Enable Windows hibernation.

Enable Windows hibernation.

Enable Windows hibernation

To avoid security errors and data loss, Microsoft has disabled this feature in the shutdown menu. Instead, there is Sleep mode. If necessary, you can find in the description below, how to add hibernation to the Power menu.

– Sleep mode activates, or be can manually activate, when you are away from the computer for a short time, the device leaves its working state and enters a low-power state, but to a small extent consumes electricity, because the RAM is not turned off, and the data is collected in RAM. Next time, it will "wake up" even by pressing a keyboard button, or moving the mouse, and can continue working where left off.

– Hibernate mode is when you don't use your computer for a longer period of time (night or even a day), and in the meantime it consumes almost no energy, because, unlike the Sleep state, the RAM is cleared. The computer is (mostly) shut down. When it is woke up, it copies the hibernation file back into RAM.

Quick Tip: Unlike Sleep, hibernation doesn't start automatically, so it requires a separate switching operation.

Add hibernate to power menu:

Windows 11's hibernate mode makes it easy to quickly turn on your device after shutting down and actually stop using your computer's power. Follow the steps below to enable and disable the "hibernate" state:

Open Control Panel. Using the search function in the Start menu, enter the control command in the search field on the taskbar, then press the Enter button on the keyboard.

In the window that appears, switch the display to Large icons if it wasn't, then click the Power Options link.

In the new window, click the Choose what the power button does link at the top left. A new window appeared, where click on the Change settings that are currently unavailable.

After click, the content of the window changes, where, a little below, can check the Hibernate checkbox. At the bottom of the window, click the Save changes button to apply them.

If you open the Start menu by clicking the Windows-Logo icon and then the Power button, the Hibernate function will also appear.

After enabling hibernation, the Windows operating system creates a file called hiberfil.sys with hidden properties in the root directory of the C: drive. You must enable show hidden files to view this file.

Start File Manager, or open any folder, this is the file manager application. Click the View button in the top row, then move your cursor over the Show link (don't click it, just hover over it), and finally click the Hidden items button in the new small window that appears.

Quick Tip: The examples listed, are for Windows PCs and tablets, but some devices may not support all shutdown methods.

If it should be disabled later, simply open the Control Panel according to the above method, and uncheck the Hibernate checkbox. At the bottom of the window, click the Save Changes button to apply them.

Deactivate / Delete in the registration database:

Caution: Incorrect modifications to the registry can lead to system instability or even crashes, which may require reinstalling the system, so it is recommended creating restore point, from which can be restore the original state. Creating restore point...

If you are inexperienced with using registry modifications, do not disable hiberfil.sys through the registry.

Attention: Before opening the registry database, move (save) all personal files, documents, images and videos from the system drive C: to another defined location on another partition (for example, D:), or to an external hard drive (for example: pendrive) from which you can restore them in case of an error.

Opening the registration database:

The hibernation function can be found under the below registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power

Type regedit in the search field on the taskbar, then press Enter key on your keyboard. In the window that appears, find the above route as shown in the image. Double-click the HibernateEnabledDefault entry and set in the Value name field number 0 (zero) to disable and delete the hiberfil.sys file:

If the registry key doesn't exist:

If an older system than Windows 11 is installed on the computer (Windows 10, 8, or 7) and the HibernateEnabledDefault key does not exist but is needed, create it manually.

Open the registry key found above as shown in the image above, then in the right window of the registry, right-click on an empty space and select the value New, then Double Word. As the keyword, enter: HibernateEnabledDefault so that there is an entry like the one shown in the image above. When done, double click on the entry newly created, and in the small input editor window set the key value to 0 (zero) to remove the hiberfil.sys file, or type 1 to enable it.

Quick Tip: On older systems, the registry key name may be shorter (if exist), instead of HibernateEnabledDefault only HibernateEnabled

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