Symptoms
- Hibernate option is missing from the shutdown menu
- Laptop goes to sleep instead of hibernating
- Laptop restarts instead of resuming from hibernation
- Hibernation is slow or fails with an error
Likely causes
- CommonHibernation disabled in power settings or not enabled by defaultSome laptops ship with hibernate turned off, especially with fast SSDs.
- CommonInsufficient free disk space for the hibernation fileHibernation needs disk space roughly equal to your RAM to store the saved state.
- PossibleFast Startup interfering with proper hibernationThis Windows feature uses a partial hibernation state that can conflict with full hibernate.
- PossibleOutdated or corrupted drivers affecting the resume processGraphics or storage drivers can prevent a clean resume from hibernation.
- Less commonCorrupted hibernation fileCan cause a failure to resume, sometimes requiring a fresh hibernate file to be generated.
What to do
- On Windows, run 'powercfg /hibernate on' from an elevated command prompt to enable it if missing.
- Free up disk space, since hibernation needs space close to your amount of installed RAM.
- Check Power Options to confirm hibernate is set as an available option for the lid-close or shutdown menu.
- Turn off Fast Startup temporarily to see if that resolves resume failures.
- Update chipset, storage, and graphics drivers to the latest version.
- If resuming fails repeatedly, disable and re-enable hibernation to regenerate the hibernation file.
Tools and parts
- None required
When to call a pro
If hibernation still fails to resume correctly after these steps, a technician can check for deeper driver or storage issues.
Safety
Generally low risk
Generally low risk for a careful person. Stop if anything looks different from what this guide describes.