What is hibernation on a laptop

Laptops have different shutdown options. With the shutdown and sleep mode, everyone is familiar. But there is still a hibernation. What is it and what is it for?

What is a hibernation mode on a laptop

This is the mode of turning off the laptop, in which the latest data is unloaded from RAM and stored on the hard drive. This allows you to quickly boot the PC later with the restoration of the last session.

The data is stored in the file hiberfile.sys, the amount of which is equal to the amount of RAM. That is, regardless of what operations were performed before shutting down, they will be saved.

Reference! From English the word hibernation translates as "hibernation." But in the IT sphere, it has a different meaning - “reduced power consumption mode”.

Features, advantages and disadvantages of the hibernation mode

To understand what the feature of the mode is, you need to figure out what happens to the PC when using other shutdown methods:

1. Standard shutdown - the notebook is completely turned off without saving data. This means that if you, for example, printed an important document and did not save it, it will not recover when turned on.
2. Sleep - the PC does not turn off, but goes into power saving mode. All components, in addition to RAM, are disabled. After turning on the computer, the last actions are saved. That is, if you watched a movie before plunging into a dream, you can continue to watch it from where you left off.

Hibernation is a cross between shutdown and sleep. The computer is completely turned off, but after loading it allows you to start work from the same place where it was finished.

Attention! Before you use hibernation, consider whether you need it. With seeming advantages, it has disadvantages.

The advantages include:

1. Save battery power. Because of this advantage, the feature is most suitable for laptops.
2. Save important information.
3. The ability to continue to work from where he left off.

Reference! The time to turn on the PC with active hibernation mode is about 10 seconds. For comparison, the boot time after a complete shutdown is on average 1 minute, and after hibernation, up to 5 seconds.

The disadvantage of this mode is one, but significant. It requires a large amount of RAM. If it is not enough, Windows may fail.

Why do you need hibernation on a laptop

Normal users do not need hibernation in principle. However, the regime is simply necessary for people who often work in places where it is not possible to connect a laptop to a power outlet. In this case, the mode will protect against unexpected loss of data.

It will take this mode for people who need to urgently postpone work, but at the same time save it. Then, when they return, they can turn on the PC and start working from the moment they stop.

Imagine you walk around with your laptop all day, you have to constantly save data and turn it off, then turn it on again. With hibernation, the process is simplified. After you have worked, just close the lid of the laptop, and when you need to work again, open it. The computer automatically starts and restores the previous state. You get a fully ready to work PC, which opened all the necessary programs.

How to properly activate and disable hibernation

Activating hibernation is simple:

1. Go to the "Start" menu.
2. Find the command "Shutdown". There is an arrow, move the mouse over it.
3. When the shutdown panel opens, select "Hibernation."

But it happens that there is no such command. What to do? The fact is that in most laptops, this feature is disabled by default. To use it, you first need to enable it in the settings. Follow the instructions:

1. Go to the device settings and find the "Power".
2. Select the "Power Button Action" command.
3. A window opens with options for shutting down the computer. Below them you will see which functions are active and which are not (the latter are highlighted in gray). To change the parameters, click on "Changing the parameters that are currently unavailable."
4. The new window presents all options for shutting down the computer. To activate hibernation, check the box next to the appropriate item, and click "Save."
5. Now you can go to the "Start" menu and turn off the PC using hibernation.

Another way to start is via the command line. To do this, you must have administrator rights:

1. Run the command line: "Start" - "All Programs" - "Standard" - "Command Line" - "Run as administrator".
2. Type powercfg -h on and click Enter.
3. Reboot.

If it is necessary to disable the hibernation mode, this is done in the same way: using the command line (the powercfg -h off command is entered) or with the instruction described above.

Disabling hibernation is sometimes a necessary measure, since the file on which information is stored takes up a lot of space and can slow down a laptop. When this option is enabled, there may not be enough space to update important programs and the OS itself. Because of this, errors and device malfunctions can occur.