If you have to look after a lot of servers then shutting them all down at the end of the day can be a real pain. The button on the front of the machine can be re-configured to perform different actions. The actions include: Shut down, Hibernate, Stand By, Ask Me What To Do or Do Nothing. Depending on the type of machine you have bought these settings will be different; for example if it is a Laptop computer it might be set to Hibernate where as a Desktop might be set to Stand By. As with all things Windows, the way in which you configure this changes depending on your version of operating system. So for Windows XP:

1. Right click on the background of the Desktop and select Properties.
2. Go to the Screen Saver tab and in the Monitor Power section click the Power… button.
3. Go to the Advanced tab. From the drop down in the Power buttons section you can change the action to whatever you like.

If you are using Windows 2008 Server the route is slightly different:

1. Right click on the background of the Desktop and select Personalize.
2. From the Personalize appearance and sounds section click Screen Saver.
3. In the Power management section click Change power settings….
4. On the left hand side there is a list of links, click Choose what the power button does.
5. There is a single drop-down box where you can select your desired option and click the Save Changes button.

Not really sure why they decided to group this option in with the section of personal preferences when it clearly applies to everyone on the machine, but hey… Just as we are talking about power buttons, holding the button down for 5 seconds will force a power halt, so whatever state the computer got itself into can be fixed with the old “turn it off at the mains” trick!