tp won't shut down

[Ogg]

I was recently using my TP with Windows "Standby" for a couple of days. All seemed to go well. At next restart, my previous apps appeared fine and quick. Today, when I needed to check a website, the browser would stall "Not Responding.." This occurred with both IE7 and Firefox. I Killed the "Not Responding" tasks, and my desktop recovered fine. Another attempt to use the browsers resulted in the same problem, "Not Responding..". So, I Killed them once more, and decided I'll do full Shutdown of the TP. But Shutdown has been slow to respond. It took about 5 minutes for the blue "Windows is logging off..." message to appear, but it's not proceeding after this. The IBM function keys still seem to work "Fn brightness, Fn wireless", and the mouse is still able to move around. But the shutdown seems to be stalled. I tried Ctr-Al-Del a few times, no response. I tried, the Power button, no response. What can I do to hard-reset the TP?

[GomJabbar]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Standby often breaks wireless connections. There may be a fix, but it depends upon which wireless adapter you are using.

To hard reset the ThinkPad, hold the power on/off button down for several seconds (perhaps up to 10 sec.). It should power off. If not, unplug the AC and remove the main battery. Probably the next time you shutdown, it will be fine - unless you go into Standby again with the wireless adapter on.

[Ogg]

I did try holding down the power-button for an extra bit of time, but I guess it was never long enough. It finally worked, however. My TP was last used for dialup to internet. But when my TP came out of Standby/sleep, I had re-established a new online session. However, both browsers stalled; Windows indicated "Not Responding.." in the Task Manager. So.. what's the scoop on Standby/sleep .vs. Hibernate anyway? Is one recommended over the other? Should one be avoided over the other?