How to Enable or Disable Hibernate in Windows 11

Unlike standard “Sleep” mode—which keeps your current session stored in RAM and constantly drains a small amount of battery—”Hibernate” takes a complete snapshot of your desktop, saves it directly to your hard drive, and shuts the computer completely off. When you turn the PC back on, you resume exactly where you left off, without draining any battery in the meantime.

By default, Windows 11 often hides the Hibernate option from the Start menu. Additionally, you cannot just toggle a switch in the modern Settings app to turn it back on. You must enable it at the system level using the Command Prompt, and then unhide it using the legacy Control Panel.

Here is how to properly enable (or permanently disable) hibernation in Windows 11.

Step 1: Enable or Disable Hibernate via Command Prompt

Because hibernation allocates a massive chunk of your storage drive (a hidden file named hiberfil.sys, which can be several gigabytes in size), it is controlled at the system level. You must use an elevated Command Prompt to change its status.

1. Click the Windows Start button.
2. Type cmd into the search bar.
3. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. (Click Yes if prompted by the User Account Control screen).
4. To Enable Hibernation: Type the following exact command and press Enter:

   powercfg /hibernate on

5. To Disable Hibernation: Type the following exact command and press Enter:

   powercfg /hibernate off

Note: The Command Prompt will not output a confirmation message. As long as it simply drops down to a new line without an error, the command was successful.

Why would you disable Hibernate?

If you have a small primary SSD (like a 128GB drive), disabling hibernation immediately deletes the massive hiberfil.sys file, freeing up several gigabytes of space instantly. Furthermore, disabling hibernation automatically disables “Fast Startup,” which is a known cause of boot loops and driver errors in Windows 11.

Step 2: Add Hibernate to the Start Menu Power Button

If you enabled hibernation in Step 1, you still will not see it when you click the Power button in your Start menu. You must manually add it to the menu using the old Control Panel interface.

1. Click the Windows Start button.
2. Type Control Panel and press Enter to open it.
3. In the top-right search box of the Control Panel, type Power Options and press Enter.
4. Click on Power Options (the green text header).
5. On the left-hand sidebar, click the link that says Choose what the power buttons do.
6. You are now in the System Settings window. You will notice the checkboxes at the bottom are greyed out. To unlock them, click the link at the top with the blue and yellow shield icon that says Change settings that are currently unavailable.
7. Look under the Shutdown settings section at the bottom.
8. Check the box next to Hibernate.
9. Click the Save changes button at the very bottom of the window.

Now, whenever you click the Power button in your Windows 11 Start menu, you will see a new “Hibernate” option nested directly alongside Sleep, Shut down, and Restart.