Ok,, now you had some fun with me,, lets talk reality here,
First , I have a Preinstalled THinkPad,, I have no issues checking and unchecking the Hibernation mode,,however,, I do agree with the fact that SOME companies that do Preinstall imaging, set them in stone,, you change one thing and that is it,,,
Now, I am assuming that when you say System Restore ,, You are talking about the CD restore method that was provided with the PC?
Have You, or are you referring to the System Restore that is incorporated into XP for the "RollBack" feature..??
Also known as Restore Points,, System Volume Information...
Although it seems that the reason it is happening is unclear and most likely a cause of the vendor, and I can not see any posted answer that you seem satisfied with may have to sort out the "best" method for yourself...
but then again ,, where's the fun in that for you?
hahahahaha