How To Enable Or Disable Hibernate In Windows PC

Introduction

In this tutorial, I am going to explain the steps to enable or disable the Hibernate Mode on Windows PC. This detailed article will cover the following topics,

Introduction
What is Hibernate Mode?
Enable or Disable Hibernate Mode using Command Prompt
Add Hibernate button to the power menu using System Settings
Reasons for disabling Hibernation
Difference between Hibernate and Sleep Mode
Conclusion

What is Hibernate Mode?

As per Wikipedia, " Hibernation (also known as suspend to disk, or Safe Sleep on Macintosh computers) in computing is powering down a computer while retaining its state. When hibernation begins, the computer saves the contents of its random access memory (RAM) to a hard disk or other non-volatile storage. When the computer is turned on the RAM is restored and the computer is exactly as it was before entering hibernation. It was first implemented in 1992. After hibernating, the hardware is powered down like a regular shutdown. The system can have a total loss of power for an indefinite length of time and then resume to the original state".

Hibernation in Windows PC is one of the features of Windows OS that allows shutdown while retaining its state (without losing any work by keeping your system in a low power state). When a system goes into hibernation, the contents of its random access memory (RAM) are saved to the hard drive. When the system is turned on again, the RAM is restored, and the system is returned to its previous state. This lets your computer startup faster because it doesn't need to re-establish those files and settings. This would be a good option if you know that you will not be using your system for a long time.

Hibernation is mostly used in laptops especially when they have limited battery power available. Most desktops also support hibernation.

Note
Hibernation is enabled by default in the system and it reserves some of your disk space for its file - the Hiberfil.sys file. If you disable hibernation and a power outage happens when hybrid sleep mode is enabled, you may lose data.

When the Hibernation mode is enabled, the computer uses the Hiberfil.sys file to save a copy of the system memory to the hard disk. If this file is not there the machine will not be able to hibernate.

The Hiberfil.sys hidden system file is located in the root folder of the disk where the operating system is installed. When you install Windows, the Windows Kernel Power Manager reserves this file. This file's size is about equivalent to the amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) installed on the system.

Enable or Disable Hibernate Mode using Command Prompt

Using the Command Prompt (Run as Administrator), the user can easily enable or disable the Hibernate in Windows PC. Follow the instructions below to proceed.

Step 1

Open Command Prompt (Run as Administrator).

Step 2

To Enable the Hibernate Mode, type powercfg.exe /hibernate on and then press Enter.

Hibernate Mode

To Disable the Hibernate Mode, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off and then press Enter.

Hibernate Mode

As we can see the Hibernate option is missing from the Power menu on the Window PC's start menu.

Hibernate Mode

The Hibernate option is also missing from the Quick Access menu. And, you can get to the Quick Access menu by pressing Windows + X or by right-clicking the Start Menu button.

Hibernate Mode

Add Hibernate button to the power menu using System Settings

With the help of System Settings, the user can add Hibernate button to the power menu. Follow the instructions below to proceed.

Step 1

From the Start Menu, click on the Settings button.

Note
Alternatively, by pressing the "Windows + I" key, you can directly open the "Windows Settings".

Step 2

Windows Settings will appear on the screen, then click on the System option.

Hibernate Mode

Step 3

Click on the Power & sleep option.

Hibernate Mode

Step 4

Under the Related settings, click on the Additional power settings.

Hibernate Mode

Step 5

Click on Choose what the power buttons do.

Hibernate Mode

Step 6

Here, click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.

Hibernate Mode

Step 7

Now, you can enable Hibernate by selecting the Hibernate option and clicking Save Changes.

Hibernate Mode

Use hibernate mode to keep your work safe.

Hibernate option will be available when you click on the power button on the start menu.

Hibernate Mode

The Hibernate option will also be available in the Quick Access menu which you can access by pressing Windows + X or by right-clicking on the Start menu button.

Hibernate Mode

How to Wake Your System from Sleep or Hibernate Mode

The power button can be used to wake up most systems. However, every system (PC) is different. You may need to push a key on the keyboard, click the mouse button, or lift the laptop lid to wake the system from Hibernate or sleep Mode.

Reasons for disabling Hibernation

If you disable hibernate mode on your laptop then you will not be able to use hibernate.
The only reason to disable hibernate on your machine is if you are in desperate need of extra disk space (a few GB).
You won't be able to use Windows PC's fast startup feature, which combines hibernation and shutdown for faster boot times.

Difference between Hibernate and Sleep Mode

Now, let's look at the difference between Hibernate and Sleep Mode.

Key Points	Hibernate	Sleep
Power Consumption	Zero Power	Low Power Consumption
Resumption	Slow	Instantaneous
Processing Functions	Saves to hard disk	Saves in RAM
Risk of data loss	Less risk of data loss	Higher risk of data loss
Synonyms	Safe Sleep (Mac), Suspend to disk (Linux)	Standby (older versions of Windows), Suspend to RAM (Linux)
When to use	Normally, when you know that your system will be idle for a long time and reboot after shutdown will also be a time-consuming process.	Should be preferred when you know the system will be idle for a short period of time and need a quick start

See you in the next article, till then take care and be happy learning.

You may also visit my top seven articles on Windows,

Conclusion

By following the above steps, you can enable or disable the Hibernate Mode in Windows PC.

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