me when I close the lid of my microsoft OS laptop"

Choose "nothing" and ok yourself out of there.

Hehee funny.

[daveh0]

Thanks. I guess I should have been able to figure that out on my own... something about Vista...

Anyway, I'm assuming not but the fact that nothing shuts down is not going to hike up my electricity bill any significant amount or put undue wear and tear on the computer, is it?

[Patonb]

Not really, You set it to do things like power down hard drives and such and it'll consume very little.

Make sure though, you keep it on laptop settings so it'll power/throttledown your cpu.

[sjean423]

Do you use the laptop for anything else? WOuld it be easier to get an external drive to store the pics and music on? (Of course its $$, and you already have the laptop)

[daveh0]

Not really, You set it to do things like power down hard drives and such and it'll consume very little.

Make sure though, you keep it on laptop settings so it'll power/throttledown your cpu.

so even though the HD is powered down during periods of inactivity, the computer will still be accessible via the network? and the HD will fire up again when another computer tries to connect?

[Chaptcheex]

I have alwys kept all my power settings on "never shut down hd" because I can never get the hd to spin back up right.

make sure that you keep the computer on a hard, flat surface and it has room to "breath" so you don't overheat the cpu.

[Patonb]

I have alwys kept all my power settings on "never shut down hd" because I can never get the hd to spin back up right.

make sure that you keep the computer on a hard, flat surface and it has room to "breath" so you don't overheat the cpu.

Me too as the system that i leave on is always working. I've heard so-so resualts on the spinup.

Honestly.. I think a external HD would be the best, mAybe even a network drive as lappys aren't meant to run 24/7.