1. Click on 'Start' and click on 'Control Panel.' Double-click on 'Power Options' to access the power option properties. Click on the drop-down box and select the power scheme that you want to configure.
2. Click on the 'Turn Off Monitor' drop-down box and set it accordingly. Use a lower shutoff time for a laptop and a higher time or even 'Never' for a desktop computer.

3. Click the 'System Standby' drop-down box and set it accordingly. Standby shuts off the drives, monitor and fans to conserve power; consider using a shorter standby time for a laptop and a longer standby time for a desktop.
4. Click the 'Turn Off Hard Disk' drop-down box if you don't want the system standby feature active, but you still want the hard drive to shut off to conserve power. Set it accordingly.
5. Click on the 'Hibernate' tab if you want to set your computer up to hibernate. Hibernating causes your computer to save the information you were working on to your hard disk and softly shut down after a specified period of time. Put a checkmark next to 'Enable Hibernation' to turn this feature on.
6. Click the 'Advanced' tab. Remove the checkmark next to 'Prompt for Password When Computer Resumes from Standby' if you want the Windows desktop to resume without asking for your Windows XP password.