How to Enable or Disable Hibernation
Hibernation copies your computer’s memory to the hard disk so that the computer can turn off without shutting down completely. After you’ve put your computer into hibernation, starting it back up only takes a few seconds while it reads the contents of memory from the hard disk.
Hibernation is VERY useful. Unfortunately, it consumes disk space equal to the memory in your computer. I have 2GB of memory in my laptop, so keeping a hibernation file uses up 2GB of valuable disk space. Because of this, many people choose to turn hibernation off.
Here’s the catch: Windows Vista doesn’t provide a user interface for turning hibernation back on after you’ve turned it off (wha…?). Fellow MVP Alun Jones discovered this and found the solution: an administrative command prompt. These are documented in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 920730, How to Disable and Renable Hibernation on a Computer that is Running Windows Vista. Here are some easier instructions, though:
To disable hibernation:
Click Start. Type powercfg /hibernate off. Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
To enable hibernation:
Click Start. Type powercfg /hibernate on. Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
A command prompt will appear and disappear. The program doesn’t give you any feedback anyway, so you’re not missing anything.
Yes, I really do love the new Start menu, and that Ctrl+Shift+Enter shortcut to run a program as an Administrator.
For more information, read the Windows Vista Resource Kit (co-authored by your very own Tony Northrup). Got a question for Tony? Send an e-mail to qa@vistaclues.com.
Posted: January 10th, 2007 under Mobility.
Comments: 12
Comments
Comment from spentamanyu
Time: January 17, 2007, 7:51 am
Thank you very much, very usefull tip.
Comment from AlexuS
Time: January 25, 2007, 3:44 pm
it doesn’t work for me! i do exactly what you say and nothing! any suggestions?
Comment from Nathan Michalik
Time: September 6, 2007, 7:16 pm
Thank you very much, I couldn’t get it to work earlier.. and thanks for the tip about cntrl shift enter 
Comment from Amar Jassal
Time: October 6, 2007, 10:21 pm
Works!Thank you very much for this tip
Comment from Duarte
Time: October 9, 2007, 10:35 am
why does microsoft have to make things sooooo complicated!!!!!
I understand that sleep mode is better because you do not have to have 2 gb available on your hard drive but if you have a laptop and you want to turn off the power in order to move it around and then turn it on and keep on working you really need hibernation why make it so unintuitive how to turn it on or off?????!!!!!!!!
Comment from Javier
Time: November 1, 2007, 5:35 pm
it work but you have to change the way to put the command to powercfg -h on CRTL+SHIFT+ENTER
thanks a lot
Comment from Sarah
Time: December 3, 2007, 2:59 am
Thanks!
If it doesn’t work for you…
click start
type: cmd
press control+shift+enter
open the DOS command prompt program
type: powercfg /hibernate on
press enter
close the screen
you got hibernate!!!
Comment from Aarron
Time: January 8, 2008, 7:00 am
where is the option to put your computer in hibernate after that
Comment from Bharathwaj
Time: February 25, 2008, 4:11 pm
Thanks a lot… I was literally struggling to get hibernation option back after disabling it the strange way (by using disk clean up!)…
Comment from mehdi
Time: April 10, 2008, 12:37 pm
Thanks. I’m Live in IRAN.
Comment from Avijit
Time: April 16, 2008, 2:12 pm
thanks
Comment from Mahdi
Time: April 23, 2008, 12:20 pm
Thanks, It works
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