Related Articles
Windows has long offered two ways to “pause” your computer without actually shutting it down: Sleep mode and Hibernate mode.
Sleep is often referred to as “standby,” a low-power state that enables your computer to “wake up” almost instantly when you open the lid or hit the power button.
Hibernate, on the other hand, saves your current system state to the hard drive, then effectively shuts down the system. When you start it up again, it restores that state, letting you resume from where you left off. Think of it as “deep sleep.”
I like Hibernate because it doesn’t draw any additional power the way Sleep does. (With the latter on a laptop, you can come back a day or two later to a dead battery.) But if you’re a Windows 10 user, you may have noticed there’s no Hibernate option when you click Start > Power.
In fact, my Asus ZenBook had this option, but after I upgraded to Windows 10, it disappeared.
Fortunately, it’s easy to restore Hibernate mode. Here’s how:
Step 1: Open Control Panel and head to the Power Options page. (You can get here any number of ways, including just typing “power options” in Windows Search.) Then click Choose what the power buttons do.
Step 2: Click Change settings that are currently unavailable, then scroll down to the bottom of that window to find the “Shutdown settings” section.
Enlarge ImageScreenshot by Rick Broida/CNET
Step 3: Check the box next to Hibernate, then click Save changes.
Done! Now you’ll see a Hibernate option in the Power menu.
It’s worth noting that while you’re monkeying around in that settings window, you can make Hibernate the default option for when you press the power button, press the sleep button (if your machine has one) or close the lid.
Hope your PC enjoys its slumber!
