Hibernate - Enable or Disable

How to Enable or Disable Hibernate in Windows 7 and Windows 8​

   Information

Hibernation is a power-saving state designed primarily for laptops. While sleep puts your work and settings in memory and draws a small amount of power, hibernation puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk, and then turns off your computer. Of all the power-saving states in Windows, hibernation uses the least amount of power. On a laptop, use hibernation when you know that you won't use your laptop for an extended period and won't have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time.

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable hibernate and restore or delete the hiberfil.sys file in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

When hibernate is disabled, the Hibernate option is missing from the Start Menu (Windows 7 only), Shut Down Windows dialog, Power menu (Windows 8 only) and the Advanced Power Plan Options.

You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

   Note

• By default, the size of the hidden protected OS hibernation file (C:\hiberfil.sys) is 75% of the total amount of installed RAM on your computer.
• In Windows 7, you can set your computer to either use or not use the Hybrid or Hibernate sleep mode option from the Advanced Power Plan Options.
• In Windows 7, you will only see Hibernate listed in the Start Menu power button arrow menu if you have Hybrid turned off in the Advanced Power Plan Options.
• Windows 8/8.1 PCs with InstantGo don't have the hibernate option
• If you disable hibernate in Windows 8 and 8.1, then it will also disable fast startup.

:note: For Windows 10 instructions please see the following link - Hibernate - Enable or Disable in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Tutorials

CONTENTS:

• Option One: Enable or Disable Hibernate in Elevated Command Prompt
• Option Two: Enable or Disable Hibernate using a REG File Download
• Option Three: Enable or Disable Hibernate in Registry Editor
• Option Four: To Turn On or Off Hibernate in Advanced Power Options

OPTION ONE

Enable or Disable Hibernate in Elevated Command Prompt

1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. Do step 3 or step 4 below for what you would like to do.

3. To Enable Hibernate
NOTE: This step will restore the hiberfil.sys file, and the Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after Power Options under Sleep.
A) In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
powercfg -h on



C) If you would also like to have hibernate turned on, then you will also need do to step 2 in OPTION FOUR below.

D) If you like, you may also wish to add or remove Hibernate from power menus.

E) Go to step 5 below.
4. To Disable Hibernate
NOTE: This step will disable hibernation, delete the hiberfil.sys file, and remove the Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after Power Options under Sleep. This will also disable fast startup in Windows 8.
A)In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
powercfg -h off



B) Check your Power Options to make sure that the Critical battery action and Low battery action settings under Battery are not set to Hibernate, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)

5. You can now close the elevated command prompt if you like.

OPTION TWO

Enable or Disable Hibernate using a REG File Download

1. To Enable Hibernate
NOTE: This step will restore the hiberfil.sys file, and the Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after Power Options under Sleep.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 3 below.
Enable_Hibernate.reg


Download


2. To Disable Hibernate
NOTE: This step will disable hibernation, delete the hiberfil.sys file, and remove the Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after Power Options under Sleep. This will also disable fast startup in Windows 8.
A) Check your Power Options to make sure that the Critical battery action and Low battery action settings under Battery are not set to Hibernate. (see screenshot below)

B) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 3 below.
Disable_Hibernate.reg

Download


3. Save the .reg file to your desktop.

4. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

5. Click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK when prompted to approve the merge.

6. Restart the computer to apply the changes.

7. If you would also like to have hibernate turned on, then you will also need do to step 2 in OPTION FOUR below.

8. If you like, you may also wish to add or remove Hibernate from power menus.

9. When finished, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

OPTION THREE

Enable or Disable Hibernate in Registry Editor

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and click/tap on OK.

2. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power


3. In the right pane of the Power key, double click/tap on HibernateEnabled, and do step 4 or 5 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot above)

4. To Enable Hibernate
NOTE: This step will restore the hiberfil.sys file, and the Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after Power Options under Sleep.
A) Type in 1, click/tap on OK, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

5. To Disable Hibernate
NOTE: This step will disable hibernation, delete the hiberfil.sys file, and remove the Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after Power Options under Sleep. This will also disable fast startup in Windows 8.
A) Type in 0 (zero), and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot above)

B) Check your Power Options to make sure that the Critical battery action and Low battery action settings under Battery are not set to Hibernate, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

6. Close regedit, and restart the computer to apply the changes.

7. If you would also like to have hibernate turned on, then you will also need do to step 2 in OPTION FOUR below.

8. If you like, you may also wish to add or remove Hibernate from power menus.

OPTION FOUR

To Turn Hibernate On or Off in Advanced Power Options

NOTE: This option does not disable hibernate, but only turns it on or off for your power plan.
1. Do either step 2 or step 3 below for what you would like to do.

2. To Turn On Hibernate
NOTE: You could also use a hibernate shortcut to manually put the computer into hibernation instead or in addition to this option.
A) If you have not already, then you will need to enable hibernate using either OPTION ONE, OPTION TWO, or OPTION THREE above first.

B) Open the Advanced Power Plan Settings for your power plan, then expand Sleep. (see screenshot below step 4)

C) Under Hibernate after, set the Setting (Minutes) to how many minutes you want your computer to sit idle for before it goes into hibernation. (see screenshot step 4)

D) Go to step 4.
3. To Turn Off Hibernate
NOTE: If you disabled hibernate using OPTION 1, 2, or 3 above, then there's no need to do this since Hibernate after and Allow hybrid sleep will no longer be listed in your power options.
A) Open the Advanced Power Plan Settings for your power plan, and expand Sleep. (see screenshot below step 4)
B) Under Hibernate after, set the Setting (Minutes) to Never. (see screenshot below step 4)

C) Under Allow hybrid sleep, set Setting to Off. (see screenshot below step 4)

D) Go to step 4.
4. When finished, click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Enable or Disable Hibernate in "Windows To Go" Workspace
• How to Add or Remove "Hibernate after" in Power Options in Windows
• How to Change the Default Action of Alt+F4 Shut Down Window in Windows 7
• How to Change Default Action of Alt+F4 "Shut Down Windows" Dialog in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Change the Power Plan Settings in Windows 7
• How to Open and Use Disk Cleanup in Windows 7
• How to Run a Windows 7 Power Efficiency Diagnostics Report
• How to Enable or Disable Require Password on Wakeup in Windows 7
• How to Create a Hibernate Shortcut in Windows
• How to Change the Return to Sleep Timeout for a Unattended Wake Up in Windows 7
• How to Free Up and Recover Hard Drive Space in Windows 7
• How to Change the Default Windows 7 Start Menu Power Button Action
• How to Add or Remove the Shut Down, Restart, Sleep, and Hibernate Commands in Windows 7
• How to Add or Remove Power Button on Start Screen in Windows 8.1 Update
• How to See Available Sleep States on Your System in Windows 7
• How to See Available Sleep States on Your Windows 8 PC
• How to Change the Size of the hiberfil.sys File in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Add or Remove "Sleep" or "Hibernate" from the Power Options Menu in Windows 8
• Add or Remove Shutdown Power Menu from Sign in Screen in Windows 8 and 8.1

 

[Brink]

Thank you Dek. I have added a note under METHOD ONE to help let people know this quicker.

 

[NocturnalOne]

This sounds similar to Vista. With Vista however hibernation doesn't work with 6GB of memory (not sure where exactly the cut-off is). To be honest it's the biggest Vista problem I know of. I pre-ordered Windows 7 hoping hibernating is possible with any memory size. Sleeping works fine on vista but I'd much rather be able to turn of the power altogether. Not sure how laptop owners manage with Vista.

Anyway, could you please update the tutorial with a note regarding memory limitations, present or gone since Vista? Thanks very much!

 

[Brink]

Hello NocturnalOne, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Not sure if that may be a issue for everyone. I have 8GB installed without any problems with sleep or hibernation in Vista and Windows 7. You might check your BIOS settings to see if you have a "Memory Mapping" option to enable to see if that may help.

 

[NocturnalOne]

Thanks Brink for responding so quickly. I only got Vista a few months ago when I built a new system with a Core-i7 and 6GB of RAM. XP Pro/Home before that. I enabled hibernation on my system using instructions similar (same?) as yours here. The hiberfil file was created and the system 'pretended' to hibernate but could not boot from the created file. Doing some googling found lots of references to a memory limitation in Vista related to hibernation. Examples:

Vista Machines with More than 4 GB of RAM Have Limited Shut-Down Options - Losing Hibernate - Softpedia

Which refers to this:
You cannot put a computer that has more than 4 GB of memory into hibernation in Windows XP, in Windows Server 2003, in Windows Vista, or in Windows Server 2008

Sleep works fine on my Vista machine but as soon as the power is disconnected it'd toast. I have no idea how your machine with 8GB works properly when MS says it shouldn't work. It's typically the other way around (they say it should work but it doesn't

Anyway, I sure hope Win7 resolves this absurd issue. I'll gladly allocate a few GB of disk space to be able to completely power down my machine at night, even if recovering from hibernation takes a bit longer than recovering from sleep (which is fast except that it typically forgets to load the keyboard driver for a minute or so after it comes up).

I should add that I haven't dared to install Vista SP2 yet, still at SP1. Misadventures with installing SP3 on XP have made me a bit nervous about messing with a generally stable system.

 

[Brink]

This problem is also sometimes fixed by a BIOS update. You might check to see if your motherboard as a newer BIOS version available and if the readme files for it address this issue.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome John, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Shawn

 

[xXSevenXx]

What's the difference between 'Sleep' and 'Hibernate'?

 

[Brink]

Hello Seven,

Sleep - The computer saves the current session to memory (RAM) and goes to a low power state. If you lose power while in sleep, you will lose the current session. When you move the mouse or press a key on the keyboard, the computer will wake back up almost immediately.

Hibernate - The computer saves the current session to the hiberfil.sys file on the hard drive instead of memory, and goes to a near turned off state (less power used than in Sleep mode). It will take the computer a few seconds to save everything to the HDD before entering hibernation, and it takes a bit longer to resume from hibernation as well when you wake the computer up from the mouse or keyboard. However, if you should lose power, you will not lose the current session.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[xXSevenXx]

Yes, that helps a lot!
I shall now disable Hibernate as I don't use it.
Thanks

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Seven.

 

[tlswift]

Hibernation Issue - file not deleted

Checked out your ideas on "disabling" Hibernation and those all check off, but still have the system file for it eating up over 2 GB's.

The Windows Clean-up Program is a total loser and has been since MS came out with it. It won't delete many files that clog up your harddrive and continually build up over time in the Local Settings / Temp and even in the Windows / Temp folders.

In my opinion - very useless product until MS can create one that truly will find those files and delete them.

I also don't have the button on Clean-up in the lower left that you have. Maybe an option not in Win7 Home.

 

[Brink]

Hello Tlswift, and welcome to Seven Forums.

If you do METHOD ONE in this tutorial, it will also delete the hiberfil.sys file when you disable hibernation.

Disk Cleanup is ok, but you might take a look at CCleaner. It's great at cleaning up junk files.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[tlswift]

Hibernation

Thanks Shawn.

I've used CCLeaner before with mixed results. I was not aware that is was good to go for WIN7!

I usually just go in manually and delete all the Temps files I can at the time - it is easier and sometimes CCLeaner can be overly aggressive and delete files that it shouldn't.

If MS is going to offer maintenance programs like Defrag and Cleaner - then make them industrial products - not some wimped out version that is mostly useless.

They did that with Windows Defender. Took a very good product and turned it into crapola.

 

[joeb1950]

I want hibernate as an option on the Shutdown menu on a desktop. I ran the enable command and still don't see it. Is hibernate even an option for desktops or is it only available on laptops? I thought it could be enabled via registry change. (After only a few days I love Win7, so glad I skipped Vista!)

 

[Brink]

Hello Joeb, and welcome to Seven Forums.

You should have Hibernate in your Start Menu arrow menu here:

...and when you press ALT+F4 after clicking on the desktop.

You might also find this hibernate shortcut useful. You can pin or use it anywhere it Windows 7.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[D Plainview]

No....

Joeb....you won't have "Hibernate" as an option listed on your Shutdown button unless in the Power Plan properties you have the "Allow Hybrid Sleep" setting to "Off". When "Hybrid Sleep" is enabled, if the machine goes to "Sleep/Suspend", it will save the computers state to memory like "Hibernate", but is still in the low power mode of "Sleep/Suspend", so in the event of a power outage the computer will still be able to recover to it's former state. Disabling "Hybrid Sleep" will allow you to have both "Sleep/Suspend" and "Hibernate" as separate properties on your shutdown button.

 

[pat255]

Hi shawn: when I go to elevated command prompt .I dont see windows\sustem32 but C:\users\myname ..
do i need to type in systen32 to make the change?

thank you

Pat

 

[Brink]

Hello Pat, and welcome to Seven Forums.

If you are seeing that instead, then you are not in a elevated command prompt. Double check to make sure that when you right click on the command prompt shortcut, you click on "Run as administrator". Are you logged in a administrator account?

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[pat255]

Thank you Shawn for your reply ...I am going to check that as I learn more about window 7 ...However, plainview comment on Power Plan "allow hybrid setting to off will do the trick ..

Many thks to both ...

Pat

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome Pat.