How to disable or enable Hibernate in Windows 11

If your Hibernate button is missing, then we will see how you can enable the Hibernate option in Windows 11/10, using CMD, Control Panel, our Ultimate Windows Tweaker, or Windows Registry.

Hibernation is different from Sleep. While hibernation ensures your state is saved even when the computer doesn’t have power, any sleep mode disruption will result in state loss.

The Hibernate feature allows the Windows operating system to save and write the running state to a hard disk before powering off the computer. Hibernation is the most economical of all the power-saving states in Windows, as it uses the least amount of power. You can use it to save computer energy when you know you won’t be using your laptop for an extended period and won’t get an opportunity to charge the battery anytime soon.

The Hibernate feature uses the Hiberfil.sys file. The Hiberfil.sys hidden system file is located in the drive’s root folder where the operating system is installed. The Windows Kernel Power Manager reserves this file when you install Windows. The size of this file is approximately equal to how much random access memory (RAM) is installed on the computer. The computer uses the Hiberfil.sys file to store a copy of the system memory on the hard disk when the hybrid sleep setting is turned on. If this file is not present, the computer cannot hibernate.

Disable or Enable Hibernate in Windows 11/10

The path for enabling the Hibernate option has changed slightly in Windows 11/10/8/7 from Windows XP. If you have trouble finding the Hibernate option in Windows, this short tutorial will help you.

Hibernate Option is Missing

The hibernate button can disappear after a disk cleanup or if you delete the hibernate file. So, if you cannot find the Hibernate button or if the Hibernate Option is Missing, you may do any of the following:

1. Using POWERCFG command
2. Use ControlPanel
3. Tweak Registry
4. Use Ultimate Windows Tweaker.

To enable and disable hibernation, you will need an administrator account.

1] Using POWERCFG command

PowerCFG is a powerful command-line utility that can be used to enable or disable hibernation in Windows.

Type cmd in Windows Start menu search bar. Right-click on cmd and select ‘Run as Administrator’ to open an elevated Command Prompt. In Windows, you may simply use the WinX menu and select Command Prompt (Admin).

Running the following command will display the available Sleet States on your system:

powercfg /availablesleepstates

Enable Hibernate

To enable hibernation using PowerCFG simply type

powercfg /hibernate on

Disable Hibernate

To turn hibernation off, type instead

powercfg /hibernate off

You can always create a shortcut to the command on the desktop and do it quickly.

Related: Check if Windows last boot was from Fast Startup, Full Shutdown, or Hibernate.

2] Use Control Panel

In Windows 11/10, by default, the Hibernate option is not activated in the Power Button options. Users may notice that there is no hibernate option in Windows 11/10/8.1. You can enable it and show the Hibernate button, by using the Control Panel.

Follow this post on how to activate and display Hibernate in Power Button options and how to change Power Button options.

See this post if the Hibernate option is missing in Control Panel.

3] Tweak Registry

You can also tweak the Windows Registry to enable or disable Hibernate. To do so navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power

Give HibernateEnabled a value of 1 to enable Hibernation and 0 to disable Hibernation.

Read: Laptop stuck on Hibernating screen

4] Use Ultimate Windows Tweaker

While you can always use our Ultimate Windows Tweaker, to enable or disable Hibernate easily in a click.

See this post if Hibernate does not restore the previous state of the PC.

Microsoft has released a Fix It solution specifically for this purpose. See if the Fix-It applies to your version of Windows:

Disable Hibernation using Fix It 50462 | Enable Hibernation using Fix-It using 50466. [They have been discontinued now].

Do remember that in Windows 11/10, if you disable Hibernate, it will disable Fast Startup too.

Now read: How to enable Wake-on-LAN in Windows 11.