i had this problem once (though i run suse on my laptop), and it only resolved after i went into power management and messed around there ... if memory serves right, there is a menu in yast's power mgmt that lets you determine what happens when you close the lid ... also: make sure that the permissions are extended: sometimes you can do things on the root side, but not on the general user side ... let me know, whether you make it work this way ... i hate to see you having to bow to vista ...
theo
e-mail:
fenriswoolf@gmx.net